Alpha Stepbrother (Omegaverse Nonshifter Mpreg MM Romance)

Asherwood

Chapter 1

People like us are called binaries. We are either alphas or omegas, and we can only mate with each other. We can be with anyone we want, but they can never become our true mates.

-Caleb-

After my father was gone only a year, my mother started looking for another husband. That broke my heart, but maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. My mother was always stylish and beautiful, but too concerned with her social standing and money.

She was an omega from a poor family and my father was a respected physician. He was well off, but he didn't leave us a huge fortune. That's because a lot of his money went to help those in need.

Still, he and my mom were happy until he died in a car crash. Afterward my mother became worried about money and decided to marry again.

She had no trouble finding the right alpha. When she started dating Lloyd Jenkins, her goal was within reach. Then he whisked her away on a tropical getaway and they came back married.

I assumed my mother would move into one of Lloyd's mansions or penthouses. But it turned out that Lloyd liked the idea of moving into the Turner house though it wasn't as lavish as any of his properties.

The house had been in my father's family for generations, but my grandfather's will doesn't give me ownership of it until I turn twenty-five or become mated.

It's obvious to me why Lloyd chose to move in here. He wants to take over another alpha's house as a sign of dominance. I'll still be able to regain my rightful place in two years.

That is unless I can find a mate before then. As a mated alpha, I'll become the head of my own family, and my father's house will become mine.

I don't know if that will happen for me though. I haven't felt a pull toward any omegas I ever met. All I ever felt were ordinary sexual urges just like any other human might feel.

If I was determined to mate, my Aunt Evelyn advised me to travel in order to find my omega. Since binary humans like us are only five percent of the population, it's not easy to find our true mate.

I know she's right, but I can't leave this house to Lloyd. I have to stay here as a reminder that this house won't be his for long.

Today I'll have to welcome my mother and my new stepfather to this house. The upcoming first meeting with my new stepfather turns my stomach. I barely had a sip of coffee this morning and refused to eat a thing.

I'm now sitting at my father's desk and trying not to think about their arrival. This is the last time I will get to sit here before my stepfather takes over. That thought fills my awareness as I'm clearing out the last of my father's papers and personal items.

I run my hand over the antique desk. The dark wood with its deep shine stands almost bare without the multitude of papers and files that used to cover it when my father was alive.

My father sat here, and sometimes fell asleep at his desk while working late. I can't stand the thought that anyone else will get to sit here. But nothing can obliterate who my father was. His kindness and strength will always remain with me.

When my mom and her new husband are a few minutes from the house, my mom calls me. I answer and hold my breath as I hear her cheerful voice telling me to expect them. Getting up from the desk with a heavy heart, I gather the things that belonged to my father and vow to be sitting here again soon, to be the head of this house.

Out the big front windows, I see the shiny, black limo pull up in front of the house. I hate the sight of it and what it means. With measured steps, I go to the foyer so that I can greet my mother and her new husband.

Hearing their voices just outside the door, I swing the door open. Mom comes in looking beautifully radiant and happy. Straight away, I go to give her a warm hug.

I might not agree with her decision to marry Lloyd so hastily, but I still love my mom. After losing my dad, I can't take her for granted.

Lloyd comes in next and stands stiffly while mom presents him to me. This is your stepfather and the new head of this house, Lloyd Jenkins.

He is stocky with broad shoulders, salt and pepper hair and cold, blue eyes. He carries the unmistakable air of an alpha plus some arrogance that's all him.

With all the self-control I can muster, I force myself to shake his hand and keep my face blank. Through gritted teeth, I congratulate them on their marriage. That's the best I can do.

Mom bustles us into the living room. Marianne, our long time maid, is there setting down some drinks. Full of congratulations and good wishes, she greets Mom with a hug and introduces herself to Lloyd and welcomes him. As she leaves, she shoots me an encouraging smile. She is a nice lady. We would be lost without her.

As we go into the living room, I'm sure that Lloyd is going to take the armchair, but he goes to sit on the couch with Mom. Seeing that Marianne has opened the windows that look out into the garden, I go over there. I could use the fresh air.

While hanging back, standing by the open window, I look over at Lloyd. He looks so self-satisfied while my mom looks happy. She is sitting by his side and looking at him adoringly. My gaze falls to their clasped hands and their wedding bands. The ring my father gave my mother is gone from her hand and that breaks my already broken heart a little bit more.

