Page 9 of Temporary Omega

Luca was trying not to cry again because crying hadn’t gotten him anywhere, but honestly, he was terrified.

You could go home, a voice whispered.

But could he though? If his parents had been mad at him for Frankie, how would they react to his current predicament? What if they wanted him to give up his baby?

For a brief moment when Luca had realized who Grayson was, he’d thought about not coming for the wedding ceremony. Grayson’s family ran in the same circles as he’d grown up in, and Luca had been terrified of running into his parents.

But Riley had assured him it was a small ceremony with just a few close friends since Grayson’s parents were gone and Riley’s were, well, not really sure what to make of his current situation. But Riley thought they were coming around.

Riley’s telling him everything he’d been through made Luca even more certain that he wouldn’t be able to give up his baby if his parents gave him that option. He loved his little peanut already.

And what if giving him or her up for adoption is what’s best for them?

Luca refused to even acknowledge that question. He just couldn’t. Luca knew that some people would tell him giving the child up was his way of being a good parent, giving his baby a shot at the best possible life. But he couldn’t do it. He just couldn’t.

He started backing away from the strange alpha, apologizing for crying all over him, when the man spoke up.

“I have an idea that may solve your problem and one I’m having,” the alpha began.

Immediately Luca was suspicious. What could the alpha mean by that? When he’d stopped bawling and looked at the man properly, he recognized him as one of Grayson’s friends.

Riley had pointed him out earlier, but Luca hadn’t been paying attention enough to get a name. If he was honest, the whole wedding ceremony was a blur. Luca’s stress levels not giving him a chance to even pay attention to the happy couple.

He was happy for his friend, but even the energy to smile and pretend he was okay was taking more out of Luca than he had to give.

At the alpha’s suggestion of an idea that could be mutually beneficial to the both of them, alarm bells started going off in his head.

One thing Luca had learned the past couple of months on his own was that nothing was free. If Luca had agreed to fuck that nasty as fuck alpha that owned his building, he wouldn’t be out on his ass at the moment.

Apparently, the man had made good on his word about getting back at him.

Now Luca was homeless.

And here was another alpha trying to… well Luca wasn’t sure he was trying to do but he wasn’t for sale.

He straightened his spine, the alpha went on to quickly reassure Luca that the proposal wasn’t sexual, apparently reading Luca’s body language right.

He told the man to talk fast, something making him pause and listen.

Luca listened to the alpha speak, his hand in his pocket, his pepper spray at the ready. Luca had learned the last few months on his own to always have it ready to go.

Luca listened to the man’s proposition without interrupting, the more he explained his plan and his reason for it, the less threatened Luca felt.

“So let me get this straight,” Luca began when the alpha had stopped speaking after he’d finish outlining his idea. “You want me to pretend to be your boyfriend to your papa because you lied and said you were dating someone, because you wanted to get out of being set up with one of your papa’s friend’s sons.”

“When you put it like that,” the alpha started.

Luca interrupted, “Why didn’t you just say no? I thought alphas could do whatever they wanted.”

“You would think, wouldn’t you? But that’s not the case, contrary to what everyone believes.”

“Boohoo, poor alpha,” Luca mocked. He wasn’t sure why he felt so comfortable speaking to the man the way he was. He knew some alphas would take it personally. But for some reason, he didn’t get the vibe from this alpha.

He was right, apparently, because instead of getting angry, the man threw his head back and let out a deep belly laugh that washed over Luca’s frayed nerves.

“I like you, you have guts. Fire. More importantly, my papa will like you,” the alpha said when he stopped laughing, although, the smile never left his face.

“And it’s just my goal in life to be liked by you and your papa who I’ve never met,” Luca said sarcastically.