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CHAPTER ONE

Zack

V alleywood. It was the place where dreams were made. Or so I gathered. I didn’t really know much about the place, since I’d only arrived the day before and I hadn’t really had a chance to look around yet. But so far, so good. I’d found a tiny, furnished apartment in a building near the Valleywood Performing Arts Center, I’d bought things like sheets and towels that made it actually livable, and I’d even found the closest supermarket and stocked my freezer with pizzas, fries, chicken fingers, and pretty much everything else I could throw in a microwave or the oven for a few minutes and call it nourishment.

“I think I’m going to be okay,” I told my Grandma Thalia as I puttered around the apartment, putting away groceries and the stuff I’d bought for the bathroom and laundry. “At least I’m not going to starve.”

“Frozen pizza and chicken fingers do not count as food,” Grandma said in her lilting voice. Even when she was chastising me, she still sounded like she was laughing. “You aren’t twelve anymore, Zakai. You need real nourishment. You need fruits and vegetables.”

“I know, Grandma, I know,” I sighed. “I’ll definitely get some on my next trip out.”

“You’re a grown man of twenty-seven and you’re on your own now, Zack,” Grandma reminded me. “You should know how to cook and take care of yourself.”

“I know, and I do,” I insisted. “At least, I think I do.”

The truth was that I’d never really had to take care of myself before. Grandma had done such an amazing job all these years. She was the one who had raised me since my mom had gone off to do…actually, I wasn’t sure what my mom had gone off to do. She’d left when I was a toddler and I didn’t really remember her. She didn’t keep in touch. That had never bothered me, though. Grandma Thalia filled her place in my life. I’d had the best childhood ever. The two of us were always laughing and finding something to smile about.

That’s probably why I’d delayed moving out of our home back in Philadelphia. I hadn’t really needed to set out on my own. We were well-off. Well, didn’t have a ton of money, not, like, Main Line money or anything, but I didn’t have to worry about things like college tuition or my car.

I had a job, mind you. I wasn’t a complete waste of time and space. I had friends and I dated, especially around the time of my heats. But working in IT for an insurance company and having a string of alpha boyfriends who were great but not the one just hadn’t been doing it for me lately.

I’d done a lot of theater in school, usually tech, and I’d run the lights for a local community theater production a few years ago, so when I saw the almost invisible little ad in the corner of a Valleywood newspaper that someone had left on a Septa train by accident, I was interested.

No, not interested. That little ad had ignited something in me.

“ The Hailstork Theater Collective is pleased to announce its production of an all-new, musical adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen tale, The Little Mermaid , to be performed this spring in association with the Valleywood Performing Arts Center. All roles, including leads, will be filled via open casting call, to be held March 18, 19, and 20 th at the VPAC. No agents or previous experience required. Backstage and technical help will also be hired during those days. We’ll see you there! ”

I’d been so thrilled with that little ad that I’d read it five or six times to see if I was imagining things. Theater was exciting. And all-new musical was even more exciting. But it was those magic words, “no agents or previous experience required”, that had made me catch my breath and quit my job.

My destiny awaited me on the stage of the Valleywood Performing Arts Center. I’d known it then, and I still knew it now, weeks later, as I stacked cans of soup in the otherwise empty cupboard of my new apartment.

“…proper nutrition,” Grandma was saying as I let my mind wander. I had my phone wedged between my shoulder and my ear as I took a few boxes of pasta out of the reusable shopping bag, but it was starting to slip. “Otherwise, I’m going to worry about you the entire time you’re there. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, Grandma, I swear, I understand,” I said, straightening and shifting the phone to my other ear. “Fruits and vegetables.”

Grandma sighed. “We’ve moved on from that, dear. I was saying that you can’t eat sugar all the time. I know you like your pie, but please eat real food.”

“I swear to you, I will,” I said. “Although once this production gets going, I’m not sure when I’ll have time to eat. Stagehands are constantly busy, even during rehearsals.”

“I don’t know why you think you’re not good enough to audition for a part, love,” Grandma said, her voice full of cheer and confidence. “You’re so charming, and everyone loved you last Christmas, when you recited that silly poem at your company party.”

