“Can we go see him now?” he asked. He wanted to see his dad for himself.
“That’s the plan. He’s up on the third floor,” his mother said, taking his arm and walking him into the building.
They made their way up to his dad’s room, and when they stepped inside Chad felt a lump in his throat. Seeing his dad in the hospital bed with all kinds of wires and machines hooked up to his body was awful.
“Hey son, it’s good to see you,” his dad said, sitting up in the bed. He waved Chad over for a hug. Feeling big and clumsy, Chad reached down and hugged him, worried that he was going to mess up the wires.
“So how long do you have to stay here?” Chad asked when they broke the hug. His dad shrugged.
“The doctor said I can probably go home tomorrow if things keep going smoothly.”
Chad was relieved. If they were letting him go home, they had to be pretty sure he was going to be fine.
“But I don’t want to talk about me. I’m going to be fine. What’s new with you?”
Chad blinked. Peter was the first thing that popped into his mind, but telling his parents about what may or may not be a one-night stand was out of the question.
“Nothing much. I made friends with a guy in my building, and I’ve signed up for classes at the training center. Other than that… I haven’t been doing much.”
“What does your new friend do? What’s his name? Is he an alpha?” his mother asked, pulling up two chairs and angling them toward the bed. Chad sat down, preparing himself for what he knew was going to be a near-endless barrage of questions.
“He’s a computer science graduate student, his name is Topher, and yes, he is an alpha.”
Chad knew they would be happy that Topher wasn’t military or that he didn’t work for Tank Security. They weren’t afraid to tell him exactly what they thought he should be doing, and it didn’tinvolve working as a private contractor. According to them, Chad should be going to college.
“Computer science, that sounds interesting,” his dad said. Chad didn’t have to guess where this was going.
“Is that something you think you’d like to do?” his mother added.
And they were off.
***
Chad and his mom went home after a few hours, his dad practically chasing them out of the room. They drove home, and while his mother showered and got changed, Chad went up to his old bedroom to put away his things.
Stepping into his childhood room after being away was always hilarious. As a teenager he’d been fiercely territorial of the space, any intrusion making him aggressive and unreasonable, and despite his parents’ vehement objections he’d plastered every inch of the walls with posters of omegas.
Not naked ones, obviously, but clad so scantily they might as well be. And all of them in heat. Looking around the room, everywhere Chad turned there was a picture of an omega staring back at him with a look like his knot was the only thing that could set the world right.
As a teenager it had made him feel powerful and strong, but now it just made him horny.
Unpacking his clothes—three pairs of underwear, two T-shirts and an extra pair of jeans—Chad kicked off his boots and lay down on his old twin bed.
He wondered sometimes what it would have been like if his dad were an alpha. If it would have been easier for him, or if the presence of a stronger alpha would have grated on him and made him even more territorial.
He wouldn’t have had to put up with as many lectures on omega rights, that was for sure. Chad still cringed when he thought back to the fight he’d had with his dad when he was seventeen and had saved up enough money to visit an omega club.
He’d stormed out, furious that a beta would try to deny him his natural right. Filled with self-righteous indignation, he hadmarched up to the club with his friends, bought his ticket, and then been firmly turned away by the alphas guarding the door.
Apparently, the fake ID he’d bought wasn’t nearly as good as advertised.
Chad had been so humiliated he hadn’t talked to his parents for a month.
There was a knock on the door, and Chad was startled out of his reminiscing.
“Chad?” his mother called. “I’m ordering us some food. Would you like pizza or Chinese?”
Chad jumped off the bed and opened the door, stepping out in the hallway. His mother was wearing a fluffy bathrobe with her wet hair combed back from her face, looking much better after her shower.
