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Chapter One

Ronan

R onan McGinn let out a deep sigh as he rounded the street corner. Exhaustion weighed on his shoulders as he hitched his head from side to side, hearing the cracking in his neck. Why did the last few minutes of the drive home always seem to last an hour?

He doubted he’d sat for longer than ten minutes all day. His feet swelled in his boots and the sweat on the back of his neck had settled into a layer of grime. All he wanted was a long, hot shower.

He'd been putting in long hours at work to ensure the project didn’t fall behind schedule. Two omegas at his current job site had gone into heat this past week. Picking up the slack himself was the only way to avoid the disapproving glances of his colleagues.

Other contractors raised their eyebrows at him when he hired omegas for his crews. Most construction companies only let omegas do administrative work, if they employed them at all. But to Ronan, the idea that omegas weren’t strong enough for physical labor was nonsense.

It certainly helped that he was married to one of the smartest and least stereotypical omegas in the city. No one who met Teal could think of the man as anything less than a force of nature.

Despite his fatigue, thoughts of his husband had Ronan’s imagination firing. He wondered if he could convince Teal to get in the shower with him.

Pulling up in front of his duplex, he stopped short when he saw Sorcha in front of the two garages.

Their young omega neighbor had an old bedsheet spread out across the shared driveway.

An orange extension cord cut across the grass, plugged into the outdoor socket.

It connected to the electric sander Sorcha held in his hand.

He appeared to be refurbishing an enormous table.

After making sure the back end of his vehicle didn’t extend into the street, Ronan put the car in park and got out. “Hey, Sorcha.”

Sorcha hurriedly began pulling the sheet off the driveway, lifting the table onto the nearby grass.

“Oh, uh… Ronan, oh gosh, I’m so sorry,” he stammered.

“It’s so late. I thought you’d already come home and parked in your garage.

” He fumbled with his tools, scrambling to create enough space for Ronan’s car to get by.

“I’m sorry. I should have checked and made sure. ”

“No worries, Sorcha, it’s fine,” Ronan assured him. “Not a big deal at all.”

The tiredness plaguing Ronan a minute ago left him, replaced by a desire to put Sorcha at ease. He walked over to examine the omega’s handiwork.

Ronan hadn’t had many interactions with the young man, the nephew of the married betas next door, but he’d definitely noticed him.

As he approached, Ronan tried not to think about how good Sorcha’s blueberry and jasmine scent smelled.

Sorcha seemed skittish, as he always did.

And even though he clearly possessed physical strength—Ronan had once seen him carry heavy bags of cement that had been delivered to the end of the driveway—he was on the small side, even by omega standards.

Ronan was a large alpha and didn’t want to scare him.

“What are you working on?” Ronan asked breezily.

Sorcha twisted his hands together. “Oh, um, my uncles wanted me to refinish this table. I’m sanding it today and then I’ll stain it tomorrow.” He rocked back on his heels. “I promise I’ll clean everything up.”

Ronan’s lips flattened. Every time he saw Sorcha outside or in his family’s garage, he was doing some sort of woodworking project.

“You’re part of your uncles’ company?” Dale and Abe had a business selling refurbished furniture.

Sorcha’s brows knitted together. “Part of it? I guess. I mean, I help them with whatever they need.”

That sounded dubious. Ronan didn’t want to assume the worst of his neighbors, technically his tenants since he and Teal owned the two-unit building, but it looked like they might be using their nephew for free labor.

Ronan estimated Sorcha to be in his early twenties.

But whenever Ronan saw him, he appeared lost and weary.

Why wasn’t he out having fun? Did he go to college or have a job beyond helping his uncles?

Ronan didn’t think so. At least, he hadn’t noticed the young man leaving the house with any regularity.

It wasn’t unusual for unmarried omegas to live with their guardians, but Ronan couldn’t recall ever seeing Sorcha laugh, let alone get picked up by friends for a day trip.

Ronan hadn’t talked much with Sorcha's standoffish uncles in the three years they'd rented the unit next door. Their rent came on time every month, and they waved in passing. Nothing more. The arrangement worked, and Ronan and Teal had no inclination to be better friends with the couple.

But Sorcha was different. Ronan felt protective toward him in a way he didn’t want to examine too closely, and he knew his husband worried about the younger omega as well.

“Sorcha!” a sharp voice cut through the air as Dale appeared in his front doorway. “What the blazes are you doing? Stop bothering Ronan right this minute. You should have been done a while ago.”

Sorcha's shoulders bowed. “Sorry. I’m just finishing up.”

“It’s not a problem, Dale.” Ronan gritted his teeth and raised a hand to the man. “I was just admiring Sorcha’s work.”

“Well, I’m sorry he held you up. Abe and I have been trying to get him to move a little faster. But what can you do? He’s an omega. Not exactly highly capable, amiright ?” Dale chuckled casually. “Like trying to supervise a bag of rocks.”

Redness bloomed across Sorcha’s cheeks and neck.

Ronan’s inner alpha longed to fly up onto the porch and grab Dale by the throat. How could the man say such awful things about omegas— about his own nephew —right in front of him?

Sorcha’s shame radiated through his scent and Ronan barely stopped himself from reaching out to reassure him. “Like I said,” he ground out, “It’s not an issue. Once I park, Sorcha is welcome to spread out on the driveway and finish his work.”

“He better finish,” Dale grumbled. “Abe and I have other things we need him to do this week before we head out of town.”

The surly beta stomped back inside his house.

“Sorry again,” Sorcha murmured.

“Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

This time, with Dale out of sight, Ronan did put his hand on Sorcha’s shoulder. A zip of electricity shot through him.

Sorcha turned his face toward Ronan’s hand, touching his nose to the alpha’s knuckles, breathing in deeply.

Ronan knew the omega sniffed him on instinct, likely without realizing it, but the innocent move had his pulse thrumming.

It had been a long time since an omega other than Teal had affected him, but there was no denying the awareness he felt.

Ronan wanted to comfort Sorcha after the way Dale spoke to his nephew. But he wasn’t sure what he could do. Squeezing the young man’s biceps, he whispered, “It’s alright.”

Ronan waited until Sorcha nodded before removing his hand. The break in contact jarred them both, the omega’s eyes widening briefly before his features returned to their usual blankness.

As Ronan returned to his car, the scent of blueberries and jasmine lingered.