I flushed at the reminder, and not just because that whole thing had turned out to be an embarrassment on an epic scale. The poem about falling in love with Santa was just a little too NSFW, half the people listening to me had been drunk, but getting up in front of people and making them laugh had been one of the single most awesome experiences of the last few years.

“I’m just an omega, Grandma,” I said with a shrug. “No one is going to cast me in anything. I’m not sure that’s what I want either.”

Grandma snorted, like I was lying. I wasn’t really lying, though. I had loved being the center of attention and making people laugh. It had sparked something within me that had made me take notice of the ad for The Little Mermaid , which had led to me being here now. The idea of auditioning for a scripted play where I would have to learn someone else’s lines and then remember them when it counted did nothing for me, though.

Basically, I felt called to be in Valleywood and to work on The Little Mermaid , but I had no idea why.

“You’re not paying attention to me,” Grandma said, startling me into realizing I was just standing there, leaning against the kitchen counter, lost in my thoughts. “I love you, Zakai, but there’s no point in talking to you when you’re in your happy place.”

I laughed. “Sorry.”

“You’re not getting anything done when you’re in a mood like I know you are now,” she said. “It’s a lovely, spring day. Go outside and walk around your new home. Take a look at the surroundings and maybe you’ll get a better sense of why you felt so compelled to go there. Though to be honest, I’m fairly certain I know the reason why.”

“It’s because of the show, Grandma,” I reminded her, pushing myself away from the counter. “But you’re right. I need to get out and walk around. If Valleywood is going to be my new home for a while, I should learn where everything is and maybe even meet some people.”

“Yes!” Grandma shouted as I walked into the main room of the apartment to grab my jacket from where it was draped over the sofa. “By Zeus, yes! Meet people. Make friends. Surround yourself with people who can look out for you, because gods only know that you cannot look after yourself.”

“Ouch,” I said, shrugging into my jacket while trying to keep my phone pressed against my ear. “Thanks, Grandma.”

“Well, dear, you know it’s true,” Grandma said. “I love you, but you need a support network to keep yourself out of trouble. You definitely need to find a particular friend before your next heat. It’s coming soon, isn’t it?”

“Not for another two months,” I said. “It’ll show up just after closing night of the show. I’ll be fine. So you can stop worrying about me.”

“Zack, you are my grandson, my flesh and blood. I will always worry about you, through ages and ages.”

I smiled. Grandma always had a funny way of talking about time. To hear her talk, you’d think she’d been around since the dawn of time and had lived through History personally.

We said our goodbyes and I grabbed my wallet and keys and headed out of the apartment. I’d only really just come back from grocery shopping, but to be honest, I liked being outside and around people and nature more than I liked being cooped up inside. Especially when my new digs didn’t feel like home yet.

I hadn’t been lying when I’d said I wanted to explore more of Valleywood, too. Somehow, I’d never heard of the place until just recently. It was like the worst kept secret on the East Coast, really. Sure, I’d heard whispers of places that you didn’t really know about until you were already there and towns where people who were different felt right at home, but I hadn’t imagined that they were real.

Now that I was in Valleywood, I was surprised at how big the place was. It had everything anyone could have asked for in terms of nightlife and entertainment. There were more restaurants than you could shake a stick at, some big and fancy, some just little holes in the wall. The town hall complex was particularly interesting and reminded me of something out of a comic book, for some reason.

I let my feet and my instinct lead me down wide, friendly boulevards that looked like they had recently been planted with spring flowers. I could see the lake and the new bridge that was partially built in the distance, and for some reason, the water called to me.

I made up my mind to head down there and see if I could walk out onto the bridge to get a different sort of view of the city.

On the way there, I couldn’t resist stopping for an ice cream from a shop that looked like it had just opened for the season. Grandma would probably complain about the sugar, but, I mean, come on, it was ice cream. A little ice cream wasn’t going to hurt me.

Famous last words.

I swear I wasn’t trying to draw attention or make a fool of myself. I was just walking along, licking my cone, enjoying life. There was a family just finishing up lunch at a café with outdoor seating as I strolled by, humming one of my favorite old songs, Beyond the Sea , and minding my own business. They had a dog with them.

