YORK

 

I sat in one of the lounges of the Omega shelter surrounded by some of the younger Omegas. Most of them were children while others were young teenagers. The five young boys and girls all had an energy about them that couldn’t be matched.

They all shifted into the wolves they were and wrestled with one another.

“Here I come!”

I shifted and playfully tackled as many of the smaller wolves as I could. They all screamed in delight as I pretended to pounce on them. The combination of laughter and terror from them always put a smile on my face.

“Get York!”

There were too many of them to get all at once though. I howled with laughter as they all climbed on top of me and pinned me to the ground. They gnawed at my limbs with their raw teeth and pressed their paws down on me.

“Ah!” I screamed. “I can’t take it! You win! You win!”

I pleaded with them with a big smile on my face.

“We won, guys!”

The young Omegas all shifted back to their human forms and put their clothes back on. I shifted just the same as them but I wasn’t in any hurry to get up.

I laid on the floor in a heap, struggling to regain my breath. My eyes closed, I enjoyed the moment of peace to myself while I listened to them go back to playing with one another.

“They’ve got a lot of energy tonight.”

I raised my head up and saw Ruby sitting on a chair with her hands resting in her lap. The white-haired woman smiled kindly at me. I sighed as I slowly worked my way back to my feet.

“Have you been feeding them anything differently?” I sighed as I put my clothes back on.

“Nothing different,” she said. “But they are getting more than usual. The money you gave me allowed me to splurge a little bit.”

The silver I earned from a couple of nights with Hunter was more than I was used to. But having extra money in my pocket wouldn’t do me any good. It was nice to see that it was being put to the best use possible.

I made my way over to Ruby and took a seat on a broken-down couch next to her. I could see the weariness on her face despite her kind smile.

“That money won’t last long though,” she said. “I’m afraid things will have to change unless something happens soon.”

“What do you mean? Aren’t you still getting donations?”

“Yes. There are some affluent citizens in Azure who are willing to put some money into this old place. That’s how we’re able to keep the lights on. But there are many shelters in Pandora. I don’t know if you noticed but there are a few new Omegas here.”

“I… I noticed… I just didn’t want to bring it up.”

“I couldn’t turn them away.”

“No. Of course not.”

“But money is a problem. There’s only so many ways to stretch a piece of silver.”

I took Ruby’s hand in mine.

She had a kind face. But when I looked into her eyes, I could see how broken-hearted she was. She’d been at the shelter for so long. I had to do anything to make sure that all of the work she did wasn’t for nothing.

“Do you remember what you said to me?” I asked. “About taking over the shelter?”

“Of course. You’re the best person for the job, York. These children look up to you.”

“I’m going to do what I can for all of them.”

“How will you do that? I know your heart is in the right place but how will you continue to make money for the shelter?”

Ruby didn’t know about the work I did for Rip. The arrangement we had gave me enough money to take care of the shelter so far. With more Omegas taken in, I had to make even more money to accommodate them.

“Listen,” I said as I squeezed her hand. “I don’t want you to worry. Just know that I’m going to do what I can for you and for all of them.”

She put her other hand on top of mine and nodded.

“I know you will,” she whispered.

My moment with Ruby was interrupted when there was a knock at the entrance to the shelter. My ears perked up as I jumped from my seat.

“I’ll answer it,” I said.

I walked over to the door. I didn’t have to open it to know who was on the other side. I could smell him from a mile away.

Rip stood there with an angry look on his face. He was always angry. But something told me he was more upset than usual.

“We need to talk,” he said.

It was nighttime in Pandora, so the mood was more threatening than it usually was in the slums.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I—”

“You’re supposed to be working the streets tonight.”

“I… I’m a little tired.”

“Tired?” he exclaimed. “It doesn’t matter if you’re tired or not. When you’re not working, you’re not making any money. And if you’re not making any money, I’m not making any money.”

“I know… I just… Rip, please…”

“Maybe we should forget about our agreement. Maybe I should have some of my people deal with you…”

He slowly took a step toward me. I put my head down as he put his face near mine. His breath on my cheek, I feared about what he was capable of.

“You work for me,” Rip said. “You do whatever I tell you to do. So if I tell you to go out there and bend over for an Alpha willing to pay, you bend over. Do you understand?”

“I… I understand—”

“Not anymore, he doesn’t.”

A voice interrupted my conversation with Rip.

We both looked down the sidewalk and saw a familiar face approaching. I was always glad to see Hunter but tonight, I was relieved.

The Alpha stepped forward toward Rip, who greeted him with a wide grin on his lips.

