The Country Alpha: Veronica's Story: The Downing Cycle, #3

By Penelope Peters

One text is all it takes to spin a life into a different direction.

 

After a devastating accident, alpha Jake Downing has set aside his dream of hockey stardom, and narrowed his choices down to one—life as a hermit on a mountain in the middle of nowhere, with no city, no strictures of society, and especially no omega. He just needs to take one trip into the city – and then he's free.

 

This is how the story begins.

 

Within hours of his arrival, however, a single text message will twist the course his life takes, spinning his life in two alternate realities – determining not only the ownership of Jake's mountain, but also the person with whom he might end up sharing it.

 

This is how the story might go.

 

In this reality, Jake is led back to the ice, and with it, omega Veronica Aletta. Veronica's broken bond is a matter of gossip on the omega circuit – so it's just as well she has no intention of bonding again, despite her father's persistence. But now she's about to lose everything that's precious to her, and it will take more than determination and her strange link with Jake Downing to save it.

 

Sometimes love is just a matter of circumstance.

 

One night in the city, one inexplicable bond formed in a moment of passion, will bind Jake to the person destined to be his mate. Only their growing faith in each other will keep them from being torn apart.

 

The Country Alpha: Veronica is m/f non-shifter omegaverse romance. While the main pairing is m/f, it also features m/m, f/f, and mentions of off-screen mpreg.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penelope Peters
• Release date: Jul 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393871224

Book preview

Part 1

The Gala

BEFORE THE ACCIDENT, JAKE DOWNING had never minded the trip into the city. He let the rocking motion of the train lull him into a sort of dazed coma, rested his head against the back of the seat, and stared out at the houses and towns as they chugged along. He used the long hours to plot out the next hockey play or work his way through whatever paper was due in class. If time didn’t exactly fly by, it was at least bearable.

Now the rocking motion of the train jarred and shook every single one of his joints to the point of exhaustion. He couldn’t have closed his eyes or let his thoughts carry him away from the ache in his bones if he tried. It was exactly the way getting old felt, which was stupid, because Jake was only twenty-three, he was far from old.

Every other week, for nearly two years, Jake had taken the train into the city. He knew the houses he passed by heart, knew when they were repainted from blue to green, knew when the owners changed their curtains, knew what they looked like on sunny summer days, and in the dead of winter with snow threatening on the horizon. Every single trip was the same.

Even this one.

The only good thing about the enforced time on the train this time was the destination. Not Ethan’s gala that night, either. The gala was, at best, a detour.

And by the time it began, Jacob Elijah Downing would have already accomplished his goal in coming to the city for what he hoped would be the last time.

JAKE SAW HIS OLDER BROTHER Ethan a full minute before Ethan saw Jake. It would have been difficult not to spot Ethan waiting in the crowded train station, the way he bobbed up and down amongst the unfamiliar faces, as if continually stretching up to his toes in order to see over them. Besides, he was one of the few people in the lobby wearing grey and black. Typical colors for an omega hoping to safely blend into the background, but surrounded by people in blues and reds and greens, they were more like a beacon call for attention.

The moment Ethan spotted Jake, he broke into a wide grin and raised an arm to wave wildly. Jake rolled his eyes, confident that Ethan couldn’t see from that distance, and gave his brother a mock salute in response. Ethan sank back down into the sea of people, turning as if to speak to whoever had accompanied him to the station – his mate, Antonio, most likely. Surely Antonio didn’t work all of the time.

Jake let the flow of the crowd move him along, as he tried to shift his duffel bag to fall over his shoulder so that it didn’t continually bump against his knees. The sea of people moved slowly but steadily toward the turnstiles on the end of the train platform. They weren’t too tricky to navigate with the duffel and his rolling suitcase, though, particularly since at least half his fellow passengers were going through the handicapped gate anyway. Jake shoved aside the brief flash of annoyance, and followed them through the open gate. At least they held it open for him. Sometimes, other people’s self-entitlement had its benefits.

