1. Basil
1
BASIL
I couldn’t take it anymore.
Rushing as much as I could—which wasn’t much in my current state—I practically tossed the box I had been carrying into my new apartment and then doubled back to the door right next to the stairs.
I had made three trips from my stuffed car to my empty apartment, and each time I passed this place, the smell had gotten more and more enticing.
So now I was about to do something incredibly stupid.
My stomach growled again as I neared the door.
Yeah, it was too good to ignore my well-honed Omega instincts.
The savory aroma didn’t cover the earthy scent of Alpha permeating from the apartment, but I couldn’t help but be drawn in.
I didn’t want to imagine my Omega mom’s face if she could see me right now.
I paused at the door, my mouth honestly watering and my stomach nearly jumping up my throat in an attempt to get closer to whatever food was drawing me in like a starving coyote wandering into a city in search of a meal.
Dramatic, sure, but my breakfast of two hard-boiled eggs and half a protein shake had been ages ago.
Crossing my fingers behind my back, I threw out a silent prayer that the Alpha on the other side of the door wasn’t a creep or an asshole, then knocked.
The door swung open so fast—my fist still raised in mid-air—that the man must have been waiting and watching through the peephole.
Not a great start to the whole “not-a-creep” thing.
“Um, hi,” I said slowly, craning my head back to meet scowling hazel eyes.
And I mean, all the way back.
The Alpha had to be six and a half feet tall and as wide as the doorway.
He was…
a little scary-looking too, his brow pronounced, nose a little too big and crooked like he’d been punched a time or two, and thin lips twisted in what I was sure was annoyance at being disturbed.
Holy cannoli.
Cocking his head, the Alpha studied me for a long moment, his gaze lingering on my midsection and bare legs under my maternity shorts.
“Hello.”
A shiver worked down my spine, rolling through my arms and making my fingers tingle.
His voice was subterranean, rumbling out of his big chest at a decibel that had me worried for the integrity of the building.
Thick, dark blond brows furrowed further, and I cleared my throat, trying to dislodge the lump that had appeared.
“Um.” Now that I was standing face-to-chest with my new Alpha neighbor, my crazy request was stuck inside me, and my face grew warm the longer the silence stretched.
“Did you… need something?” the Alpha asked, peering past me down the empty hall.
“So…” I took a deep breath and smoothed my hands over my belly nervously.
“Here’s the thing. Whatever you’ve been cooking in there has been driving me crazy. Now I’m having a terrible craving for it.”
The Alpha stared at me again.
He didn’t say anything for a long moment, and then understanding dawned on his face.
“You want some of my food?”
Embarrassed but too hungry to let it stop me, I rubbed at my swollen belly once more and nodded.
Want was too simple a word, but as long as it got me some of whatever goodness he was creating in there, I’d take it.
“Yes, please.”
He took a jerky half step back, wary and uncertain, like he wasn’t used to pushy, pregnant Omegas showing up on his doorstep demanding to be fed.
Which…
fair.
His eyes went past me again, toward my apartment.
“Will your—anyone else be joining us?”
He said it so stiffly and awkwardly I didn’t get what he was asking at first.
Scrunching my nose, I shook my head.
“Um, no? Why would—oh!” My face was on fire, and I let my gaze drop, scuffing at the worn, gross carpet with the toe of my threadbare sneaker.
“No, no one else will be joining us,” I mumbled.
No, I didn’t have an Alpha.
No, I didn’t have anyone to protect me.
No, I shouldn’t go inside with you.
Neither of us moved or said anything, my soft words simmering between us.
Then, the Alpha stepped out of the doorway.
I took a step forward, eyes downcast, but jerked to a stop as an enormous hand appeared in front of me, palm facing out.
I jerked my gaze up, and the Alpha’s serious face was firmly back in place, all hesitation wiped away.
“I’ll get it and bring it to you. You’re in 4C, right?”
I told myself it wasn’t weird that he knew that, that he probably just knew it was the only empty place on this floor.
“Yeah, that’s me, but I can wait?—”
The Alpha shook his head, that furrow between his brows returning as though he was offended at the idea of me waiting at his door for the food I basically accosted him to get.
“I’ll bring it to you,” he repeated, his voice firm.
Lightning raced down my spine at that clear, commanding tone, startling me with the intensity.
It wasn’t a reaction I was expecting, considering I had sworn off Alphas around the time I showed a positive pregnancy test to my sort-of boyfriend, and he ran for the hills.
It didn’t mean anything, either, I reminded myself.
It was just my overly hormonal body responding instinctively to what biology had made us.
“Okay,” I said, my voice a lot softer than I intended.
Submissive.
Clearing my throat, I adopted a new “I don’t need an Alpha” tone.
