“I’m sorry, sir. I understand you want your omega back, but this isn’t lost and found. We are a shelter for omegas—a safe haven.” I slipped the message sheet in front of him with a pen. “I can take your information, and if your omega shows up, I’ll let him know you’re looking for him. That’s the best I can do.”

Andy left the lobby as soon as this alphahole walked through the front door, but I can see him peeking around the corner and watching our interaction. If this guy decides to get physical, Andy will get help. Besides, Naheed is just a holler away, which gives me the confidence I need to stand up to this jerk.

The man sneers, looking at me and my baby bump like we’re roaches under his shoes. “Maybe it’s okay for you to raise your baby in a dump like this, but it is not okay for mine. I want my fucking omega, and I want him now.”

I tap the edge of the paper with my finger to draw his attention down to it. “And this is how we can help.”

After a stare down that was probably meant to be intimidating, he reaches for the paper I’ve been trying to get him to fill out for the past fifteen minutes. “If he’s here and you’ve been hiding him, I’m coming back for you, you piece of ghetto trash.”

I take a step back from the desk to put a few more inches between us, but I don’t actually feel threatened by this guy. Although I definitely wouldn’t want him as my alpha. I give him my sweetest smile and rub my belly lovingly, just to piss him off. “As I said, if I see him, I’ll let him know you miss him. I’m sure he’s eager to get back to you too.”

Just then, Naheed walks out of his office. He’s on the broader side of the alpha spectrum, and even though the oaf in front of me is not small, he seems to bristle under Naheed’s heavy stare. “Everything okay out here?”

I try to hide the relief I feel from both men, but I can tell Naheed knows his timing is impeccable as he steps closer to me. The man in front of me plasters on a grin of his own. When he smiles, he’s actually handsome. Just goes to show that you can’t judge a book by its cover. “Everything’s peachy.”

“Yup, this gentleman was just about to leave.”

The guy looks between me and Naheed before scribbling his number on the paper and storming out. Once he’s gone, I let my calm façade drop as I fall into the chair behind me. My eyes are already welling up. Damn pregnancy hormones.

“Thanks,” I mutter to both Naheed and Andy.

“Are you okay?” they both ask at the same time.

“I’m fine. He was just an asshole.”

Andy steps forward and puts his arm around my shoulders, giving me a quick hug. “Sorry I got Naheed, but after he threatened you, I didn’t know what he might do.”

“You did the right thing, Andy.” Naheed places a gentle hand on Andy’s. Thank you.”

I lean against him for a second in a brotherly way. “Yeah, thanks. I might’ve gotten a little cocky toward the end there. I’m glad you guys had my back.”

Naheed squeezes Andy’s hand on my shoulder then steps back. “Why don’t you two go get something to eat? I think there are some chocolate chip cookies coming out of the oven, if my nose isn’t mistaken.”

I take a whiff and nod at his assessment. “I think your nose is on point. And as soon as I pee, I’m gonna go help myself to a few.” I stand up and slide my hand underneath Andy’s elbow. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Andy says indulgently as he leads me down the hall to my second home, AKA the bathroom.

Over the past week, Andy and I have become great friends. He doesn’t stay the night, but he shows up every morning to shower and ends up helping out around the house and hanging with me until I’m ready for bed at night. I don’t know where he’s staying, but he insists he’s safe, so we haven’t pushed the issue with him.

I empty my bladder of the tablespoon worth of urine that fits it in these days and then we head to the kitchen for some snacks. As soon as we’re comfortably seated in the game room with a plate of cookies between us and tall glasses of milk, Andy starts in on his daily line of questioning about my pregnancy. As usual, he starts off with my plans after the baby is born.

“So, you’re definitely gonna stay here for a while?” he asks.

I take a bite of the warm cookie, savoring its chocolatey goodness with my eyes closed. “Don’t have much choice. Marge is saving a spot for the baby in the infant room, and Naheed said he might have a paid position opening up in about a month, which is right around the time I’ll be able to start working again, so yeah. I’ll be here for the foreseeable future.”

“Good.” Andy’s voice is full of relief until he realizes what he just said and checks himself. “Sorry, I don’t mean good like, ‘good that you’re living here,’ but more like, ‘good that you’re not leaving yet…’ Well, you know what I mean…”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” I laugh and nudge his foot with mine. “What about you? Did you register for the GED yet?”

He gives me a half grin and his eyes hold something akin to pride. “Yeah, I started going over the practice tests today. I’ve got a test date set for March 30th.”

“That’s great!” I hold up my glass of milk and wait for Andy to do the same so we can toast his accomplishment. It’s just a start, but it’s a lot further than I expected he’d be when he was sitting out on that bus bench last week. “I need to do it too, but I’ve got a lot more studying to do. Maybe I’ll wait until the baby is in high school and I can learn everything then.”

“Nah.” Andy looks at me pointedly. “Don’t wait. It’ll help you find a good job and you’re gonna need that. Now is the perfect time to start studying. You finished ninth grade, right? That’s probably good enough for the test. If not, we can study together.”

I want to decline the offer, but he’s right about me needing to do whatever I could to become employable. Besides, my baby deserves to have a daddy who has at least a high school equivalency. “Yeah, okay. How do we sign me up?”

His grin grows triumphantly. “We’ll do it tonight. It’s easy.”

“Well, we better do it soon.” I cringe as a very mild contraction causes the muscles in my abdomen to cramp up. “’Cuz this baby is getting antsy in here and might be making an appearance sooner than we thought.”

“Really?” He sits up from his relaxed position and looks like he’s ready to call 9-1-1. “You think so? How far apart are the contractions? Should we call an ambulance?”

I laugh out loud at his adorableness. “They’re like two hours apart. It’s gonna be days…maybe many, many days. But I doubt I’ll get to the due date. If there’s a pool, put my name down for March 5th.”

“The 5th?” He looks at his watch and then back at me. It’s February 26th. You think you’re gonna last a whole ‘nother week if you’re already feeling contractions?”

“Oh yee of little faith.” I pat his knee like a child. “I’ve done this before, and I know how my body works. When I say I’m close, that means I’m close and we need to get to the hospital. Until then, I’m fine.”

He shakes his head in half terror, half fascination. After a quiet minute, the fascination wins out. “Can I go with you when it’s time? I’ve never seen a baby being born and it sounds really…”

“Gross?” I offer my own opinion on the matter. “Yeah, of course you can. It’ll be like a PSA for practicing safe sex because I barely wanted to have sex ever again after I went through it. From the angle you’re gonna be watching it from, I’ll be surprised if you don’t decide to become a monk after all is said and done.”

“No way,” he says, looking at a man rocking a toddler to sleep in his lap. “It sounds amazing.”