Page 31 of Red River

River closed his eyes and lowered his head.

I hated the type of alpha Thomas was—expecting so much, giving so little. I wanted to be a leader too, but not like that. I was determined to be a provider and protector, not some loser leeching off his omega. Thomas had taken advantage of River’s submission. He didn’t deserve the gift of having his partner fully surrender to him.

But I was set on proving… I did. River deserved the best after being treated so horribly.

So I let out a loud huff. "I think you should take a break from all that. Have some time for yourself. Oliver will get a raise and can handle most of the household stuff."

"I like cooking."

"You can share the tasks if that’s what you want. But Oliver can peel potatoes or prep the meat for you."

River finished eating, stood up, and put his plate in the dishwasher.

"This is… more than I expected. It’s really a monumental change, Archer. I’m lost. We barely know each other."

"Do we really? But okay, I understand. Try to overcome this… ‘overwhelm’. That's how it is in my house. Oliver will be here to take the burden off you."

River looked at me. "I'll go unpack," he said quietly.

"Be my guest."

"Thank you… for everything." He quickly left the kitchen.

RIVER

I walked into my room like I was in a trance and started unpacking. My head was bloated with emotions and anxiety. I finished quickly, then went out to check on the kids since I could still hear noise coming from their rooms.

Of course, not everything was unpacked yet, but it was getting late, so I told them to leave the rest for later. Van didn’t need me, but Aiden and Lake liked it when I said goodnight and tucked them in. I felt like it wouldn’t be easy for them to fall asleep tonight. And honestly, it wouldn’t be easy for me either.

I wanted to check in on Igor, but his door was locked. I could hear the theme music from his video channel playing through the door. Maybe he was working on another clip?

Feeling a strange mix of stress and excitement in my gut, I went back to my room.

There was only one thing I needed to do next, so I headed to the bathroom and took a very thorough shower.

The bathroom Archer had set up for me was small but cozy, with all the essentials for daily grooming. I made sure to clean myself diligently, doubling my focus on my intimate areas. I also washed my hair, dried off, and let it fall naturally just below my waist, curling softly while still a little damp.

The perfect outfit for this occasion… it would have to be a single white T-shirt. It was long enough to reach halfway down my thighs.

I was in my new alpha’s home, and I planned to obey the rules for omegas who had declared their submission.

Part of me was feeling a lot of stress just thinking about it. My body didn’t look the same as when I was twenty; having five kids had taken its toll. I looked at my stomach. I was fairly slim, but the lower part of my belly showed faint stretch marks. My nipples also looked different from when I was in my twenties. They were much larger, and their tips were more elongated from breastfeeding all my children.

I carefully shaved the red curls from my private parts. I hadn't done it in years. It didn’t matter anyway—Thomas couldn't have sex with his obesity, so I took the liberty of neglecting myself a bit.

In the mirror, my body looked so pale, lacking the vitality it used to have. It was like I was slowly fading away, just like Thomas did.

Other needs of mine had been somewhat pushed aside, or at least I pretended they didn’t matter, over the past few years.

There were nights when, in desperation, I would take out a dildo from my hidden box and fuck myself with it, but most of the time, I fought off the temptation—only to feel even more dejected and depressed. I used to have quite a high libido—was that a thing of the past?

Maybe not?

Just thinking about what might happen today sent a thrill through me.

Was excitement winning over stress?

I didn't know exactly what Archer had in mind, how he was going to implement the wholeyou are minestatement, but I knew what I had to do.

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