Page 6 of A Real Alpha
“It's none of your business, Oscar,” I told myself firmly. “Forget about it.”
And I managed to leave it at that… for a few minutes. I shut off the lights and turned on the alarm system before I went out the back door into the alley. Once it was locked, I turned toward the staircase that led to my apartment upstairs.
And froze.
The omega who’d consumed most of my thoughts all afternoon was standing there, bracing his back against the brick corner, baby held tight against his chest under the blanket.
So much for forgetting about it.
That flare of over-protectiveness went through me again and there was no pushing it down or suppressing it this time.
Instead, I went right up to him the way that I'd been wanting to, close enough to smell his gentle omega pheromones that made me itch with the need to help him even more.
He looked up with a gasp, fear flashing in his eyes before it was quickly muted behind a forced blank face. But it didn't go away entirely.
He opened his mouth to say something, but I beat him to it.
“You're not staying out here,” I said, firm in my decision.
Whatever he’d been about to say died on his lips. He stared up at me, fear suddenly seeming to mingle with rebellion now.
“I don't even know your name,” he said after a few seconds. “You can't tell me what to do.”
“It's Oscar,” I said, then, “It's the middle of winter. You can't sleep out here with a baby. It’sfreezing, and you don't even have a coat.”
A deep frown marred his light brows. Glancing up and down the alley, I knewhe knewthat I was right.
“Come on,” I said gently. “I live just up those stairs. You can stay with me for the night.”
It was clearly the wrong thing to say, because his eyes filled with panic. “No. I'm okay. We'll find somewhere else to go.”
He pushed past me, like he was afraid that I was going to stop him, and a fierce, unexpected anger washed through me because I suspected he'd been through this before with aggressive alphas. I looked down at his baby. Maybe with one aggressive alpha in particular.
“I won't force you!” rushed out of my mouth as I watched his retreating back. To my relief, he paused. “You can have my room. I'll sleep on the couch.”
I waited, but he didn't turn around. I could see how hard he was breathing. I could scent his fear on the air.
“If that’s not enough, I can stay in the shop, and you can stay in the apartment.”
That finally made him turn around to look at me.
“Why would you do that?” he asked, confusion and disbelief on his face. “You don't even know me.”
I shrugged helplessly. Good question.
“I don't know... I guess it just seems wrong to let an omega with a baby end up on the street in the middle of winter.”
He glanced down at his precious bundle, finally seeming to consider my offer. When he looked up at me, I knew he'd made his decision.
“Okay,” he murmured meekly. “I'll come…ifI can lock the bedroom door.”
I nodded. “It has a lock.”
He swallowed.
“And I can come and go when I want.”
I frowned. “Of course.”
