Haydn wanted to tell him to fuck off. Not because of what Royce was saying, but because of that infuriating, high-handed tone. No one talked to him that way. How dare he.
He felt his own scent become thicker—a natural alpha reaction to being threatened—but Royce didn’t even flinch. He continued staring Haydn down, that smell of ozone and wet soil appearing in his scent again and becoming so oppressive it made Haydn shudder.
The moment stretched. The tension crackled like static electricity, caught between their two bodies.
All he could see were black eyes staring him down intently.
Haydn was the first to look away. “All right,” he said, unable to believe himself. If his father were here, if he saw his alpha son submitting to a beta’s will, he would disown him on the spot.
Royce’s scent became less overwhelming, but it didn’t quite shift back to his neutral scent, the sharp undertones lingering.
“Good,” Royce said and stepped back.
Haydn let out the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding.
What the everlasting fuck.
Chapter Four
They traveled to Cleghorn with Royce’s mother and sister.
The trip on the helicopter took half an hour, and Haydn spent it getting to know his husband’s relatives while said husband was looking out the window, contributing next to nothing to the conversation.
At least, unlike some people, his relatives seemed nice enough.
Royce’s mother, Vagrippa Cleghorn, was a beta. She must have been in her late sixties, but she still looked lovely, her face barely lined.
Belinda Cleghorn was exceptionally pretty, her omega scent sweet and inoffensive. She was twenty-one, with the same black hair and black eyes her eldest brother had. Apparently she also had another brother, a male alpha four years her senior.
“Aksel is coming home soon,” Belinda told him excitedly. “Now that the war is over, his deployment will end.” Her eyes were bright with joy. “I miss him so much.”
“We all do, dear,” Vagrippa said, shooting her eldest son a look Haydn couldn’t quite read. “He should have never left.”
Royce’s jaw was locked. He said nothing.
Haydn wondered about the strange tension between the mother and the son, but he didn’t ask. He barely knew these people.
At last, they arrived.
Haydn got out of the helicopter and stared at the handsome mansion. It was smaller than his father’s palace, but not by much. It wasn’t as tall, but it was more sprawling.
“Welcome to Cleghorn, Haydn,” Vagrippa said. “Your new home.”
Haydn gave her a faint smile. He doubted he would stay here long enough to start thinking of this place as a home.
His cocked his head to the side as he noticed someone standing on the steps that led to the front door.
As they approached, it became obvious that the person was a male omega. He must have been around Haydn’s age, maybe older, but he smelled unclaimed, which was unusual for an omega over thirty, especially one that was so beautiful. And he really was. Light brown, wavy hair, large green eyes, a very lovely face with delicate bone structure and perfect skin, and a petite, fit body curvy in all the right places: this man looked like a picture-perfect omega.
“Lucien!” Belinda said, grabbing the omega’s hand and leaning in to kiss his cheek. “Allow me to introduce you to—”
“Belinda,” Vagrippa said sharply. “It’s custom for the man of the house to introduce his spouse himself.”
Belinda flushed, looking apologetically at her brother.
Royce didn’t look like he cared one way or the other.
“This is my husband, Haydn Schaefer,” he said, putting a hand on Lucien’s shoulder. “This is Lucien,” he said, giving the omega a soft smile.
Haydn pursed his lips, annoyed. This is Lucien? Really? He wasn’t even going to explain who the omega was?
He breathed in deeply, trying to rein in his temper, not understanding why this bothered him so much. But taking deep breaths only served to make him more aware of Lucien’s sweet scent. The scent of a fertile unclaimed omega. Lucien had clearly had his heat very recently; that was why his scent was overwhelmingly sweet.
Haydn noticed that Royce was watching him carefully, his eyes slightly narrowed. At first he was confused before realizing that Royce must have felt protective of that omega.
It rubbed Haydn the wrong way for reasons he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Did his husband think he was so uncivilized that he couldn’t control himself around an omega fresh out of heat? He was hardly a green alpha who’d recently popped his first knot.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Haydn said in his nicest voice, stretching his hand out.
After a moment, Lucien smiled at him tentatively and grasped it. “You are very lucky,” he said. His voice was pleasant and melodic. A perfect omega voice. “Royce is wonderful. The best man I know.”
“You’re exaggerating,” Royce said with a laugh, his eyes fond as he gazed at the omega.