TRISTAN

 

Emily wasn’t much different from most Omegas in the shelter. Wide-eyed and carefree, there was an innocence about her that I envied. They’d all been through a lot but it was hard to tell given how they were always smiling. I wanted to do everything I could to make sure those smiles didn’t go away.

But today, I was beginning to think I had to make an exception.

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” I asked.

“Yeah. Why not?”

“Because you had it last night. And the day before. And the day before that…”

“But they’re my favorite.”

“I don’t know…”

“Please…”

She looked up at me pleadingly. I sighed and shook my head, knowing that I couldn’t refuse the young girl.

“All right,” I said. “Let’s go have another peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

“Yes!”

She pumped her fist and quickly started gathering the ingredients. She’d done it so many times that it was easy for her to make her way around the kitchen. Peanut butter. Jelly. Bread. And a butter knife to put it all together. I stood by her side and watched as she put it together.

“First, you have to put the peanut butter on one slice,” she said. “Then, you put jelly on the other.”

Emily had this way of sticking her tongue out when she concentrated that made her look cuter than she already was. I’d heard her explanation on how to make her favorite sandwich before but I never got tired of listening to it.

“Then, you squish them together like this.”

She mashed the two pieces of bread together.

“Now you give it a try,” she said.

“All right, I will.”

I followed her instructions and made one of my own sandwiches. She observed me carefully while stuffing her face with a bite.

“There,” I said. “How’s that?”

I held up the sandwich and her eyes widened.

“Perfect,” she said with a grin.

I took a bite of the sandwich and nodded to her.

“I should talk to Hunter,” I said.

“Why?”

“I need to tell him to eat something else. You can’t keep eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the rest of your life.”

“Maybe we can have cookies, too.”

“Cookies…”

I chuckled at the thought.

“Cookies sound good,” I said.

“What’s going on in here?”

I turned my head up and looked at the man walking in.

Hunter was a bigger Alpha than most. His shirt tight against his body, it was easy to tell how muscular he was. The man had worked construction most of his life and it showed. The scruff on his chin made him look even more rugged.

He smiled at Emily and me with his hands out.

“Just enjoying another peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” I sighed. “They’re Emily’s favorite.”

“She’s got good taste,” Hunter said.

He gave her a wink and she giggled in response.

“I was thinking that maybe you can teach her to eat something else,” I said.

“What’s the point of eating something else when you’ve already found what you love?” Hunter said. “But I see your point. What do you think, Emily? Do you wanna eat something else for dinner?”

“Cookies!” the little girl shouted.

“Cookies… I’ll have to talk to York about that.”

Emily polished off her sandwich quickly.

“I’m gonna go play with the others now,” she said.

Before I could even say anything, she ran out of the kitchen.

“All that energy,” I sighed. “The sugar certainly helps.”

“It’s not doing her any harm,” Hunter said.

“It wouldn’t hurt if she changed things up. She looks up to you, you know?”

“I know. Emily is important to me. Just like all of the other Omegas here.”

I took a seat while I picked away at the rest of my sandwich. Hunter leaned up against the wall and crossed his arms.

“How are things?” he asked.

“Things are fine,” I said. “Your husband York seems to have everything under control. I’m beginning to wonder why he even hired me in the first place.”

“Don’t say something like that. This shelter has more Omegas than anybody can handle. We need your help.”

“York works hard. Along with the shelter and raising Preston, I wonder how he has the strength to get through it. Both of you.”

Hunter’s eyes wandered as he thought about it. I knew he had fond memories because there was a slight smile on his face.

“York and I have been through a lot,” he said. “The hard part is over now though. There’s nowhere else either of us would rather be than right here in the shelter.”

“There are a lot of shelters in Pandora these days.”

“There are a lot of Omegas who need a place to stay.”

Hunter walked forward and put a hand on my shoulder.

“We need everybody here to lend a hand,” he said. “Speaking of which…”

I knew there was something wrong when he hesitated.

“What is it?” I said.

“York and I have been working pretty hard. The Omegas are a handful. We were thinking about maybe taking a vacation.”

“There’s no shame in that. With as hard as the two of you work, you probably deserve it.”

“Then you wouldn’t mind taking over for a bit?”

I shook my head in disbelief.

“Me?” I said. “You want me to run the shelter?”

“You’re a good man, Tristan. You care about these Omegas as much as anybody.”

“I know. I love them. But it’s just like you said. They can be a handful.”

“You wouldn’t be alone. There are other volunteers. Saxon and Ruby are around to help out, too. And if all else fails, you can call Donovan.”

“Donovan… Things would have to be going really bad if I called the richest man in the city for help.”

The shelter was all my life at this point. Being around the Omegas along with good people like Hunter and his husband York was more fulfilling than anything I’d ever done. But the task of being in charge of the shelter still seemed daunting.

“It’s all right,” Hunter said. “You don’t have to—”

“No. You guys deserve a break. I know York is anxious to spend more quality time with you and Preston. The three of you shouldn’t feel obligated to run the shelter every single day.”

“It’s not an obligation to be here. It’s a privilege. But it would be nice to see what else is out there in the city. York never got the chance to experience it like so many others have.”

“I understand.”

I swallowed the rest of my sandwich then popped up from my seat.

“Okay,” I said with a nod. “I can do it. How long do you need?”

“Just a few days. I’m sure York will miss the Omegas and want to come back.”

