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Shade gives me a dubious look before groaning, her cheeks taking on a pink tint.
“I should make my way home and get everything ready. Thanks for… pulling me out of there, and sorry about kind-of trying to molest you.”
She could molest me anytime of any day, and I don’t think I’d complain a bit.
I don’t want her to leave. Or, at least, not without me. There’s this urge to be with her right now that I can’t explain. Something pulling me to her I don’t want to ignore.
“We could, uh…” I glance back at Rhett, and he raises a curious brow at me. “We could walk with you, just to make sure you get there safely? If you don’t mind, that is?”
Her plump lips purse as she eyes me and then Rhett, who is standing stock still staring at me with parted lips and wide eyes. Like he can’t believe I would offer to walk her home when she’s so close to a heat and smelling the way she does. With one of my alphas present.
This is an unknown omega. I know nothing about her other than my instincts are drawn to her, and she smells so damn good that I feel I could drown in her without a care in the world.
I mean, it’s not a huge shocker that I’m attracted to another omega. I’d kind of figured out early in life that I was… a little on the strange end of my designation.
It’s also no secret that I’ve had a crush on Ripley since I first met her. Well, not to anyone but her.
I told all my alphas from day one that there was something there that I was attracted to within Ripley. They never tried to dissuade me, despite their… reservations. And as the years passed and Ripley rejected every pack she met, the more I had hope—and maybe my alphas did as well—that she’d be open to joining us.
She might have if she loved me as more than a friend and hadn’t found a scent match just before we were all set to leave the Omega Center behind.
I’ve been trying to get over how perfect she and River are together. Their alphas and beta are great too, and it’s so obvious they all love each other, but there’s just something truly special between Rip and River. The way he nearly lost it when she was kidnapped put a lot into perspective for me.
River loves her with the ferocity of any alpha, but to make things even better, he gets her on a baser level, more than anyone else could simply because they share the same designation. It’s beautiful, and something I kind of envy and want for myself.
Shade scrutinizes us for several moments, trying to decide whether to trust us to get her home, and I nearly breathe out a sigh of relief when she nods her head.
“Yeah, okay. That’s probably a good idea, anyway.”
I grin at her, telling her to lead the way as I step up to her side and she starts walking. Rhett follows behind us in a bit of a daze, but still pays attention to our surroundings and keeps us both in his sight.
“So… Are there alphas waiting at home that are going to freak out about me and Rhett walking you home?” I ask after the first block, needing to learn anything about her I can.
She snorts. “Nah. It’s just me. I’m an anomaly that chose not to bond with anyone after graduating simply because I wanted to be my own person and not be a slave to my hormones and designation.”
My brows raise in surprise. It’s not such a shock, I suppose. I mean, plenty of omegas have chosen to live their lives in solitude rather than finding a pack, electing to live in one of the few omega-only apartment buildings that are around and using heat services when they’re needed. As much as Ripley thought she was the only one to leave the Center without a pack, she wasn’t.
Just… the others voluntarily chose a solitary life. It seems so impersonal and lonely to me. I couldn’t imagine living all alone and never having the comfort of my alphas when I needed it.
“Will you call the heat services, then?” I ask casually, unable to help being nosy.
“Yeah,” she sighs. “It’s not so bad, but it’s gotten a little old. Someone new coming around every time my heat pops up. Sometimes I’ll get repeat alphas if they’re still on the roster, and that’s nice because they know my do’s and don’ts already. This heat spiked a little sooner than I was prepared for, so I hope they even have alphas available.” Her brow creases at the thought that the Center may have no one available for her.
I wish I could tell her that me and my pack would help, but I can’t just volunteer my alphas up for another omega’s heat. Not without talking to them all first, at least.
Is it terrible that part of me hopes they don’t have anyone available?
I nibble on my bottom lip and side-eye Rhett, who’s gotten closer as we walked, and is now on my other side. He raises a brow, narrowing his dark eyes at me because he knows me so well.
I huff under my breath and put my eyes forward again, keeping pace with Shade. She’s quiet on the rest of our walk, and when she stops in front of one of the giant brick buildings, waving at the doorman, I can’t help the disappointment taking root deep in my gut.
“Well, this is me. You got me here all safe and sound,” she teases with a smirk, her two-toned eyes twinkling.
I’m struck for a moment at how beautiful and interesting they are. They pull me in like a void, making it difficult for me to look away. There’s something magnetic about this omega, and it’s killing me I’m going to have to walk away and possibly never see her again. I suppose I could pop up at that bakery again at some point, since I know that’s where she works, but would that be stalkerish? I don’t know. I really need to talk to my alphas about this little development.
“Do you have anyone you can call in case things don’t go the way you plan?” I ask.
“Mm… No, not really. I mean, I guess I could try calling my mom, but we don’t exactly talk much…”
