by Hawke Oakley
I lowered the carrier gently and placed it on the ground. Because Ryu was a dragon, he could understand my words spoken in wolf form due to his dragonspeech ability.
“Yes,” I said, my voice gruff. “I need your help.”
Thankfully, he didn’t seem angry to see me, like I was afraid of. He was just intensely confused.
“What’s going on? Whose baby is this?”
I shifted back to continue the conversation in human form.
“That’s the problem. I don’t know. Someone left her on my bar’s doorstep,” I explained.
A wave of sympathy and sadness washed over Ryu. “Oh no…”
“I checked everywhere nearby, but I couldn’t see or smell anyone,” I continued. “There was a single faint scent trail leading away from her carrier but it just disappeared. She’s alone.”
Ryu kneeled down, his brows furrowed in concern. “She’s so small. Too small to be abandoned.” He caught sight of the embroidery and murmured, “Angel…”
The baby continued to snooze.
“What are you going to do?” Ryu asked.
“Well, I couldn’t just leave her at the bar,” I said. “But what am I supposed to do with her? I don’t know how to raise a kid.” I paused, mustering up the courage to say what I really meant. “I… I need your help, Ryu.”
He blinked in surprise. “Me?”
“Please,” I added sincerely. “I’m sorry I yelled at you earlier. I was just being a piece of shit. You didn’t deserve that.”
Ryu still seemed totally confused. “Thank you, but, what did you say about needing my help? You mean to raise her?”
I couldn’t read his tone, and that frightened me. Did he not want to help raise Angel? Suddenly my mind flooded with doubt. Of course he wouldn’t want to help raise some random baby I found on the street—he was a young alpha in his prime. He probably had some other omega he wanted to knock up and have a real family with, like that guy Henry. What the hell was I thinking? I shouldn’t have even bothered.
“I—I don’t know,” I muttered, glancing away in shame and regret. “I thought maybe you knew where I could drop her off or something, like a shelter.”
“Scar, what are you saying?” Ryu cried. His eyes flashed fiercely and his hands gripped the sides of the carrier in a protective way. “We can’t leave her at a shelter!”
“We can’t?” I echoed, waiting for him to reveal his intentions.
“No! Scar, don’t you see?” he asked.
“...See what?”
“You said she was left on your bar’s doorstep, right?”
“Yeah.”
He stared at me seriously. “That means it was meant to be. Someone wanted Angel to be with you.”
“What?” I cried. “Who would want to leave a baby with me? There’s probably tons of omegas out there who are young and ready to be parents—hell, probably some of them that are infertile and can’t have kids of their own who would take care of this baby better than I could! What kind of idiot would see me and think, hey, I’ll just drop my kid off right in front of his alcoholic beverage business!”
My panicked outburst roused Angel from her sleep. Her eyes screwed up together and she grumbled. My heart stopped and I didn’t dare breathe. I didn’t want her to cry. I didn’t want her first interaction with me to be a negative one.
But when her eyes opened, all she did was look at us with her big golden eyes.
Golden eyes… She must not be human. Is she a shifter?
“She’s not crying,” Ryu said quietly.
Angel blinked. Her expression was one of calm wonder and curiosity, like she was wise beyond her years.
“She’s not scared?” I asked.
“I suppose not.”
Angel continued to look back and forth between the two of us.
Anxious, I turned to Ryu. “So if we’re not going to take her to a shelter or anything, what’s going to happen to her?”
“Simple.” Ryu faced me. “We’re going to raise her ourselves.”
8
Ryu
The moment I laid eyes on Angel, I knew everything had changed.
There was no going back to the way things used to be. For whatever reason, this baby had come into our lives. Well, she’d come into Scar’s life—but was it a coincidence that he chose to ask me for help, especially right after the fight we had earlier? I didn’t think so. This was something that was meant to be.
I knew Scar had his doubts. I just needed to convince him this was the right path to follow.
“Can I really do that?” Scar asked now after my declaration.
“Not just you,” I reassured him. “I’m going to help raise her, too. I’m not going anywhere.”
Surprise and something like relief crossed his expression. A sigh left his lips and the tension eased from his shoulders.
“So… You’re not mad?” he asked.
“About what?”
