“Really, Ford.You are a strange creature.Go away.”Wynna Walker flicked her fingers at Ford in a clear sign to back up, which he obeyed without objection.Slipping her arm through Lucky’s, his mother walked away and Lucky fell into step.“Ignore him, sweetheart.Most of the ORTa are the same.All mouth and big egos.”
Lucky tittered a discreet laugh, though the look he shot Ford was all approval and admiration.Not that Chase could blame him.
When Pip demanded to go with Lucky, Chase set him on his feet.Pip wedged between both omegas, who doted on him as he deserved, giving him all the affection and attention his parents couldn’t be arsed to.Chase fell into step beside Ford, shaking his head at the man-child beside him.“Of course you’d be chummy with my mother,” he complained, digging his hands into his pockets, not sure whether this was a bad omen or good news.
Ford lifted an arm around Chase’s shoulders with a cheeky grin.“Your mam is the Top Dog of the ORT.The agents may be alphas, but we’re just pups on a leash held by an omega.”
Lucky braved the question Chase didn’t dare ask.“Is that true, Mrs Walker?Are you the head of the ORT?”
Wynna cast a smirk at Ford, who saluted her.“It was decided a long time ago that only an omega had the right to run the ORT.Each omega selects their own replacement.”She watched Lucky curiously, like a shark deciding whether to eat the fish or protect it.“We don’t take part in the retrievals, but act as administrators.We maintain the schedules, enforce the rules, keep track of therapy, training and certificates of validation for each agent.We ensure the omegas we rescue have a safe, secure place to stay until they can be returned to their families or we help them begin a new life.”
“I’m gonna be ORT when I’m bigger,” Pip insisted, swinging the hand clasped in Lucky’s.
“Not if your mother has any say,” Chase cautioned, not wanting to get his hopes up.The last thing Hana wanted for Pip was to get involved in the ORT when there would be some cushy desk job waiting for him in the family firm.There had been one set aside for every single Walker child, so he didn’t see why Pip should be any different, especially since Hana, like Cris, bought into the family superiority legacy.
Thank God Wynna had taught Chase to think for himself.
“Tough luck, kid.It’ll be all suits and champagne for you,” Ford teased, ruffling Pip’s hair, though he was lucky his hand survived the glare he got.If it wasn’t for Lucky smoothing his hair into place, Chase imagined they’d be on the road to a tantrum.
His mother hummed, pausing to eye a stall selling scarfs.When she glanced at Lucky, it seemed almost an absent thought, but Chase knew his calculating mother better.“I’m absolutely fascinated by these.Philip has been telling me about your sigils since you met,” she said, lifting Lucky’s hands to examine them.Wynna glanced up with an intensity that worried him.“It’s not often you find an omega who honours Omha.Or who is willing to display that loyalty on their skin.Those who do will choose hidden, secret places.You are an anomaly, openly displaying your faith.”
Lucky glanced away, clearly not sure whether to defend himself.Before Chase could step in to warn his mother off, she touched two fingers to Lucky’s chin and tilted his head up.
“Never be ashamed of your beliefs.There are enough people in the world who will shame you.Most of whom are spiteful and petty.Once you give them the power of making you feel ashamed, they have won.”
Lucky touched the markings on his throat and glanced at Chase.“Hana told Pip they were old-fashioned and outdated.”
Wynna brushed the back of her finger across Lucky’s cheek.“I’m sorry.My husband is many things, but he has never respected omegas or tradition.I’m afraid Hana is very much his daughter in that regard.”
Pip appeared between them, startling Chase with his decision to gently tug Ford’s hand.He didn’t even hesitate to lift Pip and settle him on his hip.The sight made Chase’s heart race.
“You’re too soft with him.”His mother shook her head at Ford with a secret smile.“He’s always too gentle and kind to the children, giving in to their whims.I once found him playing with six children in a ball pit, throwing the balls at other agents when they told him to leave.”
While Lucky’s laughter made him smile, Chase eyed Ford with renewed interest.“Seriously?”
Ford handed over his cigarette, no doubt to keep it from Pip.Chase accepted it and took a drag, since Pip was preoccupied by examining Ford’s badge.“I like kids.”
“Youarea kid.”He didn’t expect the sexy smile those words inspired, or that Ford disregarded the situation?his mother, the random people walking past, and Pip?to kiss him.Chase shoved his side, but he was unrepentant.When he caught Pip staring, Ford held a finger to his lips and Pip nodded.
“You are the worst influence.”
Ford snorted and leaned in to nuzzle at the back of his ear, the gesture oddly intimate and unexpected.“On the kid or on you?”
Chapter Seventeen
Chase
Sitting in the restaurant his mother had chosen for lunch, Chase sipped at a glass of water.They’d finished eating, but Pip had ordered a second bowl of wedges and was having fun getting messy.
Wynna sipped from her glass of wine.“I’m glad you’ve bonded.I realise that a three-way bond can be difficult to navigate.”She gazed at Pip, who was working through the potato wedges like they might disappear.“But it’s time our family accepted responsibility for their decisions,” she said, brushing a hand over Pip’s head.
Chase’s stomach flipped uncomfortably at the ominous words.When he looked over, Ford shook his head, clearly at a loss.
While Lucky was oblivious, brushing at a smear of sauce on Pip’s cheek, Wynna touched Pip’s hand.“Fetch Tiloo another drink of water, my sweet.Ask Lucky to help you.”
Without making a fuss, Lucky slipped off his seat and held out his hand.The drinks counter was on the other side of the room, but his mother had a glass of wineanda glass of water beside her plate.There was no reason to send him away.
“What’s wrong?”Chase had presumed they were only here for her to vet Ford and Lucky as his mates, but she already knew Ford, and Lucky was her vision of an ideal, traditional omega mate.
