Page 9 of A Real Alpha (Lunar City)

Connor

For five blissful days I felt like I had fallen into a different reality.

One where I was growing happier by the day.

One where me and Roscoe were worth something.

Every morning, I woke to Oscar's gentle, sleepy kisses while Roscoe slept soundly in the bedside bassinet that Oscar had surprised us with.

Oscar would go to work, and I would shower, wake Roscoe, get him fed, cleaned and dressed.

Then we would then go downstairs to hang out while Oscar finished his shift.

In the evenings, we would watch reality TV, or I would play games on the phone he’d bought me while he poured over the book about baby development that he’d picked up.

If Roscoe fell asleep in the living room, we would sneak off to the bedroom to make love.

There was something about the way Oscar felt against me—and inside me—that seemed to rewrite all my old beliefs.

Sex didn't need to be an exchange. It could be a mutual, intimate experience that gave me peace instead of fear.

It didn't mean he owned me. We were just having a good time.

And he was so tender with me, so sweet that I could suddenly understand wanting to be with an alpha forever.

The fact that omegas often wanted that had always confused me before.

A lightness had settled over me with the unfamiliar feeling that I had finally found the place where I belonged. Today, his friend and co-worker Sage, waved when I came inside and brought me over my favorite coffee before I even got in the line to order.

“Your man will be a few more minutes,” she said, smiling knowingly.

My man? I fought a smile. “Thanks,” I murmured.

The group of them made me feel like I'd been crazy all these years. Like it was normal for alphas to be decent and kind. Why had I been surrounded by the other type? I shook my head, sipping my coffee and waiting.

“I get to leave early today,” Oscar announced as he approached a minute later, pulling off his apron to join me. “Hey, little buddy.”

Roscoe babbled happily, reaching for Oscar. He took Roscoe eagerly, kissing the top of his head and playing with him for a minute.

“Do you want to go do something? Maybe go for a walk and see the lights in the park?”

Even though I'd been thinking about Oscar's proposal pretty much non-stop since it had been offered, and even though he made it clear over and over that he wanted me, it was still hard to wrap my head around.

The fact that he just wanted to spend time with me, not simply using my body, was a wondrous thing.

“Sure,” I finally replied. His excited smile made my heart flutter and excitement bloom in my own chest.

“It'll be fun. We can drink hot chocolates while we walk and stop by the food trucks for dinner,” I could hear him saying, but all of my attention had zeroed in on the figure that darkened the Lunar Café’s doorway.

Every cell in my body seemed to go icy cold as Harry walked into the cozy atmosphere.

Not having seen him in weeks, his presence looked so wrong, and so much more normal than I remembered. I had thought he was the hulking figure of an ogre, but he looked more normal out of the apartment he’d locked me in. A big man, yes, but just an alpha, like any other.

He seemed to sense me at once and his head snapped in my direction, his blue gaze fixing on mine. It only lasted a second, but I was frozen, and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.

Oscar's voice trailed off. He turned to look over his shoulder and, in that moment, Harry didn't hold back. He shifted into the hulking wolf form that had often terrorized me and leapt. At first, I thought he was coming for me, but to my horror, I realized that it was Oscar he wanted.

Harry landed atop Oscar before he’d fully turned around, sending him crashing into the table, dishes flying. I scurried back, squeezing myself and Roscoe out of the way of danger as I shouted for Harry to stop.

Oscar was at a funny angle, his back bent over the table, trying to push Harry off, and then, suddenly, another alpha wolf appeared. It was behind Harry, latching onto his back with a snarl and yanking him away, sending him stumbling a few feet.

Then, to my surprise, another alpha wolf, even bigger than Harry joined the first, blocking Oscar from Harry's wrath. There was a long standoff. Harry was breathing hard, his gaze boring into the other wolves before he shifted back into his human form, snarling.

“Didn’t see him, huh?” he demanded of Oscar.

Oscar shrugged but his fists were balled, his gaze hard. “They're not yours anymore. They're fated to be with me,” he stated, and it was said with such finality that a chill traveled down my spine.

Fated? It couldn't be... My heart was racing against my lungs so hard I could hardly breathe. For a moment, the whole world felt like it was waving around me. I couldn't pass out though. Not now. I might wake up in Harry's apartment again instead of with—of with my fated mate.

Oscar was right.

All of a sudden, there was no denying it. There was something there that I had been fighting. Something that went deeper than the physical. In my heart, my wolf side sighed as though in relief, glad I’d finally realized the truth. I felt ridiculous that it had taken me so long to see it.

“Get out of my business,” Oscar growled. “Before we make you.”

He took a step forward, a growl fiercer than I thought Oscar capable of bursting from his chest as he suddenly surged forward.

It wasn’t just a threat. Oscar was prepared to fight Harry for me and suddenly I thought he would win too. There was no way he would lose me and perhaps Harry sensed that.

Normally, Harry would fight, even if he was outnumbered. Still, I watched in amazement as he grudgingly backed down and stormed outside.

The moment he was gone, Oscar's shoulders sagged, and his friends turned back into their human forms. Sage and Igor had been so quick to race to Oscar's defense. I wondered if we would’ve been so lucky without them.

“Are you guys okay?” Sage asked.

I nodded. I was too shaken to speak.

“That alpha is trouble,” Igor said. “Hopefully he doesn't return.”

Igor was eying Roscoe when he said it and a bad feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

“I'm going upstairs,” I managed to say. “Thank you.”

I couldn't bring myself to meet Oscar's gaze until he caught me by the wrist, stopping me.

