“I don’t know where he’s gone,” Heath repeated, forlorn, tossing the petals of the destroyed rose to the ground with the others. “You act like I know him, but I don’t. We were together for four months and I don’t know him at all.”

“You’re being absurd. I’ve watched you give him what he needed instinctively the entire time he was here.”

“That was sex and hormones, and alpha instincts in reaction to his heat and pregnancy.”

Simon put his hands in his pockets. “You know he takes joy in the small things in life: his robe, the tunnel, the garden. He craves comfort, and not just because of the pregnancy. Think of what he said about growing up on the farm: constricted, yes, but he loved the familiarity of it. Think of what he’s always studied: fabric, traditional weaving. The comforts of the artistic world.”

Heath closed his eyes, imagined Adrien leaving the house, alone and scared with Michael. “He went back to school.”

“Of course he did.” Simon smiled, his chin wobbling. “You ridiculous fool. Go get him.”

With that, Simon walked down the garden path back toward the nest, leaving Heath staring at the litter of petals on the ground, his mind already trying to piece together the right words to say.

“I’M JUST LIKE my omega parent,” Adrien said miserably, staring at the pint of

hard cider in his hand and wondering if it would be safe to chestfeed Michael if he drank it. He sat at the desk in his dorm room, while Lance sprawled on Adrien’s unmade bed.

Lance nudged his fingers. “Drink up. It’ll do you some good.”

“I don’t think I should. Michael…” Adrien straightened his glasses and then gazed at his son, sleeping in a makeshift baby bed made from a cardboard box with a blanket in it on the floor of his dorm room. Heath would be appalled. And maybe he should be.

Adrien gave the pint to Lance. “You drink it.”

“Your loss, friend.” Lance swallowed down the rest of his own pint and then started on Adrien’s. “I’d say you look good except you look fucking miserable.”

“I am.”

“Good God, why are you here? You should be with your man. Once this little guy is a bit bigger, that’s when you come back, for like, day classes, and you take a few extra years to finish up your work.”

“I used to care a lot more about my career. I did all this so I could have the funds for the government to agree to name me a professor.”

“Babies change things. And you can still be a professor. Your alpha will have plenty of cash to make sure that happens.”

“I won’t use him like that.”

Lance used the empty pint to point at Michael in the cardboard box.

“Obviously.”

Adrien wiped a hand over his face. “I’m a terrible omega parent.”

“No, you’re not. You’re just dropping from that glorious pregnancy hormone high and crashing hard.” Lance shrugged. “I’ve seen it all before with my step-omega parents.”

“This is different.”

“How so?”

Adrien didn’t know if he had the strength to go into it. He hadn’t had a good meal since he found out about Nathan, feeling too sick and hurt at first, and now, spoiled by Simon’s cooking, he found the cafeteria food disgusting.

Michael still ate a lot, though, and Adrien needed to be careful. Not eating enough while chestfeeding could be dangerous for them both.

“I took him away from his father.”

“You can take him back.”

“No!”

“I don’t mean leave Michael there with him,” Lance said gently. “I mean you can go back to your alpha. I know he’d want you.” He frowned. “Doesn’t he? Or…?”

“He would take us back.”

“Then go! This is ridiculous.” He pointed at the cardboard box again.

“Whatever he did, forgive him and take this baby to a real bed. He’s too rich to sleep in a box.”

“He’s the heir, but I didn’t take any money when I left.”

“Your auction money—”

“In escrow at the bank until I finish out one year of chestfeeding.”

“You are insane. That man could buy and sell this university, and you didn’t take anything?”

Adrien shook his head.

Michael squirmed in his cardboard bed and farted.

Lance wrinkled up his nose. “Damn, he’s so small. Who knew?” He ran a hand over his fuzzy, dark hair. “I don’t know why you’re so upset, but I promise unless he’s hurting you—holy shit, is he hurting you?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Adrien groaned. “It turns out…” He studied Lance carefully. “Listen, this is private. I don’t want you talking about this with anyone. Heath doesn’t need the rumors.”

“If you’re talking about you being his dead lover’s son, then that rumor’s done flown, friend.”

“What?”

“Yes, everyone knows that. His ex-heir is none too pleased with having been ousted, and he’s going around mouthing off about it like there’s something illegal about knocking up your dead lover’s son. Which there’s not. They were never married.”

“So everyone here knows?” He thought about the odd looks he’d gotten in the hallway earlier after he’d made his way down to the cafeteria for dinner to push food around on a plate. He’d thought at the time it was because he had Michael with him, but the exact nuance of those looks made so much more sense if they were all aware of the details of his situation.

“No one cares.”

“They were all staring at me tonight.”

“Because you maxed out the auction, got knocked up by one of the wealthiest men in the nation, disappeared for the duration, and showed back up with the prettiest damn baby they’ve ever seen who is sleeping in a fucking cardboard box!”

Adrien snorted. “Well, when you put it that way…”

“Yeah. Adrien, you have to go back to your alpha.”

Adrien took his glasses off to rub at his eyes. “What about that Bluebeard story you told me?”

Lance choked on a laugh. “Does he have a secret room you can’t look in?

Did you uncover a bunch of skeletons of dead omegas?”

Adrien snorted. “Just the one.” Lance hooted and then collapsed against the mattress laughing. “It’s not funny.”

“It’s hilarious, friend!”

“How? He was in love with my omega parent. Was with him for years!

Never told me about it! He says Nathan was cruel and unkind and…I don’t even know how Nathan died! What if Heath killed him?”

“Do you really think he killed the man he loved?”

“Crimes of passion are real, Lance. Bluebeard—”

“Forget I told you that damn story. You’re not living in some creepy old fairy tale, all right?” He sat up, entirely sober now. “Nathan died of a heart flaw.”

Adrien replaced his glasses, sighing as Lance came into focus again.

“How do you know?”

“The nephew is blabbing all the details of everything to everyone. We all know he died from a heart problem.”

“My omega parent was a terrible person,” Adrien murmured, his glasses slipping down his nose, and tears welling in his eyes.

“Ah, no, friend. From what you’ve said and what I’ve learned, Nathan was a heartbreaker and a rebellious omega, but so what? That doesn’t mean he was a terrible person. He didn’t follow the rules of society or our culture or your father’s faith. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t lovable. Your alpha loved him enough to want to breed with you for a piece of the man he’d cared for, a legacy of him.”

“What if that’s all I am to him?”

“You’re the omega parent of his child. You’re a loving, generous man.”

Lance frowned. “You’re stuck in your head, babe, and you need to get out of it.”

“But he loved Nathan. He was so dashing. I can’t explain it. I just know I can’t compare.”

“Everything I hear about Nathan reminds me of my own omega parent, the one who left to go travel and never married my dad? All my dad’s other omegas say he was selfish, but I think he just wanted to be free. It sounds to me that Heath wanted a more traditional relationship, and Nathan didn’t. But they loved each other in their own way.” Lance pointed his still half-full pint at Adrien. “But Heath could have a traditional relationship with you. You’ve never been one to push the envelope or want to go on great adventures. You might never have left the farm if your father hadn’t died, for fear of breaking his heart.”