Ethan was still bouncing on his toes when Jake finally reached him. You made it. We worried when the boards said the train was late.

Jake, said Antonio, and reached to shake Jake’s hand. When Jake had first met him, shortly after his unorthodox bonding with his brother, Antonio had seemed impossibly old and tall and sophisticated. Six years later, Antonio was still sophisticated and older than his thirty-one years – but he was also an inch shorter than Jake. It didn’t seem to matter – Jake still felt like a younger sibling. There was something about Antonio that exuded alpha superiority. Whether it was his own bonded status, or an inflated sense of self-worth, Jake had never been able to determine. But for a guy who’d never had siblings, and claimed never to have really missed having them either, he’d taken to big brotherhood like a duck to water, or at least a more Latino version of Ethan himself.

Or maybe Antonio was more like his father, Héctor, than either man would ever care to admit. Antonio was just a bit better about pretending that he didn’t attempt to control the people he considered his subordinates in the family hierarchy.

Case in point, the way he stood so close to Ethan – not quite hovering, but close enough that there was no doubt they belonged together. As if the way they looked at each other wasn’t a dead give-away.

I can take your bag if you want, offered Antonio.

I’m fine, said Jake curtly, his fingers tightening on the strap. Ethan frowned, a clear rebuke for Jake’s perceived rudeness, but Antonio only nodded, as if he’d expected that response already.

We’ve got your room all set up for you, said Ethan, still in mothering mode. I cleared out some drawers for you and everything.

Mamí is particularly excited, said Antonio.

Ethan rolled his eyes. "You’d think you’re the prodigal son, the way Yolanda’s been going on. She insisted on new sheets, new duvet, new towels. I think she’d have bought new curtains if she thought she could get away with hanging them. I don’t know why, they were new to begin with. She bought a rug for the floor too, but I kicked it under the bed so it won’t give you any trouble."

I can handle a rug, said Jake, vaguely annoyed.

I know, but it was one of those little round ones, I slipped on it myself a half dozen times yesterday.

Ethan, the time, said Antonio, ever stoic. Ethan nodded, his cheeks going pinker.

Right, sorry, he apologized. For a moment, Jake thought Ethan would take his hand, or loop his arm through Jake’s. It was the sort of thing he would have done when they were growing up in New Belford, where such strict rules about touching between different presentations didn’t exist. Instead, Ethan shoved his hands deep into his pockets at the last moment before turning to head for the doors at the far end of the station.

Antonio’s mouth quirked at Jake, as if sharing a private, alpha moment. He took Jake’s rolling suitcase and set off next to Ethan. Jake opened his mouth to protest, but gave up before he even began. It wouldn’t have done any good, and anyway, the main lobby of the station was much more crowded and chaotic than the platform had been. Much as Jake hated to admit it, trying to navigate the complicated pedestrian flow of traffic with both the suitcase and the cumbersome duffel bag might have done him in.

Jake stifled a sigh and shifted the duffel bag on his shoulder. Ethan almost immediately held back to walk alongside him, allowing Antonio to take the lead.

I’m glad you made it, Ethan confessed. I was worried, when your train was late.

Eh, you’re the last to play anyway, said Jake, shrugging as nonchalantly as he could, just to watch Ethan glare.

Rude to come in halfway through a performance, Ethan scolded him. Jake grinned. I was more worried you’d miss your doctor’s appointment.

Jake pretended to concentrate on keeping his balance so he wouldn’t have to look at Ethan, who could surely spot guilt with a glance. It’s just a routine thing. It won’t take ten minutes.

Still, better not to reschedule, said Ethan. Not when you’re going to be so busy next week with the new job—

So what are you going to do with your sabbatical, anyway? Jake interrupted. He was rewarded with Ethan’s scowl.

