Page 2 of A Real Alpha (Lunar City)

Oscar

“He's definitely homeless,” Sage said under her breath.

I glanced over at him again. He was fast asleep again, his chin bowed down to rest over the bundle that was his tiny baby.

“I don't think so,” I said. “He doesn't even have a coat... Not to mention how clean he is.”

She snorted.

“Wow, Oscar,” she chuckled. “Way to discriminate. You saying that homeless people stink?”

I rolled my eyes.

“You know what I mean. His clothes are all in one piece, his hair is brushed?—”

“And he's sleeping at one of our tables in the middle of the day. What happened to our shop being for customers only?”

I shrugged, feeling my cheeks heating.

Truthfully, I'd gone over there to say something along those lines, but then he'd looked up at me with those wide, worried eyes and I'd forgotten all about kicking him out or insisting he order something.

Instead, I'd gone over there with a drink and a snack because I knew breastfeeding made omegas tired.

He needed the energy if he was going to get out of whatever situation he was in.

The glass of water was empty, and the cookie was gone, and I wished I'd taken him a sandwich instead.

I couldn't do it now without Sage giving me some serious side-eye though.

Igor lumbered up behind us, checking what remained in the food display with his notepad in hand, offering a much-appreciated distraction.

“You about to head home?” I asked.

“Yes, leaving in a minute... I'll make more of the scones tomorrow,” he said, jotting it down.

I nodded. “Especially the blueberry ones. They've been popular.”

He made a noise in agreement, and Sage went to clean tables. For a while, the topic of the omega sleeping in the corner was forgotten. That was, until the baby woke up.

His dad must have been deeply asleep because he didn't stir for a minute. When his little one amped up the volume, he startled in his seat.

The omega tried to shush him for a moment and then stood and took him to the washroom, presumably to be changed.

Poor guy looked stressed as hell.

When he returned, he looked just as tired and worn out, his dusty blond hair ruffled as though he'd been pulling it. The baby seemed happy, though, and even started to make happy cooing noises when his omega daddy was chatting with him.

“You're staring again.”

I started and glanced at Sage who had returned while I’d been distracted watching the pair together.

“Can you blame me?” I asked.

“Yes,” she returned. “There are plenty of cute, single, omegas who come into this place. Why zero-in on the one with a baby daddy?”

She had a point but I couldn't even pretend that I didn't find him cute as heck. He just had a soft air about him that drew me in... Maybe it was the baby.

I shook myself and turned back to the front counter. We were closing soon anyway. In about an hour, he would go on his way, and that would probably be it.

If he lived in the area, I might see him walking on the street someday with the baby older and the alpha parent in tow. And if not, then I would likely forget all about him.

Until then though, I couldn't help but to pay attention. When I neared him to sweep the floors, his subtle vanilla-like pheromones were just so lovely...

I could feel his gaze on me but I managed not to glance over as I passed his area, much as I wanted to. Sage was right, this omega was taken. Being friendly was one thing, but I felt that bone-deep tug toward him that only came when someone compatible was close enough for me to scent.

He was obviously going through something. There was no point in bothering the guy.

As the day wore on, the shop slowly emptied, and Sage came out the back, apron slung over one arm, and hair down.

“I'm off,” she said, glancing pointedly toward the table where the light-haired omega was still sitting, nursing and gazing out of the window.

“Want me to do the dirty work?” she asked. “You know I don't mind kicking customers out at closing time.”

“I'm well aware,” I said, but shook my head. “I'll wait until he's done feeding his baby and then I’ll tell him.”

She gave me a dubious look. “Uh huh. Alright, good night.”

“You, too.”

I watched her go, a tingle of anticipation running through me as I was left alone with the omega for the first time.

He's just a customer , I reminded myself. You’re not involved. You’re not getting involved...

I finished counting the cash and then wiped the counter again, even though it was already clean. Then, swallowing, I went around the corner.

At the last minute, I went to the door instead of the table where he was sitting and turned the sign around to Closed .

When I slowly spun to face him, he was watching me, his green eyes wide but unreadable.

“We're closed,” I said, stating the obvious.

He stared at me for a long moment. I sensed he didn’t want to leave but wondered if it was me who simply wanted him to stay. He looked down at his baby who was suddenly wiggling around and whining again.

