Spike turned to catch his hand. “I’ll come with. Kai probably wants some alone time with his new brother.”
Kai shot Spike an incredulous look.
Spike grinned. “I didn’t mean that way,” he said. Only to have Kai’s ears turn pink, and Greg laugh. “That’s just for me.”
“Really?” Greg asked.
Kai sighed. “That’s not what I want to discuss on a first meeting. Let’s talk about basketball instead.”
Greg shot them a grin. “I used to be on the school team.”
“Me, too,” Kai said. “But your dad wanted to expel me, so I went professional. We’re in the middle of a season right now. I’m playing G-league.”
Greg’s eyes grew wide. “Which team?”
Spike tugged Micah away, a bounce in his step.
“What, aren’t you going to be jealous?” Micah teased lightly as they headed down another corridor to the professors’ offices.
Spike laughed. “Me, jealous? I know Kai inside-out, Micah. He doesn’t want anyone else.”
Micah knew that, too. “I’m just happy that Kai’s found some blood-family that’s not Bernard.”
Spike shrugged. “I’ll take a while to warm up to Greg. That’s fine, though. We have time. What were you going to—”
They turned a corner, Spike crashing into someone else. The person yelped. A box tumbled onto the floor, hundreds of nuts and bolts scattering across the tiles.
Spike caught the person—a professor, Micah realized. Perry Larkin from the computer science department. Omega, thirty-ish, with a specialization in robotics.
“Sorry,” Perry said, jerking back, only to step on some scattered nuts. He slipped and flailed again, and Spike grasped both his arms this time.
“Gods,” Spike said, holding the professor until he regained his balance. “Stop moving. I’ll get the stuff for you.”
Micah smiled at that. Spike was generous, giving. But Perry seemed uncomfortable at the contact. “If you’d just release me...” Perry winced.
Spike sighed, setting Perry against a wall. He kicked away some nuts and bolts, then made sure Perry stood on that empty tile. “I’ll fix this,” Spike said, glancing over his shoulder at Micah. “And you’re not supposed to help.”
Micah chuckled, rubbing his belly. “I’ll just stand here and enjoy the view.”
Spike rolled his eyes. Perry frowned, looking between Spike and Micah. “Micah, the staff’s been talking about you.”
That caught Micah’s attention. “Me?”
Perry nodded. “You... bonded with your student,” he said carefully. “There’s been word about Bernard firing you. And also rumors about who will take over the college, if Bernard gets in trouble with the law. And there’s—” Perry lowered his voice “—bets going on to see if you’d be hired again.”
Micah choked on his spit. “What?”
“Have you submitted your application?” Perry whispered, glancing down the hallways. “Not that I’ve got anything in the betting pool. I’m just... genuinely curious.”
Before Micah could answer, Perry glanced at Micah’s belly, and a tiny smile tugged on his lips. “How far along are you?”
“Seven months,” Micah said. “It’s my second.”
Perry brightened—his smile lit up his eyes. He was a pretty omega, Micah realized.
Perry hugged himself. “I’ve got a son. He’s...”
He looked between Spike and Micah, and then at Micah’s belly. And Micah had the sneaking feeling that Perry’s child had been conceived with someone he shouldn’t have slept with, either.
But with the way Perry had no alpha scent on him, only a whiff of tulip... Was he struggling with being a single dad? Micah’s chest ached. He’d fumbled with raising York himself, but he’d had some monetary help from Cole over the years.
Carefully, Micah slid his feet across the tiled floor.
“Micah!” Spike glowered from a few yards away. He was in the middle of dropping handfuls of nuts and bolts into Perry’s box. “I told you not to move!”
“I’ll be fine,” Micah said, crossing the last few steps to Perry. Then he pulled Perry into a tight hug. “If you ever need any help,” Micah whispered, “there’s a few of us around who are willing to lend a hand.”
Perry stared at him, his lower lip trembling. “Thanks.”
Micah held him for a while, until Perry finally relaxed. Then he asked, “Do you think I should reapply for my position here? I’d thought... I didn’t have a chance of getting it back.”
“Rumors are that Bernard’s son might take over as college president,” Perry whispered, glancing surreptitiously at the hallway entrances. “It’s all just hearsay, though.”
“Oh.” If Greg Hastings became college president... Then it might not be so difficult for Micah to get his job back, after all. “Thanks. I needed to hear that.”
Perry gave an uncertain smile. “You’re welcome.”
Spike finally returned to their sides, the box of nuts and bolts sealed. “There,” he told Perry, handing the box over. “Don’t drop it again.”
Perry smiled gratefully. When he looked at Micah again, he seemed... almost envious. Did he long for an alpha, too? “Thanks,” Perry said. “And before I forget... Congrats on the baby, and your marriage.”
Micah stared, his heart stopping. “Marriage?”
Next to him, Spike’s eyes grew wide.
Perry tensed. “Not marriage? But the rumors...”
Micah coughed, a flush rising through his face. It really was too soon for them to be talking about this. “We’ve just bonded. That’s all.”
“Oh.” Perry bowed his head, turning away in embarrassment. “I’ve made a mistake. Sorry. I really didn’t mean it.”
“It’s fine, Perry,” Micah said softly. “Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
Perry gave a shaky smile. “Good luck with everything,” he said. Then he hurried off, leaving Micah looking at the floor, and Spike glancing up at the ceiling.
“So, marriage,” Spike mumbled.
Micah rubbed his hand over his belly. They’d just bonded. They hadn’t even settled into living together as an official trio yet. “Let’s not talk about it for now,” Micah said. “Maybe when Kai gets back after the season?”
“Yeah, okay.” Spike nodded hard, still not looking at Micah. His entire face was red, though. “That sounds like a good idea.”
45
Spike
“Say ‘I am beautiful’,” Spike murmured, kissing down Micah’s sweaty, salty neck.
Micah panted, his body bare against Spike’s front, Kai’s face filling the laptop screen in front of them. Kai raised his eyebrows, waiting.
Micah sighed. Over Micah’s shoulder, Spike caught the
