A need swells inside me to say it out loud. I slowly slide my fingers down to his stomach, still completely flat. I feel the slightest tension in him the instant my fingertips graze his abdomen. I know he is waiting for my words now in a strange, subtle unease.
I lean in and whisper into his ear, "I… I feel so happy when I think about him. You know that, right?"
He does not answer. In the stillness of the hospital room, washed in the pale peach light of morning, I hear his breathing turn uneven.
We never really had a longer talk about the baby. It’s still kind of hanging between us, unsettled. I could tell Salt felt slightly weird about it, even if he didn’t say it outright, so I just let it drop. Until now.
"You need to know that I spend every minute thinking about our situation, trying to sort it out in my head. I finally have something that might work," I continue, then pause to take a breath. "At least in theory."
Salt’s fingers intertwine with mine.
"Eliano, I can tell how much pressure you put on yourself, for a guy who’s twenty—"
"An alpha can’t just sit around whining, Salt. He has to get his shit together. For now I’m not an ideal candidate for a father, but—"
I trail off, hesitating, unsure how to precisely frame it.
Salt snorts quietly. "Eliano. If anyone here isn’t fit to be a parent, it’s me. You’re the solid ground. The kind we can build on."
I frown slightly, our joined hands pressed against his belly now. "Don’t say that. I’m the risky one here, ex-mafioso and all. But you’d be an amazing dad. You’re tough as hell. You’d run straight into fire for him without a second thought." I let my fingers wander again, up over his stomach, along his ribs, brushing his nipples.
As I sense a bit of his milk there, I scoop it up and lick it with exaggerated slurping.
Salt chuckles, but then I pinch his nipple gently and roll it between my fingers and he lets out a sharp breath, arching faintly into my touch.
"I just don’t want you thinking I expect miracles," he mutters, "I know this could take time. I’m ready for that."
"I promised I’d find a solution. And I think I’ve got it!"
A beat of silence passes. He turns his head toward me and looks at me like I just said something insane, like he never really believed this was fixable. "You’re serious?" he whispers. "You’ll tell me?"
I nod and sigh. "I had that first plan, the one with Mauro’s proposition," I mutter. "But I’m thinking about something else now. And it might be even better."
Salt studies me like he is trying to read my thoughts. "Just tell me, c’mon!"
For a few seconds I think about it, before I say, "I owe it to one of the haters under my post about Beta Activation. He tried to prove the program isn’t as evil as everyone saysand mentioned they’re running this side project. Construction wrapped up a month ago, and they’re not really loud about it yet. It’s run with Second Chance, they’re co-financing it. And BA wants to keep researching around it."
"Hold on. What kind of project?"
"Outside the city, BA got government land that was supposed to be for some military purpose. But now they’re building a closed community there, basically a small town. Houses, shops, preschool, school. Fifty families already live there. All betas with alphas who made it through the BA fertility induction program and are tied to Second Chance."
Salt just stares. "You’re not messing with me? That’s real?"
"It’s real, and brand new. They’re offering pregnant betas and betas with kids a place built for them. No omegas tempting alphas. Doctors who actually know what hormonally awakened betas need. They’ll be monitored so they can study beta pregnancies more closely."
"That’s… damn. I thought once couples leave, that’s it. Box checked. Goodbye!"
"Yeah, that’s what I thought too. But Blue Lowen kept pushing for more. He insisted they needed follow-up research on betas whose hormones had already become active. A lot of people from Second Chance ended up basically locked in their alpha partners’ houses. Cut off, wearing ankle monitors. They couldn’t even walk their kids to school. No playgrounds. Nothing. Blue kept pushing, so the BA people and Second Chance teamed up. He ran it through some committee. Government money helped."
Salt stays quiet. His brows knit together. He looks confused, but there’s something else there too. A flicker of hope.
"Wow," he murmurs. "Your uncle almost blew Blue up, and now you’re telling me the guy might actually be decent."
I snort and lift Salt’s hand a little. "But I’m different, I don’t hate the Lowens. If not for Blue, we wouldn’t even be here."
"So you think they’d let us in?"
"Maybe. The catch is the money. The housing part is commercial. Most alphas sold their old houses to buy into that compound. The state covers medical care and security, but the rest? You need cash. A lot of it, just to be allowed in."
