Page 2 of Follow the Rhythm (Fairview City Omegaverse #2)

S teffi was crying, which I’d expected, but the fact that Andreas was even tearing up a bit was wild. We didn’t really get along. I’d spent most of my time at the Omega Center making it very clear to both of them I wanted to be anywhere else.

“Why are you upset? I thought you’d be thrilled to finally get rid of your hardest case,” I said.

“Oh, chicken, we’re just so proud of you,” Steffi wailed. She was the director of the Center, an older Omega with a calming scent, who sounded a little like Mrs. Doubtfire. “You’ve come so far since you arrived.”

She lunged for a hug, wrapping her arms around the outside of my arms to pin them to my sides. She knew from experience this was the only way I’d accept her many attempts at physical affection.

“Okay, yes, thank you,” I said. My friend and ally at the Center, Austin, appeared in the hallway over her shoulder, and I raised my eyebrows at them meaningfully. Please help me , I mouthed.

Austin came to intercept Steffi. They led her around the corner, leaving Andreas and me alone. The assistant director of the Center was also an Omega, but his aura was not calm. He was, for lack of a better word, hot, with dreads and the cheekbones of a model.

“She’s right, you know,” Andreas said in his smooth voice. “You’ve made a lot of progress.”

“Well, it’s all thanks to the National Omega Network,” I said sarcastically.

Andreas’s smile didn’t falter. “No. It was you. You worked hard, Jess.”

“Alright, enough, I have to pack,” I said and retreated to my room.

I’d gotten the email confirmation that morning that my application to The Orinth, a secure Omega-friendly building in a semi-safe neighborhood, had been accepted.

I had scraped together enough for the down payment thanks to a couple of sales of my paintings last month, along with prepayment on a logo design job for a mobile pet groomer.

There was usually only one way out of an Omega Center: finding a pack of drooling Alphas that would allow you houseroom if you promised to be a good little Omega.

But I’d bypassed all of Steffi’s scheming to match me with a pack and found my escape: into the loving arms of an apartment building with enough deterrents to keep most degenerate Alphas away.

There were less secure options with way cheaper rent, but I didn’t want to be another Omega statistic.

I was also very motivated to get moved into my new place before my next heat, which was due in just a few days.

I was getting the uterus twinges that always occurred in the week leading up to the main event.

I couldn’t wait to have my own space, rather than suffering through another heat in one of the Center’s impersonal nest rooms.

Austin reappeared, and I assumed they’d finally dropped Steffi back at her office.

“Thanks for the rescue,” I said. “She just attacks me like that, and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.”

“You could, I don’t know, and this is a crazy idea, hug her back,” Austin said. “She cares about you.”

I rolled my eyes. I thought Steffi did care about the Omegas in the Center, but in an abstract kind of way. I had certainly never given her a compelling reason to like me.

“So, are you still going to help me move? Please?” I asked, clasping my hands together and whining in a way that I knew would annoy them.

“I’ve said yes about fifteen times now. I will move all your crap in my truck, which I am now realizing is probably the only reason we’re friends,” they said dryly.

“You’re also a really good cook,” I said helpfully. Austin was the chef at the Omega Center, a red-haired Beta with a scent like fresh-baked bread, and one of the few people I actually liked.

We spent an hour building the boxes they’d picked up at U-Haul for me and packing away my few worldly possessions, which mostly consisted of the clothes and shoes I loved but never wore anywhere. At the end of it, we filled about six boxes in total.

“Jesus, that’s depressing,” I said, looking at the meager stack.

“No, it’s fine. It’s minimal.” Their voice was unconvincing.

“I’m ordering furniture and stuff to be delivered there. So that’ll be a normal amount of stuff,” I said.

“Totally.”

“I can’t look at this anymore,” I said and fled the room.

I did need to order furniture and bedding for my nest, but I also needed to book my heat partner.

There were plenty of agencies to choose from, but my favorite was Heatsync.

They had a profile on me, my likes and dislikes, and would do their best to send an Alpha that would be, if not compatible, at least not actively repellent.

I didn’t have to look at cringey headshots of Chad and Thad because they did the choosing for me.

The Alphas were all certified non-psychos, too.

I’d only had to turn away an Alpha from Heatsync once: he said I looked “fertile,” and his “earthy” scent was closer to manure.

I submitted the request through their system and had a little thrill when I input my new address.

I mentally ticked that box and shoved thoughts of my heat aside.

Over the years, it had become more manageable.

The first year or two had been miserable, back before I was in the Center.

But now that I was a seasoned (a.k.a. old) Omega, they were only a day or two long.

It should be bearable, even more so since I wouldn’t be in the clinical confines of the Center.

Austin helped me move my six boxes across town a few days later. We packed them into their truck, and I said my goodbyes.

The only other Omega I knew well was Bridget. She’d been at the Center about as long as I had and, while we weren’t exactly close, we had that certain kinship that develops in captivity. Especially when you’re both, clinically speaking, mentally ill.

“You can come visit whenever the warden lets you out,” I joked. We’d always been free to leave the Center, but Bridget and I had stuck close to home. We didn’t talk much about what had brought us both to the center, but she still seemed fragile. I was just a misanthrope.

“Thanks,” Bridget said. “I’ll probably come with Austin sometime.”

“Absolutely. Once I have everything unpacked, you guys will have to come for a housewarming. I’ll expect gifts.”

