Chapter Text
“I found out I'm an alpha.” Brian was standing outside on the playground with his best friend, Tony. He wasn't sure if this was the sort of thing you announced to people or not, but Tony should know.
“Really? How?”
“I woke up feeling weird, and realized I could smell my stepdad. And he and Dad could smell me... I thought I would be a beta,” he admitted.
Tony goggled at him. As the first kid in their class to present, Brian was an anomaly. “Do you feel any different?”
Brian shook his head. “Not really. My neck is a little sore where the scent glands are. That's it.” It wasn't a very exciting story, yet it changed the course of his life.
Tony thought for a minute. “I don't know anybody in my family that's alpha or omega, so I guess I'll be a beta. Wanna play kick ball?”
“Yeah!” And with that, they pelted across the playground to join a group of their classmates.
That afternoon found Brian sitting in his therapist's office. He no longer saw Dr. Moritz, but had switched to a psychologist who specialized in children and families. He didn't mind going. He was used to talking to doctors, and Dr. Shelly was nice. He could tell her anything, and she never got angry or judged him for it. He still didn't tell the kids at school for fear that they would think he was crazy. Brian no longer felt that way himself, since Holden had explained that he too suffered from anxiety.
“I found out I'm an alpha.” It was the sort information he thought a doctor should know.
“Congratulations. How do you feel about that?” Dr. Shelly asked, making a note regarding this new information.
“Fine. I never really worried about what I'd be. My Dad and Holden are alpha and omega, and they're happy... I think it worries my Mom a little,” he added after a moment's thought. “I'm not sure why, and she tries to hide it, but I can tell.” This had become his main concern.
“Well, it's a milestone, and those can bring up emotion.”
“That's what my Dad called it, only he was happier. But he's an alpha, so I think he just understands better. I want to spend more time at my Dad's house.” Brian blurted the last part out. “Not that I don't want to live with Mom at all, I just want it to be more equal,” he hurriedly added, feeling guilty just for voicing his desire out loud.
“Have you spoken to your mother about this at all?” Dr. Shelly asked.
Brian shook his head. “No. I don't want to hurt her feelings. I love Mom, but I also like spending time with Dad, Holden and my sister.”
“What about your other stepfather? Do you like spending time with him too?”
Brian shrugged. “Eric is OK. He makes Mom happy, and that's good. He's nice, but he doesn't... really feel like my Dad. Not like the way Holden does. I just call him Dad, because I think it matters to him. I call Holden by his name just so it's not confusing with two Dad's in one house, but he's really my Dad too.”
“It's normal to want to spend time with both parents. Do you think presenting as alpha is playing a part in this?”
Brian didn't have to think about that long. “Some. Dad and Holden understand better than Mom and Eric. They make it feel normal to be alpha.”
* * *
Brian was quiet as he climbed into the car, not sure how to broach the topic of the custody agreement with his mother. “Mom, there's something I need to talk to you about.”
“Oh? What's that, honey?” She asked as she pulled out of the parking lot, not seeming to catch the seriousness of his tone.
“It's about Dad and Holden.”
“What about them?” Something in her voice had changed, became less warm.
Brian sighed. He was old enough to catch the undercurrents that swirled around his family unit and was well aware that his mother didn't like her ex-husband or his mate, though she usually tried to hide it from him. “Once schools out, I think I should spend more time with them too.”
“Where is this coming from?” She asked, voice careful.
“It seems more fair if it were every other week... and Dad knows what it's like to be an alpha.”
“Is that what this is about? Honey, that's just one small part of who you are, and we have a man in the house now. Eric's your father too.”
Brian didn't say what he most wanted to, knowing that it wouldn't help. Eric was fine, but he hadn't earned the title of 'father' yet. “It's kind of an important part. It means I'm different. People are going to look at me differently, and I'm going to feel different things, and someday I'll have a mate instead of a wife. Eric doesn't know anything about that stuff. Dad and Holden do.”
“Father, Eric's your father.” His mother firmly corrected.
Brian shifted in his seat, annoyed. He loved his mother and didn't want to make her feel bad, but her lack of understanding frustrated him. “OK, fine, but he still doesn't understand alpha/omega stuff. Dad and Holden do.” He couldn't quite keep the whine from his voice.
His mother didn't say anything for a little while, and Brian wondered if he had made her angry. “Your Dad and Holden work,” she said slowly.
“So do you and Eric – I mean you and Dad.” He quickly corrected himself.
“Yes, but I work fewer hours and my schedule is more flexible. I can be home more.”
Brian thought this was a weak excuse. He wasn't a little kid anymore and could be trusted to be home on his own. “They aren't both gone as much as they used to be – not since Emily. Can you at least talk to them about it? Please?”
She fell silent again as they turned onto their street. “Let me sleep on it.”
