CHAPTER 356: AN ALPHA AMONG OMEGAS

Andrew was swarmed by omegas, Maxwell bidding him goodbye with a sparkle in his eye as he was whisked away. Andrew swore the man was laughing as it happened, and Richard, bless him, wandered over before Andrew could truly be taken away.

"Where are you going?" He asked, nervous. The group paused. A few of them probably would have recognised Richard from when Andrew’s Mom was sick, but Andrew wasn’t so sure, so he cleared the air right away.

"Ah. These are some of my university friends." Andrew told Richard, and Richard glanced around nervously. Andrew smiled warmly. "Most are mated, so you shouldn’t be able to smell them." Andrew said and Richard’s cheeks flushed. Andrew chuckled, reaching for the taller man and wrapping his arm around his shoulder. He turned him towards the group who were waiting with baited breath. "Everyone, this is the brother of my heart, Richard Gates. Dr. Richard Gates. He’s one of the heads of Max’s research departments." Andrew boasted and Richard looked ever more embarrassed as they ’ooed’ and ’awed’ appropriately. "He’s also very newly manifested, so please treat him well." Andrew spoke proudly, but made sure they could feel the threat behind his eyes.

Fiona shuddered, before she shook herself.

"There was no need to do that. You know we would easily accept him. He’s an omega, isn’t he? I can tell since you wouldn’t be this kind of protective of him if he was an alpha." Fiona said and Andrew felt his face warm. Whoops.

Jess scanned Richard, taking in his tall frame before she smiled.

"Is he single?" She asked and Richard began to sputter.

"Uh, well, I-"

"Married to his work, sadly. Dear Ricky here is dedicated to his work. Max and I are glad that he’s well enough to come to an event like this. Also glad that the meds work for him as well." Andrew said warmly. Richard was a red tomato under his arm, the whiskey glass in his hand shaking.

"Stop embarrassing me." He muttered and Andrew threw his head back and laughed. Not in this lifetime.

"Wait till your sister gets here. She’s going to be worse. She’s like a shaking fawn when she sees you. You? Her baby brother? An omega? She’s beside herself." Andrew joked and Richard tightened his mouth into a firm line.

"I’m not delicate. I’ve never been delicate." He protested and Andrew smiled.

"I know that, but that doesn’t mean others can’t look out for you. Do you think anyone who I consider my friend would treat you poorly? You are adjusting to a new reality, and they are probably more than happy to help you do so." Andrew glanced over at the others and all of them were nodding without prompting. Richard still looked awkward. "Do you want to stay here with Max and Kim and Jenny? Wait for May and Ford to arrive? Or do you want to join us while we talk about the past and catch up?" Andrew gave the man the option, not wanting to pressure him.

Richard took a moment to consider it seriously, before he sighed.

"I don’t want to feel like I’m getting in Maxy’s way, so I guess I’ll go with you." He muttered and Andrew grinned.

"Awe. You can just say you want to spend more time with me. I won’t be weird about it." Richard and Andrew bickered, Andrew grinning the whole time while the others watched on, a smile on their faces.

Soon, the group found them settled down on a set of comfy chairs, a few platters of snacks in front of them, brought over by the staff. Andrew’s hand was filled with a drink, something light, and Richard was watching him like a hawk.

Andrew chuckled as everyone else noticed the intense way Richard was watching him. Richard had that right. He and Rose had picked him up.

"I’m only going to have one or two tonight. I’ll stick to mostly non-alcoholic drinks." Andrew told Richard, and Richard had every right to look skeptical. He sipped his own whiskey, still with the umbrella, and gave him a serious look.

Fiona leaned forward in her chair, staring at Andrew with a piercing look.

"Why is he so worried about your drinking habits, Andy?" She asked and Andrew chuckled. "You weren’t this bad in university." She said, a glimmer of understanding in her eye. It was like she could see what Richard was going to say.

Richard grumbled in his spot next to Andrew, and Andrew’s hand tightened on the flute in his hand.

"I, uh, well...I self medicated after my Mom’s death." Andrew said, giving a painful smile. "Sex and alcohol. Those were my drugs of choice." Someone spewed their drink, coughing as everyone at the chairs around them stared at him in shock.

"What? Where? When?" It was Harvey who asked, his eyes wide. "Because I certainly didn’t hear stories of the wild escapades of Andy Knox here, and I certainly would have." Harvey said and Andrew laughed. He was a little awkward speaking about this, but at the same time...it was nice to do so. It didn’t feel like he was poking the wound, but more like he was spreading some kind of balm on it.