Steffi tried to stop me for another hug, but I dodged her and escaped out into the spring sunshine and immediately started sweating. My almost exclusively black wardrobe was much more suited to winter.

My new building was imposing. The Orinth was fifteen stories and had a gate and a doorman. I recognized the architecture as brutalist thanks to the one class I took in college, though someone less educated might think it just looked Soviet.

I buzzed us in through the gate, and we pulled into the loading zone. Austin put on the truck’s hazards and looked at me with raised eyebrows. The parking lot was uninspiring. An empty chip bag rolled through like a tumbleweed.

“The inside is nice, I promise,” I said, trying to convince both of us. The pictures I’d seen were nice, but I’d never set foot in the place.

The doorman chose that moment to open my door, and I swore in surprise.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, putting his hands up in surrender. He was an older man, and looked like a nice grandpa, complete with a bushy white mustache. He was a Beta, like all the staff at the Orinth. As an Omega-friendly building, there were no Alphas on staff or in permanent residence.

I swallowed my annoyance; I didn’t need to get on his bad side on day one. I planned on ordering a lot of takeout, and he would be the gatekeeper to my food arriving while it was still hot.

“No problem,” I said with an attempt at a smile. “You were… just trying to help.”

“Of course, Miss Moretti,” he said and held out his hand to help me down. I hated being short. Even Austin’s dinky truck was a long fall to the ground for me.

“Thanks.” I hopped down. “You know who I am?”

“Of course,” he repeated with a kind smile. “Darrell, Valentino, and I all work very hard to get to know our residents, especially the new ones. I’m Henry.” We shook hands.

“Great,” I said weakly. The last thing I wanted was three nosy doormen in my business. But that had to be preferable to Steffi in my business, right? At least they wouldn’t be trying to set me up with Alphas.

“I’ll get a cart for your boxes; you go on in,” he said and opened the door for us.

The lobby was as bare-bones as the outside of the building, but it smelled good. The young man at the desk straightened up as we entered and crossed the beige and white mosaic tile floor. He was a Beta too, and by the looks of him, about nineteen.

“Miss Moretti?” he asked.

“Jess,” I corrected. The rent wasn’t that expensive, so I did not need to be “Miss” anything.

“Of course, hi. I’m Jack. Can I see your ID?”

I passed it over. Jack studied it and passed his thumb over the “Omega” designation before handing it back with a smile that was just a little too friendly.

“We’re so excited to have you. We think you’ll be a great addition to the community.”

I looked impassively back at him. “Can’t wait.”

“Your keys,” he said warily, looking to Austin as if they might explain why the Omega was not a bubbly ball of sunshine.

“Thanks,” I said and snatched them before stalking to the elevator. Henry, the doorman, had left the cart with my sad stack of possessions there. Austin followed me, giving Jack a little wave.

“Poor kid. I think you ruined his day,” Austin said.

“The last thing I want is some teen sniffing after me,” I said. Hot annoyance rushed through me. “And I don’t owe him anything, anyway.”

“Being nice to people doesn’t mean you’re weak,” Austin said, giving me a pointed look as the elevator swept up to the twelfth floor.

“Yeah, yeah, we get it, you’re friendly,” I said, bumping their shoulder.

My new apartment was small with only one bedroom - but it had four windows that looked out over the city, including a tiny sliver of the bay. The hardwood floors were a warm brown, and the walls were a soft fawn color that put me instantly at ease.

Austin whistled in appreciation when I unlocked the door.

“I told you it was nice,” I said.

The bedroom was windowless and had a large walk-in closet that had been designed as a mini-nest, with an entirely padded floor. Just big enough for an Omega and her one “approved Alpha guest.”

The first thing I unpacked was my stupidly expensive Bluetooth speaker so Austin and I could have a soundtrack. The second was the corkscrew and wineglasses to pop open a celebratory bottle of wine.

I put on Velvet Howl’s first album and poured two enormous glasses of Pinot.

“Oh wow, such a hostess,” Austin said when I passed them their glass. “This is that band you’re obsessed with, right?”

“I’m not obsessed,” I said. “That implies my interest is unhealthy, when it is, in fact, totally normal. Plus, a lot of people like Velvet Howl, okay? They are super famous for a reason, you uncultured swine.”

Austin laughed. “So defensive! By the way, I have a surprise for you when you’re done getting railed by a stranger. I’m taking you out on the town.”

Austin was the only person who could convince me to go out and do things.

Being an Omega sucked for a lot of reasons, but the constant unwanted attention in public had to be high on the list. When we first met, I hadn’t wanted to do anything, ever, but they kept bugging me and finally, I agreed.

I would always remember that first trip out after I arrived at the Center.

We went to a bar two blocks away and had a single beer, but it felt like I’d climbed a mountain.

As with so many other people in my life, I didn’t know why Austin even enjoyed hanging out with me, but it was too weird to ask them.

I knew our relationship was strictly platonic, since the one time I’d tried to kiss them it had ended with both of us laughing about how weird it felt, like kissing a sibling.

But I didn’t have much to offer as a friend.

I looked at them suspiciously. “Is this a surprise that I will like, or are you forcing me to go to a screening of a foreign language movie with no subtitles?”

“That was one time! But yes, this will be a surprise that you like. I promise,” Austin said, smirking, then clinked my glass with theirs. “To new beginnings.”

“So corny,” I said, smiling. “To new beginnings.”