"Forced sabbatical. It couldn’t have come at a worse time, I’m going to end up missing spring gala and half the workshops. It’s ridiculous."

I thought it was required?

"Required," scoffed Ethan.

Jake stumbled as someone brushed too close to his arm. He would have fallen, but Ethan reached out without even thinking and provided a counter-balance, letting Jake lean against him long enough to regain his footing.

Thanks, mumbled Jake, feeling the frustrated heat in his cheeks. He stepped away from Ethan, suddenly conscious of the people around him – not that anyone had noticed. He didn’t think. They were nearly out of the worst of the crush anyway.

We should have taken a different exit – I mean, Antonio’s going to get us a cab anyway, it doesn’t matter which one we use.

You don’t need to get a cab on my account.

You’ve got luggage, Ethan pointed out. The apartment is on the other side of the city and it’s supposed to rain.

I’m just saying, I could walk.

I know you could, said Ethan patiently. "I’m just saying – no point in getting wet if you don’t need to."

Jake tampered down the urge to scowl. I like walking.

And I like setting up my brother’s room myself, said Ethan. Which is why I kicked the rug under your bed. Sometimes the path of least resistance is pretty satisfying too, you know. Especially when it keeps you dry on rainy days.

Ironic, thought Jake dryly, especially coming on the cusp of Ethan’s forced sabbatical, but Jake let that slide.

The crowd thinned at the doors, which didn’t make much sense. At least Jake didn’t have to worry that he’d be knocked over at the last minute. The sidewalk was empty, but he could see that the pavement was damp from an earlier rainstorm, even if it wasn’t actively raining just then. Antonio was already at the curb, hand raised as he tried to signal a cab.

He usually has better luck getting a cab quick, mused Ethan with a frown. Everyone in town wants a ride today.

Path of least resistance proves to be popular, deadpanned Jake. Ethan snorted lightly just as a cab pulled up near Antonio.

Jake realized the other advantage of walking in the midst of several hundred people when he started to follow Ethan to the waiting taxi. For one thing, a crowd of people naturally moved a little bit slower, just to accommodate everyone. But walking by himself, on wet pavement, without anyone nearby – it was obvious how slowly Jake moved. He didn’t dare try to go faster, not with the heavy duffel over his shoulder, or the chance that he’d step on a stray puddle the wrong way and go flying. Instead, he gritted his teeth and kept going, as Ethan looked worried and guilty over his shoulder before slipping into the backseat of the taxi. Antonio stood on the pavement, one hand on the door, watching Jake approach.

I’ll put your bag in the trunk for you, he said, reaching for Jake’s duffel. Jake didn’t bother to protest.

Two years ago, he would have rather walked, in order to stretch his legs after the long train ride into the city. He still wanted it. His muscles ached and cramped after the shaking motion of the train. All the same, it felt good to sit, and Jake leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Better than to endure Ethan’s sympathetic looks.

Two years ago, he probably wouldn’t have been on the train with half his clothes shoved into suitcases anyway.

And he sure as hell wouldn’t have the appointment he intended to keep before Ethan’s performance that night.

I’m trying to think, when was the last time you saw me play? wondered Ethan.

Jake didn’t open his eyes. Before the accident, not that he was going to say it. He’d discovered the hard way that bringing up the accident seemed to overcome everyone’s hesitation to mention it – and without the hesitation, they’d always want to discuss some aspect of the event. And if he tried to shut them down? But you brought it up!

Couple of years, probably, said Jake, which at least was true.

That long, really? You’ve been in the city since, I wonder why we couldn’t fit it in.

The car swayed when Antonio slammed the trunk closed, and gave another gentle lurch as Antonio settled into the seat next to Jake.

"Leave him be, queride, he’s tired," said Antonio as he closed the door. Jake felt the taxi vibrate as it pulled into traffic. It was almost a relief after the bone-jarring shake of the train.

Faking, said Ethan, with the authority of an older brother. Jake obligingly let out a very fake-sounding snore.

