~ Liam Hall ~
Gazing up at the pristine house that I have known for nearly ten years, it feels so good to be home and here to spend time with my fiancé after being gone for so long. I know that he wishes that I could be home with him more, at least to the point where we would be able to feel like we wouldn’t go nuts without one another.
It pains me to know that he has gone through his heats without me, but I always make sure to send him back some of my clothing with my pheromones on it, wanting him to see that I would be by his side even when I can’t be there with him. This past assignment, I honestly thought that I would be gone for less than three months. I ended up having to be away for nearly a year which is the longest I have ever gone without being by his side.
Coming back here for Thanksgiving and surprising him, I just couldn’t wait to tell him that after this next assignment, I will officially be retiring as a Marine, and I will be getting a job here in town as a trainer for Alphas, Betas, and Omegas who wish to join the Military. The next assignment too will only take two weeks, and then I will be free.
It’s just how it works when we want to get out of the Military in good graces.
I haven’t even told him I was coming either, and I can’t wait to see his face.
Straightening my military outfit, I walk up the sidewalk, seeing how well cut the grass is, and he still has flowers potted outside. Normally, he would be taking them inside and to the basement by now so they wouldn’t get damaged by the winter months coming up. It’s not too cold out which is a little strange for a November in the middle of the United States, but I am not going to complain too much.
Kneeling down on the step, I retrieve the spare key that I’ve had hidden there for years now. I’m not even sure if my Omega even realizes that it is still there, but it just works for me when I want to come home and surprise him. I wave to my next-door neighbor who is watching me, but I am slightly confused when I see him looking at me with pity.
What is that about?
Shaking my head, I decide not to worry about it before I unlock the door and head inside. I am immediately hit in the face with two sets of pheromones ~ that of my fiancé, and also of my best friend. It doesn’t surprise me too much because I have asked him to take care of my fiancé and make sure that he will be okay while I was gone.
I trusted him to do that.
I didn’t understand quite what the mixing of the pheromones meant though.
It could possibly be just because they are around each other often with my best friend being here when I couldn’t be. It seems like neither one of them is here though, so I drop the key into the little basket by the door, deciding to remain in my uniform for the time I am here in case he forgot what I look like.
I smile slightly at my own thoughts.
It’s been a hard year, and the only thing that got me through it was knowing that Kasey is back here waiting for me. In combat, I did end up getting really hurt, and it took me about six months to fully recover. The biggest reason I couldn’t come back home is because the leader was worried that someone would try to come after me and finish the job, and I didn’t want to put Kasey in danger just because I am selfish sometimes.
Especially after everything that we have gone through.
Kasey and I were childhood friends, and even when we manifested into an Alpha and an Omega, we didn’t start officially dating until we were eighteen. At the time, I wasn’t so sure about my feelings for him, but I hated the idea of him being with anyone else. He was not my fated mate, that much I could tell immediately, but I was drawn to him anyways. I loved him then, and I love him now, but with the time apart between us, a part of me just wondered if he had moved on while I was gone.
My Alpha doesn’t feel so attentive to him or his Omega anymore, and I can’t understand it. It just seems like one day, a switch went off in my Alpha and now he wants nothing to do with Kasey. For whatever reason, I think that it’s just because we haven’t been around each other for so long, the distance has put a strain on our relationship. It is the only thing that would even make sense.
I let out a deep sigh, picking up a picture frame from our senior prom. It’s crazy to think how much has changed, but I wouldn’t do anything differently. After dealing with my parents who were complete assholes, I knew that I wanted to go into the military, and Kasey knew this, too. He supports me through it, and he wanted me to follow my dream while he follows his.
We got engaged after my first assignment, but we haven’t officially marked and mated one another. I understood where Kasey was coming from when he told me he wanted to wait until I was finished with assignments and on our wedding day. Throughout the years, I kept asking him to make sure it is really what he wanted from me and he kept telling me yes. He didn’t want to raise a baby without me near him, and it broke my heart. As I near thirty, I just know now is the right time to do so.
Going into the living room, I sit down on the couch, seeing a lot of boxes everywhere. I thought about being nosy and peeking through them since Kasey isn’t a bit of a spender and I didn’t see money withdrawn in my account where I told Kasey to use so he didn’t have to worry so much. I want to take care of him while I’m away, but it seems like he hasn’t used my account to pay any bills either.
It really is a strange occurrence, and I don’t know what to make of it.
