Page 55 of The Feisty Omega

“Nah, I’ve got another idea.”

His lips thinned and his expression intensified as he directed his focus to the trunk of the car, rummaging around and returning with a triumphant grin, one eye covered by his unruly hair… and a set of bolt cutters in his hand.

My teeth pressed sharply into my lower lip as I watched, frowning, “Youaresure this is your place, aren’t you?”

Talius shrugged. “Pretty sure,” he said as the bolt cutters bit down on the chain. It clinked jauntily as the loose end fell against the wooden fence post.

With a grunt, Talius lifted the metal gate up a couple of centimeters and pulled it over the overgrown grass blocking it. The sight of his muscles straining against the fabric of his shirt was… distracting. My tongue slid over my lips. My breaths grew shorter.

When he held out his hand, I slipped my fingers into his, the skin rough but warm. As he led me up the unkempt driveway, I was conscious of the significance of the moment. We were coming home.

The silence was companionable, but it wasn’t really silence either – the air was alive: the swish of the wind over the knee-high grass, the rustling of the leaves in the trees, the piping call of a magpie and the distant cackle of kookaburras. Far off, a bovine bellowed its message to the unfeeling sky.

“Here we go.” We’d rounded the curve of the driveway, and the compound was laid out before us.

A number of run-down buildings were scattered around a long, elliptical courtyard. The closest one, and facing us, was a large two-story house. A few steps led up to a porch and a weathered front door, the timber bleached and splitting in places. A plank was broken, the splintered ends protruding up dulled by time and weather. Something had been stuck to the inside of the ground floor windows, the yellowing edges obscuring all but the edges of the panes. The upstairs windows appeared to be shuttered with a haphazard array of curtains and blinds. One window had a blind half drawn, giving the house the appearance of peering sleepily down at us, half-awake and with only a modicum of interest.

The paint was peeling on the outside walls, the grass reaching as high as the porch, and some kind of ivy had wound itself around the balustrade, the shiny green leaves contrasting with the faded wooden handrail.

The place was a picture of many years of neglect.

Next to the main house, a long two-story building stretched along the length of the central space. It was a typical dormitory style building, with two rows of identical windows, lining its face. The green paint was peeling on many of the weatherboards there too. A couple of windowpanes were broken, a dark gloom lurking behind the jagged edges.

Several other houses were scattered around the further edges of the open space. They didn’t appear to be in any better condition than the two buildings close to us.

The layout was typical. A pack must have lived here once. It would have been a large one and I wondered what had happened to it, why everyone had left and the place allowed to fall into disrepair.

“We’ve got our work cut out here,” Talius turned to me, his face hardened by the appearance of fine lines around the corners of his narrowed eyes, thinned lips, and the sharp downward angle of his brows.

“You might have to teach me a few skills,” I told him, “but I’m game, if you are.”

His expression softened.

“Thank the Goddess,” he pulled me in, the warmth of his lips on my forehead leaving a lasting impression.

“What?”

“You’re amazing. And I’m relieved I won’t have to do it all on my own.” He ran his fingers through his hair distractedly. Up close his eyes had flecks of different shades of blue that shifted and changed, like a kaleidoscope entirely in blue, or a restless ocean. I’d never noticed this before. I felt myself falling into their bluey depths.

I gulped, blinked, and tried to steady myself with an attempt at humor, “What? Did you think I was going to let you have all the fun?”

Talius scoffed. “I’m not sure you’ll be calling it fun after a few days.”

I shrugged. I was young and strong. Probably stronger than I looked. I’d surprise him.

“We’ll see. I’m sure I can find ways to liven up the work hours.” I smirked as a few dirty images passed through my head. I might be new to this, but I’d had a couple of days of intimacy with the Alpha of my dreams and I was already horny as hell.

The minuscule twitch at the corner of Talius’ mouth told me he hadn’t missed my innuendo. He put an arm around my shoulders.

“Come on, let’s go in and check out our fancy new digs.”

I rested my head against the solid warmth of his shoulder for a moment, breathing in his alpha-ness. The scent of alpha and male and mate felt like home and I wondered how I got this lucky. The Goddess watched over me, that was for sure.

“Yeah, let’s do it!” I grinned, casting sentimentality aside and springing up again.

Last summer’s leftover grass crunched under our feet, as we made our way towards the main house, the gravel of the driveway hidden under years of steady neglect. The steps up to the porch groaned disturbingly under our weight, but with the exception of the one broken plank, the wood felt solid and reliable still.

The doorknob squeaked a protest as Talius attempted to turn it.

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