While my mother tells me about their impromptu, tropical wedding under palm fronds and a setting sun, I smile politely. My mother is jubilant as she gushes about the way Lloyd arranged every luxury and had a jeweler deliver the most exquisite rings.

I'm so lucky and these rings are so perfect, my love, she says to Lloyd and he kisses her hand.

Anything for you, my darling, he says smugly.

I don't know how much more of this I can take. Then my mother announces, We're expecting Lloyd's son to join us. He should be here soon, right, darling?

He better be, Lloyds grumbles under his breath then gives my mom a tight smile.

Oh, great, I have a stepbrother I'll have to meet now. Is there any chance I won't hate him at first sight?

-Owen-

I wouldn't consider myself the most valuable employee at the Honeycomb Bakery. That would be my cousin, Trisha, the pastry chef. But that doesn't mean I should be getting bossed around by everyone. After bringing in some deliveries, I'm restocking supplies in the back. Every now and then Kelly, Trisha's assistant, comes by to check my work.

I know the system, Kelly, I assure her.

I just like to make sure. When Trisha asks me for something, I want to be able to find it in a split second, she tells me.

Kelly is still new and she's both Trisha's assistant and her apprentice. She's a little anxious because Trisha is so demanding.

I sigh. Ok. Do what you have to do, I tell her, resigned to my fate.

Stand up to her, man, Trisha yells poking her head through the door of the storage area. She knows that I have issues with omegas always getting pushed around, but Kelly is a regular human, not a binary. She doesn't mean anything by it.

Kelly looks from me to Trisha in confusion and asks, Is this a binary thing? Did I do something wrong?

No. I'll make sure you can find everything you need, I tell her and give her a reassuring smile.

Now that I think about it, maybe she should check over my work. I am a little distracted today. My father and his new wife are back from their island wedding. It was a sudden, quickie affair on the beach, not the kind of grand wedding I would expect from my very traditional father.

I still need to get used to the idea that my father is now married. My mom has been gone for a long time, and he had a string of girlfriends but never came close to proposing to any of them, as far as I know. Those other women were just arm candy to take to various functions as well as hop into bed with. I hardly got to meet them before they were replaced by the next trophy girlfriend.

Now that he has taken the leap, I'm going to do my best to be happy for him and his new wife. Maybe this will be good for my dad, loosen him up a little. He has always been so rigid, unbending, a total alpha.

I heard that some alpha dads dote on their omega kids. Not my dad. He was always a cold and ruthless disciplinarian, and he has only gotten worse.

While I'm lost in thought and working too slowly, Kelly comes by again. I figure she's checking up on me again, but she takes a seat on a crate and pops open a chilled bottle of iced tea.

I'm on a break, she says. But I wanted to ask you some questions about binaries. Is that Ok?

Sure. I don't mind answering questions, and I'm in no rush to go and see my dad at his wife's house.

Great. I hate to make a fool of myself, you know, Kelly tells me. Having grown up in a small town, Kelly hasn't met many binaries. Plus I know there is a ton of myths and misinformation about us online. When I'm looking up stuff, I know what sources to trust, but a regular person is bound to get confused.

After a sip of her tea, Kelly starts her questioning. Ok. Is it true that if you're a gay guy, or a lesbian, or straight, your true mate will be right for you? Like if you're a lesbian, your true mate won't turn out to be a dude.

That's right. I never heard about any mismatched mates, I tell her.

That's good. And binaries can only have kids with their true mates, no one else? Is that true?

It's true. True mates stimulate the right hormones in each other, but it can be done artificially too. Lots of binaries don't meet their mates, but they can still have kids that way, I tell her.

That must be a bummer. Do you worry about not finding your mate? she asks.

Sometimes. I don't tell her that my situation is different. I talk about other binaries. A lot of binaries travel so they'll have a better chance of meeting their mate. There are special tours and meet ups just for that. Others just leave it up to fate.

If it was me, I would scour the world. I wouldn't be able to sit still, she says then laughs.

You can do that anyway, I tell her.

I wouldn't get the sign. The big moment when you meet your mate and you know. That's supposed to be something else, right? she asks, her eyes wide.

I chuckle. Everyone wants to know about that.