Antonio’s sigh filled the taxi.

When Jake opened his eyes, Ethan wasn’t looking at him at all, but at his watch. I should probably go straight to the concert hall, he said, worried. And Jake’s appointment is in less than an hour. Maybe we should take him there now.

No, said Jake quickly. "It’s just around the corner from your apartment, I can walk. I should walk, he amended quickly. If I’m going to trip on that rug under my bed, better to do it before I see the doctor anyway, don’t you think?"

Ethan rolled his eyes. Fine, fine. But I should get to the hall sooner rather than later.

"You’re going to play in your jeans, queride?" asked Antonio, amused.

Shut up, said Ethan with a grin. I took my tux to the hall yesterday during rehearsal, just in case. It’s not like I’d wear it in the taxi, anyway. Yolanda would fuss about wrinkles for a week.

Antonio nodded. It’s on the way, we can drop you off. He leaned forward to the driver and began speaking in rapid Spanish.

I’m sorry, Ethan apologized to Jake. I really should make sure you’re settled first, and I want to hear all about the new job—

It’s fine, there’ll be time later, said Jake quickly.

I just wish your train had been on time so I didn’t have to rush to the concert hall. Or you to your appointment.

"It’s fine, repeated Jake firmly. Even if it meant he’d be alone with Antonio – at least Antonio wasn’t as likely to look at Jake and see the guilt he wore like a scarf. You can leave two alphas alone for ten minutes, I swear we won’t burn down the house."

Ethan laughed. "To be fair, that only happened to Fa once. And the kitchen was only a little bit singed."

And Mom is never going to let him forget it.

Don’t burn down my apartment though, said Ethan. I’ve only just figured out how I want it.

It only took four years, said Antonio as he settled back in his seat.

"As if you were any help! It wouldn’t have taken two years to finish the renovations if you hadn’t kept changing your mind about colors and flooring and where you wanted the walls."

Very important things, walls, said Antonio mildly. You were in school that second year, you don’t remember.

Just because I was in school doesn’t mean I was oblivious. And no fair throwing the second year at the conservatory back at me, you were just as excited as I was when they offered it.

True, said Antonio, smiling, and Ethan smiled back. For a moment, Jake felt supremely uncomfortable sitting between them. He could almost smell the pheromones in the air.

Dimitrov said if you play the Shostakovich that I’m supposed to boo and walk out of the auditorium, he blurted. Ethan, still smiling like an idiot in love, started to blink. Antonio began to laugh.

He would, Ethan said finally, wryly. I’m not playing the Shostakovich. Maybe you should tell him I did, though.

Lizst? asked Jake.

Ethan blushed. It’s a surprise.

Oh, fuck, groaned Jake, and let his head hit the back of the seat. "It’s Glass. Couldn’t you have picked out something less like scales since I’m going to be there?"

Ethan laughed as the taxi pulled over to the curb. "It’s a surprise. And don’t you tell him, Ethan warned Antonio. I’d give you a kiss but I think Jake here would be uncomfortable."

Very, said Jake firmly.

"Go, queride," said Antonio warmly, reaching out to brush his fingers against Ethan’s hand. Jake caught a glimpse of the blush on Ethan’s cheeks at the gentle touch, and with one last grin at them, he got out of the taxi.

Jake slid over to take Ethan’s vacated seat as the taxi moved back into the flow of traffic, just in time to see Ethan disappear into the glass front doors without so much as a backward glance. The doors mirrored the taxi and the city backdrop for a moment as they swung closed.

He’ll be all right, said Antonio as Jake repositioned himself in the taxi.

Are you telling me, or reminding yourself? he asked.

Antonio raised an eyebrow before chuckling. You’re very clever, aren’t you?

So I’m told.

I thought your doctor was located closer to the train station.

The spike of fear that he’d been found out went straight down Jake’s spine. There were pins and needles in his right leg, from the knee to the toes. But Jake squashed the feeling and kept his voice even.

