Page 57 of Omega's Reluctant Mate
Nate took my hand as we stood with the dog-walkers from the group chat in front of a small building.
My alpha had urged me to talk to Alan about the possibility of starting a business, and I had to admit that it had been the right idea.
Alan had helped me identify my goals in ways I hadn’t considered, and instead of pushing me to take the plunge, he’d offered a different route.
Now, instead of a loose arrangement, the group chat was a formal agreement in the form of a worker co-op. All of us had pitched in to create a business together, one that would let us keep much of the independent nature, but be able to act as a group to ensure that all our needs were met. We could hire part-timers during the summer and have them fill in shifts for all of us, and we could cover each other in a way that looked more professional to clients.
It also meant that all my fellow co-owners would now have access to the benefits that freelancers usually didn’t qualify for.
The building might have been a bit premature. But it was also a hopeful sign for the future. Some of the walkers doubled as groomers, and it would give them a home base for that work as well.
Theo and Alan stepped up as representatives from the startup incubator, and stretched a ribbon between them. Then Nate urged me forward with the other dog-walkers, and we crowded behind the ribbon. Somebody produced a comically-large pair of scissors, which I had to maneuver around my very-pregnant belly.
Nate led a countdown, and we cut the ribbon as a group.
As everybody else surged into the building to celebrate, I took a step back out towards my mate.
Nate wrapped an arm around me as we both looked at the building.
“Happy?” he asked, pressing a kiss to my temple.
I nodded. “When we started the group chat it was to make sure that every dog on our daily rounds was always walked. But this? It’s incredible. We have the room to grow together.”
“It feels good, doesn’t it?”
I smiled. “Great, actually. This is part of my legacy. I know our kids will probably grow up to take over Starling, but this will endure through future owners. It’ll ensure that the needs of the canine community are met. I couldn’t ask for more.”
Nate squeezed me tight. “Shall we go in?”
“Yeah.”
My mate had his business, and I had mine. Mine may have been small in comparison, but Nate had supported me throughout, and treated them as equally important in our home.
He was the perfect alpha for me.
∞∞∞
~2 Months Later~
I paced in the sitting room, trying to ease the discomfort in my lower back.
Bandit watched me from his favorite sleeping basket, having decided that it was safer than following me after having nearly been stepped on several times.
Finally I decided that if all I was going to do was walk, then I’d make it a productive one.
“Bandit!” I called. “Do you wanna go play with Tiny?”
Bandit hopped out of his basket, tail wagging. Despite their size difference, Tiny and Bandit were best doggy-pals.
Of course it helped that Tiny thought he was lap-sized, and Bandit had the small dog idea that they were bigger than they actually were.
Technically I was already on paternity leave, having handed almost all my walking shifts over to another walker for two months. But Tiny was special. Nate still joined me almost every day, as we walked both dogs.
Wes thought it was hilarious that Tiny had been such an important part of our courting, and had made a large donation to the shelter in our name as a wedding gift.
Of course he still paid my rates for the walks, but my wages all went to the co-op or the shelter.
I texted Cody’s house manager, Oscar, that we were on our way.
