Things scraped on the bedside table. The light came on, golden-bright and stinging. Wyatt squeezed his eyes shut, whimpering. “Ugh, stop that.”
“Can’t.” Raph leaned back, his chest gleaming with sweat. Through his fingers, Wyatt watched as Raph’s gaze latched onto his neck, his face drawing tight. “I... Looks like I bit you. Right over that bastard’s mark.”
Wyatt’s breath caught. “Is it bleeding?”
“Yeah.”
“Fuck.”
Wyatt dragged his arm across his eyes, shutting out the lamplight. If Raph hadn’t broken skin, it wouldn’t have counted as a bonding mark.
Carefully, he pressed his fingertips to his neck, where his scent gland throbbed. His fingers came away red with blood.
Raph had left a bonding mark on him. A goddamn bonding mark. Wyatt’s stomach dropped. “Does this mean we’re bondmates?”
Because he sure as hell didn’t know what else it meant. People didn’t bite each other’s scent glands unless they meant to bond. And when everyone else saw Wyatt’s scab, and the subsequent silvery scar, they’d know he’d been newly claimed. What was he to say to his daughter? His parents? As though the news of the baby wasn’t terrible enough.
“I’d be your alpha, you know,” Raph said, stroking Wyatt’s side. “It’s not like I have a family.”
Wyatt believed him, but his heart pattered anyway. “I know. It’s just... It’s not you, Raph. It’s everyone else. I have a daughter. I can’t put Hazel through all that damn scandal. I don’t need Grandma coming down on her for that.”
Raph’s eyes flashed. Wyatt knew he still remembered their past, the times Grandma had grabbed Raph by the arm, whispering at him to stay away from Wyatt. As the owner of the Alpha Associates Bank, Grandma liked her reputation intact. That meant having no rumors of incest amongst her grandsons, even if she didn’t acknowledge Wyatt as one of her own.
Raph’s grip tightened on his waist. “I’m gonna stay by your side. If you don’t want to acknowledge me as your bondmate, that’s fine, too.”
Wyatt gulped. It was an option.
Raph sat calmly, his knot inside Wyatt, Wyatt’s legs splayed over his thighs. The lamplight gleamed on his tanned skin, throwing his pecs into a contrast of light and shadow, his abs starkly defined. He was beautiful. Plenty of omegas out there would want him, omegas better and more wholesome than Wyatt.
Wyatt swallowed, glancing away. “I can’t trap you in this. I said no condoms, and the baby happened. It’s really not your fault.”
“It’s still my baby,” Raph said. “And I left that bonding mark on you—that’s my fault. We’re even.”
Wyatt snorted. “A mark isn’t the same as a baby, Raph. We’re talking about a whole new life.”
“I want to see that child,” Raph said. He slipped his fingers into Wyatt’s hand, squeezing him. “I can’t think of a better omega to spend my life with.”
Wyatt’s throat closed up tight. “What?”
“I mean it.” Raph lifted Wyatt’s hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckle. “I haven’t found an omega I wanted, Wy. But now that I think about it, maybe I was waiting for you.”
Wyatt’s heart sank. It didn’t matter that he felt the same way. “We’re still brothers!”
“Stepbrothers. Remember? You kept saying it when we were younger.” Raph’s breath skimmed over his hand, his eyes dark with honesty. “I don’t mind if you keep this a secret. But I’m gonna be there for you, okay? I don’t want you to think you have to raise this baby alone.”
Raph reached forward, pressing his palm to Wyatt’s belly. His warmth soaked through Wyatt’s skin.
Eyes burning, Wyatt looked down at their clasped hands, their joined hips. This still felt right and wrong, and he couldn’t tell which instinct he should follow. “I don’t think I love you as... as a lover. A boyfriend.”
“Does it matter? I care for you. You know I’ll treat you and Hazel better than that bastard ever did.”
Wyatt knew that. He closed his eyes, tipping his head back into the pillows. For so long, he’d wanted a better dad for his daughter. Someone other than him, who couldn’t control his meltdowns in front of her. “I don’t know what to tell Hazel.”
Raph brushed his thumb over Wyatt’s hand, his gaze turning inward with thought. “Do you think she’ll resent you? She knows who I am.”
“Maybe.” Wyatt groaned, his stomach twisting. He’d taught her well, and maybe... she would accept him and Raph. Maybe. But that wasn’t the worst part of it. “Gods, I can’t put her through the drama.”
“We’ll keep her out of the drama,” Raph said.
His knot receded in Wyatt’s body, and Wyatt whined when Raph slid out of him.
Raph glanced at the alarm clock. “Is 3 AM your usual bedtime? It’s kind of fucking late.”
“I try to sleep by two.”
Raph winced. “I’ll sleep on the couch. Don’t want to throw you off your schedule.”
Wyatt opened his mouth to answer, pausing. After tonight, after the news of the pregnancy and the bonding mark, he didn’t want to sleep alone. Raph’s touch was comforting, and Wyatt needed him close, needed to be held. So he knew he wouldn’t be raising another baby alone. “Is it... okay if you sleep here tonight?”
Raph studied him. He pulled Wyatt into his arms, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Is it okay for you? You’re the one who has to talk to Hazel tomorrow.”
Wyatt sighed, closing his eyes. He didn’t know. But Hazel liked Raph, and maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Raph spent a night with him, a willing alpha who cared. “It’s fine with me.”
Raph kissed his shoulder. “Okay if I mark you?”
Wyatt’s heart skipped. Raph wanted to lay claim to him. He’d forgotten how nice it was to belong, to wear an alpha’s scent. “I don’t know.”
“Okay. Then I won’t.”
But the offer hung between them, and as Wyatt settled back into Raph’s chest, he realized that this was the first time in years, that he had an alpha to rely on again.
10