"It was in England. That’s why no one heard from me. I dropped out, more like I was kicked out, and I ran away to England. Ricky here was pissed too. I missed his, our, sister’s wedding because I was so deep in my own issues and not really healing." Andrew shrugged. "I’ve been good since I came back. At least on the vices side of things. I had uh...a bit of a breakdown recently which is why Ricky here is so worried about me." Andrew said, his smile tight.

"He almost ended up in the hospital." Richard muttered darkly, and Andrew let out a light laugh. He had kind of thought that the people around him would look upset, or relieved. He wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

It wasn’t Jess launching herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a tight squeeze.

"You big dumb idiot." She said, her voice tight. "Were you safe? Are you okay? Are there any Andy juniors out there?" She asked, worry in her tone, her expression, her actions. Andrew felt his body relax slightly.

"No. There was one worrisome moment, but nothing came of it. I was always safe, even when I could very well not have been. I never, ever wanted to be like my father. It was an imprint in my heart, even when I was at my lowest." Andrew told her and Jess let out a shaky breath.

"Your father...he’s from here?" She asked and Andrew nodded, giving her a squeeze. She pulled back, stumbling a little but both Richard and Andrew supported her so that she could stand on her heels without worry of falling. She brushed her hands down the sides of her dress, smoothing out her appearance. "Do you know who he is?" She asked and Andrew shook his head with a smile.

"I’ve refused to ever look him up. I know who he is, of course. I’ve met him a handful of times until I didn’t manifest as anything but a beta when I was younger." Andrew shrugged as they listened in horror to his words. It was normal for true alpha families, but they weren’t from those. They were from normal families, where a mate bond meant something. "I know he’s powerful, and I also know I have half siblings. Never met any of them as far as I know." Andrew said lightly and Fiona let out a sigh. It held a lot behind it.

"Fuck Andy. I knew you didn’t keep track of celebrities or anything like that, but you were a beta at the time so I just assumed...Fuck. I’m so sorry you couldn’t tell us this when we were younger." She said, her eyes watery. Andrew blinked.

"Why are you apologising? You did nothing wrong." Andrew told her and Jess dropped her head, her fists clenched at her side.

"It means you didn’t trust us enough with your worries, Andy. We put so much of our own on your shoulders, and never realised what heavy burdens you had on your own shoulders. We should have checked in, should have poked more."

"We all should have." Andrew started at the voice over his shoulder as a set of feminine hands reached down and squeezed his shoulders. Andrew tilted his head back and saw the gleaming eyes of Maria, all warm, but her face was stark. Raw. "But we can all be better to each other now, can’t we? Andy’s here, he’s opening up, and he’s not running away again. Maxy’s got him too wrapped around his finger for that." Maria teased, squeezing his shoulders in emphasis. Andrew felt a wide, silly smile touch his lips.

"Yeah. That’s true. I breathe for that man." Andrew admitted easily, without prompting. Harvey let out a wistful sigh.

"Damn it, Andy. Stop being such a damn simp for a man that makes a shiver run down my spine. I might accidentally call him Maxy to his face and I think he’ll strangle me." Harvey shivered and Andrew let out a laugh, turning to look at everyone else as Maria came around to join the group, sitting down on the couch next to Fiona.

"Mmm, I’ve called him Max to his face and nothing happened. I think I called him Maxy too. He’s a sweetheart, honestly. He’s much nicer when he isn’t in business mode. He also loves Andy so much he vibrates with it. The glare he gave me when Andy hadn’t clarified who I was?" Maria shivered while Andrew stared at her blankly. "He’s possessive as all hell. It’s a good thing Andy is who he is." Maria said with a grin. Jess moved back to her spot, sitting next to another omega that Andrew had known in university but he couldn’t place a name to.

"Of course he’s possessive. He’s a Beckett." Fiona said seriously, and Andrew laughed.

"He is a Beckett, that’s for sure. He told me if we had switched places and he was the alpha and I was the omega, I would be marked, barefoot and pregnant by now." Andrew said with a laugh, warmth coming off of him in waves as he said the words. He clearly didn’t find them alarming, and when the rest of the group realised this, they relaxed as well.

"Oh? So when are you going to do the honours to Maxy in return? How many little Andy and Maxy’s should we expect? A whole litter?" Maria asked, teasing and Andrew laughed.

"That’s completely up to Maxy. It’s his body, I would never want to put him through too much strain. It’s harder on a male omega than it is on a female omega." Andrew said and Harvey nodded sagely.

"He’s right." They continued talking to each other, teasing and catching up with each other. Andrew had expected it to be a little awkward, but that faded quickly. Andrew felt his chest warm as he realised how easily he was able to pick up from where he’d left off. It was...nice. He should have done this sooner.