He ignored the child in favor of collecting the meager items that had been in his bag, all baby items, before pushing to his feet and wandering toward the door.

“Thanks for letting me stay,” he mumbled as he passed me in a rush of warmth and vanilla.

I clenched my fists. The instinct to keep him there singing in my veins. The sound of the bell ringing was almost jarring in the silence that was left behind. For a moment, I watched him hurry away, his head down and shoulders up against the cold.

Why did I have such a weird feeling about letting him go? It wasn't my place to be protective of a random omega. Lunar City had a lot of people who were down and out. It had a lot of crime too...

I shook my head and locked the door, trying to push the thoughts away but it was useless.

I felt a gut-deep desire to get involved even though I shouldn’t.

I'd first thought maybe he’d just needed to get out of the house, but it became clear it was more than that. He couldn't be in too hard a spot considering that he didn't look homeless, but that was a stupid way to think as Sage had pointed out.

If he’d truly been in trouble or danger, wouldn’t he have asked for help?

I groaned aloud.

“It's none of your business, Oscar,” I told myself firmly. “Forget about it.”

And I managed to leave it at that… for a few minutes. I shut off the lights and turned on the alarm system before I went out the back door into the alley. Once it was locked, I turned toward the staircase that led to my apartment upstairs.

And froze.

The omega who’d consumed most of my thoughts all afternoon was standing there, bracing his back against the brick corner, baby held tight against his chest under the blanket.

So much for forgetting about it.

That flare of over-protectiveness went through me again and there was no pushing it down or suppressing it this time.

Instead, I went right up to him the way that I'd been wanting to, close enough to smell his gentle omega pheromones that made me itch with the need to help him even more.

He looked up with a gasp, fear flashing in his eyes before it was quickly muted behind a forced blank face. But it didn't go away entirely.

He opened his mouth to say something, but I beat him to it.

“You're not staying out here,” I said, firm in my decision.

Whatever he’d been about to say died on his lips. He stared up at me, fear suddenly seeming to mingle with rebellion now.

“I don't even know your name,” he said after a few seconds. “You can't tell me what to do.”

“It's Oscar,” I said, then, “It's the middle of winter. You can't sleep out here with a baby. It’s freezing , and you don't even have a coat.”

A deep frown marred his light brows. Glancing up and down the alley, I knew he knew that I was right.

“Come on,” I said gently. “I live just up those stairs. You can stay with me for the night.”

It was clearly the wrong thing to say, because his eyes filled with panic. “No. I'm okay. We'll find somewhere else to go.”

He pushed past me, like he was afraid that I was going to stop him, and a fierce, unexpected anger washed through me because I suspected he'd been through this before with aggressive alphas. I looked down at his baby. Maybe with one aggressive alpha in particular.

“I won't force you!” rushed out of my mouth as I watched his retreating back. To my relief, he paused. “You can have my room. I'll sleep on the couch.”

I waited, but he didn't turn around. I could see how hard he was breathing. I could scent his fear on the air.

“If that’s not enough, I can stay in the shop, and you can stay in the apartment.”

That finally made him turn around to look at me.

“Why would you do that?” he asked, confusion and disbelief on his face. “You don't even know me.”

I shrugged helplessly. Good question.

“I don't know... I guess it just seems wrong to let an omega with a baby end up on the street in the middle of winter.”

He glanced down at his precious bundle, finally seeming to consider my offer. When he looked up at me, I knew he'd made his decision.

“Okay,” he murmured meekly. “I'll come… if I can lock the bedroom door.”

I nodded. “It has a lock.”

He swallowed.

“And I can come and go when I want.”

I frowned. “Of course.”

“You can't keep me there!”

My frown deepened as my suspicions were all but confirmed, but I forced myself to nod instead of demanding to know why he was worried about that being an issue.

“I'm not planning on kidnapping you,” I finally said, “I'm just offering a warm bed.”

“Without you in it,” he said firmly, and I almost laughed because I was so surprised. Just as promptly, all my amusement vanished because he was right to assume. A lot of assholes would only lend a helping hand if they got something in return.

I took a step toward him and when he didn't back away, I took another, bringing us closer together. Our cold puffs of air mingled. With full somberness I said, “I give you my word.”

He stared into my eyes, unblinking. After a few seconds, the sternness seemed to seep out of him, and he sagged.

“Lead the way.”