New doctor. New location.

Hmm, said Antonio, thoughtfully, in a way that made Jake think that he wasn’t fooled in the slightest – but at least wasn’t going to press the point.

Better to change the subject.

Ethan’s not too happy about his forced sabbatical.

Antonio sighed, and the impassive façade dropped. No, he’s not, he admitted ruefully. And unlike you, he’s ensuring that every person in a ten-foot radius is very well aware.

Why’s he taking it, then?

"There is a rather old legal clause that says bonded omegas in the workforce must be given the opportunity to have a stress-free estrus at least once every two years. The definition of stress-free being that they have the chance to take a vacation for a certain period of time both before and after estrus. Supposedly it aids conception. I don’t understand the medical details."

Jake frowned. Ethan’s always said he wants to focus on his career before kids.

It doesn’t matter. His estruses have always fallen at inopportune times in regards to the orchestra’s season, and therefore he’s been unable to take the extra vacation time allotted to him. At least, he’s never bothered to request it. Once the musical director realized this.... Antonio shrugged. Ethan acts as if it’s the end of his career. But he has always been one for drama, and he has not had a quiet moment to reflect since he left school four years ago. This sabbatical is a good thing for him.

Especially if he falls pregnant? asked Jake, unable to resist goading Antonio, just a little.

Antonio, however, wouldn’t be goaded. He shrugged, all Latino indifference. Then he falls pregnant. More important that he return to the stage relaxed and rejuvenated.

Not very relaxing if he’s unhappy about it, observed Jake.

No, but then the Downing sons are never very pleased with the status quo, are they? said Antonio pointedly.

Jake scowled. The loud buzz and beep of an incoming message to the phone in his pocket couldn’t have come at a better time. Jake frowned when he saw the sender.

He frowned harder when he read the message.

Incoming Text from Larissa Bailey, 2:36pm

Jake, sorry to inform you. The deal has fallen through. Please call my office.

Fuck, said Jake.

Antonio glanced over from his own phone. Problem?

Doctor’s office cancelled, said Jake, stumbling a bit over the words. If it’d been Ethan, or their mother, Ben, sitting in the taxi with him, they’d never have let Jake get away with the lie. Antonio, however, merely shook his head in sympathy. I have to call and reschedule.

Antonio nodded, but Jake didn’t miss the glance at Jake’s feet.

Antonio might have been the only person never to remark on Jake’s accident... and Jake was grateful for it. But Antonio was still human.

Jake pocketed the phone and slunk down in his seat, staring out at the passing buildings, wondering what the hell had happened that was sending his life drastically off course.

ANTONIO AND ETHAN’S APARTMENT WAS located on the south side of the city, close enough to the docks that the streets were wide and fairly untraveled, except by the occasional large delivery truck or bus of wide-eyed tourists coming to and from their luxury cruise ships. It was high enough that the typical city noise was muffled through picture windows overlooking the water. It was bright and airy, with shining hardwood floors and a spectacular view that Ethan liked to cover with thin, gauzy curtains, which Antonio was continuously pulling back for more light.

Ethan’s piano took center stage in the main room, where most people might have put a dining room table. Instead of couches facing a television or fireplace, there were chairs and divans arranged in groups around the room, so that visitors could watch him play, or converse quietly with the knowledge that everyone else was too busy watching and listening to Ethan to eavesdrop.

Jake had been to his brother’s apartment dozens of times in the five years since they’d moved in. It had the same comfortable, familiar sort of mess that he recognized from home. Pillows flattened on the couches or fallen to the floor; a pile of music sheets haphazardly piled on the piano; a few stray glasses strewn about the room where Antonio or Ethan had placed and then forgotten them. There was a pile of books next to the deep leather chair Jake knew was Antonio’s favorite, and a pair of shoes nearby that no one had bothered to put away.

