Chapter Ten
Lev
“I have news,” Miles said, walking into our home and putting his backpack near the door, along with his shoes.
“About Harper?” Rowan asked. “Is she okay?”
“For now, yes. I’ll tell you what I overheard.”
After listening to Miles, my soul was heavy. Harper’s apartment complex was set for being demolished. The owner was supposed to have stopped renting those apartments six months ago because of foundation and building code violations. The place was unlivable.
My wolf scratched me from inside, demanding I act. Find our omega. Make her safe. “Miles, I won’t be able to live with myself or even sleep at night knowing she might be on the streets or living somewhere worse. I can’t imagine what place is worse, but a seedy motel comes to mind.”
“Fuck!” Our alpha looked at the floor. We were desperate, but our reach was limited. Someone had to do something bold.
It would have to be me. Rowan had made good contact with her and earned some trust. Miles had done what he could. Now, it was my turn. Time to lean in even more.
I told the others I was going on a walk but, really, I was stalking. I was a concerned alpha and my omega in trouble. Sue me.
I went into the bakery and bought croissants for the next morning and sat sipping lukewarm coffee until it closed. Such a creeper.
Only a few minutes later, Harper emerged and turned the sign on the door to closed. “You leaving, or are you going to spend the night?” Her sass came with a side of a smile. My chest warmed.
I walked out and waited for her to lock up. “I was wondering if I might walk you home.”
Happy officially gone. “I don’t know. I can take care of myself.”
“I believe that but it’s late and there are weird people out there. And it’s cold.”
She snorted. “You mean like the kind that hang out at omegas’ workplaces then offer to bring them home.”
I shrugged. “I’m harmless. Mostly.”
“It is nearly dark, and the other day, a group of alphas whistled at me from an alley. Just a whistle, but it freaked me out.”
“Want me to cut their lips off?”
She let out a loud laugh. “All right. You may walk me home.”
Her building lay nearby but in a very unsafe pocket of the neighborhood.
She let me walk her to the door and then, surprisingly, asked me to come in.
Although neat and tidy, the temperature hovered in the high fifties and the furnishings battered and old.
Her table looked like it could barely hold a piece of toast.
“What’s that look for?” she demanded, hands on hips.
“This is not the best part of town, Harper. I’m worried about your safety.”
She nodded. “I know. It was all I could afford. Doesn’t really matter anymore anyway, since I have to move.”
“Miles and Rowan are my packmates,” I blurted, trying to move the conversation forward as fast as possible. My bear wanted to shift right there, put her on our back, and hightail it home.
Anything to get her out of here.
“Rowan from the clinic and Miles from school?”
The very ones. Miles told us about your housing situation. I hope that’s okay.”
She exhaled and bit down on her bottom lip. “Are there only three of you in the pack?”
“Yes.” Only an omega missing. “We met about six years ago. At a matchmaking event. We never found our omega, but we found each other. People didn’t think it would work, but we all work hard and support each other.”
She laughed, but no smile lifted her lips. “I bet you have a big, fancy house, huh?”
I shook my head. “No. We have a comfortable home with a mortgage like anyone else. I work from home. Rowan runs the nonprofit clinic, and Miles is a professor at the city college. Nothing fancy about it. But we watch our finances and do okay.”
“Oh. You don’t have dreams of being rich and having some mansion?”
I laughed hard. Those things weren’t on my radar. “No. That’s not one of our goals. We value peace and security. A safe and loving home. Being the best packmates we can. Helping others when we are able.”
“That’s…different.”
“It’s true, female.”
“Miles asked me to come and live with the three of you. Did you know that?”
“Yes. He told us. We only want to help you.”
She turned in a slow circle and, while her back was to me, she swiped at her face with the back of her hand.
Goddess, this had to be hard for her. Starting over after trauma was one thing, but having life crap on all her efforts had to suck.
“If I do this, it means nothing other than living there until I get on my feet.”
I put my palms up in surrender. It would mean everything to me, but I understood. We had zero expectations other than helping her and keeping her safe.
“Can…oh, this is hard.” Her wolf was making grabs for a mental connection to me. Shifter animals sometimes bonded without a touch. Especially mates who were fated for each other as we were. I believed we were.
“What’s hard?” I asked, taking a step toward her. She perfumed, and my bear caught every ounce of scent coming off her. Suppressants could only do so much. Once an omega met her alphas, biology pushed through even the thickest of boundaries.
“Accepting help.”
“How can I make it easy on you?”
She smiled then but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Keep doing what you’re doing, Lev. Keep it up. You’re making me believe in other people again.” She cleared her throat of the emotion. “I don’t have much. Help me get my things?”
I gasped. “Wait, does that mean you’ll stay with us?”
“It means I’ll accept the offer. Thank you. Thank you all. But this doesn’t mean I’ll stay forever.”
“Right.”
She squinted. She was so good at that. I was kind of scared of that look. “And this doesn’t mean I’ll pay for rent with any omega service, if you know what I mean.”
I did. “Of course not. I can’t believe you even thought of that.”
She snorted. “It’s not forever.” Harper was repeating herself now, endearing as fuck.
“Not forever.”
Yes, forever. That damned bear of mine.
She picked up two duffel bags. One black and large and the other flowery and wild. Neither of them, I thought, were something she would pick out on her own. In less than ten minutes, she set them down at the door and put her shoes back on. “That’s it.”
“These are all of your belongings?” I asked as my heart sank. Our omega. Our precious female and her whole life fit into one and a half duffel bags. If my bear ever got his paws on her other pack…it wouldn’t end well for them.
“Yes. I left with nothing but the clothes on my back.”
I took both of them from her in one hand. “Let’s go. I’m starving and it’s cold in here.”