Mercy. The alpha had mercy on my attacker. I had never seen an alpha behave that way before. I watched as he shifted back into a human, caught a glimpse of his round, muscular ass and strong legs, his skin torn with a few old, raised scars, his dark hair cut into a short military style. I thought that might be the last I saw of him, actually, just the back of his head, his naked ass and strong legs. I was starting to fade, the pain overwhelming my senses and threatening to cause me to pass out completely, when he came over to me, and leaned down, looking into my eyes. He spoke, and I almost understood him, but my eyes couldn't focus on his face. I blinked determinedly and met his gaze. Something happened inside me, when he touched me, and our eyes met. I felt a spark of recognition, and trust, and despite the fact that this alpha was as much a stranger as the man who had attacked me, I let him lift my injured body into his arms and carry me.

Darkness took over my vision. My eyelids slid closed. Unconsciousness replaced pain, and my body began to work seriously at healing my nearly fatal wounds.

When I woke up, I was on a couch, a blanket above me and below me. I forced my heavy eyelids to open and looked around. It was a strange, dark living room. I didn't recognize it at all. I tried to remember what had happened. My head still felt dizzy from the blow. Yeah, that was right. I'd been hit on the head during my fight with the alpha who had attacked me in the alley. It all came back, and my eyes focused enough, adjusting in the darkness, to see a figure. It was the alpha who had saved me, a man I didn't know, but I felt like I must have met somewhere. And he was rocking... a baby? His large, muscular arms hugged a small infant, and I heard the baby coo quietly.

I groaned softly and sat up, realizing I had shifted back into my human form while I'd slept. That was probably a good sign. It meant I was healing fast, because our wolf forms were our protective measure against danger and injury. Our built-in security system, so to speak. So my body had lowered the alarms.

“You have a son?” I asked very quietly. The man didn't seem to hear me, but quickly noticed me sitting up.

"Oh! Hey!" he said, and even though I got the impression he was 'whispering' for the baby in his arms, and the apparent late hour, he spoke louder than I did. I frowned. Didn't wolves generally have good hearing? If I didn't know better, I'd think he was...

"Sorry, I'm a little deaf." He knelt very close to me, still holding the baby, and gave me a smile I couldn't help but hope to trust. I smiled back, slowly, mostly as a submissive measure.

"That's all right," I said, still quiet, but I made sure to move my lips as much as I could, now that he was looking at my face. "I speak too softly, anyway."

He chuckled. "I'm Ben," he said, and offered me his hand, the other firmly on his baby's back, hugging him protectively.

I slowly reached out and took his hand, shaking it politely. "James. Nice to meet you." I had been taught basic manners, at least. It was conversation I struggled with. I repeated my previous question, the one he had missed.

"Is that your son?"

His smile turned into a huge, white, dimpled grin, and my heart flipped over itself. It was strange enough smelling the powerful musk of this incredibly handsome alpha, and touching his hand, feeling the spark between us, but then he had to go and smile at me. I wasn't used to even wanting alphas to look at me, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from Ben.

“Tommy is my nephew. My best friend’s kid. This is his house. You’re safe here.”

I nodded, not so sure, but my eyes went to the cute little baby, his chubby cheeks squished against Ben's strong chest as he struggled against sleep.

"He's adorable," I admitted. "How old is he?"

"Almost a year," Ben told me, and lifted Tommy up under the armpits, making him wake up and giggle a bit. He set Tommy down on the couch, and the little boy crawled over to me, placing a curious hand on my lap. He sniffed at me just like a puppy might, and I realized that his hands had turned into paws. Before my eyes, the baby shifted into a little wolf pup, and curiously pranced around over my blankets, greeting me.

I reached out and pet the little wolf's furry ears gently, smiling when he licked at me. I had never been around children much, especially not shifter children. I hadn't actually realized just how cute they were. I had been one, of course, but I barely remembered it.

Ben cleared his throat, and when I looked up, he seemed to regret having interrupted, his eyes crinkling at their corners. Ben was obviously quite a bit older than me, in his forties, probably. I found it more attractive than I would have expected.

"Sorry, it's just that I should tell you, we put a salve on your back to help you heal. Wolfsbane. We should re-apply it soon, it's been quite a few hours."

"Oh," I said, and gently picked up the puppy, placing Tommy down onto the floor. I moved my weight on the couch and went to place my feet on the floor as well, which was when I realized that underneath the soft comforter on top of me, I was still naked. "I might need some clothes," I admitted.