Pursing my lips, I can’t help but notice a lot of our photos together are no longer there. Glancing around, I see that he hasn’t just put it in a different spot but it seems to be gone altogether. Did something happen to it? Why wouldn’t he tell me in his letters?
I know that he hasn’t written me much the past year but nothing he ever said would make me worry about a thing. I thought that if something were wrong, he would just come to me and tell me so I can figure out a way to fix it. I know things aren’t always perfect but I always do my best for him.
For us.
In that split second, I hear the front door being unlocked, and my heart leaps in my chest when I think it could be Kasey. I step out of the living room into the hallway, seeing my best friend standing there, a big smile on my face. Nicholas looks absolutely shocked, the bags in his arms confusing me a bit but maybe he went shopping for Kasey.
“Nicholas.” I greet him, taking a step towards him, “how have you been? Surprise!”
Nicholas has been my best friend, and closest friend since we were in middle school. He is an Alpha like me, but we are nearly polar opposites. At six-three, he is a little on the shorter side for an Alpha, but he is tan and muscular from working out and his physical education job at the high school. Nicholas had been a part of the football team with me and he had been my co-captain. His normally shaggy brown hair is cropped a little on the shorter side now and his eyes are a vibrant shade of blue. I have always taken advice from Nicholas, and he has helped me out with so much.
I thought that he would be happy to see me here, but he looks like he is about to have a hernia.
“Liam, what are you doing here?” Nicholas whispers hoarsely, nervously glancing over his shoulder, looking like he wants to run, “I thought you were away on assignment.”
“I was.” I admit, taking another step towards him, “I came back here to surprise Kasey with the great news.”
“Great news?” Nicholas echoes, blocking the doorway, “what’s that?”
“I am retiring from the military and I will be training recruits here in town.” I tell him, glancing past him, wondering where Kasey is, “I know it has been tough on Kasey with me being gone, but I did end up getting badly injured that took me away from him for longer than I wanted. I did it though to keep him safe.”
Nicholas expression becomes extremely pained, and he bows his head slightly, “Liam, I am so sorry.”
My eyebrows furrow together slightly, tilting my head to the side, “sorry? What do you m-“
“Nicholas, why are you just standing there in the way?” Kasey says from behind Nicholas, sounding tired and frustrated, “my feet and back hurt. This baby is killing me every day, I think.”
Baby? What baby?
Nicholas moves out of the way and my eyes land on my fiancé… my extremely pregnant fiancé. His blue eyes meet mine, and he seems to freeze beside Nicholas, his lips parted in surprise. His long, curly red hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail, and his fair, curvy body is covered in baggy clothing, but the prominent bump coming from his body is very noticeable.
It quickly dawns on me that there is no possible way Kasey could be pregnant by me.
And the Alpha’s mark on his neck is like a punch to the gut.
He’s mated to someone else…
“Liam.” Kasey whispers, nervously shifting on his feet, licking his bottom lip, “what are you doing here?”
My eyes are trained on his belly, wracking through my mind.
“I was here to surprise you.” I mumble, feeling like the air around me is being sucked out of my lungs, wanting to just run away from here, “I am retiring from the military. I know I had been gone for a long time… I can’t even blame you…”
Tears well in Kasey’s eyes, and Nicholas puts his arm around Kasey’s shoulders, comforting him. My hands ball into fists as I realize who exactly Kasey mated with, and I don’t even know how to take it. My fiancé and my best friend went behind my back and mated with one another, and Kasey is now pregnant. I can see how Nicholas is looking at Kasey, a worried look in his eyes as an Alpha who is doting on his Omega…
I need to get out of here.
“I’m sorry for disturbing you.” I grumble, desperate to run away from here, “I… I’ll come and get my stuff as soon as possible and get things changed over. I’m just going to assume that our relationship is over, Kasey… For a long while now… Thank you for not telling me while I was over there. I can deal with this.”
I brush past them, ignoring when Kasey calls out to me, trying to get me to stop but I couldn’t. I can’t be around either one of them right now because I feel like I would beat the crap out of Nicholas and demand to know how they could do this to me. My Alpha didn’t seem too surprised, and I’m wondering if this is why my Alpha no longer cared for Kasey. Maybe he knew that Kasey had mated with someone else.
I get into my car, not even blaming him really.
This is my fault in the long run. I left my Omega – my ex-Omega here by himself for over a year even when things were out of my control. I hate it. I hate thinking of this… but so long as they are happy, I guess I can move on and be happy for them.
It just really sucks.
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