Well, sure. It's supposed to be all choir of angels singing as soon as you lay eyes on your true mate, love at first sight and for all time. Right?

I don't know about choir of angels. We just call it mate recognition, I tell her with a shrug, like it's no big deal, but she doesn't buy it. I only know about it from what I heard and what I read. It's supposed to be amazing and it's for life.

That's the stuff, she says then she stands up to stretch and finish the last of her iced tea.

How come you didn't ask Trisha about this stuff? I wonder. Trisha is a binary, she could tell her all about it.

She's my boss. What if I offended her or something? You're much easier to talk to, she says then she squints at me. Is that an alpha vs. omega thing? Is that why I'm kind of scared of Trisha?

Maybe. Alphas can be kind of intense. Or kind of a pain, I say with a grin.

Ok. Break's over. Back to work for me. Thanks for all the info, she says.

Any time, I say as she leaves. Then I get gloomy thinking how I won't be around this place off hours any more.

Until now, I lived in a nice, little room above the bakery. Being useless at baking, I only worked the front and cleaned and restocked in the back, but I used to get up before dawn to come down and watch Trisha work in the kitchen. I won't get to do that any more.

It's my father who just got married, not me, but my life is going to change too. My father has asked me to move in with him and his new family, and I can't refuse him.

His reason for wanting to keep me close is not a secret to me. I know he wants to keep an eye on me. He's worried I'll go and sleep around and ruin myself before he can give my hand in marriage to some appropriate alpha bigwig.

The last time I tried defying my dad, Trisha's bakery started losing business, her suppliers stopped delivering, and health inspectors were finding all sort of bogus violations. Now I know better than to go against my father. When my father asks, I obey. At least he hasn't asked me to quit working at the bakery.

Once I'm done restocking, I'm quitting work early so I can go to the Turner house and meet my new stepmother and her son. With heavy steps, I go upstairs to get ready.

I go into the small room above the bakery I've been renting. It was my home, but now I'll have to leave it. As I go in, I look around regretfully. This was my small piece of freedom.

Today the happy couple arrives in town, and tomorrow I'll be moving into the house my dad is taking over as his own. I wish my father hadn't chosen to do things in his typical, highhanded way.

Until now, Dad has been living in penthouses of hotels and resorts wherever in the world he happened to be doing business. That's why I was allowed the freedom to live on my own until now. This is the first time he will be settling down in a long while, and now I'll have to live under his roof and under his thumb.

When I go to meet my father's new wife, I'll be meeting my stepbrother, Caleb, as well. From what I heard, he is a typical alpha. That means he and my dad are probably going to clash.

Everyone says that my stepmother is nice and she might mellow my dad a little. I try to focus on that hope while I'm getting ready to visit her and my father at the house where I'll be forced to live from now on. At the same time, I look around at the small room, which was all mine. I'm grateful for my taste of freedom however short-lived.

As I button my shirt and make sure my slacks aren't wrinkled, I can't help feeling nervous. I'm not uneasy about meeting Sylvia, my new stepmother. She's an omega like me after all. Our kind usually get along Ok.

It's her son that makes me nervous. He's an alpha. I can never be completely at ease around them. The way they eye us omegas. They know how they stir up our hormones, though not mine.

Alphas who expect me to get breathless and weak in the knees around them are always disappointed. My doctor is treating my mating hormone deficiency, but I still don't have a strong reaction to alphas. They leave me cold.

That certainly makes my father happy. He wants me to stay pure for one of the rich and powerful alphas he plans to marry me to. Great. Just what I want, my love life arranged by my father.

I haven't had to make a decision about that so far. Dad hasn't tried to push me into marriage just yet. So far it's only been a few meetings that went nowhere.

It's only a matter of time though. Then I'll have to choose. Defy my father and risk his wrath or throw away my whole future on a loveless marriage.

Maybe my alpha will come along and my fate will be sealed.

Looking at my image in the mirror, I sigh at my slim physique. My eyes are hazel like my mother's and nothing like my dad's. But I only know my mom from pictures and video. My hair is light brown like hers, too long, a little unruly. Needless to say, my father hates it.

Adding up everything I see in the mirror, I'm nothing impressive. I hope my alpha won't be disappointed when I find him. If I find him.

Why am I worrying about that? Considering what my father has planned for me, I'll