Ben picked Tommy up and the wolf shifted back into a giggling, chubby cheeked baby. "No problem. The bathroom is that way if you want to take a shower, there's towels in there. I'll get you some of Tyler's clothes, they should fit. I'm just going to put Tommy to bed for real this time."

"Goodnight, Tommy," I said affectionately. He squeezed his hand at me to wave goodbye.

"Say night-night," Ben whispered in his ear.

"Nini," he gurgled, warming my heart. My smile grew wider with every second I spent with these two. I had never met anyone like them.

Ben took Tommy into the other room, and only once they were gone did the doubts start to settle in. Sure, Ben was nice, and the baby was cute, and my back did feel much, much better, so whatever he'd given me had worked. But was I really safe in this stranger's house? Should I even be taking a shower? Was that safe?

I went into the bathroom, anyway, because I needed it. There was a lock on the door. Nothing that would stop an angry alpha wolf from barging in if they wanted to, but I locked it anyway, and it made me feel safer. The shower was nice, and clean, and there were white guest towels laid out just like Ben had promised there would be. I was still sore all over, and dirty from the muddy alley. I smelled like garbage and blood and that asshole of an alpha who had attacked me. A hot shower was too tempting to resist.

I climbed in and sighed in relief as the hot water washed over me. By my feet, the water pooled gray at first, rinsing off the dirt that coated me from my fight, and then finally ran clear. I grabbed a bar of soap and began to scrub myself from shoulder to toe, aggressively washing away what had happened, but no matter how hard I scrubbed, I still felt dirty. I still felt unsafe. Pressure built in my chest and my throat rose up into my mouth. A sob left my body, shaking my shoulders, and then another, and once they began to spill over, I couldn't stop them. I fell against the shower wall and let myself cry, too tired to fight it.

Would I ever feel safe in this world? Would I ever be able to protect myself from every alpha that wanted to claim me? How could I? And if I couldn't fight off some bearded stranger in an alley, how would I avoid Cal, who had the money and power, all the resources in the world, to track me down and enslave me? It wasn't fair, what omegas went through, and I was even more ill prepared for it than most. I didn't know how to fight the feeling of helplessness. I kept trying, kept living and struggling to learn how to survive, but things like this happened. If Ben hadn't been there to save me, would the alpha have killed me, just for disrespecting him? Would he have impregnated me? Knowing what could have happened, I realized I hadn't thanked Ben at all. I'd been too busy trying to assess whether or not he, too, was a danger.

It wasn't right. When would I be able to stop living in fear?

I rinsed my body of all the soap and slowly washed my hair, my limbs heavy. The tears had stopped but my face felt numb and I was a little dazed from the force of it. When all the soap and shampoo was rinsed down the drain, I stepped out of the shower and dried myself with a soft white towel, pressing it to my face, my chest, scrubbing off my shaggy auburn hair. I wrapped it around my waist and left the bathroom cautiously. Walking out half naked and still dripping water from my shower in a house with an alpha in it probably was one of the stupider things I'd done in my life, but whether I understood it or not, Ben had done a lot of work toward gaining my trust.

Ben smiled almost bashfully when he saw me.

"Hey, much cleaner. Here, I just tried to pick something comfortable." He handed me a pair of sweats and I pulled them on as modestly as I could. He politely averted his eyes, despite a roguish smile that admitted all at once that he didn't want to. I appreciated the gesture.

I used the towel to dry my hair a little more, and took the t-shirt he gave me, but held it in my hand, sitting on the couch. I presented him with my back. It would be weird, having him touch me, but I wanted more of that salve. Already I felt halfway back to my usual self.

Ben sat behind me and I listened to him open the screw top lid of the jar. He cleared his throat a little.

"Just let me know if it's...too cold," he said, a little awkward in a way that made me smile.

"Go ahead," I permitted. "Just keep your hands on my back and we'll be fine."

I said it with quite a bit of confidence, but when his huge, strong, slightly rough hand rubbed the salve on me, it wasn't cold. I felt a rush of warmth go through my whole body, arousal I'd only ever experienced on my own. My cheeks felt flushed. I pressed back toward his touch, a soft moan escaping my lips, as he began to firmly massage the muscles of my back, calloused fingertips gently tracing my spine.

