Page 9 of Happy Birthday, Omega
Once she does this, she can’t go back.
She gulps and sets off down the driveway. As she approaches the house, a light at the front double-door flicks on and a shadow moves in the frosted window.
It’s too late to turn around. They’ve seen her.
Her boots slap against the slate stone doorstep, and As she lifts her hand to knock, the door swiftly swings open, causing her knuckles to miss their target.
And there they are. Her secret birthday suitor.
Standing in front of her, with his trademark lopsided grin, is Bryce.
She blinks rapidly, a high-pitched buzz ringing in her ears and she dumbly thrusts the card at him.
His grin expands. He doesn’t seem surprised to see her at all, as if he expected her to feel compelled to come to the address instead of simply sending a response.
He takes the card from her gently, watching her like she’s a skittish creature likely to run at a sudden movement. He sighs softly as he reads her reply to his question, his features softening.
Her response came to her without a thought.
I want to see you, Bryce. Will you be my Alpha?
She’s always known it was him, even from that first awkwardly written birthday card. She knew his handwriting after helping him with homework. Who else could it have been but the goofy boy who liked to see her smile?
Yesterday, she was finally notified that she could pick her match, and a public ceremony was arranged for her to announce her choice of Alpha. However, she wanted to do it in private first, with just the two of them present and their shared past and blossoming affection filling the space.
“You knew,” he says with a chuckle.
“I did.” She smiles back, baring her teeth unabashedly. After years of offering only tight-lipped smiles, it feels odd to reveal her teeth in a grin.
With a tilt of his head, he studies her like she’s a map he’s memorized, only to discover that it unfolds to reveal unexpected territory. He gestures for her to come inside.
The entryway is enormous and lushly decorated. It’s an old building, but freshly renovated in a classic style and she loves it.
April realizes that despite spending so much time with Bryce when they were young, she doesn’t actually know much about his home life.
“This house is incredible. Did you grow up here?”
“Yeah, it was a lonely place,” he says on an exhale, watching her carefully, like he’s worried she’ll run.
She runs her finger over the polished wood banister on the extravagant sweeping staircase. A million questions buzz in her mind. Instead, she asks the one question that has been burning in her mind since she was sixteen.
“Why were your birthday cards anonymous?”
The tips of Bryce’s ears go red, and he scuffs his bare feet against the hardwood floors.
“‘Cause when I first sent them, I was an awkward pubescent teenage boy with a huge crush on you,” he says, underscored by a self-deprecating chuckle.
“A crush? When?”
“It started the summer before you presented when you tutored me in history. I was infatuated.”
She smiles at the memory. “You were so sweet, always bringing me snacks for our sessions.”
He rubs the back of his head shyly. “I guess I was already showing signs of being an Alpha then. Dormant instincts telling me to provide and care for my Omega.”
A heat creeps up April’s cheeks, and she knows she is blushing.His Omega.She hopes he can’t smell the slick that drips from her caused by his possessive claim.
Bryce’s crooked smile widens, and the single dimple in his left cheek deepens. No such luck, he definitely can tell what his words do to her.
