Page 1 of Cost of Courting (When it Raines Omegaverse #6)

Chapter one

Selene

The front door slams open, and I hold my breath, waiting for the telltale sound of it falling off the hinges again.

When the sound doesn’t come, I relax and continue syringing food into Wolfie’s snarling mouth.

He eats half, then wacks the syringe away with a tiny but adorable paw and sinks his less adorable teeth into the soft webbing between my thumb and finger.

“Oh, you little-”

My sister stalks in, bringing an intense incense scent that is stronger with her annoyance.

With a dramatic huff, she throws her bag down on the table, ignoring the spitting kitten, and climbs up on the kitchen counter, swinging her legs and kicking off expensive stilettos that make her legs look like they go on forever.

She’s naturally tall and thin, with a face that retains an innocence and sweetness that gives her omega designation away in seconds.

She is almost always smiling, unless she’s mad at me.

We have the same light blue eyes, but where my hair is blue thanks to her hair-dressing apprenticeship, hers is jet black.

“She did it again, Selene,” she whines and rolls her head, letting out another unattractive grunt. “Vindictive bitch always tries to ruin me.”

“Oh?” I ask in distraction, which earns me another bite. With a hiss, I carefully detach the carnivorous feline from my finger.

I glance at Luna in time to see her pout at the kitten like she’s unimpressed that he’s stealing all my time.

“She told Margo it was my fault. I got in trouble again, my final warning. She’s a total bitch, and she hates me for no good reason!”

Luna crosses her arms under her breasts and wails a random and extended sound that has both me and the kitten cringing.

Ice slithers over my spine, but I don’t let it show.

We can’t afford for Luna to lose her job again.

The smell of her scent wafts around her, getting less stressed and finding calm now that she’s vented.

Luna has never been able to smell it, but I can.

We are both omegas, though my scent is almost non-existent.

I think her sense of smell was damaged by a vicious blow from an ex-boyfriend a few years ago.

Despite being twenty-three, she still acts like she’s a young eighteen and relies heavily on me to keep her life afloat.

Her dream in life is to find someone to rescue her from this gutter we live in.

Truly, it’s inspiring.

I glance down at the kitten and carefully pat its face clean, before I set him in the carry cage, where he turns four times, face plants into the small cloth bed, and passes out. All signs of the needle-toothed tyrant that mutilated my hand are gone.

“Just keep your cool and don’t do anything hotheaded.”

By hotheaded, I mean on camera. Again. I can dish an icy revenge like the best of them, but my sister doesn’t think it through, she reacts.

She nods absently, not even listening, just chewing on a strand of her hair. “I told you I met someone a while ago. We’ve been dating for two months now.”

I lift my head, watching her carefully. Luna’s boyfriends have been more trouble than I have the energy to deal with. I still have nightmares and scars from the piece of shit who hit her.

The front door slams open, and, this time, there is a whirlwind of movement and shrill childish screams. I push unpleasant memories aside and turn to embrace Rain. The little boy throws himself at my thighs and squeezes tight.

“How is Wolfie today?” he practically shouts.

“Eating and very frisky, just take a look at my hand!” I show him my hand, and, in a typical childish response, the kid cackles.

Moira walks in slowly, looking exhausted.

She’s got black bags under her eyes, a pale face and windblown brown hair threaded with grey.

Even her uniform looks all washed out and tired.

Rain is her third child and the youngest, but since her alpha died, she’s been struggling to look after the family.

So, I help out a bit just like I do with some of the other families on our street. A bit of cash when I have it, an extra pot of food delivered to them. If they need something that I can provide, I give it to them.

We’re all in the same boat here. We all help each other. That’s what this community is about.

I go to the fridge and pull out a covered dish and hand it to her .

“Thank you!” she whispers.

“No problem.” I turn to Rain. He’s missing a front tooth and has a nest of wild brown hair on his head. “You be careful carrying him home now.”

“I will! See you tomorrow, Selene.”

“I will swing by in the afternoon, but I think this is it. Wolfie is saying I’m big enough to eat on my own. So, I think it’s time to let her figure things out.”

“Really?”

“Really, really. She’s eating food from a plate, she’s refusing the food I’m offering. She drinks water. Wolfie is good.”

Rain lets out a piercing shriek that wakes the kitten up with a start. As soon as he sees Rain, he mewls and tries to bust open the carry cage.