"Ben," I whispered. A tear nearly came to my eye. My whole life, nobody had touched me like this, with so much gentle affection. And he didn't expect anything in return. It was almost too much kindness for me to bear, especially for an alpha, who could so easily ruin my night if he wanted to.

"It's okay," he whispered, "I'm almost done." He kept his hands on my back, but it was still the most erotic experience of my life. My whole body trembled with need for him, and suddenly, I turned, and hastily pressed my closed, dry lips against his, tasting salt from my own tears.

He gasped against my mouth. Those strong hands grasped my back and turned me, pulling me in against his chest as he kissed me, really kissed me. His tongue parted my lips and suddenly it wasn't dry at all, it was hot and wet and I felt him with nerves in my mouth that I hadn't realized existed. I was rock hard in those strange sweats. Without meaning to, I had put myself practically in his lap. I was begging for it, and if he had pinned me down then, and taken me, I couldn't have claimed that I didn't want it. I would have had to live with the consequences of my actions.

I would forever be grateful to him, then, for having enough sense to slow down. Bless him. After he kissed me, instead of grabbing me tighter, he let go, just enough to let me pull away. He gazed into my eyes, smiling gently, and I got to really see the warm brown of his, how genuine his soul seemed to be. That alone drew me to him. I had never seen that in another man's eyes.

"Look, you've had a rough night. I... would love to see where this goes, but are you sure you're okay?"

I wasn't. I was trembling. I shook my head dumbly, but he seemed to understand. He touched my hand, and I squeezed his, trying to communicate that I didn't want him to go. God, the last thing I wanted was for this beautiful, incredible man to leave my life now that I'd found him. But sex? I was nowhere near ready for it.

"I'll never hurt you," he promised, suddenly, and I found I believed him. "I'll never touch you in any way you don't want." His brow was furrowed seriously. "You understand that, don't you?"

I looked up at him, and I wasn't sure how to explain that my only experiences with alphas were with ones who wanted to breed me. Up until pretty much that exact moment, I had thought it was universal. Ben had just begun proving me wrong, or this was the universe's sickest trick. But to make words for that, I would need more skill with communication than I had.

Ben paused, and then showed that he could read me better than I’d thought. It was a talent I was extremely grateful he possessed.

“Who are you, really? What happened to you?”

I tried to read his strong face. He had a little scar near his cheekbone, and a tan, and wrinkles around his eyes that made me feel strange somewhere near my solar plexus, especially the way those crow’s feet crinkled when he smiled. He was older than me, definitely. Much larger than me. An alpha. All of those things meant I should run, but instead I stayed, and it felt like rebellion. I was becoming addicted to that feeling, as time went on.

“James Lestrade.” I paused to see if he would recognize my last name. I’d been told we were of note. I’d thought about changing it.

He seemed mildly surprised. “Oh, the shifter family? I thought you’d all died, in the...oh, God. I’m sorry.”

I shrugged. “Don’t be,” I said dryly.

“So wait...that means you’re rich,” Ben said. “Like, really rich.”

I nodded, holding my breath for a moment. I was ready for him to try to use me for that, maybe propose marriage. I would have to run, then, no matter how attracted to him I was.

“Are you safe?” he asked, instead.

I blinked. My shoulders relaxed. That wasn’t something I’d been asked before, not with that tone, not genuinely.

“I think so,” I lied. I was still blocking the vague threat of Cal’s letters from my mind. “I mean, obviously, you saw in the alley, some people just smell omega, and...well.” I went quiet, moved on. “I’m safer than I used to be. My parents locked me up. I wasn’t allowed off the grounds, or out of the house in the week before or after the full moon.”

Ben seemed genuinely horrified, and a little confused. “Wait, isn’t that a myth? About the full moon? I’ve never been affected by it.”

I shrugged. “I’m still separating the truth from the lies, honestly. The things they told me… some of them have proven true. Others… Well, they said it was to protect me. But I know it wasn’t. I barely know how to live now, and that’s because they never taught me. They just taught me to be a good slave, so that my alpha could--”

“Your alpha? You’re mated?” Ben asked and shifted a little further away from me. I shook my head.

“No, thank God. The alpha that bought me is out of my life now. He’s not a problem.”

“So you’ve really lived in a mansion all your life?” Ben asked, and I was about to answer when the door opened, and two men walked in, dusted with light, melting flecks of snow.

“Would you believe it?” The taller one asked, tugging off his wet coat, as the shorter one shook the snow out of his dark, messy hair. “It’s snowing!”