Branson stared at Papa, brain swimming, gut churning over so many names and shocking revelations. A home invasion involving authorities? An alpha brother named Paul? And what was—wait. “Minor injuries? Is Jeuel okay?”
Papa nodded. “A few cuts from broken glass but no bullet wounds from the shooting.”
“Oh. Good. But what the hell kind of shooting?”
“That is still under criminal investigation, and Mr. Paxton isn’t privy to anything.” Papa sifted through the papers and produced several sheets. Handed them to Branson. “He faxed me a few newspaper articles about the incident, but before you read them, son, Jeuel and Paul weren’t your only half-brothers.”
He swallowed hard, mouth almost too dry for words. “Who else?”
“The alpha named Charles Alder, who we suspect is Chip Uty, had three sons with his first mate Presley. Their oldest was Paul, who was twenty-one when he recently died, then a beta son, Cal, was born a year later. Cal was ten when he died about ten years ago.”
Three. Branson once had three half-brothers in a faraway province. One had died a violent death in a shoot-out, and one had died as a kid. Grief for two boys he’d never met squeezed Branson’s chest in a cold, painful fist. “How did Cal die?”
“In a car accident. Someone cut the brakes on Charles’s car. He was driving Cal to a rec team soccer game, and they crashedinto the front of someone’s house. Cal died in the hospital a few hours later.”
“Fuck.” Tarius’s hand slid around the back of his neck and squeezed. Branson pressed into the touch. “You said Jeuel’s step-omegin died in the…what? Shoot-out? What about his birth omegin?”
Papa nodded, his copper eyes so sad that Branson wanted to sob. “Their omegin Presley passed a few years after Cal. Charles re-mated. It’s messy, son.”
Branson took the fax papers with trembling hands, not surprised when Tarius leaned in to read over his shoulder. The headlines made his belly swoop in a horrified way.Shootout Between Constables and Rival Crime Bosses.Local Authorities Try to Prevent Assassination; Cause Bloodbath. Two Constables Shot Protecting Crime Boss’s Family.
“Goddess,” Branson whispered. He skimmed the articles but there weren’t many details, only that the local constabulary had been staking out the Alder home for several weeks, because of ongoing violence between his group, and another group that had been rivals for years. Both ran Flax and other illegal drugs, and both smuggled weapons from legal manufacturers in the Northern Territory to warring factions in the Southern Territory.
It was a lot of information that didn’t really matter to Branson. What mattered was he had an omega brother who’d been hurt and terrorized because of his sire’s business—and that he had two other brothers who’d died before he knew they existed. A few tears tried to squeeze out, but that well was dry. All Branson had left was a hollow feeling in his chest and a deep ache in his heart.
He tried to make sense of everything tumbling around in his head. “So, Jeuel is unprotected, because his only living, non-omega relative is in a coma?”
“Correct,” Papa replied, his own eyes glistening with emotion. “Jeuel and Trei were placed in the same halfway house for orphaned or widowed omegas, with the constabulary keeping watch.”
“Keeping watch? If their sire was involved in organized crime, they should be in protective custody! Goddess!”
“I spoke directly with an investigating constable, and he does not believe there is an immediate threat to either omega’s life. Apparently, the shoot-out killed the other organization’s leader and lieutenant, so they’re scrambling for power, and not that interested in revenge against two omegas.”
Branson grumped. “I guess that’s something. But how did Mr. Paxton know to contact me? How did Jeuel find out Charles is Chip?”
“Because Charles told him. The last time Jeuel visited with Charles while he was conscious, Charles told him that Jeuel has family in Sansbury Province, that his name used to be Chip Uty, and to look for a man named Branson Cross.” Rage flashed briefly in Papa’s eyes. “That you were his brother. Charles’s firstborn.”
“I’m surprised he even remembered I exist.” Branson dropped the news articles and wrapped his arms around himself. “Considering he gave me up twenty-four years ago and moved across the entire damned territory to start a new family.”
But as angry as he was, Branson was also so fucking grateful. Sure, his biological sire had signed away his rights and fled town, but he’d left Branson with parents who adored him, and a supportive family who’d always had his back. Uty/Alder hadn’t tried to take Branson away from Dad. He’d avoided prosecutionand started over—apparently as a criminal of a wholly different kind.
“And then he got his new family killed,” Tarius said, mirroring Branson’s thoughts. “By making more poor choices. You have a brother you can still help, Bran.”
“I know.” He accepted a firm hug from Tarius, then he faced Papa. “So, what do I have to do? Can betas take custody of underage omegas in Sonora Province?”
“Unfortunately, no. They are still woefully behind on omega rights, which is why we’ve advanced our argument for it to the Territory Supreme Court. So the Traditionalist-held provinces must offer the same protections to omegas as Progressive provinces.”
Branson’s greatest pride was how fervently his parents fought for omega rights, both in Sansbury and across the territory. He’d seen omegas in his own generation, like Khory Danvers, come from backward provinces like Rolina, and be completely baffled by how different life was here. How many more choices omegas like Khory had.
“Then what am I supposed to do for Jeuel?” Branson asked.
“Mr. Paxton is aware that Sansbury has provisions for betas to foster orphaned omegas for as long as the arrangement is comfortable,” Papa replied. “He believes a local family court judge would take that into consideration.”
“Yeah, but that provision is for married beta couples, not single people.”
“True, however, you are an adult, you are financially independent with a strong family support system, and you have younger siblings. You have experience with children of all ages. And you know how to be careful around traumatized omegas. You’ve proven that, over and over, these last couple of years.”
“But does Jeuel really want to uproot the life he knows and move to the far east of the territory with someone he’s never met? Because I’m absolutely not moving there.”
