AllFreeNovel
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I do as I’m told, even though I have no clue why. A light flashes red, and a puff of gentle air flows around me. “Omega sensed,” the voice says. The light flips to green, and the door across from me slides open.
They weren’t joking when they said it was really secure. The area it opens into is large and luxurious, way out of my league. An omega on one of the large, fluffy-looking white sofas looks at me over her magazine, her eyes taking me in and judging me before she goes back to reading. O-kay.
Another one looks over from the other matching sofa. She props her finger into her book and cocks her head to the side.
“You’re new,” she says.
“Yeah, just moved in,” I reply, keeping my answers vague. I know better than to reveal too much to strangers, especially in a place like New York City. I’m not the only thief who has managed to infiltrate an apartment building like this.
She nods. “Well, welcome. Friday nights up here are pretty dead. But it’s great for quiet time and being away from the constant assault of alpha hormones.” She shivers, as if she deals with alphas all day long. And maybe she does.
“Right,” I agree, although I keep my distance from alphas whenever possible. I don’t count swiping their stuff as being around them. “I’m just going to look around.”
“There are a couple of really cool pods in the back. Perfect little areas with all the comforts of home, and you can even close the door.” She shrugs. “Not really a nest, but the closest you’ll find outside your home.”
I smile and move away from them, exploring the space. It’s clearly out of my tax bracket, not that I bother filing taxes. I snort as I finger a bottle of “pure water”—whatever the fuck that is, water is water. When I reach the pods she mentioned, I’m drawn into one. It has a beautiful view of the river and a curved seat against the window. It offers a choice between admiring the river or watching movies on a small screen opposite the window. I could easily get lost in this small room.
I watch the boats on the water, feeling a deep-rooted longing to be out there, sailing on one of them. If there’s one thing I miss about my old life, it’s that. It was the only time I ever felt truly free from the expectations placed on me as an omega. The bow of the boat bouncing along the waves, my hair flowing behind me as I held onto the sails. There may be more yachts than sailboats out on the water, but the ache in my heart remains the same.
Shaking myself out of the nostalgic daydream, I glance at my phone. It reminds me I’ve explored enough for now, and it’s time to switch my laundry over.
The woman who had talked to me earlier gives a wave as I head toward the exit. “See you next time,” she calls after me.
I give her an awkward wave and a slight nod. I’m not great with people. Well, except for Sin. But he doesn’t count. He’s my twin, my other half.
As I push open the door to the laundry room, I notice a man inside. I hesitate for a moment, taking in his well-fitted suit. Tentatively, I sniff the air and catch the sweet scent of an omega. My shoulders relax as I step fully into the room. He seems to ignore me, focused on sorting his clothes between two washers: white and colors. Interesting. I, on the other hand, had just tossed all my things into one washer. I don’t mind if my shirts turn pink; Sin only wears black anyway.
As if he could sense my judgment, he glances over at me. “Max will have a conniption if I don’t sort them,” he explains.
I nod, although I have no clue who Max is or why I should care about his laundry sorting preferences.
“He’s my alpha, my mate,” he adds.
I bite down on my lower lip, my teeth sinking into the flesh as I give him another silent nod of acknowledgment.
“We are on the 19th floor,” he continues his over-share, and I paste a smile on my face. “I haven’t seen you in here before.”
I roll my lips together before parting them. “Just moved in.” I gesture to the door as if my apartment was just on the other side, and his eyes follow the movement.
“Well, welcome. I’m Carl.”
“Audrey,” I say.
When he shuts his washers and swipes a card over the touchpad, I turn toward a dryer and open the door. Shoving some quarters into the dryer sheet dispenser next to them, I pay for a box of three and crack it open, tossing the fresh scent into the open drum. Then I turn and pull open my washer, transferring the clothes as he watches. I can see him studying me as I move, and I try really hard not to fidget. Shutting the full dryer, I drop quarters into the slots to pay for thirty minutes and then brush my hair away from my face self-consciously.
“You don’t look like the normal type that rents here,” he finally breaks his silence, and I tense. “No, it isn’t a bad thing. We need less of the high-end omegas, betas, and alphas around here.”
It wasn’t his words that bothered me, not really, because once upon a time, I had been rich, or at least well off. That was before–
I suck in a noisy breath and paste a smile on my face. “Yeah. Uh, Carl,” I supply his name after a brief lapse, “we got lucky. You can’t beat two thousand.”
His eyes go wide, and he blinks rapidly. “Two thousand?”
“Yeah, the rent.”
“You are missing a few thousand to your number. Even the small one-bedrooms were going for five when we moved in, and I heard they’ve only gone up with demand. The waitlist is super long to get in here.”
I swallow, my throat tight with nerves, and nod my head, unsure if my random motions are conveying a coherent message. “Right,” I say, forcing a laugh to mask my unease. “Did I say two thousand?” I wave my hand in the air dismissively, chuckling again. “I meant twelve.”