I’ve never seen two youngsters so enamoured with each other.

I wave as the two of them and Wolfie disappear.

“So, who’s the guy?” I ask before Luna can disappear.

She slides off the counter, pulls open the fridge, grabbing the leftovers and eating it standing over the sink. She scratches the back of her leg with the one delicate foot and moans.

“Gosh, this is so good, Selene.”

“Uh-uh. Don’t change the subject.”

I stand up and sanitise all the syringes and clean up the table. But I’m waiting anxiously for Luna’s information. I do not want to deal with her boyfriends. Not right now.

“Just an alpha I met, but he’s different. He’s really nice, gentle, good looking, and he’s really, really rich. Just imagine if I get with him, we can move out of this shitty neighbourhood.”

I turn back to her, grinding my molars. She doesn’t understand this place. This is where I belong. This is where I’m needed. There’s no escaping this place. Not for me.

“I have to get ready for work.” I pop the fridge closed and turn the light back off, already dismissing Luna’s new boyfriend from my mind.

Luna throws her bowl into the sink and disappears into the back of the house.

It creaks, letting me know her exact location.

With a sigh, I wash her dishes and stare out the window at the house across the road.

It’s empty but someone bought it. There has been a truck and movers parked in front on and off all day. I don’t want anyone to live there.

That house is mine. It should be mine.

“Hey, Moon Goddess!” Luna calls loudly. I wince, annoyed at the nickname .

Our parents named us both after the moon, but we couldn’t be more different. Luna is happy-go-lucky, roll with the punches. She is easily frightened and lured. She isn’t fragile, but she’s not built to survive this world either.

Maybe it would be a good thing if an alpha could take her away from all this. Still, I have gone a bit overboard protecting her. She’s selfish and vain, not in a mean way but in a clueless way.

I, on the other hand, am grounded in reality.

I think and plot and plan. Hard work is something that I enjoy, and it takes a lot to scare me.

I was born to live in a place like this.

Whatever dreams I had died years ago, and now I make the best of a shitty hand and give as much as I can to make other people happy.

“You need to buy me a new pair of jeans!”

With a low growl, I decide to ignore her. I bought her jeans two weeks ago.

I walk out of the house and stand in the dry air.

Summer is ending, but the heat of the day still warms the nights.

The houses on this street are rough with flaking paint, weeds in gardens, couches on porches, and damage that has been hastily mended everywhere.

But this place has been our home since Dad used the last of his savings to buy it.

Across the road, the moving truck pulls up.

I’ve been watching it all day, dreaming about blowing it up.

It’s loud, and the delivery guys are strangers.

I don’t like strangers. I don’t know who has moved in there, but we’re all curious what type of person it is.

We’ve had difficult people move in here before, people who come and want to change things or bully the rest of us.

I’m wondering what kind of fight I have on my hands.

Who are they?

For one ridiculous and breathless second, I wonder if it’s them. Have they come back? Hope, the evil, treacherous emotion, rises like a phoenix from the ashes of my heart and promptly dies again because no one who leaves here comes back.

I turn and go back inside, shutting the door that has no locks and going into my bathroom.

It doesn’t take me long to get ready. I tie my long hair in a ponytail and plait it, pull on a singlet, leather jacket, and my faded jeans.

My favourite boots, knife, and rings are added last. The final touch is a smokey eyeliner and cherry-coloured lip gloss.

“See ya in a few hours, Luna.”

I don’t get a reply, but I seldom do. In minutes, I’m walking quickly up the street, heading for the local pub where I’ll serve drinks, clean, and count the minutes until I can go home.

It’s boring, mindless work, but the job has been mine forever, and it’s a reliable income that allows me freedom .

I walk in and wave to my boss, Kent. He’s a big-armed guy, the kind where they are so overly muscled they look cartoonish, but he’s a decent sort. Likes amateur fights on the weekends and has an omega and two kids to her. He’s got a thick head of russet hair and an almost grey beard.

He’s honest and fair. Two traits that are rare down here. Two traits that make it possible for me to work here peacefully.

“I thought you weren’t coming in tonight?” Kent says when I move behind the bar, pulling off my leather jacket.

“No, you told me I shouldn’t. It was a suggestion, not an order, and you know you need my help tonight.”