Because I didn’t.
All they’d ever done was cause me trouble.
“I appreciate that. I’ll go see if I can find some silverware.”
I forced a smile, nodded, and spun around, waddling back to my place and pretending I couldn’t feel the weight of his gaze on me.
It was okay if he found me strange.
Being stared at was already becoming a part of my life, and that wasn’t going to go away.
As soon as strangers realized I was pregnant but they couldn’t scent an Alpha or Beta on me or see a mating bite, they tended to get super offended.
Sometimes they even felt the need to loudly share their antiquated opinions with me.
Like I’d asked for their thoughts about my life while I was standing in the grocery store doing mental math to figure out if I could afford the bag of rice in my hands.
It had bothered me at first, but I’d done my best to change my mindset and grow thicker skin.
Little Bean would be here before I knew it and deserved a parent who wasn’t ashamed of them or how they were coming into the world.
Inside my apartment, I stood next to the three boxes I had brought up before badgering my neighbor.
They were the only things in the place so far, and I knew, even without looking at the words I had scrawled on the tops, that none of them had forks.
Or plates.
Or a chair to sit on while I scarfed down the delicious-smelling food.
There was a box of assorted plastic cutlery in a box still in my car, but I couldn’t easily get to it.
Why had I told the Alpha I had silverware?
Where was my head at?
I glanced down at my huge belly.
The magnitude of the moment began to swell inside me, closing around my lungs and pushing tears to my eyes.
“It’s okay,” I said, cradling Little Bean and taking a deep breath.
I’d said it to myself a lot the last week as I’d scrambled to find a new place to live after my skeevy landlord had shut off my water, even after telling me he’d give me time to make up for the rent I’d missed.
I shouldn’t have let myself get behind, but Little Bean was going to need things, and things cost money.
So much money.
I cleared the lump out of my throat.
This wasn’t the hardest thing I’d gotten through, and I would get through it.
Just like when I’d gotten kicked out of my favorite foster home after their Alpha son tried to touch me and I’d punched him.
I’d ended up in an awful group home after that, since I was no longer a desirable placement with my violent background.
Assholes.
I’d survived then, and I would now.
“It’s going to be okay, Little Bean. Eventually.”
A surprisingly soft knock startled me, and I quickly wiped under my eyes before opening the door.
My giant neighbor stood in the flickering light of the hallway, a bowl with brown liquid and chunks of beef cradled in his huge hands.
I tried to smile, but I was sure it was more of a grimace.
“Thank you, seriously. It smells so good. What is it?”
“It’s just beef stew.” He looked over my head into my barren apartment.
“Did you find your spoons and stuff?”
It was such a simple question, but it was said in a deep, gravelly tone that reached into my brain and unlocked my unsteady emotions.
My chin wobbled, and my eyes began to burn all over again.
“N-no.”
And then, I was bawling, despite my promise to myself I’d stay strong.
Tears streamed down my face as I shook and wrapped my arms around myself.
Why did everything have to be so hard?
I just wanted something to go easy for once in my life.
“Oh, fuck.” There was a clatter, and then warm hands clasped my shoulders.
His face—not really handsome, but a little less scary than my first impression now that he wasn’t scowling—was blurry in front of mine, hazel eyes wide in concern.
“It’s okay. I’ll help you look for your silverware. You don’t need to cry.”
I sucked in a shuddery breath, lips trembling.
“I-I’m sorry.”
Why was I apologizing?
“Why are you apologizing?” the Alpha asked, giving me a close-lipped smile that made a dimple appear in his left cheek.
“I don’t know!” I said, and then I threw myself against that wide, huggable chest.
The scent of Alpha surrounded me, and I let it soothe me.
I promised myself it’d only be this once, and only for a moment.
I was just having a hard day—okay, week—and this poor Alpha simply happened to be in front of me when I broke.
It was biological, not desire.
I would have sought comfort from any Alpha in that moment.
It didn’t matter that this one looked terrifying and yet had readily agreed to share his own food with me, an unclaimed, pregnant Omega he’d never met before.
He’d provided more for me and Little Bean with that one bowl than my ex ever had.
And he’d recognized why I was uncomfortable going into his apartment and insisted on bringing the food to me.
On top of that, he was now offering to help find my cutlery instead of running at the sight of my tears.
But, really, he could have been any Alpha.
Bi-ol-ogy .
After a moment of hesitation, big, strong arms wrapped around me.
He was so warm.
My Omega instincts purred with happiness as a wave of safety washed over me for the first time…
ever?
“It’s alright, angel. Whatever it is, I’m sure we can fix it. Just tell me, and I’ll take care of everything.”
Oh man.
I was so screwed.