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This was going to be one of the most difficult tournaments of his life and Jude knew he was screwed. The omega had given birth to the secret child of one of his opponents three years ago and he really didn’t want that alpha to find out.
Three years ago, Jude had said goodbye to Erling Haaland on his final night before leaving Dortmund. Things between them had been physical for a while, helping each other through their ruts and heats but it never meant anything. Jude knew this and fell for the Norwegian alpha anyway.
It wasn’t long after Erling had left that it was announced that he was dating an omega called Isabel. It had broken Jude’s heart and he figured that there had probably been some crossover between him and Erling and Isabel and Erling but there was nothing he could do about it. He and Erling had never been serious, never been exclusive but Jude’s omega couldn’t seem to understand that.
It seemed like a cruel twist of fate a couple of months later when the omega found out that he was pregnant. He couldn’t tell Erling, it wasn’t fair. Just because Jude’s life was about to turn upside down, didn’t mean he wanted to do the same thing to Erling. The alpha had just been signed to the team of his dreams and Jude wasn’t going to take that away from him. Besides, how could they possibly raise a baby together while in different countries? It was just easier to do it all by himself.
Which was what he did. It hadn’t been easy at times but from the moment he had first taken that pregnancy test, Jude was in love with the little baby inside him. He no longer had Erling by his side but at least he would always have a piece of the alpha.
It was a rough pregnancy that Jude only survived through having the support and care of his family. Going through a pregnancy without an alpha was always rough on an omega but considering how close Jude had been to Erling and how long they had spent time with each other, it was a huge adjustment for his omega. Jude knew rationally that Erling hadn’t abandoned him. The alpha didn’t owe him anything but his omega didn’t get the message. More than once Jude ended up in the hospital and he ended up on bed rest for the final two months. It had been rough but it was all worth it when he gave birth. The moment his son was placed in his arms, Jude forgot all of the trauma and the pain. He would do it all over a hundred times if it meant he got to hold his son in his arms.
Jude cried, holding his son, holding Julian for the first time was magical. Forever a football fan, Jude had chosen to name his son Julian, Jules for short. Yes, he shared a name with the original World Cup trophy because Jude knew this boy was more precious than anything he might win. Also, it was a name he really loved.
To say that he had spent the first three years of his life without his alpha, Jules was thriving. Jude often thought about Erling and wondered if the alpha would have wanted to know, would have even cared that Jude was having his child. Jules had been born in February 2023 and by December 2024, Isabel had given birth to hers and Erling’s first child. Jude figured he was better keeping the information to himself as it would only end up hurting everyone in the long run.
That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt when he thought about Julian’s brother. The poor kid would never know, would probably never get the chance to know his brother. Julian, however, looked a lot like Erling. When you considered the skin colour and hair colour Jude had, Julian inherited none of it. When Jude had given birth, the nurse who had cleaned Julian up before passing him to Jude had remarked that if she hadn’t seen Jude give birth to the child with her own eyes then she wouldn’t have believed he was Jude’s.
It was going to make life a lot more difficult for them both. More than once, people had done a double take when seeing Jude carrying Julian around. The omega could still remember the looks on the faces of his family when he had introduced them to Julian. Jobe had accused him of stealing a random baby from the hospital. Before stating “Well, I guess I don’t need to ask who the alpha is anymore.” Jude had to laugh because if he didn’t laugh then he would cry.
He and Erling had still maintained a reasonably good relationship for two people who barely saw each other. They were friendly, they were polite and shared hugs and handshakes whenever they played against one another. Jude couldn’t cut the alpha out of his life completely but life got in the way and the fact they played for different teams in different countries certainly helped the distance grow.
But it could all come crashing down here. In America. At the World Cup. Both England and Norway had qualified and if things went as predicted, England would face Norway in the quarterfinals. Jude was both excited and terrified at the prospect. This was the first time he had brought Jules with him to an international competition, feeling like it was finally the time to have his son in the stands with him, like the rest of his teammates.
They were all enamoured with little Julian who liked to follow his dada around like a shadow. It was very rare to see Jude without Jules and that was just the way the omega liked it. He loved having his son close by. The last time Jude had played in the World Cup, Julian hadn’t existed. It had been a much easier time but Jude wouldn’t change it for the world. Thankfully, his mum was here to help look after Jules when he couldn’t be with Jude but that was looking like it was only going to be for matches. Tuchel was quite happy for the three year old to join in with their practices and the rest of the team loved how football mad the kid was.
It was going to be a tournament to remember, that was for sure.