YORK

 

There was nothing remarkable about Hunter’s apartment. There didn’t seem to be much to occupy himself with. But having lived all of my life in Pandora, a quiet, quaint space was more than I could have ever asked for.

I woke up late the next morning in Hunter’s bed but Hunter himself was nowhere to be found. I stumbled out of his bedroom and found Hunter in his kitchen.

He was completely naked. His shoulders were broad. His abs were firm. His chest bulging. His biceps thick. Just a quick glance was enough to tell me that he was indeed an Alpha.

He was handsome, too. Brown hair trimmed nicely with a little bit of scruff on his jawline. But he wasn’t intimidating like the others. His demeanor was calm.

As I made my way into the kitchen, Hunter looked up and smiled at me.

“Good morning,” he greeted me.

His teeth gleamed white. A perfect smile with a couple of dimples on his chiseled cheeks. Just from the way he looked at me, it was hard not to blush and smile back at him. I couldn’t remember the last time I spent the night with an Alpha and felt good about it.

“G-good morning,” I stuttered.

“You’re free to take a shower,” he said. “I imagine last night left you quite filthy.”

“Shower? I…”

I paused, shifting my gaze away from him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I don’t think I should be wasting your water like that.”

“Wasting my water?” he said with a chuckle. “That’s what it’s there for.”

“I…”

“I insist. I still haven’t finished preparing breakfast.”

“Breakfast?”

“Don’t argue with me, Omega.”

I wasn’t arguing with him. If anything, I was just confused at his hospitality. Most Alphas had their way with me then sent me away without saying a word. Hunter was a strange Alpha.

I didn’t refuse.

I went into his bathroom and hopped into the shower. The warm water washing over my body cleansed all of the grime that I accumulated in Pandora. When you were living in the slums, cleaning yourself off was a luxury. I didn’t take advantage of Hunter’s kindness too much and showered as quickly as I could.

When I stepped back into the kitchen, Hunter sat at the table in nothing but his underwear. The aroma of food filled my nostrils and made my mouth water.

“Please,” he said without looking at me. “Have a seat.”

I took a seat in front of him and noticed the plate before me. A stack of pancakes with syrup. Next to it, a couple of scrambled eggs.

“It’s nothing fancy,” he said. “Just something to eat.”

“It’s fancy,” I said, trying to hide my smile. “Believe me. Just one look is enough to tell me it’s better than anything I’ve had in months.”

He had a kind smile. Despite the confidence he exuded, Hunter seemed caring at the same time. It was still a strange sight to see such a commanding Alpha in the bedroom not looking at me with disdain.

I put my head down and stuffed the food into my mouth. I broke the silence in the apartment as my curiosity got the best of me.

“What is it you do?” I asked. “I don’t imagine you make a living street fighting in Pandora.”

“No,” he said, chuckling softly. “But the work I do requires the same amount of strength and endurance. I’m a construction worker.”

“Construction worker? That makes sense… There’s a lot of construction going on in Dirge.”

“There’s always some building that needs to be torn down. There’s always another building that needs to be put up. The rich jaguars who live in Azure are constantly making deals. The work is plentiful.”

“It must be nice,” I said. “Having a job.”

“I make ends meet. But as you can see, it’s nothing glamorous.”

I looked around Hunter’s apartment.

“You should see the shelter I stay at,” I said.

“Shelter?”

“I live in an Omega orphanage. In Pandora. There are more than two dozen Omegas stuffed into a small two-story building. Believe me, this place looks like a mansion compared to where I live.”

I wasn’t looking at Hunter the entire time I was talking to him. I kept my head down. I was focused on my food but I had trouble looking back at him. I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. I didn’t want him to know just how much I appreciated his company.

“How about you?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” I said, my mouth half-full of food.

“What do you do? Is this what you do?”

“…Yes. It’s the only way I can make ends meet.”

“I’m not judging you. Getting by in Dirge is tough, especially when you’re living in a place like Pandora.”

I wasn’t proud of what I did. Despite Hunter’s reassurance, it wasn’t something I was comfortable talking about but he persisted.

“What about the Beta wolf?” he asked. “Who’s he?”

“Rip. He’s…”

“Is he your boss?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“Why do you need him? You can do what you’re doing without him, can’t you?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “You don’t understand. I made an agreement with him.”

“What kind of an agreement?”

“I would do this work. In exchange, he would protect me in case I got into any trouble. Alphas are known to get a little violent, especially in the slums.”

“I see…”

“And even if I backed out of my agreement, Rip knows people. He wouldn’t let me out of it so easily. I would end up in the hospital for sure. He almost fired me last night but he would still make me pay for it. He would make an example out of me. Then I wouldn’t have anywhere else to go after. He’s the one in control.”

I finally glanced up at Hunter. He wasn’t eating. He was just staring at me. Something about his eyes. Those amber eyes looking at me. I would have thought he cared if I didn’t know any better.

I shook my head and looked away from him.

“The agreement with Rip is what’s best for me,” I said. “I make enough money for myself and the shelter. It’s really not that bad. I get to meet a lot of interesting people.”

“People like me.”

“People like you.”

