Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 60378 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60378 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
It still didn’t make this conversation any easier.
Michael drew in a deep breath. If he couldn’t tell the truth to his mother, the person who was supposed to love him unconditionally, he wouldn’t be able to tell it to anyone.
“I’m not an alpha anymore,” Michael said, his voice sounding like sandpaper. He couldn’t look her in the eye. “I was exposed to an alien toxin while I was offworld. It changed me. It changed my body chemistry enough to shift my designation to omega.” That sounded a lot better than confessing that Anthony’s cock had turned him into an omega.
Silence fell over the room.
Michael chewed the inside of his cheek, dread twisting his gut into tight, trembling knots.
He expected disbelief. He expected questions.
But his mother surprised him when she finally spoke.
“Ah,” she said faintly. “That explains a lot.”
Michael’s gaze snapped to her face. “What?”
Her lips were pursed as she eyed him thoughtfully. “I have noticed that you’ve been acting differently since you returned from that trip. Your scent started softening. It was a subtle, gradual thing, but I’m your mother. I know your scent better than anyone. I knew something had changed.”
“You didn’t say anything,” he said hoarsely.
“It clearly troubled you—you became twitchy when I mentioned your changed scent—so I pretended to be oblivious.” Her dark eyes were soft. “I was waiting for you to speak about it when you felt ready, though I obviously didn’t imagine the extent of it. Is... Is the change permanent?”
Michael could only nod, unable to speak. His throat felt tight, his tongue too big. Was she disappointed? Unsettled? Disgusted?
“Don’t be silly, darling,” she said, as though reading his thoughts. “Of course I’m not disappointed. I could never be disappointed in you.” She smiled wryly. “It will take some getting used to, I admit, but I’m nothing if not adaptable. And I suppose it’s a good thing most of the Terlaine fortune is not entailed to alphas—I’d hate to depend on the charity of your cousin Jerome.”
A harsh laugh left Michael’s throat. “Nice priorities, Mother.”
She smiled, but she couldn’t hide the concern in her eyes. “People will not be kind when they find out,” she said quietly. “I take it you’re not going to hide it?”
Michael shook his head. “I thought of hiding it, but it doesn’t feel right. I can’t live a lie all my life.”
She nodded, her lips pursed in thought. Her expression became shrewd, penetrating. “And it’s the only reason you want to reveal the truth?”
Licking his dry lips, Michael hesitated. “Not the only reason. I want to—I want...”
“You want Anthony Blake,” she said. At Michael’s stunned silence, she laughed a little. “Did you really think I had no idea what was going on in my own house? He’s always here these days, Michael. And you always reek of him.”
Michael flushed. “You didn’t say anything,” he said, though he’d seen her look at them oddly sometimes.
“Darling,” she said with a pinched expression. “Alpha-alpha sexual relationships are hardly spoken about in polite company. I was willing to turn a blind eye, as long as you married and continued the line. But that duty will now fall to Jerome.”
Right. Jerome would be the Earl of Terlaine, since the title was entailed to alphas. The thought didn’t make Michael feel much of anything. The title had always been more of a burden to him. His financial position wouldn’t change significantly—he would lose the portion of the estate entailed to the title, but most of the properties and businesses would remain his.
“Are you...” His mother seemed to hesitate, her expression uncomfortable. “Can you even have children like this?”
Michael’s face felt on fire. “My doctor said my biology isn’t any different from born omegas,” he said stiffly, unable to look her in the eye. He felt completely comfortable with the thought of being bred during the act of sex, but when he was away from Anthony, it was… definitely weird.
“I see,” she said, and smiled. “I’m glad.”
Right. This was the most uncomfortable conversation of his life, and Michael wanted it over yesterday.
“Right,” he said, clearing his throat a little.
“So, has Anthony confessed his feelings for you?”
Michael found himself blinking at her, unsure what to say. Anthony’s words had strongly implied that, but it hadn’t exactly been a love confession.
“Sort of.”
“Sort of?” his mother said incredulously before narrowing her eyes. “Well, that’s completely unacceptable. That won’t do.”
“Mother—”
“No, darling,” she said. “Since you were an alpha all your life, you simply don’t understand that you can’t allow an alpha to take you for granted. He should be begging for the privilege of courting you, not making half-hearted ‘sort-of’ proposals.”
Michael laughed. “Sorry, but no. I’m not going to play hard to get when I know exactly what I want. Maybe it’s not a very omega-like behavior, but I’m not going to change the way I act just because my designation is different now.”