“I knew what Max would do to me, and I moved in with him.”
“If anyone says you deserve it, I’ll punch their heads in.” Raph bared his teeth, eyes flashing. “What happened in the piano room was something we did by choice. It wasn’t wrong. Don’t believe that bitch, damn it. You didn’t deserve the shit Max did to you.”
Wyatt thought about Max, and Grandma, and trembled.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” Raph muttered. “They hurt you, Wy. I should’ve stopped it, and I never did. It’s... it’s why I never showed up for so long. I just... couldn’t face you as an alpha.”
Wyatt shook his head, slipping his arms around Raph’s back. “You’ve done plenty, Raph. Thanks for just being here.”
Raph pressed a kiss to his temple, his forehead crinkled. “I promise I’ll be better about staying around. I promise I’m not gonna fail you again.”
“I believe you,” Wyatt said. This, finally, felt right again.
“Does that mean... you’re my omega? For real?” Raph leaned back, looking hopefully into his eyes.
Wyatt’s heart thudded. There was no answer that would truly show how he felt, except one. He reached down, circling Raph’s wrist with his fingers. Then he brought Raph’s forearm up to his lips, pressed kisses along his skin.
Raph froze, his eyes growing wide. “Wy—”
Wyatt nuzzled the scent gland at his wrist. “You asked if I wanted to be your omega. Will this prove it?”
“Gods, I love you,” Raph whispered. Wyatt’s heart swelled. He loved this man. They might be stepbrothers, and they might have believed their relationship was wrong. But Raph had stayed, comforted Wyatt, had returned after Wyatt tried to send him away.
His skin was smooth against Wyatt’s tongue, soft against his teeth. Wyatt bit down lightly on Raph’s scent gland, meeting his gaze. Raph watched with disbelieving eyes, his breath shallow.
“Okay?” Wyatt said.
“You don’t have to ask.”
“I want to,” he said. “Someone gave me that choice once.”
Raph smiled, his eyes warm. “Yeah, I want this.”
Wyatt bit down, hard enough to break skin. Raph jerked beneath him, hissing, his chest heaving. “Fuck!”
He watched Raph, slowly releasing Raph’s wrist. Where he’d bitten, there was now a line of pink teeth marks where the skin had torn, and tiny droplets of blood starting to well up.
“Mine,” Wyatt whispered, dragging his own wrist down Raph’s forearm, marking his alpha with his scent.
Raph groaned, leaning in to kiss him. Musk coiled from his skin. Wyatt met him halfway, opened for Raph, and Raph slid into his mouth.
“Gods, I swear I’ll never leave you again,” Raph whispered, claiming him. He dragged his own wrists down Wyatt’s jaw, his throat, down his arms and his sides, to his belly. Then Raph paused, his palms on Wyatt’s abdomen. “Is the baby mine?”
Wyatt held his breath. Raph had kissed his belly, without even knowing for sure whose child it was. And that was generous of him. “If it isn’t yours... would you mind?”
“I’d love it all the same,” Raph said, pressing their foreheads together. “And I’d treat it as my own.”
Wyatt brushed a slow, sweet kiss to his lips. “It’s yours, Raph. I slept with no one else but you.” His face burned. “I said it so you wouldn’t feel obliged to stay—”
Raph kissed him harder, hot and hungry. “Don’t ever—” Raph kissed him again “—think I’m gonna—” another kiss “—leave you. Not over whose baby it is, and not ever.”
Wyatt sagged into his embrace, his heart pattering. Raph’s teak scent enveloped him, and this was good, this little bubble they were in. “Does this... also mean we’re getting married? Are you going to be Hazel’s dad? She’s... not happy that we fought.”
Raph grimaced. “About Hazel—I’ll make it up to her. Sorry. I don’t even know what I can do.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Wyatt said. “Take her out to dinner, or something. You’ll need to prove yourself.”
“That works.” Raph gathered Wyatt in his arms, tipping him backward. There was a hard line in his pants where their hips met; Raph had been hard ever since Wyatt left his bonding mark. “This isn’t much of a proposal,” he whispered against Wyatt’s throat. “I’ll get a ring soon. Will you marry me?”
Wyatt chuckled, his heart warming. Things weren’t fixed yet. But Raph was promising to stay by his side, and despite the difficulties ahead, Wyatt knew where he belonged. “Yes, Raph. Yes.”
Raph smiled slowly, the corners of his mouth lifting. Musk rolled off his skin. He pressed a kiss to Wyatt’s scent gland, right over the bonding mark. “Good,” he whispered, his breath hot. “Wanna mark you again. “Think we have time for that?”
Raph sucked on Wyatt’s scent gland, long and slow. A jolt sparked down Wyatt’s spine, made him arch. “Yes,” he hissed. “We have time for a little more.”
“Good,” Raph murmured, scooping Wyatt up into his arms. “Gonna make you mine again.”
In that moment, everything was right with the world again.
30
Raph
Much later, when they were in Wyatt’s bed, the sheets tangled around their calves, Raph pressed a kiss to Wyatt’s damp cheek. “Do you regret this?”
Wyatt sighed. “I don’t know,” he said, draping his arm across Raph’s chest. “There’ll be repercussions if you stay. You should be at work.”
“Fuck work.”
Because Raph had his omega back in his arms. Wyatt had left his bonding mark on Raph’s wrist. He’d forgiven Raph. His belly rested snugly against Raph’s hip, and it was their baby between them, healthy and safe. Raph’s chest had never felt this full in his life.
Wyatt frowned, propping himself up on his elbow. “Grandma will get you for skipping work, won’t she?”
“She doesn’t know I’m leaving yet.”
But even then, leaving Alpha Associates came with a price. Raph still had no idea how he’d pay off the debt.
“I can chip in for the loan,” Wyatt said, as though he’d read Raph’s mind. “I’ll ask around. Maybe Sam or Penny might have some extra they can spare. They’ve lent me money in the past.”
Raph grimaced. It was a lot—Penny hadn’t been
