(BL)Alpha Made-Chapter 488: Caring also means sharing information

"So, a baby? Isn't that quick, you two?" Maxwell asked. Richard went white while Ellis, who worked with Maxwell all the time, chuckled.

"I would have had his babies before he manifested, Max." Ellis said and that made Richard turn pink. It was amusing to see him change colours like a lightbulb. Maxwell didn't bat an eye.

"That may be the case for you, but Ricky here is newly manifested. Is he alright with all the ups and downs that comes with you being pregnant? What if he's also pregnant?" Maxwell suggested, at a party, with Maxwell's parents still listening in.

Andrew had to fight to keep his face neutral while Richard looked pale. Ellis really laughed then.

"Max, I promise you. Richard isn't pregnant." That was all he said, but there was a twinkle in his eye. Andrew let out a soft cough, avoiding the question that he knew Maxwell was probably going to poke into next.

"Well, I'm excited for you two if you two are excited for it. Have you told your family yet, Ellis?" Andrew asked and felt the energy shift slightly. Andrew glanced at Ellis, trying to gauge his reaction.

He looked a little nervous, his eyes getting a little shifty and Andrew could tell that he was a little twitchy. Richard squeezed his hand as Ellis gave a nervous laugh.

"I…haven't told them yet." He admitted and Luis took a step forward.

"Do you want me to do it?" She asked, her voice soft and kind. Ellis looked alarmed to hear her offer to help.

"No! No. You don't need to do that." Ellis said, laughing nervously. Andrew felt a little bad bringing it up while Maxwell let out a sigh.

"Unlike Andrew, you do have to tell them, Ellis. This could be the way that you can cut ties with them forever. Pregnant and not married? That's a classic way for a family like them to cut ties with you." Maxwell pointed out and Ellis nodded. He looked a little green.

"I hadn't thought of that before. I just…I've been avoiding thinking about having to speak to either of my fathers." Ellis admitted softly. Andrew felt sympathy for the man and Richard looked tense.

"You don't have to tell them if you don't want to." Richard told him and Ellis gave a soft sigh. He glanced at Maxwell, giving a tight smile.

"No. Max is right. I should…tell them. This might be the only way for them to let me go." Ellis said, looking ill still. "I'm sorry. I'm not feeling great. I have to excuse myself." Ellis practically fled from the group and Richard looked torn before Andrew waved him off.

"Go. He probably needs you." Andrew told him and Richard didn't need another nudge. Off he went. Maxwell let out a soft sigh.

"Well, it seems like everyone around us is having kids." He muttered softly. Andrew felt his spine stiffen as Luis and Thomas looked at them again, their eyes practically glowing. Thankfully, more people started pouring in and Andrew and Maxwell made their escape.

~

Andrew kept an eye on Richard and Ellis as the night went on, able to tell that Ellis wasn't feeling well at all. He looked ill, and he seemed to be having an issue with all of the scents in the room. It was clear to anyone with eyes that something was going on with the poor man. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

May and Ford got an earful from Andrew as soon as they arrived, especially since Ford looked guilty when he met Andrew's angry gaze. May stood her ground and defended herself, saying that when they saw each other was not the time to be telling him about Ellis potentially being pregnant.

Andrew wanted to argue, but found that he couldn't in the face of her hard gaze, and the fear that was behind it. She was probably right. He would have heard it, but been unable to properly react to the news.

Jordan and Rose showed up with Amir, Mehar and Ben and Amir's grandparents. They had run into each other in the lobby and Amir and Jordan had been talking. Jordan looked uncomfortable at the stage of pregnancy he was at. The baby was due soon, and he was a healthy size. Jordan was actually worried that the baby was going to be too big, but since they had already opted for the C-section due to him being a male omega, he was just working himself up for almost no reason.

Rose was an attentive caregiver, her eyes full of a sparkle that made Andrew glad that she was so happy and sound. Jordan was escorted over to a place of honour where Luis and the others could easily speak to him. Ellis would have sat there as well if he wasn't getting up to probably go throw up every 10 minutes.

There was a lot of sympathy from the other omegas in the room and Richard seemed lost as to what to do. Andrew couldn't exactly help him. He had a feeling he'd gotten into Ellis' bad books by bringing up his family, and while he wanted to apologise, he also felt like the man was avoiding him.

There were also so many other people around him that made it hard to pay attention to just Ellis as well. With Jordan, Amir, little baby Mehar, Maria and her kids, Kim, Jenny and their kids. There were just a lot of people that Andrew also had to keep an eye on. That list didn't even include Maxwell, his fiancé, who was also busy tending to the people that he needed to for family and financial reasons.

Things really got hectic when Mr. Dalton and his wife, Aster, showed up and Andrew had to say hello to them. Thankfully, they said hello to Luis and Thomas first and then headed directly to Andrew and Maxwell. Andrew could spot the Dalton's from a mile away since they were also in a matching outfit, just like Andrew and Maxwell. It was honestly, not far off in colour from what Andrew and Maxwell were wearing, just a little brighter.