* * *
Nancy slept on Brian's request, even though it made her unhappy to do so. Bill hadn't been there when she and Brian had needed him the most, and even before that, he had been a distant father. Holden was the man Bill had been unfaithful to her with and surely didn't deserve a close relationship with her son. But in some twist of fate, Brian and Bill developed a close relationship, and Brian adored Holden. And while she might curse at the unfairness of the universe, she couldn't deny her son a relationship with his father. He would only resent it, and grow to resent her.
She hadn't originally planned to stop by, but she ended up showing a house in the same neighborhood. Her old neighborhood from her old life. She found herself turning on to their street without even thinking about it, long habit taking over. Nancy decided to drive by and see if anyone was home, and if so have the talk she really didn't want to have. Both cars were there, so she took a deep breath and parked in front of the house that had once been her home. She started walking up the driveway and just happened to run into Holden who had been taking out the trash.
“Oh, hi, Nancy.” Holden held up a hand in greeting. “Is everything OK?” He sounded surprised to see her, but Nancy didn't usually show up unannounced. She didn't usually show up at all unless it was to pick up or drop off Brian.
She came to a halt in front of him. He was over a decade younger than herself, attractive, and it rankled. She tried so hard to keep her feelings separate, walled off, so they wouldn't affect her son. She had never wanted Brian to end up in the middle of her and Bill's issues. But standing there, facing the omega that had taken her husbands heart and her place, brought up all the old emotions and stirred them around where they mixed with the newfound fears for her son. Nancy was silent for a moment before something inside finally broke. “You,” she forced out.
“Yeah?” He regarded her with some confusion, not knowing what he might have done recently to upset Nancy. His uncertain, innocent expression only made her angrier.
“First you take my husband and now you take my child from me?” She spat.
Holden flinched away in typical omega fashion, dropping any pretense at being anything else in his surprise. “Um, I didn't take Brian. He's with you,” he pointed out, seeming to miss the point completely.
What is wrong with him? Nancy stared at him like he had grown a second head, which left him looking even more unnerved. “You have got to be the most infuriating man I have ever met. You slept with my husband, knowing he's married. You even met me, ate dinner at my house, you knew he was my husband. Now you live with him in the house we used to live in. Together.”
Holden seemed completely mystified by accusations that were coming nearly five years after the fact.“You told Bill he could keep the house.”
She ignored his pointless remark and continued. “The world just gives you a free pass on infidelity, because you're an omega and he's an alpha. It doesn't matter that Bill cheated on me with you.” She had worked up a head of steam, and it felt good let it out - let out years of feelings she never allowed herself to voice.
He held up his hands in an attempt to stop her, ducking his head submissively. “I'm sorry, but I can't control what other people think.”
“Apparently you couldn't control yourself either, neither of you could. And do you know what the worst part is?” She paused, but Holden had nothing to say. “I want to hate you, and I can't, because you've done so much for my son.” And that was the gist of the matter, the thing that sat in her belly like lead. Holden Ford was a walking disaster, a category five hurricane in Nancy's life. But he was so damn good with Brian, and her son loved him.
“What's going on out here?” Bill asked, stepping out the door. “Nancy? Why are you yelling at him?” He walked over to where they were standing and placed a reassuring hand on Holden's shoulder, an alpha protecting his mate. Nancy clenched her jaw and forced herself to swallow the rest of her words. She reminded herself that she had a life she liked. Eric loved her, they were financially stable, and healthy. But standing in front of her old house faced with her ex-husband and his mate brought all the old hurt back to the surface.
“I have no idea,” Holden replied, still befuddled by the exchange. He lowered his hands and straightened up.
“Whatever's going on, why don't we talk about this inside? I'm sure the neighbor's don't want to hear all our business.” Bill's voice was calm, but she could tell he wasn't pleased.
“Come on, Peanut,” Holden said, herding his daughter away from the door, followed by Bill and Nancy. Once they were inside, Emily ran to grab her favorite stuffed animal, a rather raggedy looking dog and a book. She stopped in front of Holden and held the book up. “Read?”
The sight of their little girl felt like another blow. Rationally she knew that Bill hadn't moved onto Holden just to have a child, and they had waited several years to do so. But she wasn't interested in being rational, not when the careful equilibrium she had managed to find in her life had shifted.
“Sure, come on over to the sofa.” He settled into read with Emily cuddled up against him and left Bill to deal with his ex-wife.
Bill and Nancy sat down at the dining room table. “What's going on? Is everything OK?” Bill asked, his manner guarded after finding his ex berating his mate for no apparent reason. She and Bill had managed to keep a civil relationship despite everything that happened, because, like it or not, he would always be a part of Brian's life, which made Bill a part of Nancy's life as well. The same held true for Holden.
Nancy sighed. “It's Brian.”
“Is he alright?”