Everything unraveled before I knew what was happening. The toddler in her papa’s arms saw my ice cream and reached out with a squeal. The omega holding her dropped the jacket he’d been trying to stuff the girl into. It landed on the dog, who barked and jumped to the side to get away from it.

I tried to swerve as the dog nearly barreled into me, but I was halfway through licking my cone. Instead of a lick, I smashed the thing into my face. My nose ended up covered in ice cream right before the cone broke and the whole thing tumbled to the pavement.

It didn’t stop there. The dog was suddenly exuberant at the new treat I’d inadvertently offered it. It lunged for the fallen cone, somehow managing to wrap its leash around one of my legs as it did. I twisted and flailed in an attempt not to fall and ended up grabbing the arm of the omega holding his daughter.

“Sorry! I’m sorry!” I said.

Of course, that was right about when the dog spotted another dog across the street and straightened to protect its ice cream treasure by barking. It moved just enough to drag my foot with the leash around it up, leaving me balanced on one foot while gripping the other omega.

And to top it all off, my trousers ripped.

The laughter started small, with the toddler in the omega’s arms. Then a group of teenagers sitting at one of the other tables started to laugh. Once they were snorting their drinks, a few other passersby started to laugh as well.

Even I laughed, precariously balanced as I was. “Lovely weather we’re having,” I told the other omega as I shook my leg, trying to get the dog’s leash untangled from my ankle.

That caused the omega to laugh. “I’m sorry, let me just help you.”

The omega shuffled his daughter in his arms then stepped forward in an attempt to secure his dog. In the kerfuffle that followed, I stepped in the ice cream. The dog wasn’t in any mood to be caught by its owner, so there was a short chase in a circle around me until the omega had things under control again.

By then, we had an entire audience and everyone was in stitches. I loved the sound. That deep feeling of rightness I had every time I made people laugh washed over me. It happened wherever I went. Funny things were always happening around me. Situations that could have been dangerous, like the dog tangling its leash around me, always ended up being occasions for comedy instead of tragedy. It was just the way things were for me.

Once I was finally free and everything was back to the way it should have been, someone clapped. I couldn’t resist. I took a bow and gestured for the omega to bow as well. More people applauded, like the whole thing had been some comedy mime act that we’d planned in advance.

It was the best start to my venture into the world of Valleywood that I could have imagined. I made sure the omega papa was alright, then I walked on, down toward the lake, a smile on my face and a spring in my step.

I knew Valleywood would be a good idea. Answering that call I’d felt within me had seemed a little out there at first, but now I felt good about the decision. I mean, I was out walking on a brisk and sunny day with ice cream on my shoe and the seam of my trousers split, but my jacket covered the damage and all seemed right with the world.

The Valleywood bridge was a sight to behold. It was clearly still under construction, but there was a walking path along the part that was finished that allowed people to cross over and get a good look at both the lake and the city. I joined the trickle of walkers and bikers in heading up the gentle slope and walking on, the sun bathing me from above. I breathed in the air, surprised that it didn’t smell like exhaust and city.

I couldn’t really explain it, but as much as Valleywood felt like home, the farther out over the water I went, the more I felt like I was where I belonged. I couldn’t explain it, just that something inside me settled. It might have taken a while to get started, but my life was finally beginning, and I was exactly where I needed to be.

I paused way out on the bridge and turned to get a look at the city. It seemed to sparkle in the fresh, spring light, like it was full of magic and possibilities. I couldn’t wait to show up at the VPAC on Friday to apply for a job working on The Little Mermaid . I couldn’t wait for the rest of my life to happen.

It was the city that had drawn me to move across the state, but after a while, I turned away from it and stepped to the edge of the guardrail to look over into the water. There wasn’t as much to see in its dark, somewhat murky depths, but I found myself staring into it with even more fascination than I’d felt while looking at the city.

Supposedly, there were shipwrecks and things under the water in the Great Lakes. Lake Erie had a long and interesting history, so I was sure there were things under the surface of the water that I couldn’t see. I had this funny feeling that if I looked hard enough, the lake would reveal all its mysteries to me.

