He jumps back into the table, nearly knocking it over. An unreadable expression crosses his face before he crumples to the floor.
“I knew it. Nobody wants me anymore.”
“Gage–”
“There’s a new alpha, and she’s strong and pretty andfemale, and I have nothing.”
Not this again.
I slide his eggs onto a plate, pick up a fork, and kneel in front of him. “Eat. Now.”
“No.” He pushes the plate away.
Madre de–“Gage, eat something. Please.”
“I don’t want–”
“Damnit, Gage, I love you! I’m trying to take care of you. Now fucking eat this food I cooked for you before I smack you into next Tuesday!”
His jaw hangs slack as I shove the plate at him again. This time, he doesn’t push it away or try to tell me “no.” He takes the plate as though it’s more delicate than the eggshells I broke for the meal. Gage looks back and forth from the food to me, and for a second, when I see fresh tears brimming in his blue eyes, I worry he’s about to spiral again.
“You … love me?”
“How can you ask that? Of course I do.”
“You don’t love Auryn?”
I blink in confusion. “I can’t love you both?”
Gage looks even more confused than I feel. “Love us both?”
Realization dawns in me as I finally see past his “woe is me” whining to the root of the cause for this mess.
My poor Gage doesn’t just think he’s losing his alpha status in the pack; he thinks he’s losingus. He doesn’t understand how we can love more than one alpha, be loyal to more than one alpha. More than that, he doesn’t recognize his own worth to us. Gage has risked his life for each of us more times than I can count. He’s fiercely protective of his people, and I have no doubt that if any of us were in trouble–Auryn included–he’d be the first to jump in.
Rather than try to get him up, I sit next to him under the table. He continues to stare in wonder, and I nudge him to get him to eat a few bites. By the time I’m satisfied that he’ll finish, I finally think I’ve got the right words to help him.
“Gage,mi corazón, you mean more to me than you can imagine. I have always loved you, alpha or not, and I will always love you. Auryn’s presence does not diminish that, nor does her being an alpha. I am yours,amor, and I will always be yours. Does that mean I don’t love Auryn? No. Of course not. I love Emmett, too, and even Olly.Somosfamilia. You don’t leave family behind because a new family member comes along. You allow the new member in, and you let your family grow.”
The fork clatters on the plate as Gage finishes his last bite.
“Better?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he says, his voice now clearer and stronger. “I guess. But how do we know if Em and Olly feel the same way? What about Auryn? She might not want me, knowing she’s an alpha in her own right.”
I wrap an arm around his shoulders and lean close. “Did you ever think that maybe she’s worried you don’t want her now that she’s not a full omega?”
“Huh?”
“Gage, you flat-out asked if she can get pregnant as an alpha. In her eyes, you might not want her for a mate if she can’t give you children. Why else do you think she stormed off?”
He drops his head into his hands. “Oh, fuck! I’m an idiot.”
“Sí, I agree. But I don’t think it’s the end of the world. I don’t even think it’s the end of this pack. I think you can still mend things.”
“How?”
“Talk to her, Gage. Tell her how you feel.”