“Ah!” Rip said. “The Alpha who enjoyed the company of one of my finest Omegas. I’m glad you’re here. York said he was planning on working tonight. Would you like the pleasure of his company?”

“Yes, I would.”

“Good. Since you’re a returning customer, I can give you a deal—”

“Not for tonight,” Hunter interrupted him. “For the rest of his life.”

“I’m sorry,” Rip said, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t think I heard you correctly. It sounded like you said you wanted my Omega for the rest of his life.”

“You heard me. I’ll pay you whatever you want.”

Rip clenched his jaw. He was no longer smiling like the salesman that he was. Instead, he was eyeballing me, examining me like a piece of meat. There was no telling what he was thinking.

“I don’t know,” Rip said, his eyes still on me. “I make a lot of money off of this Omega.”

“I’ll pay you whatever you want.”

“Hunter!”

Hunter put his hand up to quiet me when I tried to raise my voice. I sighed and took a step back as the two of them continued to negotiate.

“All right,” Rip said. “I can make you a deal. There are plenty of Omegas willing to work for me.”

“How much?” Hunter asked.

“Fifty.”

“All right,” Hunter said with a nod. “Fifty—”

“Gold. Not silver. Fifty gold pieces and he’s all yours.”

“Fifty gold pieces?” I exclaimed. “Nobody has that kind of money—”

“Okay,” Hunter said. “I’ll give you 50 gold pieces. York no longer works for you. He has no obligation to you. You won’t threaten him. You’ll leave him alone.”

“For 50 gold pieces, I’ll find another Omega to replace him. Do we have a deal?”

Rip held his hand out. Hunter didn’t hesitate in shaking it. Rip laughed softly to himself.

“Give me one night,” Hunter said as he pulled his hand away. “Tomorrow night, I’ll have your money.”

“You’d better. I don’t appreciate people who make a deal and back out of it.”

“Just be here tomorrow to get your money.”

Rip eyeballed me with the usual disdain he had.

“One night off,” he said to me. “If your Alpha here doesn’t come through with the gold, I’m gonna make you work twice as hard to make up for it.”

Rip cackled to himself as he made his way down the street. The sound of his laughter sent a chill through my spine. I turned to Hunter and shook my head.

“What are you doing?” I said. “I’ve seen where you live. I know where you work. How are you going to come up with 50—”

“It’s all right,” he said as he put a hand on my shoulder.

Just hearing his voice was enough to calm me a bit.

“I made a deal with Saxon.”

“Saxon? That other Beta wolf? You know he’s from Pandora, right? He’s only looking out for himself.”

“He’ll be making a lot of money, too.”

“How is that exactly?”

“I told him to set up a fight. A big fight. More than one if he had to.”

Hunter took my hands in his.

“If I win, I’ll have enough money to deal with Rip for good,” Hunter said. “You’ll never have to see him again.”

It was so unbelievable. None of it made sense. Not the fights. Not the deal with Saxon. Not even Hunter himself.

I shook my head.

“No,” I said. “I don’t think—”

“Don’t think, Omega,” Hunter said to quiet me. “Put your heart at ease. I know what I’m capable of. Let me take it from here.”

I put my head down and closed my eyes. Feeling my hands in his. Having his body near mine. Hunter was everything I imagined in my dreams. Even though he was right in front of me, he didn’t seem real.

“Why are you doing this?” I said as I shook my head. “Why do you continue to risk everything with something so dangerous? For me?”

“Would you rather continue working for Rip? Would you rather continue selling your body to other Alphas who don’t care for you?”

“If it means helping the shelter, I would. I don’t want you to get hurt—”

“I won’t get hurt. You just have to trust me, Omega.”

He reached his hands forward and wrapped them around me. Being in his embrace was more comfortable than anything I could feel. I closed my eyes and nuzzled against his chest. Even in the middle of a place like Pandora, I’d never felt safer than in Hunter’s arms.

“I trust you,” I whispered.

I slowly pulled away from him and looked up.

Those amber eyes of his. He stared at me, his face more handsome than any Alpha I’d ever seen. I couldn’t fight a smile from coming to my lips.

“Perhaps you’d like some company tonight,” I said.

“I would love nothing more than your company. But I have a big night tomorrow. I should probably get some rest.”

“Oh,” I said, slightly disappointed. “Of course.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t spend some time with you.”

“Would you like to see the shelter?”

I took a step away from him and held his hand in mine.

“I would like nothing more than to see the place you live.”

I’d only met Hunter a few nights ago. I should have been embarrassed about showing him a place like the shelter. But I knew him well enough to know that he would understand what kind of place it was.

It didn’t matter that we were almost strangers. I wanted him here with me.