“William, the cake is here!”  I heard Ricky’s excited voice as he opened the front door of the Omega Rescue Shelter.

“I’m hanging the banner.  Show them where to set it up.”  I leaned to the side and smiled as I watched the two Betas from the delivery company carefully walking towards the common room with the cake balanced between them.

Happy times at the Omega Rescue Shelter were rare.  We were usually worried more about survival and helping those in need than celebrating.  It was a special day though and we all had a good reason to be excited.  One of the lost souls that had come to us in his darkest hour was finally going to step back into the light and rebuild his life.  Those moments were the ones I lived for and the reason I took on my role as the Director of the shelter in the first place. 

I leaned back from the banner and carefully adjusted it until it was straight before taking a few steps down the ladder and dropping to the floor.  The room was perfect and the Omega that was leaving us, a sweet young man named Lance, was going to get the sendoff he deserved.  It had been a year since he first arrived as a broken Omega in need of redemption and he was going to leave us with his future as bright as the brilliant soul that burned behind his sky-blue eyes.

“Lance is going to love the cake.”  Ricky walked into the room with his brown hair bouncing each time he took a step.

“Hopefully he likes his presents too.”  I looked over at the table that was stacked with several wrapped gifts.

“He will.”  Ricky pulled a chair away from the table and took a seat.  “This is all because of you.  None of this would be possible if you weren’t so good to us.”

“It was a team effort.”  I took a seat across from him and picked up my bottled water.

“We help, but you’re the glue that holds this place together.  I would still be sticking needles in my arm if it wasn’t for you—or maybe I would be dead by now.”  Ricky’s eyes spaced out for a moment.

“Don’t talk like that.”  I shook my head and rubbed his hand.  “You just needed someone to care and now you have a family that loves you.”

“It’s more than I ever dreamed of.”  Ricky’s eyes finally returned to normal and he smiled.  “Maybe one day I’ll have a party of my own.”

“You could leave if you wanted to.  I think you just like not having to pay rent.”  I grinned at him and unscrewed the top of my water, taking a sip.

“I like the atmosphere.”  He sighed.  “I’ve been out there in the real world and I’m not anxious to return to it.”

“Not even if you find a nice alpha that wants to make life a lot more interesting than this place?”  I winked and sipped my water again.

“I’m not holding my breath.  Most of the good ones seem to be taken.  I’m almost twenty-five.  The kind of alphas willing to take a chance on a former drug addict usually aren’t looking to settle down.”  He shrugged and sighed.  “I had my chance, but I loved shooting up more than I loved the man who wanted to marry me.”

“Don’t give up on love, Ricky.  You never know when it will happen.”  I leaned back in my chair and guzzled the rest of the water in the bottle.  “Okay, back to work.”

It was a little hypocritical of me to preach the grandeur of love and finding the perfect alpha to fall head over heels for when I was still single myself.  I had devoted so much of my life to helping others at the Omega Rescue Shelter that I hadn’t done very much dating.  There had been a couple of guys over the years that showed interest and I liked them enough to believe they could be the one, but the relationships didn’t last very long.  I kept a smile on my face for everyone else, but I was slowly losing faith in a happily ever after of my own.  Omegas that didn’t marry young when their fertility was as fierce as their lust didn’t always get a chance once they got older.  I wasn’t past my prime by any means, but each year that passed without a suitor lessened my chances.  I could also feel my body changing.  When I was a teenager, my slick was so intense it was hard to focus on anything but getting laid.  Those desires weren’t completely gone at twenty-three, but they were definitely muted.  Most of the omegas my age were married and had already given birth to their first child—at a minimum.

“Lance will be here soon!”  A ginger-haired omega named Sam came bouncing down the stairs with a smile on his face.

“Yeah?  Where have you been?”  Ricky eyed him suspiciously.  “We’ve been down here working all day.”

“I set up the gift table.”  Sam folded his arms and looked offended as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

“What about the snacks?  You were in charge of those too.”  Ricky walked over to the gift table and started centering the presents.

“Charlie said he would pick some stuff up at the grocery store.  I’m going to make the dips now.”  Sam walked towards the kitchen.

“You better make spinach dip!”  Ricky leaned back from the table and yelled towards the kitchen once Sam had disappeared.

“This is Lance’s party—I don’t even think he likes spinach dip.”  Sam’s voice echoed and he started to laugh.

“He loves it!”  Ricky yelled back and turned towards me.  “He better make spinach dip.”

“He will.”  I rolled my eyes.  “Help me move this table.”

“This why we need some alphas around here.”  Ricky walked over and picked up the opposite end of the table.  “They could easily move the furniture.”

“We’re doing just fine on our own.”  I chuckled and started walking with my end of the table lifted off the floor.