She nodded, still looking upset. “Yes, he's fine. He wants the custody agreement changed.”
Comprehension dawned on Bill's face. “Oh, I see, maybe. What is he suggesting?”
“He want to spend more time with you and Holden.” She made a face. “Once school's out, he would like to spend every other week here. He'll be in middle school in the fall, and it's not as far from you, so he would like to continue to spend more time here. I feel like I'm losing my son, Bill.”
“You aren't losing Brian, Nance. He loves you. He's not asking to live here all the time.” Bill attempted to reassure her. Nancy knew Bill was correct, but it didn't feel that way to her heart.
“First I lost you to this whole alpha/omega thing, and now it's going to take Brian from me too,” she went on, headless of Bill's reassurances. Why couldn't he have been born a beta like most children? Then maybe they wouldn't be having this conversation.
“He's not being taken from you. He just wants to spend time with both sets of parents. And yeah, being an alpha means we might relate better about certain things, but that's no different than any boy wanting to spend time with his father, or girl wanting to spend time with her mother - especially as they get older.” He thought for a moment. “Since having Emily, we don't travel for work at the same time anymore, and one of us at least is at home in the evenings. It's not a bad time to rethink our arrangement.”
Nancy sat silent, face unreadable. “I don't want Brian accusing me later of keeping him from his father.” She would do right by her son regardless of her own feelings.
“OK, let me get Holden in here, and we can figure this out.” He started to get up to go find his mate.
“Is that really necessary? Can't we just talk about this ourselves?”
“Why are you so pissed at Holden all of a sudden? We mated five years ago, why dredge up the past now?” The disapproval was heavy in Bill's voice, and Nancy felt a stab of embarrassment for losing control earlier that she quickly squashed.
She gave her ex-husband a steady stare. “Bill, I'm always at least a little pissed at Holden. I just don't say anything, because it's all in the past, and Brian loves him.” Something about her change in tone caught Bill's attention.
“And that's what has you upset? Brian and Holden get along? You know, even though the scent glands don't start working until later, alpha and omega kids still have all the instincts and behaviors when they're little. Alpha's usually consider omegas calming and nonthreatening – it's probably why Brian has always been so comfortable with him.”
“He considers Holden his father.”
Bill sat back in the chair, annoyed. “Nance, Holden is his father. Holden's life hasn't been all sunshine and roses, and he relates to Brian. It's been a good thing. I'm going to go get him, and you're going to have to deal with it.”
He went to the living room, and Nancy could hear him say, “Holden, we have something to discuss with Nancy.” She couldn't make out the young man's reply, just the cadence of his voice and the higher pitched exclamation of their daughter.
Bill returned with Holden, Emily trailing after them dragging her stuffed dog by one floppy ear.
Holden took a seat and Emily crawled under the table. “What's going on?”
“Brian wants to start spending more time here with us once school's out. I figured you'd be fine with that,” Bill said.
“Oh, of course,” he replied brightly, completely at odds with Nancy's manner. “That makes sense.” He must have caught her discomfort, because he quickly explained, “now that he's getting older and presented.”
Nancy looked even more displeased, but nodded tightly. “How does every other week sound?”
“Is sounds fine,” Holden said. “What about once school starts? He's going to a different school in the fall.”
“We'll discuss it then,” Nancy replied, shutting down the conversation. Her earlier outburst must have made some impression on the omega, because he shut his mouth and didn't say anything else.
“We can see how it goes,” Bill agreed smoothly, clearly intending to placate her in the short term. If the summer went smoothly, Nancy had no doubt that Bill would want to continue this new arrangement. When did you become father of the year? Since Holden. She pointedly avoided looking at her ex's mate.
She finally left the house having discharged an important duty, but one that didn't make her feel good. She supposed that was a little unfair. It was better for Brian that he developed a positive relationship with his father and stepfather, but she selfishly wished her son could be content with their own family unit.
* * *
“Hi Mom,” Brian greeted her from his seat at the table with his math text book and worksheets. “Did you sell the house?”
“Maybe, the couple liked it, but they haven't made a decision yet.” She sat down across from him. “Since I was in the neighborhood, I stopped by to talk to your Dad.”
Brian set his pencil down. “About this summer?” He tried not to sound too hopeful, because he sensed the issue bothered his mother.
“Yes. We're going to trade off weeks over the summer and see how it goes.”
Relief filled Brian, even though he still felt a little guilty. “Thanks Mom... it's not that I don't want to spend time with you,” he added.
Her face softened. “I know, Honey. It's just not always easy to see your little boy grow up.”
“I'm not that little.” He pointed out.
His mother actually smiled at that. “I know, you're going to be in middle school. Well, you still have a month till schools out, and as long as you're here, I need you to put the dishes in the dishwasher.”
“I know, Mom. I will.” He went back to his homework, the prospect of the summer opening up before him.