Page 1 of Lion's Crossing

Chapter One

Knox

I couldn’t sleep. Spent the last hour tossing and turning in my single bed. When my eyes refused to stay closed any longer, I stared at the stained popcorn ceiling. Maybe I should have cleaned at the high school the day before and come home exhausted. But I would have had less time to pack. If only I could stop the thoughts of everything I wanted to do on my trip to Saramto from churning over and over in my head.

I’d never been on vacation on my own. My parents were dead set against it. They didn’t believe an omega should travel anywhere without an alpha to accompany them. They hated the fact that I hitched a ride to and from work every day with my cousin who also worked as a custodian at the high school in the next town over. And that I even worked. To them, an omega was supposed to mate with an alpha as soon as they were of age and have multiple babies. But I refused to conform to the traditional ways. I’d seen so many of my former classmates get mated right out of high school. And they were miserable. Sure, my parents had a good relationship, but that didn’t mean I would. Plus, there weren’t any single alphas in my small town who I could stand to be around.

But I wasn’t going to the metropolis called Saramto to find an alpha who was suitable. I simply wanted to see the city for myself. And get far away from work. To exist away from the confines of the super-small town I lived in. Even if only for a week.

Tossing off my light blanket, I sat up before reaching for my glasses. I’d packed my contacts in my suitcase but planned to wear my glasses when on the train. It was best to have them with me anyway. Just in case. I visited the bathroom to relieve myselfthen headed into my kitchenette to get the coffee ready. Not knowing how my stomach would react to traveling, I decided not to have breakfast. I was fine when I knew where I was going, but not so much when someone drove me to a new place. And going to Saramto was completely new for me. Once I reached the city, I would check into my hotel room then head to the first restaurant on my itinerary. Everything from my arrival to my departure was planned. Even though I refused to heed my parents’ warning about omegas on their own, I wasn’t going to wander around all willy-nilly. I had all my routes planned for each day and wouldn’t be out anywhere after dark. I was independent, not naive.

Once dressed, I triple-checked my bag and headed out the door, locking my apartment behind me. It was the only apartment in the town, two floors of eight apartments each, and mostly occupied by single alphas, and omegas with kids whose alphas had ditched them. The townspeople loved to gather at the local diner and gossip about all of us who lived in the building, or ask my parents when I was ever going to get mated. Then my parents would amplify their insistence on finding me an alpha. Living in that building proved a mate wasn’t what I wanted at all. No, thank you!

With my bag over my shoulder, and the handle of my suitcase in my grip, I started walking down to the station. I didn’t have a car or even drive, but in Shifter Crossing, nothing was far away. The entire town consisted of only twelve blocks off two main roads.

I groaned as my phone rang. I’d avoided passing my parents’ house on the way to the station, taking the next block instead, yet they couldn’t help but call me.

“Hello?” I knew what they would say before my omega dad spoke.

“Knox, you really shouldn’t go there alone. Why don’t you postpone your trip and we can find an alpha to accompany you.”

I didn’t know if he was more concerned for my safety or for his own reputation when the town learned I’d gone to the big city on my own. “Dad, this is my only time off, and I’ll be fine. I will keep my locator on and won’t go out after dark. I won’t accept rides from alphas and will stick to main streets when I’m not in my hotel room.”

He sighed over the phone. “I don’t like this one bit, but you have never been an omega to follow social rules.”

“I love you, too, Dad.” I hung up, not wanting to argue, knowing it would only get worse from there.

It was no surprise that the platform was empty when I arrived. No one left Shifter Crossing very often. There were towns nearby where we did our grocery shopping, filled vehicles with gas, and picked up other supplies, but other than working, no one went much farther away. The train didn’t stop in those towns. We were conveniently in the middle of the direct route between the cities of Merryville and Torago on the way to Saramto. On weekends, some people from the surrounding towns took the train into the city, but not today.

While waiting, I scrolled through my itinerary on my phone, ensuring each place I wanted to visit was still open and hadn’t suddenly closed. I didn’t need to get to a museum that was shut down for renovations or that had ceased business years ago, but the website hadn’t been updated to reflect that.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching. I dreaded turning around, expecting my father to be there in another attempt to convince me to stay. Instead, it was a younger alpha, one closer to my age. I could tell by the brief scent I caught of him. He had plenty of luggage of his own and wore dark shades, a plain black ball cap, and had the collar of his shirt raised, as if to conceal his identity. I rolled my eyes. In Shifter Crossing, everyone knew everyone. And if they didn’t know you, they would find out your identity quickly. He must have been from a nearby town, as Ididn’t recognize him, but I didn’t see a car in the parking lot. Maybe someone had dropped him off.

It wasn’t much longer before the train arrived, only four passenger coaches behind the engine. Small compared to the one that passed through on weekends.

“This way please,” the coach attendant called. He guided us to the third coach. “Space is limited, so please take the first empty seat.”

The alpha waited for me to board, and after I heaved my suitcase up the steps and placed it into the luggage corral, I looked for an empty seat. The coach was quite full, and I saw someone ahead move to sit beside someone else, meaning, I could have a seat to myself. Then I remembered the alpha behind me. I would have to sit with him. It was not ideal for an omega to be trapped in a seat like that, but I had no choice. There were no other empty seats. I got as comfortable as I could, and surprisingly I had enough room that my knees weren’t jammed into the seat in front of me. Nothing like what my mated friends had told me flying in an airplane was like.

When the alpha took the seat beside me, I didn’t feel squished, even though he wasn’t little by any means. But if I needed out, I would have to ask him to move. There was not enough room for me to get around him.

The train started rolling out of the station as I got comfortable, and the attendant came around to collect our tickets.

Beside me, the alpha plugged in his earbuds, closed his eyes, and leaned back in his seat. At least he didn’t try to make small talk with me. I hated when the alphas at work tried that. They would joke about their latest omega conquest then talk to me all friendly-like as if I didn’t know what they wanted and hadn’t heard their previous conversation.

I leaned back and stared out the window, watching the scenery of places I’d never been pass by. It wouldn’t be long before I reached Saramto and could get started on visiting all the sites on my list.

Chapter Two

Linc

I hugged my dad then my father as I made my way through the foyer. “You’re sure you don’t need me to stay longer? I can if I need to.” Though I was anxious to get back to working in my own recording studio, I felt guilty leaving my parents on their own again.

“No.” My omega dad pointed past me toward the front door. “You’ve helped us out so much, but I know you need to get back to the city. There are many people counting on you.”

“But you’re more important.” I leaned down to kiss his cheek.

My father cupped my arm. “Listen, Linc, we really appreciate you coming to help take care of me after my hip replacement so that your dad and sister could still run the store. But I’m back up on my feet now. Plus, we’re all starting to get on each other’s nerves. We all need to get back to our regular routine. You included.”

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