by Emma Knox
“Then that’s agreed. Here’s my number. So, just call me when you’re ready.”
“Yep. I sure will.” I dropped my head from being unable to maintain eye contact.
Garret brought me right back up. “Those eyes. They lighten my torch below and I just can’t switch it off.”
Trevor had always acted like my father, I mean, he was biologically, but I preferred, now that I was older, that he treated me as a friend. I always found it odd that he wasn’t my older brother, he seemed more that to me than my father, especially because he looked so young. I wasn’t embarrassed to hear it from others who also mentioned that Trevor’s boyish appearance came from sipping from the Holy Grail that gave him eternal life! I thought the rumor worked for him on many levels.
“You know I’m not mad.” My father’s far-out words made me decipher that he actually was at least somewhat. “I know you’re twenty-three-years old. You can come and go as you see fit. Being a grown lad and all of that. Hell, I wanted you to get out of here and experience a renewal of life.”
Ethan, picking meat from the sides of his teeth with a sharp kitchen knife suited for chopping carrots, chucked it into the sink and poured himself some water. “So, who was he?”
“Who was who?”
Ethan checked a plastic bag that on the kitchen counter labeled ‘Deer meat’. He licked his lips. “That burly guy who could crush the very bones in my five fingers. He’s a strong one. A little different from what you sassily go for.”
I said nothing.
Trevor obviously thought Ethan’s point was highly valid. “Yes. Come to think of it, Ian, he isn’t your type at all. I’m proud. You see those prettier than princesses Alphas have too much flamboyance and not enough stock in their trousers.”
I wished my father wouldn’t. It ruined his cool appeal.
“I think he’s a great fit. What about you, Ethan?”
“I agree.” He rinsed the blood from the deer meat. “A little macho-macho will sharpen you up—”
I grabbed a plate of chicken and raced to my bedroom to get some peace and quiet.
“Where did he go?” I heard him call as I closed my bedroom door and set the plate down on the bedside table.
Drew would always be a weak comparison to Garret and I didn’t want to be reminded of what machoism meant to my father and Ethan. I locked my door, pulled off my dirty shirt and slung it in the laundry basket, then took off everything else and pulled on some grey joggers and a black vest.
I stuck some of the cold pieces of chicken chunks into my mouth and fell onto my mattress with a stuffed mouth. What a night this had been, with a hero in the shape of a polar bear that has caught me literally off guard. There was, before he had spoken to me, an ill-omen that he carried up until the very moment that he saved my life and gave me his jacket.
That omen fell by the wayside and lost its eight legs when we had intercourse. Each stroke that he planted in me was met with a groan of liberation, like a clock chiming to every exact hour. Garret imprinted his fingers into my back, touched me all over, sensually sniffed me all over, and even at one point whispered, “You’re saving me.”
From Garret’s point of view, I didn’t know how he would see me. Was it as a cheap fuck? As an easy Omega? Weak minded and feeble? Or just a one-night stand? I rolled over my blanket a few times, trying to avoid the drop onto my plush, pale-smoke carpet shaped like an egg head. But I lost out to that battle and spun like a wagon wheel onto the floor with a momentous thud!
“You ok up there, Ian?” I heard Trevor’s quick feet running up the stairs…but not all the way. “Hey, kid, you ok in there?”
“Yeah, Father.” I got to my feet. “I just fell off the bed.”
“You what?”
I raised my voice, “I fell off the bed!”
“Why the hell did you do that for?”
But Trevor didn’t hang around for me to call out to him.
“Because I’m gushing and swooning over Garret. I think it’s safer on my floor as I think about him.” I put my hands underneath my head, sprawled out my legs widely and became lost with the bulls-eye pattern of the cream ceiling. “It was only for sex though. That’s all it was to him.”