Mr. Dalton came over, all smiles and just boldly interrupted whoever was speaking to Andrew. He pulled him in for a hug, laughing as he squeezed Andrew tightly.

"You look wonderful tonight, Andy. Quite dashing. I see great minds think alike. Am I to assume that Max thought of this?" He asked warmly and Maxwell, who was tied up with a few important men from his board, smiled slightly. Mr. Dalton chuckled as he released Andy and passed him off to his wife.

Aster gave him a softer, but just as forceful hug. Both of them hugged him like Andy was a long lost child and Andrew was a bit overwhelmed, but happy.

"You're right to assume that Maxy thought of this. He's been planning it for a while. You both look so nice in your outfits." Andrew gushed, smiling down at Aster for a moment before meeting Mr. Dalton's warm gaze.

His eyes washed over Andrew, before Andrew watched them flicker to the amber shade that all true alphas carried. Mr. Dalton pulled Andrew closer, wrapping his arm around his shoulder with a loud laugh.

"Maxy, I'm stealing your future husband for a moment." He called over his shoulder and Maxwell smirked.

"Bring him back in one piece please, Walter!" Maxwell called back and Mr. Dalton chuckled.

"Cheeky kid." Mr. Dalton commented with a smile as Aster and Andrew chuckled. The relationships he was building with people were fueling a part of Andrew that he didn't know he was missing, but he was filling up anyways. Mr. Dalton got his wife a drink first, and then got some strong, peaty scotch for him and Andrew. He brought them over to a secluded area, covered by curtains before he grew serious.

Andrew was taking a sip of the scotch, Aster on one side of him on the couch and Mr. Dalton on the other before Mr. Dalton dropped the over the top happiness and stared at Andrew seriously.

"How are you doing, son? Are you alright? How is your sister doing?" He asked, his voice gentle. Aster's hand on Andrew's knee, giving it a squeeze made him realise that this was their intention from the beginning. Andrew swallowed thickly.

"I…I'm doing okay." Andrew murmured. He stared down at the glass in his hand, turning it slowly as Aster squeezed his knee again. "Nicole is…keeping her spirits up." Andrew told them and Mr. Dalton let out a deep, heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry that both of you had to experience the worst that this world had to offer. Not all true alpha families are that horrible." He sounded so upset. His voice was gravelly, rough. Andrew gave a watery smile.

"I'm sorry that Nicole had to go through it too. I…I'm fine. I never had to go into that room until then. It sickens me that they even exist." Andrew admitted and Mr. Dalton let out a harsh exhale.

"They were signs of power for the old guard." He said. "However many you had showed off how much power you had. Omegas, I mean, not rooms. Though, that could also be a statement of power." Mr. Dalton said and Andrew felt sick hearing the words. "I never participated willingly either." He said softly and Andrew felt his heart break.

He looked up at the older man, the man who had taken a chance on his Mom, who everyone wanted to have in their corner, who people fell over to please only to find out he was just like the rest of them.

Andrew met his gaze, the pain that was there and Andrew dropped his head, his heart racing. His chest felt heavy and he fought to control his emotions.

"I'm going to put a damn end to them." Andrew told him and Mr. Dalton let out a soft chuckle.

"If anyone could do it, I think it would be you, Andy." He said softly. "I heard from my friend on the police force that you were in with her the whole time. That you also sent off the others so that they didn't freak out. Were you okay after?" He asked, serious, and Andrew winced.

"I went into rut for…12 hours? A day? After. Poor Max had to deal with me." Andrew said. He meant to joke, but he couldn't with something so serious. Mr. Dalton nodded, making a soft noise in his throat.

"Andy, I don't think anyone's taken the time to tell you this yet, but that's incredibly impressive." Mr. Dalton said and Andrew swallowed. He was shaking his head slowly.

"No, it's not. I would do that for her, and for anyone else." Andrew said and Mr. Dalton laughed.

"I would do it for you too, Andy, and probably for Nicole as well, but I wouldn't be able to do it. I love Aster, more than breathing, but my alpha genes would kick in at some point and I would harm myself and others. It's tragic to say, but I do think that your family, your father's bloodline is just a bit different from mine." It was a punch to the gut, his words.

Andrew knew he didn't mean them to hurt Andrew, but that he was being sincere. Telling Andrew a truth that was staring Andrew in the face. Mr. Dalton probably knew about the lab, given that he had a friend on the force.

Andrew shifted uncomfortably in the seat, Aster's hand tightening on his knee.

"Did you hear everything?" Andrew asked softly and Mr. Dalton let out a soft exhale.

"Yeah, Andy. I did." He said and Andrew closed his eyes. Fuck. He ran his hand over his face with his free hand. It was clear that Mr. Dalton was drawing conclusions from the lab, and with his experience as a true alpha, there were things he was seeing that Andrew wasn't.

Andrew should tell him the whole truth now.