Without even thinking about it, I started humming Beyond the Sea again. Lake Erie didn’t exactly have golden sands for my lover to stand on, if I even had a lover, but the song felt?—

One second, I heard the ring-ring of a bicycle bell. The next, something hit me. I have no idea how, but I blinked and I was over the railing, tumbling through the air. I caught the briefest sight of a man in a suit riding a bike past the spot I’d just been before I splashed hard into the cold water.

The shock of the cold and the sudden dark of being underwater froze my body and my brain. I could barely think, and I definitely couldn’t move or breathe. My body felt suddenly heavy, and the watery light above me began to fade fast.

So this is how it all ends. And I didn’t even get to stand on a stage in front of a full house and make everyone laugh .

As far as last thoughts went, those were pretty lame.

Fortunately, they weren’t my last thoughts. Just as the light above me seemed impossibly far away, the water around me warmed up. Not just that, I felt a strong pair of arms scoop around me. The intense burning in my lungs that I’d only just noticed vanished. I could have sworn I was breathing under the water, but that was ludicrous.

Next thing I knew, the light wasn’t just above me, it was all around me. My head popped above water, and I took a big, gasping breath. Not that I really needed a big, gasping breath, which was weird in and of itself.

“You okay?” a warm, tenor voice said.

I flinched and twisted in the arms that held me and turned to find the most gorgeous alpha I’d ever seen staring back at me with concern. He had reddish-blond hair, hazel-green eyes, strong cheekbones, and perfect, kissable lips.

And he was naked.

Well, the parts of him I could see, his shoulders and the top of his chest, were naked. There was no telling what sort of scuba gear or thermal bathing suit he was wearing, since I couldn’t see that far under the murky water. None of that mattered, though. The man had caught me and saved me from certain death. He was my hero, my savior, and…and what the hell was he doing swimming naked in the middle of Lake Erie in early March?

“You must be in shock,” the man said, swimming toward the shore. “There’s a jetty just over there where you’ll be able to climb up and find help.”

I was so enamored with the guy’s dulcet voice, not to mention being utterly turned on by the fact that he had somehow swum under the water to grab me and carry me back to the surface in his big, hot, muscular arms, that if I’d been capable of speech, all I would have been able to do was babble incoherently.

“You’re going to be okay,” the man said, swimming incredibly fast for someone who had an omega in his arms. “Get dry as soon as you can. Wrap up in, what do you all call it? A blanket. Wrap up and then get something warm to drink. Do you have someone who can look after you?”

I blinked, mesmerized by his face and lulled by his voice. “Um…I…oh.” Sense finally hit me, and I blinked one last time. “No, I just moved to Valleywood. I don’t know anyone here. I live by myself in the Olympus Apartments, right next to the VPAC.”

“An omega like you? All alone?” he said, as if that was a huge shock.

“I’m not alone now,” I said, cuddling into his tight embrace.

What the heck was I doing? The man was trying to swim me to shore and I was cuddling with him?

Just as I tried to force my brain to work and think of an easier way to hold my body so he could swim more efficiently, we’d reached the jetty he’d mentioned. It didn’t make a lick of sense. No one could swim that far that fast. And with his arms full.

“Here you go,” the man said, shifting me out of his arms and onto the ladder that stretched down into the water. “You’re going to be okay.”

I nodded. I was going to be okay now that I was in his arms.

The second he let go of me, all the warmth vanished. I started to shiver so suddenly that I could barely grasp the ladder to keep myself from sinking back into the lake. I couldn’t remember ever being so cold in my life.

“Whoa there!” someone called from above. “Stay right where you are. We’re coming to get you!”

I gasped and glanced up, spotting a couple guys who looked like they worked in one of the nearby warehouses. They rushed around like they were about to come rescue me.

I’d already been rescued, though. I was safe in the arms of my?—

I twisted to look down into the water, but my rescuer was gone. Like, completely gone without even a trace. The only ripples in the water were from me.

“You’re kidding,” I said, my teeth chattering as one of the men started to climb down the ladder to get me. “And I didn’t even ask his name.”