Chapter 6
Garret
The next morning I went through the Omega Lodge Inn doors and was completely ignored. I caught Steven doing some spring cleaning with the help from his workers. He didn’t stop what he was doing on behalf of me. Nope. He continued using his manly silver duster to get to those hard to reach areas like the top of a cabinet where he had to tip-toe, or in the corner where the jacket and coat rack created a gap that it could squeeze through.
And then there were a couple of photographs hanging on the walls of various Alpha and Omega couples who posed when the photographer asked them to on the dance floor. The majority were kissing with their eyes focused on the camera. Alpha’s lifted their Omega’s energetically and smiled toothily. And the only rare sight was one Omega who tried this with an Alpha, which made me smile because the Alpha was crossing his arms and refused to be lifted from the ground.
Steven dusted all of these. And nearly swept that duster over me too if it hadn’t of been for me grabbing it off him. He must’ve thought I was that wild west door.
“Oh.”
I had taken him by disbelief.
“Garret, have you been standing there long?”
“For the past hour.”
“Oh wow.” He took off his glasses to adjust. “I need a new pair.” He analyzed them and then me whilst placing them back on. “You can have a meal on the house!”
I thought it was best to quit playing with the four-eyed proprietor. “Honestly, Steven, I just got here.”
“I know.”
“You do?”
“Yep. But you can still keep the meal on the house.”
I broadly smiled and followed him back to the checkin desk.
“Are you here to sign out?”
“Actually, I’m not.”
He gave me another, “Oh. How can I help you out then?” He closed the logbook and tapped his green biro upon it.
“I wanted to extend my stay for a few days.”
Steven reopened the book. “And how long for?”
“Um, three to four days would be suitable perhaps.”
“Do you want to keep it open?”
“You can do that?”
“You’re my brother. Of course I can. Besides, Alpha’s usually checkin for a few days because they have some boy-toy or other. I have to keep a spare set of sheets around because it can get really messy in those bedrooms. I’m sure you know what I mean?”
I did.
“Or maybe it’s the real deal. I never pry into their business. But…is that’s the case for you?” He looked hopeful.
“I just…uh…wanted a change of scenery. The lodge offers nice landscapes, and then there’s the woods nearby which I like to have a stroll in and explore.”
Steven handed me another key and spun the book around for me to sign with the green biro. By his silence, I measured it as a cup of ‘yeah right’, and ‘pull the other leg’. When I handed the book back, I could see it smugly on his face, ‘You found somebody, but it’s your business. I get it.’
“Any special requests?”
“Steven, do you have that option too?”
“The lodge has to cater to the horn-fest that comes through my doors. Keeps business booming and me a very happy owner. So yes, whatever you may have in mind. Just pick up that phone and one of my staff will be there to assist you. And Drake too, when I find him, that is.”
“I’ll be giving you a ten out of ten when it comes to feedback. I’m feeling like a valued customer and not just your brother.”
“Then you’ll love me requesting that I bring up one of my bartender’s morning delights with orange and sunflower seeds soaked at the bottom. It’s a health boost we’re trying to promote it.”
“I’m sold.” My good mood was infe
ctious. No sarcasm. Steven ran a successful team around here. I took my keys and headed to my room, while he stopped his cleaning to go and find Drake.
It was a double bed with a decent sized shower and loo. No bath. There was a side lamp and chunky looking telephone next to an Omega Lodge Inn ash tray and mat for drinks. An ice cooler rested on top of a mini fridge. A welcome hamper with earthy smelling soaps and others made from seaweed sat in the dish by the sink. And a small guide on the woods lay on the desk. Oh, and there was a TV which I left off.
I figured nothing could bring me back to where I came from. No cough. No blood. I was looking a little healthier already. I felt a clearance in my throat. My respiratory system was no longer suffering from nasal congestion that left me plenty of mucous. I had both a cold and symptoms of bronchitis or whatever. I was just glad to be clearing my airways. And I could dispose of my handkerchief with the bloodstains.