“A few days I can handle.”

“Great! I’ll tell York the good news.”

Hunter patted me on the shoulder and left the kitchen.

I moved to the counter to clean up the mess that Emily had made from making the sandwiches. I thought about all of the work that needed to be done to keep the shelter running. It was going to be a tough task but at the same time, I welcomed the challenge of doing everything I could for all of the Omegas. It was the most important responsibility I’d ever had in my life.

Right after I finished cleaning up, I headed out into the main hall of the shelter to see what other work needed to be done. Most of the Omegas in the orphanage were young, so they were as loud as messy as one would expect. I didn’t mind looking after them because it meant they were living the carefree lives that all young ones deserved to live.

Before I could find something to occupy myself with, there was a knock at the door.

Living in Pandora, you never knew who would be at the door. Sometimes there were Omegas looking for a place to stay. Other times there were volunteers who wanted to help.

I opened the door and immediately knew that the man standing in front of me was neither one of those.

He wore a dark suit that fit his muscled frame perfectly. He had a rigid posture, like he was sticking his chest out only he wasn’t.

His hair was dark along with the hair on his face. His skin was tan and unblemished. And there were his eyes. Those brown eyes of his narrowed as he smiled at me.

“Hello,” he greeted me.

“H-hello,” I said.

I shook my head softly, confused as to why I stuttered.

“Do you work here?” he asked.

“Yes… I do. My name’s Tristan.”

“Julius.”

He stuck his hand out for me to shake. I shook his hand, looking into his eyes and the half-smirk on his lips.

“Julius… Hold on a second… Are you…”

He nodded.

“I was just elected mayor, yes,” he said.

I couldn’t believe it. Dirge had never had a mayor before and now he was standing right in front of me. I wanted to ask him what the hell he was doing here.

“Tristan?”

I was so shocked at his presence that I didn’t even realize I was just staring at him.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“What? Oh… I… I’m sorry, I just…”

“It’s all right,” he said with a laugh. “I was just stopping by to see the orphanage. If we’re going to improve the slums, it all starts right here. May I come in?”

“I… Um… Sure… Right this way.”

I stepped aside and let him in. Julius looked around and nodded.

“This is a nice place,” he said. “I can see why the Omegas feel at home here.”

“We all try to do the best we can. Most of the Omegas have gone through some tough circumstances to get here. They’re mostly outcasts from their packs in the Timberlands with nowhere else to go.”

“I see…”

I looked to the side and saw Hunter coming in from the other room. His husband York was right next to him with their son Preston in his arms.

“Hello,” Julius greeted them with a bow of his head.

Hunter narrowed his eyes as he walked up to Julius.

“Are you…”

“Julius. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Wow,” Hunter said as he shook his hand. “The mayor. It’s a pleasure to meet you. This is my husband, York.”

York smiled politely at Julius.

“What brings the mayor to an orphanage like this?” York asked.

“As you know, I’m doing everything I can to help the city. I’m aware of the work Donovan is doing in the slums for orphanages like this.”

“The orphanage wouldn’t be where it’s at now without Donovan’s help.”

“I believe that. But I also believe that there’s still more work to be done in Pandora. That’s why I’m here.”

“What can we do?” Hunter asked with a shrug.

“I’d like your insight. You’re the ones living in Pandora. Donovan told me you can’t solve everything by just throwing money at it. Perhaps you can tell me what I can do.”

“Ask Tristan. He’s the one in charge.”

“M-me?” I said.

Everybody turned toward me.

“Okay,” Julius said without hesitating. “How do you feel about having dinner with me? Tonight.”

“D-dinner?” I said. “Tonight?”

“Yes. We can go over things.”

“I…”

I looked over at Hunter and York. Both of them widened their eyes at me like they were encouraging me to accept Julius’s offer.

“I value your insight,” Julius said.

“Okay,” I sighed. “I don’t see a problem with that.”

“Perfect. I’ll have a car pick you up tonight. It was a pleasure meeting all of you.”

I walked Julius out and watched him leave in his chauffeured car. Hunter and York stood next to me on the sidewalk.

“What was that all about?” I said to them.

“Dinner with the mayor,” Hunter said. “You don’t get an opportunity like that very often.”

The smirk on his face made my cheeks warm. I scoffed and rolled my eyes at him.

“Why me?” I said.

“You’ll be running the orphanage,” York said. “I say this is a perfect opportunity for you to get started.”

“I don’t know if I should be going out tonight for dinner.”

“Nonsense! Hunter and I aren’t on vacation yet.”

The look in York’s eyes matched his husband’s.

“It’s just business,” I said, trying to keep a straight face. “I’m only going to tell him what he can do to help.”

“Of course,” Hunter said as he patted me on the shoulder. “But did you notice that he is quite handsome. Did you notice that, York?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” York responded.

“Jerks…” I muttered.

Hunter and York chuckled to each other as they headed back into the shelter.

“You coming back in?” Hunter asked.

“Yeah, just gimme a second,” I said.

I stared out into the empty streets. There were some homeless people lurking in the alleys. The streets were littered with dirt though they weren’t as dirty as they used to be. Most of the buildings were abandoned. And the stench of pheromones filled the air.

It was just another day in the slums.

“Dinner with the mayor,” I sighed.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was hopeful that he would be able to understand what it was like to live in Pandora.

I turned around and headed back into the orphanage. There was still some work to be done today.