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)
“Your best friend is an alpha,” Michael said, threading his fingers through Anthony’s hair.
It was calming. It felt wonderful. Part of him wanted to just lean into the touch and allow himself to believe his mate’s words.
“My best friend is you,” Anthony said. After five years of marriage, it was most certainly true.
Michael smiled but shook his head. “You know what I mean. You’ve been friends with Jon forever.”
“You know it’s different,” Anthony said, pulling a face. “I didn’t have to live with Jon under the same roof. And we were on government-grade suppressants because of the nature of our work, so our alpha instincts were rarely an issue.”
“You got along fine with me,” Michael said. “When I was an alpha, I mean.”
“You’ve always been the exception for me,” Anthony said, taking Michael’s hand and stroking his strong, elegant fingers. “You’ve always been special.”
Michael smiled. “She’s special, too. You love her.”
“I do,” Anthony said, glancing at their sleeping daughter. She was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen. She looked so much like Michael, except for her eyes. It was easy to love her. He would die for her—for her and Michael. “But I remember my mother loving me too when I was a kid. Didn’t stop her from turning into a toxic asshole when I started producing alpha pheromones.”
Michael frowned, looking thoughtful.
Anthony loved that about him—loved that he never dismissed his concerns, always willing to see things from another person’s point of view. It wasn’t about him being an omega; Michael had been like that as an alpha too. Some people were simply more empathetic. Some people were just assholes. Anthony knew he wasn’t the former.
“If you start behaving like a toxic asshole, I’ll put a stop to that,” Michael said. He grinned. “I’ll kick your ass.”
Anthony laughed. “Right. Like you ever could.”
Michael glowered at him playfully, pretending to be offended, before laughing easily. “Fine, I’ll banish you to the couch.”
“That’s a far more effective threat,” Anthony said, winking at him. “Not that you’ll last more than a day without my cock.”
Flushing, Michael shoved at him with a laugh. “Oh, shut up, like you’re any better.”
Laughing, Anthony pulled him into a kiss. “I’m not. That’s why it’s the most effective threat you could come up with.”
Michael was grinning as he kissed back, wrapping his arms around Anthony’s neck and all but climbing into his lap.
“I love you,” he said when they pulled apart, his dark eyes like molten chocolate. “I know you’ll be an amazing father. You know why?”
“Why?” Anthony said, pressing their foreheads together and closing his eyes. Fuck, Michael smelled so good he could drown in his scent.
“The fact that you’re so worried about being a bad father shows that you’ll be a great one. I know instincts are hard to fight, but it’s our choices that make the difference.” Michael smiled wistfully. “If I’d ended up on Belith with another alpha, if I’d been put in that situation with another alpha, I wouldn’t have done what I did. I wouldn’t have gone against my instincts to save another alpha’s life. I wouldn’t have been able to. But it was you, and I didn’t want to lose you. I willed myself to fight my instincts, and I did. You’re a far stronger alpha than I’ve ever been. You had government training to keep your instincts in check. I know that when the time comes, you’ll be able to fight them for our daughter’s sake. I know that. I know you.”
The sheer belief in Michael’s eyes made his throat close up. When Michael looked at him this way, he felt like there was nothing he couldn’t accomplish for him. And maybe he could. He would, to keep Michael looking at him that way.
“Have I told you how much I love you?” Anthony said.
Michael smiled, his eyes going very soft. “Not today.”
Anthony pulled him closer, pressing their bodies flush against each other. “Maybe I’ll just show you, then,” he said, his voice dropping to a husky whisper as he trailed his lips down the arch of Michael’s neck.
His instincts all but purred as his mouth touched the mating mark. Even after all these years together, he still got a thrill every time he saw his mark on Michael’s pretty neck. His. His mate, his, his, his.
He had once scoffed at alphas so blatantly devoted to their mates, convinced that such devotion was a kind of cage. But these days Anthony was well aware he was one of them. He was whipped, and he knew it. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love you,” he said against Michael’s mouth. He felt the emotion reverberate through their bond, rising as Michael kissed him back.
I love you.
If this was a cage, he never wanted to be free.
The End