We finished setting everything up in the common room and Sam finished making his assortment of dips, which did include spinach dip, so Ricky seemed to forgive him for not helping with the rest of the decorations.  Charlie showed up with chips, pretzels, and some other various gifts for the party.  Other guests started to arrive and every time someone new got there, Ricky had to make sure their gift was perfectly symmetrical on the table.  Sam might have been the one that originally set it up, but Ricky was the one that paid the most attention to it.  Ricky also sniped a few quick hits on the spinach dip when Sam wasn’t watching, stuffing it into his mouth and casually walking into another room to swallow it before he returned.  I made my way around the room, greeting everyone as they arrived.  Most of them were omegas that had previously lived at the shelter, but there were a few Betas as well that had helped us out with donations over the years.  Once everything was in place, I got everyone to take their spots and they got quiet when we heard Lance open the front door.

“Surprise!”  I yelled as loud as I could when Lance stepped into the common room.

“Holy shit!”  Lance’s eyes bulged out of his head.

“Don’t act surprised.”  Ricky laughed.  “You knew we were going to throw you a party.”

Lance had been there long enough to see other omegas leave and he definitely knew we threw a party to celebrate their departure, but he still seemed to be overwhelmed with the number of people that had showed up to see him off.  He wasn’t going that far, but it was still a major accomplishment for him to get his own place.  I beamed with pride when he finally got around the room and we embraced.  He had come so far in a year and I couldn’t have been more proud of him.  People started to settle down and take their seats, which meant it was time for gifts.  Lance sat down in the chair we set up in the middle of the room with his sky-blue eyes flickering as I brought over a couple of boxes.  If the previous parties were any indication, there would be some kitchen essentials, a few gag gifts, and more than one raunchy gift to get him through the long nights when he was in heat.

“That one is from me.”  An omega named Solomon waved to Lance.

“Sounds... noisy.”  Lance tore open the wrapping paper and smiled.  “A blender!  I can make margaritas my first night in my new place.”

“And every night after that.”  Solomon grinned and nodded.

“You better throw a party and make drinks for all of us.”  Ricky folded his arms and nodded.  “Oh, that one is from me.”

“Do I need to even open this?”  Lance held up the package, which was as long as his forearm and nearly as thick.

“It vibrates.”  Ricky grinned and winked at Lance.

“It’s enormous...”  Lance tore off the paper to reveal a large purple dildo.

“I mean—it’s average sized.”  Sam chuckled.

“I’ve seen you shower.”  Ricky leaned over and nudged Sam.

“Average for an alpha.”  Sam turned his head and narrowed his eyes at Ricky.

“Right...”  Ricky laughed and shook his head.

Lance had a pretty nice pile of loot once he was done opening his presents.  There was a full set of pots and pans, knives, and a number of sex toys.  They seemed to be the default for people who didn’t know exactly what to get him.  He would definitely be busy once he got to his new place.  I was happy that most people didn’t get him gag gifts, although there were a few that were novelty items and not very useful.  I gave all of the omegas that left the same thing—a cell phone with my telephone number in case they got in trouble.  It was my way of letting them know they were welcome back at the shelter if things didn’t go well and my way of staying in touch with them.  I was pretty sure Lance wouldn’t need it.  He seemed to have a good head on his shoulders and he had put a lot of effort into rebuilding his life so he could start over.  Once the gifts were over, we started serving cake and I made sure Lance got a piece with as much icing as I could fit on his plate since he loved it so much.

“I know I’ve said it before, but thank you so much for your help.”  Lance stuffed some icing in his mouth and let it melt on his tongue.

“You were the one that put in the work.  All I did was help you find the right opportunities.”  I hugged Lance and patted his back.  “I’m really proud of you.”

“I’ll do what I can to give back.”  Lance reached up and wiped a tear from his eye.  “I want to help people like you do once I get settled.”

“I know you will, but you don’t have to stress about helping us financially.  If you come by and share your story from time to time, it will be enough to inspire others.”  I put my hand on his shoulder.  “You have a story that people need to hear.”

“I appreciate that, William.”  Lance smiled and wiped away another tear.

“Don’t look now...”  Ricky walked up and nudged me.  “But a very sexy alpha paramedic just walked in and he’s looking right at you.”

“Cody?”  I immediately turned towards the door and smiled.  “I’m sure he just came by to say hello to Lance.”

Cody was breathtaking.  He was strong, determined, sexy as hell, and the nicest alpha I had ever met.  He was also the one who saved Lance when he was at his lowest point.  There was a time when I thought he came around the shelter so much because he liked me, but after a couple of years went by without him even asking me out on a date, I had given up hope of ever having more than his friendship.  Lance walked over and hugged Cody, breaking down into tears when the alpha’s powerful arms wrapped around him.  I knew I should say hello to Cody, but it was hard to be so close to him without getting flustered.  He turned me into a blubbering idiot when I tried to talk to him. 

I ducked into the kitchen and opened the door to the cabinet where I hid my alcohol.  I wasn’t interested in getting drunk, but a drink would at least take the edge off.  I poured a couple of shots into a glass and swallowed the dark brown liquor quickly.  My eyes closed and I felt the alcohol turn to fire in my veins.

“The real party is in here, I guess?”  The strong, gravel-coated tone was unmistakable and I knew it was Cody.  “Can I get a drink?”