“That’s twisted, Valen,” his mom said. “What did you do to him, Fred? You raised him wrong, didn’t you?”
“Wasn’t me, damn you,” Dad said. “You were the one who upped and left.”
“Maybe if you weren’t so uptight, Valen might have turned out better,” Mom snapped.
Valen felt it again, the judgment they heaped on him, on each other. It had been nothing like that with Sam and Harris—they had been a thing, the three of them, even if it wasn’t the regular alpha-omega relationship.
Had Valen been pretending to be an omega? Who knew?
It wasn’t even important, anyway, when Harris had smirked at him, and they’d sat on the couch in companionable silence, flipping through channels on the TV. Harris had taken Valen home from work once, when Valen had fallen sick. Far better than the fights his parents had gotten into.
Looking at his mom’s scowl, Valen missed Sam, suddenly. Missed Sam’s grin, his kindness, the way he’d taken Valen into his arms, never once judging what Valen had shared with Harris.
I love you, Sam had said when Harris knotted in Valen, his hands cradling Valen’s face.
Valen’s heart kicked. Missing Sam felt like missing a limb—you never knew what you had, until it was gone. And now the ache in his chest yawned open, painful and yearning. What was Valen without his alpha and omega?
He should’ve realized it earlier. Should’ve fought harder for Sam, instead of letting Sam chase him away. He’d learn to love that baby. He’d work however many hours it took. Valen trusted Sam to return to Harris, but what if he hadn’t?
What if Sam gave birth all alone, with no alpha there with him?
Valen’s gut twisted. Couldn’t bear the thought of having no Sam in his life. Didn’t want to be without his omega again.
He turned toward the office door, needing to do something.
“Where are you going?” his father snapped.
“Are you stepping out right now, Valen?” Mom asked. “Fred, I can’t believe you raised him this poorly.”
“Gods know you should’ve been the one to raise him,” Dad said. “Except he would’ve turned out worse. Maybe he’d be stuck in an alley right now, beat up and unconscious.”
Mom bared her teeth. “You’re the one beating people up, Fred. Any other alpha would’ve been better than you.”
Yeah, Harris was a ton better than Dad. Except Harris had also left Sam, hadn’t he? Hadn’t Harris promised to protect Sam?
How dare Harris leave the omega he’d bonded with, when he’d wanted to be the baby’s father?
I can’t believe you abandoned us. I can’t believe you called me your alpha.
Hot anger rose through Valen’s chest. He yanked the door open, glancing at the roster on the adjacent wall. He needed to punch something. Needed to get out of here, stop listening to his parents.
That was nothing like what an alpha-omega bond should be.
Valen had a perfect bond, and he’d gone and fucked it up. Gods, I’ve been so stupid!
“I called you here, Valen,” Dad snapped.
“I’m going to find my family,” Valen said. “The one that doesn’t include you.”
Valen couldn’t do this by himself. He couldn’t spend the next decade wondering what had happened to Sam, whether their baby grew up okay. He needed his omega in his life, and his alpha, too. Couldn’t keep living with this hole in this chest.
Right now, he wanted to punch Harris to his senses. If Harris didn’t take Valen back, at least he ought to care for Sam.
What came after... Valen would figure it out in time.
34
Harris
Harris slid his key into his locker, pulling the door open.
He hadn’t been sleeping well. Hard to, when the bed was far too big, when the house was silent whenever he was home. He’d taken to leaving the TV on when he ate his breakfast, shoving pillows into bed next to him.
It was lonely, and he hadn’t realized how much he’d enjoyed Valen’s company, how much cozier the bed had been with both Sam and Valen.
Twice a day, at least, Harris remembered that morning in bed, when Valen had been thrusting into Sam, and Harris had walked away from them.
Shit, he’d been a bastard.
But it wasn’t like Sam and Valen needed him—they had each other now. Harris had switched his shifts at the station, so Valen worked on different days he did. Couldn’t bear the thought of smelling dahlia on Valen’s skin, thinking about both of them continuing without him.
And now he was old and weak, his heart far too tied to Sam and Valen.
It wasn’t quite as despairing as Nicholas’ death. But it came close, when Harris imagined Sam laughing with Valen, Valen cuddling his omega somewhere far away.
They’d left a few of their things in the mansion. It had hurt that very first day, when Harris had returned home and found food for his birthday party in the fridge—tubs of whipped cream and chocolate, sliced tomatoes and rinsed lettuce slices. There had been a chocolate cake, too, Happy Birthday Harris! written in red icing.
Harris had cleared away the streamers and balloons, and brought the food to the station. Couldn’t bear to eat any of it.
Sam had left his cheese wheel, too, and Valen had left the exercise machines. For the past two Saturdays, Harris had been flipping the wheel on Sam’s behalf. Didn’t want it to get moldy, even if no one was here to eat it.
Sometimes, he thought he heard Sam’s footfalls, and sometimes, Harris would step into the gym, expecting Valen on the treadmill.
Fred had given Harris the side-eye at work, but Harris found that he no longer cared. Not when he’d lost the child in Sam’s belly, when the only people he talked to outside work was himself.
Harris thought about switching schedules so he glimpsed Valen again. Then he dismissed the idea. Didn’t need to get V into more trouble.
The locker room door opened.
Harris looked down at his things, finding the ultrasound picture at the back of his locker. He’d