I took off my clothes, slung them on the bed, wrapped a towel around my naked rear-end and visible hairy legs, and went to answer the ringing telephone. Steven wasted no time in upping the customer service. “How goes it, Steven?”
“Mind reader. Listen, you have visitors.”
“Visitors?” I wasn’t expecting anybody at the time. “Well, I’m just about to take a shower. Can they give me twenty minutes?”
I heard Steven asking, and one voice replied with of course.
“Yes, they can wait.”
“Ok. Who is it?”
Steven sounded curious as he said, “It’s Ethan.”
Ethan stood in the doorway when I opened the door for him. “You sure are a buff man, Garret. How old are you?” He walked in.
I closed the door and it made a ca-cha click. “I’m thirty-one-years-old.”
“What! Serious?”
“Yeah. You seem surprised?”
“You don’t look a day over twenty-five. Good metabolism.”
“I try.” I appreciated all the niceties. And I was sure that Ethan was a good fella, but his body language and inability to stand in one position long enough gave me that distracting realization that he had a few choice words for me that I’d have to harken or sell. And that selling point would be Ian.
“So, I’ll keep it snappy, and just come out with how I think this works. You and Ian, how’s that working out?”
“It’s not even grown any wings yet. Me and Ian, we’ve just met.”
“And is his scent to your liking?”
“It fits in a matchbox. Yeah.” I wasn’t too sure how my questionnaire application with Ethan was going. As a grown ass Alpha, I knew that it was common for packs, or even individuals with friends of their leaders to have choice words for suspected suitors. I wasn’t used to it, but I took it on as care and love for Ian. “Is there something I’ve done wrong?”
“No. No. I just…Ian’s been through quite a lot recently, to the point of Trevor having to keep a close eye on his behavior. It’s frantic. Some days he’s higher than a palm tree, and others he’s lower than a burrowed otter. I just never know what route Ian will take. He can be quite sensitive. And Trevor is the kind of father who wants things to be straightforward and placed down with that ink stamp.”
I started to feel a little pressured. Even, sad to say to Ian, turned off by Ethan’s parental guidance. More like an agony uncle. But I put it under-my-arms as precaution. Yes, that kept the fire that might be there for Ian alive. “I like to keep things honest too. I’m at that stage where it’s about doing or dying.”
“We all reach that point sometimes.”
This was getting real deep. “But Ethan, you can assure Trevor that me and Ian, we’ll see how it goes. That’s the most honest answer I can give both him and you. Ian does seem like he was let down, maybe more than once, and I don’t want to put him through anything that I can’t put up with myself.”
“Good answer. It speaks authentically to me.”
I am doing well then.
“But here comes the part where my manners go out the door and I give you a little warning. Now, you’re a big fella, real muscle, and I’m sure your shifter status is just as menacing. But I too, have a pack, and we protect our own. Ian might not be my son, but he sure as hell means Hades is on his throne of spikes. He’s that important to me. So, I can’t have you messing him around after his last heartache. I’m sorry it must be all cringes and cautions, but that’s just what Trevor wants. And what he wants — he usually just takes or sends a message.”
“I understand what you’re saying, Ethan.”
“Good. He’s a tender boy. Just wants to be loved and all of that.”
“Right.” I was about done with this conversation. Too many rules with freedom having no flag to fly.
Ethan tapped his feet, spun his head around my room and then left the door open for me to close, giving a departing nod and heading to walk down those wooden glazed stairs.
I closed the door, gave an exasperated sigh to that event, and then had to contend with the room phone… Oh wait, it was my own phone ringing.
I had no idea who the number was. I stared at it. Let it dial out. And then went to sit on my bed and let the effects of that wondrous shower take its refreshing toll on me. The water was warm and just right. It rang again, the same number, and I answered it this time because the caller was persistent. “Hello?”
A shrinking voice spoke up, “Hu-hello? It’s…it’s me, Ian.”
“Oh.” He had my full attention. “Ian. I wasn’t expecting you to call me so soon.”