“I'll come with you,” he said. When our eyes met, his were full of nothing but compassion and understanding, which helped to calm me.

My fated mate?!

I still couldn't believe it and, yet, it made so much sense. Even meeting his gaze soothed my soul.

“Sorry about the disturbance everyone,” Oscar said to their patrons, never moving his gaze from me. He soon ushered me through the back door of the shop.

We went up the stairs in silence but the moment we were in his apartment, he pulled me and Roscoe into his warm embrace and just held us for God knew how long. His lips touched my temple occasionally and his hands rubbed my back until I finally felt a little bit better.

“Why didn't you tell me that he had come before,” I asked against his shoulder.

“I didn't want to worry you,” he said. “I hoped he wouldn’t come back.”

I shut my eyes for a moment. “You know, Igor was right. I can't hide from him forever. After all, Roscoe is his child.”

Oscar stiffened. “Listen to me, Connor. That asshole is nothing more than a sperm donor. Roscoe is my baby and I'm not going to give either of you up, especially to trash who doesn't treat you right. You deserve better than that. We deserve to be together. Just the way fate wants it.”

I still couldn’t believe it.

“Fate,” I repeated in wonder.

“Yes, love. Me and you and our family are meant to be. Please don't fight it anymore.”

“But Harry?—”

“Would he really have a leg to stand on if we were mated?” he asked gently, and I realized that it was true. The answer to my fears was to spend forever with the man that I had spent the last two weeks falling for.

But it just seemed too easy. My life was never easy.

“What's wrong?” he asked. It wasn't until he stroked the tears from my cheeks that I realized I was crying.

“I don't just get what I want in life,” I whispered, terrified. “I don't know what to think.”

His lovely hazel eyes dimmed with mirrored sadness and oddly, it made me want to feel differently about myself. If he was going to mirror my emotions, I wanted to smile and laugh and cheer so that he would do the same.

“It's time for life to give you everything,” he said gently. “Starting with me. If you'll have me.”

I shut my eyes, took a shaky breath, and nodded.

“When?” Oscar asked.

“Now,” I choked, “before I chicken out.”

We set Roscoe down on the couch. Fortunately, he had fallen asleep at some point during our warm hug. He’d been due for a nap anyway, but I still felt rushed and worried going into the bedroom—that was until Oscar pulled me into his arms and started to kiss me. Then everything faded.

I should have known the way his touch, his kiss, and his scent made me feel wasn't normal. I’d never felt so whole and complete with anybody else. Only a couple of weeks in and I didn't think I could live without him.

He laid me back on the bed, undressing me like I was a present he’d been wanting for ages.

Once naked, he crawled over me, kissing every part of me until I was shivering, and his lips were on mine.

All doubt and fear I'd had was somewhere far away.

All I knew was Oscar and his mouth, his warmth, his eyes, and it felt like home.

Home. The thing I’d never truly known before Oscar. It wasn’t a place, though. It was a man.

I wrapped my arms and legs around him, holding him close, fusing our bodies together, making our heartbeats one.

I kissed and kissed him until I was slick and aching for more.

When he pushed into me, I was so ready for it that my eyes rolled and fingers clasped his hair, accidentally pulling.

He didn't seem to mind, groaning and quickening his rhythm at the urging of my hips.

We didn't speak. We didn't need to. Not until he was grunting with the effort to stop himself from finishing before me and I was close enough to let go.

“Now,” I gasped.

Oscar didn't hesitate. Dropping his head down, his lips closed over my scent gland.

His teeth followed. For a split second, I felt his fangs, pain piercing me, and then it was like a rush of euphoria.

I came so hard that it was an out of body experience, nearly too much to fathom. Oscar came with me.

We clung to each other, trembling, now one in all ways. Eventually, the bright light began to fade to something more manageable, fusing with my being, making me feel stronger than I ever had before. After a long time, my eyes lifted open.

The room felt cold, Oscar's body a warm and perfect weight on top of me. His knot was buried deep within me, and his fangs were too. It seemed to take him a moment to unlatch his jaw and release me and when he did, I felt a drop of hot blood pool in my collar but couldn't bring myself to care.

He did though, of course, pulling some of the blanket up and holding it over the shallow wound.

He lifted his head to look at me and I saw myself in his gaze. Warmth washed through me.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too.”

He smiled softly. “I know. I can feel it.”

He bent his head, softly touching my lips with his.

“So, it's done now,” I mused. “We're a real family now.”

“Uh huh,” he agreed. “Harry doesn't have a leg to stand on. You're mine and I'm yours. And Roscoe...”

“Harry won’t fight for him,” I admitted. “Truthfully, he didn't even want a child. He just wanted a new way to control me.”

“Well, I want Roscoe. I want you both.”

I smiled. “I noticed.”

I wiggled my hips pointedly and he laughed.

“If you want to go again, keep doing that. Otherwise, stay still until I can slide out.”

I chuckled and stopped moving even though I was tempted to keep going. Roscoe could wake up at any minute, though, and my eyes were drooping.

I wasn't used to letting my guard down like this, but for the first time, I had someone to work with me. To help me if I needed it, to let me sleep while the baby cried, or hold me when I felt down.

Maybe to some, it wasn't much, but to me, it was everything.

This bond, this alpha, he had shown me what a real alpha was. Not someone who was large, intimidating, and full of aggression the way I had thought. A real alpha was confident enough to be loving and kind and protective.

And this alpha was showing me what true happiness was.

END