From the corner of my eye, I could see the smirk on his lips. I stuffed my mouth with another bite of food to hide my own smile.

“What was that all about last night?” he said. “You were having an argument.”

“That’s just how Rip gets. When business isn’t good and I’m having trouble finding an Alpha to offer my services to, he gets upset.”

“…Are you certain there’s no way to get out of this agreement you have with him?”

When I looked into Hunter’s eyes, I saw that he meant it. I immediately shook my head at the thought of it.

“Whatever it is you’re thinking, don’t,” I said.

“What do you mean—”

“I was only looking for someone to spend the night with. I was doing this for the money. That’s it. Please don’t get any ideas.”

He furrowed his brow slightly. It hurt me a bit to see the concern on his face still there.

What’s the point?

It didn’t matter what he thought. It didn’t matter what I thought. There was no way he could get me out of my situation with Rip. It was best just to move on.

I stuffed the last bit of food into my mouth. I was so hungry that I finished before Hunter had finished even eating half of his plate.

“Would you like another plate?” he asked. “There’s plenty—”

“It’s all right. I… I should be going now. I have things to do.”

“Yes. Of course. There is the matter of our negotiation. How much do they usually pay you?”

“I’ll leave that up to you. Whatever you think is appropriate.”

Hunter stood up from his seat and walked over to his kitchen counter. He picked up the small sack of money he used to pay Rip with last night. He reached into it for a second then paused.

I narrowed my eyes at him, curious as to what he was thinking as he stared at me. I didn’t dare speak up. I didn’t want to waste my time trying to figure out what Hunter was thinking.

Hunter made his way back over to the table and placed the small bag of money in front of me. Then he went back to eating his breakfast. He nonchalantly chewed on it as he stared at me from across his table.

I looked down at the money pouch and shook my head in confusion.

“What’s this?” I said with a shrug. “What do you want me to do with this?”

“Whatever you want,” he replied. “It’s your payment.”

“My payment? How much of it do you—”

“All of it.”

“I…”

I scoffed at the idea, shaking my head again.

“You can’t expect me to take this much—”

“It’s all silver,” he said. “It’s not that much. Besides, I made all of that from the fight I won. It’s nothing that I need. I have a regular job.”

I stared at the money. I knew I could stretch the silver out to last me a good amount of time. But it didn’t feel right taking all of it from him.

“Don’t argue with me, Omega.”

I nodded then stuffed the pouch into my pocket.

“You can earn that money,” he said. “Just keep me a bit of company before I have to leave for work in a bit. If that’s not too much trouble for you.”

He smiled softly at me. Just from the look in his eyes, I knew he meant it.

What a strange Alpha…

I bit my lips as I tried not to grin too wide back at him.

Food in my stomach. Money in my pocket. Clean from a shower. Satisfied after a night of sex. Hunter had given me more than any Alpha ever had and I hadn’t even known him for more than a day.

A part of me was suspicious. I had every right to think that he was up to something. But for now, all I wanted to do was enjoy his company. He didn’t seem to mind me just sitting there while I watched him eat.

There was no conversation between us. He didn’t even look at me. We just enjoyed the peace and quiet of his apartment.

When he finished his meal, he stood up from his seat. He grabbed my empty plate from me and I hopped out of my chair.

“Please,” I said as I tried to grab the plates from him. “Let me.”

He gave me a nod and let me take over. I grabbed our empty dishes then brought them over to the sink. As I washed our empty plates, I enjoyed the water running over my hands. It was a menial task but there was a certain pleasure from it.

Behind me, Hunter was busy preparing something on his kitchen counter.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Getting a little lunch ready for today.”

“Lunch… That sounds nice.”

“There’s nothing better than peanut butter and jelly.”

“Peanut butter and jelly? I don’t think I’ve ever had that before.”

I finished washing the dishes. When I turned around from the counter, Hunter was holding a small bag in front of me.

“What is this?” I said.

“Peanut butter and jelly. You said you’ve never had it before.”

“Oh… I don’t think I should—”

“Don’t think about what you should or shouldn’t do, Omega. That’s my job.”

That warm smile still on his face, Hunter was insistent in a way I’d never seen from an Alpha before. I nodded back to him and took the small paper bag from his hands.

“I should be going now,” I said.

“I know. You have many things to do, I’m sure.”

“Yes…”

What am I doing?

Just being around Hunter for a short amount of time was enough to make me want to stay even longer. But I knew I could never have that.

I paused for a second and sighed before heading toward the exit. Just as I put my hand on the door handle, Hunter called out to me.

“York.”

I turned around. The brown-haired Alpha stared at me with the same kindness in his eyes I’d seen this entire time.

“Can I see you again?”

He could have been up to something. I didn’t know Hunter very well, so he could have been masking his true intentions like so many living in Pandora did. For now, I had to believe that I could trust him.

“I work near Fifth Street,” I said. “The Omega shelter I stay at is near the same area.”

He gave me a nod and let me be on my way.

As soon as I closed the door behind me, I let out a deep sigh. I already missed being around him. Or maybe I just wasn’t happy about having to head back to the slums. Whatever it was, I was grateful for the time I was able to spend with Hunter.