Page 2 of Advocate Omega (Unforeseen Paths #1)

Zander

“Why are you agreeing to this? Kids? Seriously, Gabe?” I gawk at my friend.

He blushes and adjusts his glasses on his nose, moving his long brown hair behind his ears. “It’s what I’m supposed to do.”

I chuck a French fry at his head.

We don’t get to catch up often. His alpha is a control freak, and since we aren’t exactly supposed to be friends, it makes our not-so-secret meet-ups more difficult.

Gabe, being the honest soul he is, told his alpha all about me during his first heat cycle. I guess his reaction could’ve been worse. He could’ve forbidden Gabe from seeing me at all. But he doesn’t like it.

So we pretend we don’t meet for lunch three times a week.

We are at our usual diner, sitting outside since it’s a nice day, and he could use some color.

Other than sneaking out of his gated community to see me, Gabe rarely leaves his house.

It’s not that he’s being held there against his will, no, the omega loves it.

Loves every part of his place in this world.

But I digress. I’ll miss this—him.

All of our gossip, bickering back and forth, and the warm fuzzies that come from finally having a real friend.

I’m leaving town—something I’ve been planning on doing for a while now—and I wanted to see him one more time.

Gabe has been a lifesaver. The only friend I’ve ever had.

Hell, the only one who took a chance to get to know me.

He’s kind and gentle, a fucking pushover, honestly.

But he’s mine.

If I could handcraft a pack, he’d be the first one in it.

“What? It’s an important role to have.” He eats the fry delicately. “And my heat is coming. Griffin is going to knot me finally.”

I gag. Physically gag. The remnants of my burger come right up my throat, and I have to force myself to keep it in my stomach. “I can barely handle a normal cock in my ass, I can’t imagine an inflated one.”

Seriously, I can’t.

For whatever reason, I don’t make slick. It’s like my body just…won’t.

Lube is for humans, betas, and vamps.

Which is why I blend in so fucking perfectly.

Since all of us coexist like some big, happy, extended family, I can get away with slipping between the cracks.

No more wars, no more blatant prejudice—although some are still bigots—but for the most part, we embrace the modern age and generally all get along.

Of course, it wasn’t always like this. There was a time when everyone was at each other’s throats.

But that was centuries ago. With humanity’s technology, vampires’ inability to walk during the day, and shifters evolving, it was only a matter of time before it all fizzled out.

The three species might not fight each other anymore, but savagery still exists. People are still being hurt.

It isn’t just the wolves, either. I pay attention to the news. In other sectors, especially the West? Phew . Those shifters are nuts. Bat shit crazy. I shudder at the thought.

It’s why I’ve kept my head down. After everything I’ve been through and seen, there is no way I’ll go back to being a prisoner. I’ll die before I let it happen. As far as anyone knows, I’m just another scentless human. Okay, humans have scents, but you get what I mean. No slick. No wolfy scent.

I’m undetectable.

Defective, if you will.

Gabe smirks. “Don’t knock it until you try it.”

“You haven’t even tried it,” I remind him.

Again, he blushes. “I want to, though. It was hard last time.”

I snort. “Did Griffin look constipated?”

“W-What?” Those brown eyes widen behind his glasses.

“When he was holding back his knot,” I supply with a grin. “ Oh gods, I need to–ughhh ,” I moan dramatically and hold my junk.

Gabe growls and kicks me from under the table. “Don’t make fun of him! It’s not easy holding it back. Especially when all of his instincts say otherwise, he loves me enough not to impregnate me on our first time.”

Gods, Gabe is so whooped on Griffin it’s not even funny.

It’s the hormones, and why he doesn’t realize it is beyond me.

Hormones are an omega’s worst enemy. I’ll die on that hill.

They make you stupid, blind, and act like some deranged animal.

Well, I guess we are animals, but still.

This isn’t the olden days , alright? We are civilized now. We drive fucking cars.

How he’s managed not to beg Griffin for his knot already is wild.

“Where are you going to go?” he swiftly changes the subject before we argue over the difference between lust and love, something he clearly can’t distinguish.

To tell the truth, I’m unsure. If I tell him that, though, he’ll worry and come up with at least a dozen excuses for me to stay.

Residing in a city full of wolf-shifters is not smart anymore.

Even though I haven’t had a heat yet, it’s only a matter of time.

I plan to be far away from any shifter when that day comes, stocked up on dildos and snacks, until it passes and I’m back to normal.