But the hardwood floors were clean and shining. The piano was polished and free of dust. The kitchen, with its large open window that overlooked everything else, had been recently cleaned and mopped and scrubbed down to the last corner. Both of the chairs at the small table pushed up against the glass window were still upended, as if someone had only just finished mopping.

Antonio walked straight through the small foyer that bled into the hallway, into the kitchen as he flipped through their mail, oblivious in the manner of one accustomed to his surroundings. His footsteps echoed as he walked.

You’re in the blue room, second door on the left, Antonio said. Do you remember it?

Jake clutched the duffel bag’s strap in his fist. Yes.

We’ll leave in an hour and a half. There’s a reception after the gala – drinks and such. It could go rather long, but if you want to return early, there will be a car waiting. My mother will undoubtedly wish to leave after an hour or so, if you’re worried about appearances.

It’s fine. I’ll just call the doctor, rest a while.

Antonio nodded. I have some work to do before we go – make yourself at home.

Antonio’s voice echoed as he headed down the hallway. A moment later, Jake heard the door to Antonio’s office shut with a soft snick.

Jake hefted his duffel bag over his shoulder again before heading down the hall. The clicking wheels of his rolling suitcase seemed particularly loud in the near-empty hallway. Jake was sure there’d been a rug on the hardwood floor at one time. Not anymore. But then, Ethan had kicked a rug in his room under the bed. Who knew what he’d done to a rug in the hallway in an effort to make Jake more comfortable.

Jake decided he wasn’t going to feel guilty about that. Or at least, he’d try not to.

The blue guest room was halfway down the hall. Jake had stayed in it before, usually sharing it with his sister Becca. They’d fight over who slept on the bed, and who slept on the air mattress on the floor. The room had always been a complete tip even before their arrival: boxes Ethan didn’t have time to unpack, empty crates that still smelled of cinnamon and curry and red pepper that Antonio shipped home from distant lands. Extra chairs that belonged to the kitchen table, a chipped wooden trunk that didn’t close because it was overflowing with blankets, and an inexplicable row of multiple dressers shoved against the wall.

The room didn’t look anything like how Jake remembered. The double bed was still on the far wall, but instead of the jumble of too-small and too-large blankets, it was now covered by a blue-and-white quilt. The double windows still overlooked the harbor, but now they were framed with blue curtains pulled back to let in what feeble sunshine fought its way through the cloud cover outside.

The extra chairs were gone, the wooden trunk was gone, and the only dresser that remained was tall and completely devoid of knick-knacks. The floor was remarkably clear of debris or impediment. Jake couldn’t even see the rug that Ethan claimed to have kicked under the bed. The only thing that kept the room from being sterile were Jake’s own memories of what it’d looked like previously.

Jake stood in the doorway of the room, his hand reflexively gripping and releasing the strap of his duffel bag. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself before going in and closing the door behind him.

Bag on the bed, his coat slung over the footboard – Jake thumbed through to Larissa’s message, and then hit the call button.

It rang exactly twice, while Jake crossed over to look out the window. The river looked grey and choppy. It might have even started raining a little, Jake wasn’t sure.

Bailey, his lawyer answered briskly.

It’s Jake. What happened?

Jake, said Larissa. Jake could practically hear the gears in her head shifting focus. The family decided not to sell. I called you as soon as I found out.

Larissa’s tone was still businesslike, but there was an edge to it now, the sort that made Jake hope that whoever had cancelled the sale hadn’t done so in person. Or maybe their bloodied body was still lying warm at Larissa’s feet.

Do they want more money? Because I can—

"No, you can’t, you jockhead. You don’t have more money. Buying this place would have emptied your bank account as it is, and it’s not like you’ve got a cushy job just waiting for you on the horizon, now is it?"

Nope, no body at Larissa’s feet, not the way she was turning her sights on Jake. He hadn’t realized it was possible to stand next to an open window and still