“Ye…yes. Well, I found the courage and thought why not see if you’re free for today? After what you did for me, I think your company would be a nice send off to the end of that phrase.”
I was touched. “How can I refuse an offer like that?”
“I’m hoping you won’t?”
I wondered if Ian could feel me smiling over the line. “I think, as the weather is going to be pretty awesome, we should opt for ice creams?”
“Anywhere in particular?”
“The Omega Lounge here at the Inn might be a nice tester. How about that?”
“I think…I think I can do that, Garret.”
“Ok. Well, I’ll be seeing you later on.”
“You will.” He hung up.
I thought on Ethan’s words, Am I ready?
Chapter 7
Ian
Pregnant, possibly? Na. But my body didn’t belong to me as I felt a detachment from myself. It split into two groups: the unlikely and likely to be true. There was always that high-end risk. We hadn’t used protection. And it happened like blinkers blinding me out in a snowstorm and crashing into a realism that if I was — I had been at my fertile period — then I would be facing a responsibility bigger than my size eight shoes. Trevor gave me an almanac which would be useful to keep a record of when the mating season was nigh.
I wanted to get sexy. To feel erotically stimulating again to the Alpha male. I used shaving gel and shaved the hair off my chin. Then applied the same to my legs, arms, torso, and underarms. No more stubby hair on this body. I was going to be perfect! I hadn’t been able to get this dolled up since Drew. And the fight over who got to the mirror first always left me with no time to reflect on my image.
My image had suffered. I wasn’t the same wolf shifter that dabbed on aftershave a few months ago on the sides of my neck. Drew would sniff me, and then lick it off, the scent of his pricey allure – which was the name of it. I did these little things for him to keep him happy. Like now, I was making an effort because Garret had made an attempt to show me that life was worth living.
In the background, the noise I heard signaled for me to not get carried away. And with good reason. But I scavenged through my wardrobe while it still beat its pulse at me, Don’t get carried away! Don’t get carried away! I pulled out a sexy, royal velvety blue shirt that left my entire torso bare apart from two buttons at the bottom. Then I searched for my preferred skinny fitted jeans that added a nice shell to my ass and gave some
plumage to those cheeks of mine.
They fit seamlessly! I pulled out the mirror on my wardrobe and spun around to see how my ass sat in the cotton candy white jeans… I would do me. I would bend me over and spank that bad boy. I wiggled and then dropped my knees down a little and threw one of my dainty legs up and felt a surge of attractiveness come over me. A new-found love that had died the day I lost Drew. I faced the front of me again in the mirror. I’m older. Wiser, I hope. And prone to wanting a modification. Garret was a change. And this outfit was a vital red pill.
I was hungry, so I nibbled a few pieces of deer hide and dipped it in some tabasco sauce. I needed to wash and lick my fingers, but a quiche made of ham and sweet chili sauce called my name. I stomached it and wanted more. As I was wiping my torso for fallen crumbs and dripped hot sauce, the grandfather clock in the passageway chimed four, and that was my cue to grab my brown leather jacket and head to the lounge.
I took my time and enjoyed the weather. As I walked, I had to weigh up the possibility of backlash. I would probably run into Steven and Drake, and after the last time I’d seen them, well, I hadn’t behaved very well. I would need to apologize. I went back to the house and grabbed a set of keys. My father had a nice set of wheels and he’d left it parked just in front of our home. The range rover was a sunset orange with a retractable hardtop. Driving to the lodge would be faster and put me in a sun-setting mood. I hit the button removing the roof and placed on my sunglasses.
A few other cars were parked on the designated patch for vehicles near the lodge. It was a squared section that a farmer might use to fence off his farm from intruders. My father’s range rover was the largest and brightest vehicle. Judging by the clientele that were entering the lodge that afternoon, I would be the oddest young ball stepping in. I gave myself one more look-over in the outside vent windows. Before seeing Garret, I decided to see Drake and Steven on this nice day.