I’ve thought about buying a suppressant, but since I’m from older blood, I don’t know how well it’ll work—if at all.

Suppressants tend to be for people like Gabe—not that he’d take them anyway. He wants to go into heat and suffer through the delirium until eventually he gets pregnant.

I’ll never understand it.

Maybe it’s my trauma, perhaps I’m just broken.

We only get one shot in life to do something with it, and I refuse to be chained to some domineering douche with a cock.

Not happening. Of course, it’s not like I couldn’t end up with a female alpha, but those are rare, and even she’d have a cock.

Retractable, but still. It’s not for me.

I want to be someone, I just haven’t decided who that is.

“I’m thinking…east.”

He drops his sandwich. “You have no idea where you’ll go.”

“I do!” Does he have no faith in me at all? A vague direction doesn’t mean you don’t have an idea. I have loads of ideas…

“Zander, you can’t just wander as a clanless wolf, especially as an omega.”

I scoff. “Just because I have a magic butthole and a womb doesn’t make me some weak, delicate flower that needs a giant, smelly bodyguard.”

His face falls. “Is that how you see me?”

Fuck.

“No! No,” I insist. I take his hand over the table. His big brown eyes swell with tears. “Gabe, don’t cry.”

“You just described me! And Griffin doesn’t stink!”

He smells like alpha. Alphas all stink. “That’s not what I meant. I…”

“I’m not weak for wanting something traditional,” he says, clearly hurt. “I love my life. I love Griffin . I want to give him kids. I want that.”

I interlace our fingers. “I know you do. And that’s…great.” The word sticks to my throat like tar, but I force myself to put aside my own feelings to make his better. “You’ll be great at it, too, just like you’re great at everything. I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

He sniffles loudly and nods. “Sorry. I’m…ugh,” he growls and pulls his hand away to swat at his tears. “He’s been gone for a few days, and I’m needy. And my heat is coming. I can feel it. There’s this…horrible pain in my chest. Feels like I’m dying when he’s gone.”

Griffin works out of town, doing some sort of…

missionary work for solo wolves or something.

I guess I’m not the only crazy person sticking to myself.

Solo wolves aren’t unheard of, but they are somewhat taboo.

Most of them have been banished for some reason or other.

And Griffin likes to help those assholes.

Why my clingy friend decided to pick that alpha is beyond me.

People will say it’s honorable or whatever, but Gabe needs constant reassurance, praise, and everything else. Once you screw an alpha, that tends to happen. It jumbles your brain chemistry. Another reason why I will not let that happen.

“He comes back tomorrow, right?”

Nodding, he goes back to eating. “Tomorrow. You need a plan, though. Don’t think I’m letting that one slide.”

Feeling like he’s calmed down enough, I go back to my burger as well. “Help me pick a place? Preferably one without any wolves.”

He hums. “That’s a tough one. We are everywhere these days.”

Ain’t that the fucking truth.

An hour later, another sandwich for Gabe because he’s ravenous when his heat cycle is close, and a million squashed ideas, we have yet to find a single location that isn’t riddled with fucking wolves.

It’s like every city on this side of the planet has at least two clans. It’s ridiculous! And some of those cities are specifically for wolves. No other species live in them. Not like here, where there is a mix of everyone…

I bang my head on the table outside the diner. “This is hopeless.” Seriously, how am I supposed to hide forever if there’s nowhere to hide?

Sure, I’ve made it this far, but I’m not stupid. Eventually, someone will discover I exist—that I didn’t die in the wilderness after escaping.

He frowns at his phone, and then gasps. “Oh no.”

“What?” I lift my head.

The color is rapidly draining from his cheeks. “Oh no .”

“WHAT!”

Scrambling to stand, he rushes over to my side of the table and plops down on the curved bench beside me. “Someone knows you’re here.” He shows me his screen, as text after text pours in from his alpha. “Griffin is trying to do damage control, but—”

“How?” I demand as I quickly read through the texts.

Griffin: Sweetheart, I know you are with Zander.

Griffin: You have to get away from him. I’m coming, but I’m still three hours out.

Griffin: Please, sweetheart, I warned you over and over.

Griffin: Fuck. They’re coming for him now.

Griffin: I’m not going to get there before they do.

Griffin: ANSWER ME.

I hand him his phone. “Text the fucking man before he strokes out.”

Not hesitating, Gabe calls his alpha. “I’m going back home right now. What happened? Who?”

“The fucking Moon Clan. Please, love of my life. Please get out of there now !”