“I am allowed. I just haven’t.”

“Why?”

“Wait until you’re knocked up. Then you’ll understand.”

“The nudity thing?” Lance said, scoffing. “Please. I have no shame. I’ll be naked as a jaybird everywhere and anywhere I want in my alpha’s house.

Everyone can just deal with it. My youngest step-omega parent was always naked. He just gave up clothes eventually. My father liked it that way.”

“I bet he did.” Adrien sighed. He almost regretted talking to Lance now.

He already missed the blissful bubble he’d lived in while growing Michael so much, and with every word, Lance was destroying it even more.

At that moment, Michael started to fuss, which gave Adrien the perfect excuse to disconnect the call after promising not to drop off the face of the

earth again. He opened his robe, grateful that his skin was no longer so sensitive that even the silk felt harsh, and placed Michael onto his nipple.

The sharp pain of Michael latching on reminded him of Heath’s pinching fingers when they’d fucked, and he felt a strong, overwhelming loss at the memory. He shoved that thought out of his mind.

He cuddled Michael close, watching his fat cheeks move as he suckled, and marveled at the hot gushes of milk he felt spurt out of his nipple. It was remarkable how much his chest could hold. He knew some omegas grew much larger, but he’d remained relatively flat. Still Michael never seemed to run out of nourishment from his body.

He lay back in bed with Michael and fed him. He stared out the windows into the glowing green of the forest, noticing that some of the leaves were turning yellow, others orange, and one, very deep in the trees, was edged with red.

A shudder rocked him.

He didn’t want to be in this room when the leaves fell. The rest of the castle was a mystery, and he didn’t know if there was another room within it that he could bear to sleep in, but his blood ran cold at the thought of staying in this room during winter. The forest cold, the trees barren, and the skies a dull gray.

When Michael fell asleep, he made up his mind. He got out of bed, washed in the shower, and put on some of his old clothes. The fabric felt rough against his skin, and the waist was tight enough that he couldn’t button his pants closed, but he pulled his shirt down over it and left them open at the top. Finally, he put his glasses on, then he lifted Michael into his arms and stepped out of the room.

He heard Simon singing in the kitchen. He considered going to him and asking for a tour, but then he remembered that photo album. Simon had brought it to him. He’d wanted him to know about whatever—whoever—was inside. But something about that felt sinister now.

It was probably the hormone drop making him paranoid.

But if it wasn’t… Didn’t he deserve to know? He had Michael to think of now. What kind of man was Heath beyond the door of the nest? What was he hiding?

Adrien turned toward the door he’d entered by all those months ago, gripped Michael tightly, and walked through.

HEATH STARED AT his brother. He couldn’t believe the man had driven in from the seaside to have it out with him over something that was a done deal.

“The child is born. He’s mine. What’s done is done,” Heath said again.

“You did this on purpose!” Lidell spit out, pointing his finger at Heath, neck red with rage.

Heath huffed a laugh. “Yes, I did. I bought an omega’s heat, bred him, and knocked him up on purpose. And I had every right to do so.”

“Not just any omega,” Lidell said under his breath, a sneer twisting his mouth.

Heath knew just where that rumor had come from. “Earl should keep his mouth shut,” Heath spit out. “When I allowed him to stay on as Ned’s nurse and then his servant, it was with the understanding that anything Simon told him at home was private.”

“When it comes to protecting his charge, Earl knows where his loyalties lie!” Lidell said. “He puts Ned first. Unlike some people.”

Heath blinked at his brother. “Why on earth would I put Ned first?”

“Because he’s your heir!”

“Was my heir.” Heath rolled his eyes. “Ned! Come in here.”

The young man peeked his head around the doorway outside of Heath’s office, where he’d been charged with waiting while Heath spoke with Lidell privately. He stepped in, his cheeks flushed, anger flashing in his eyes, but a kind of puffiness in the mouth, too, like he’d been chewing his lip so that he wouldn’t cry.

“Ned,” Heath said less harshly. “You won’t be without a large fortune settled on you. To be honest, you probably won’t even notice the difference in the functionality of your life. Except, of course, that you won’t have to worry about ever taking over for me here.”

“Unless something happens to the brat,” Lidell said.

Heath roared, and Lidell hustled back toward the leather sofa near a sidewall. “You can’t hurt me!” he cried. “Ned is a witness.”

“If you threaten my child—”

“It wasn’t a threat!” Lidell exclaimed, pale and cowering. “It wasn’t a threat, Heath. I promise.”

Heath calmed himself, embarrassed to find spittle on his beard from the force of his shouts. He wiped it off with the back of his hand and turned to face the window.

“Ned, you’ll be fine. You’ll be wealthy and handsome. You’ll have your pick of omegas when it comes time to negotiate, or you can afford to have one at auction if that’s more your speed.”

“You plan to just discard him, then?”

“This is hardly discarding him, Lidell. I’m setting him up for life. Just like I did for you.”

“Our father did that.”

“And I let him,” Heath countered. “If I’d really wanted to put the nails to you, brother, I could have convinced him to leave every cent to me, and you know it.” Heath smoothed a hand over his beard. “Instead, you’ve had houses in the best areas, sent your son to the best schools, had my help in bailing him out of all sorts of unfortunate circumstances, and lived in leisure. I’ve never understood why you saw fit to complain.”

“Because you get everything good.”

“The stress? The strain? The worry? Carrying on our family reputation, keeping up our business interests, finding more, making sure our properties and interests stay sound, caring for the servants? That’s the good stuff you’re so jealous of?”

“You have purpose at least. Now you’re going to strip my boy of that.”

“You can design your own purpose, Lidell. How many times have I told you to go find something you love and do it well? But you whine and fuss.

You could have started your own dynasty by now, but you’ve pissed it all away in legal fees trying to find ways to declare me unfit.”

“That slut you carried on with should have been more than enough reason,” Lidell hissed. “Sleeping his way through all of your business associates. You know he affected your decision making, and he still does.”

“Shut your mouth.”

“Nathan was your undoing. And now you’ve gone and—”

“I said, shut your fucking mouth!”

Lidell slammed his lips together, but then Ned took up the cause.

“My whole life you said I was gonna be the master of this place, that I was going to be the Clearwater heir. You said I had to take care to be a good man because of it. Now you say I’m not!”

“If you’ve been acting the part of a ‘good man,’ Ned, then I am terrified to know what you would have done without that incentive.”

“That’s right!” Ned said, nodding and crossing his arms over his chest.

“You’re taking away my motivation. Now, what’ll I be? Nothing good!”

Heath rolled his eyes and threw up his hands. “The devil take you both.”

A small sound from the doorway drew his attention, and when his eyes met Adrien’s, at first his heart leapt, and then it fell.

Chapter Twenty-One