“He’s pregnant,” Kai said, slipping out through the arena door for some fresh air.
“I fucking know.” Spike growled, a twisted snarl that made Kai’s heart ache.
Kai closed his eyes, itching to reach across the line and grab Spike’s nape. So he could hold his brother, and comfort him somehow. “Think you can convince him to get back together?”
“No. He’s gonna get York to throw our things out if we don’t move.”
“Fuck.” Kai wracked his mind. “Rent the apartment next door. It’s empty, isn’t it?”
“But he’s just gonna hate me if he sees my face any more.” Spike’s breath trembled, like he was trying not to cry. Fuck. “Please come back. I need you. Micah needs you, too.”
“I can’t.” Kai’s heart thumped. He wanted to hold Spike again. Wanted to breathe in Spike’s scent, and mark him. Except Spike really belonged with Micah, and Micah was too upset to see it right now. “I’ll call Micah and convince him to give you a chance. I can spot him some cash, too.”
“But what about you?” Spike sucked in a shaky breath. “I lost you your omega, Kai.”
“He isn’t mine,” Kai said.
Just like he expected, Spike snapped, “He’s fucking yours. What do you mean, he isn’t?”
Kai swallowed. He needed to tell Spike. So Spike could go ahead and make up with Micah, instead of waiting for Kai. “I’m stepping out of the relationship. You were doing good with him.”
Spike was silent for a second; Kai could almost hear Spike’s heart break. Kai hated himself for it.
“Fuck you, Kai. You love him. You can’t abandon him. You can’t abandon me.”
Kai looked at the sidewalk, struggling to breathe. When he’d thought about leaving, it hadn’t seemed quite as permanent as saying it aloud to Spike. “He needs you more. Get him back.”
“He needs you, too.”
“He’ll need the money more than needs me,” Kai heard himself saying. “I’m the only one who actually has a job right now.”
Spike fell into a grudging silence. “What if that’s your baby he’s carrying?”
“I’m paying for it either way. Micah needs someone with him. Go back. He’ll take you in.”
“That’s it? And—and you’re breaking up with me, too?” Spike’s voice cracked.
Kai’s instincts screamed at him to drop everything and go home. Hold Spike. Hold Micah. Shove them back together. Except it would be easier if he wasn’t involved, if they just got back together without him. Then they could have the baby they were so excited about, and Kai could stay on the sidelines, giving them money.
Fuck, that hurt.
“Yeah,” Kai said. It wasn’t like he’d be a good boyfriend, anyway. He hadn’t been around them for nearly three months. “I have games lined up. Can’t leave at-will or they’ll fire me.”
“You’re a damn coward,” Spike growled. “I never realized you were one.”
Kai closed his eyes, his throat too tight to swallow. “I’m just doing what I think is best for all of us.”
“No, you aren’t. If you loved us that much, you’d be here.”
Kai thought about the house for Spike, the rings he’d thought fleetingly about ordering. He thought about their shared bank account, now with nine grand in it. The sort of thing a good alpha should provide. He couldn’t give them more of that if he moved back right now.
Hell, he should be focusing on his career. He wasn’t going to end up like his father was.
“Sorry,” Kai said, the words bitter on his tongue. “I can’t come home.”
“I hate you.” Spike’s voice was quiet, barely audible.
Then Spike hung up, and his words echoed in Kai’s mind, wedging themselves into the deepening crack of Kai’s heart.
Spike had never, through the years they’d been together, ever said those words to Kai. Spike had meant what he’d said. And that pierced through Kai’s chest like nothing else did.
I fucked up. Or maybe it had been a long time coming, and Kai just hadn’t seen it until it was too late.
34
Micah
“You shouldn’t have done that,” York said from across the kitchen table.
Micah looked up slowly from his cereal, his eyes burning. For a week, now, he hadn’t been sleeping well. The bed in his own room had smelled strange and unused. The apartment was far too empty, too quiet. Every time he turned, he expected to see Spike stepping through the doorway, a grin on his face. He expected to feel Kai’s arms wrapping around him, Kai rumbling as he sniffed at Micah’s hair.
The only comfort Micah had, was that Spike was with Kai now, that they were both happy together. Except there had been no word on either of their Facebook accounts—had they blocked him? They’d moved in together somewhere, right?
“Done what?” Micah asked tiredly, his heart sore.
“Left them.”
It was the last thing he expected his son to say. Micah breathed out the ache in his chest, meeting York’s eyes. “You can’t be serious.”
York finished his cereal, then spooned some from Micah’s bowl. “Yeah, I am. You look like shit right now.”
Micah flinched.
“I didn’t mean your actual looks.” York clicked his tongue. “I mean you seemed a lot better when they were around. As much as I hated overhearing all your sex sounds.”
Micah sighed, scrubbing his face. “It’s fine. I’ll get over it.”
“Will you really?” York leaned forward, pinning Micah with his stare. “I’d never seen you that happy in years.”
“I’ve lost my job, York. I don’t feel like talking about anything right now.” Micah stood, hauling his half-finished cereal to the sink. York followed him and exchanged their bowls, scarfing down the remnants of Micah’s breakfast.
Micah had applied to a number of companies since last week. He’d sent out resumes to various businesses in town, and a few colleges in California and the surrounding states. He’d figured that York would remain in Meadowfall to complete his degree, and then maybe he might end up finding an omega, and he wouldn’t need Micah anymore.
“I haven’t heard much from Kai or Spike,” York said. “Kai usually posts his team scores,