He grimaced. “The way I screamed at you to leave me alone?”
“Oh, that.” I shrugged. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt in the moment, but I knew you had your reasons. I think both of us were wound a little tight from everything that happened tonight. But this is more important than that.”
I gestured to Angel’s carrier. Scar nodded.
“Yeah. That’s exactly what I thought too,” he said.
I smiled. “Great. Then let’s take her home. It’s going to get chilly out.”
“Okay. Er… Whose home?”
“There’s more space at mine,” I explained. “It’s the entire upper unit of my magic school. It’s also closer to the doctor’s clinic in case an emergency comes up.”
He shrugged again. “Okay. Sounds good.”
I reached down for the handle of Angel’s carrier. “Do you mind? You must be tired after chasing me down.”
“No, go ahead.”
I lifted the carrier. Angel gurgled but didn’t make a fuss. I noticed Scar couldn’t tear his eyes off her. I’d never seen him so curious and enthralled. He traced a finger along the side of her carrier, touching the soft cushion when suddenly Angel reached out with a tiny hand and touched his finger. He gasped, his whole face turning soft with emotion before breaking into a shy smile.
It was the first true smile of happiness I’d ever seen on his face.
* * *
Angel fell back asleep by the time we arrived at my place. We entered the dark first floor of the magic school and climbed the stairs at the back to the second floor—my home.
“Shoes, please,” I reminded Scar.
“Huh? Oh—sorry,” he muttered, kicking them off by the door.
Scar seemed embarrassed once we passed the threshold into the living space. He took in his surroundings.
“Everything’s so… tidy,” he commented. “It probably is better to raise a kid here, huh? Is she even old enough to crawl?”
“I think so,” I said. “Especially since shifter children mature faster than humans.”
“You think she’s a shifter too, right?” Scar asked, gesturing to her eyes.
“Yes. Besides her eye color, there’s no way a human could get past Cinderhollow’s barrier without any of us knowing.”
“But who in our tribe would do this?” he asked indignantly. “Just abandon a baby? If I ever catch who did this, I’m gonna give them a piece of my mind…”
“I don’t know. Maybe the circumstances aren’t what we suspect,” I said. “There could be a million reasons why someone would do this.”
Scar sighed, but he was clearly still upset. “I guess.”
“You said the scent trail vanished?”
He nodded seriously. “It was weird.”
“It didn’t lead into the air?” I asked. “Maybe it was someone who could fly. That would make sense with all the dragons and other flying shifters we have in Cinderhollow.”
But Scar shook his head. “Even if there was heavy wind tonight, which there wasn’t, there would still
be a faint trace of it in the air. But there was just… nothing. Like the scent cut off from the world.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said, frustrated. “A scent shouldn’t just vanish. That’s not possible.”
Scar bristled. “Well, I’m just telling you what I experienced, okay?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to accuse you of anything. It’s not you I’m frustrated at, it’s this situation... I’m just confused.”
He shrugged. “Me too.”
“Anyway, that’s not going to help us take care of Angel right now,” I said with a sigh. “She needs a lot of supplies I don’t have. It’s too late for any stores to be open, so we’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning.”
“Ryu,” Scar said slowly, looking at me. “You keep saying we… What exactly do you mean by that?”
The question baffled me. “I mean, we’re going to do this together. Isn’t that why you came to me for help?”
Scar’s expression was a mix of relief and confusion. “Um… Right. But what’s going to happen? I mean, we don’t live together. We aren’t together. How are we supposed to raise a kid?”
Oh. I hadn’t even thought about that. “Is that what you’re worried about? Other people thinking we’re a couple because we’re raising Angel?”
His eyes widened. “No!”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Forget me—aren’t you worried people will think we’re a couple?”
The flipped question made me pause. Truthfully, that was the last thing on my mind. Protecting Angel took precedence over anything else. But Scar seemed stuck on this point, on the fear that we would be perceived as a couple. Was he truly worried about that? Or was there something else going on in his mind that I didn’t understand?
“I think caring for Angel is more important than worrying about other people’s judgments,” I said finally. “Besides, it’s not anyone else’s business, right?”
“I guess,” Scar mumbled. “But I’ve been around people long enough to know that they always make other people’s business their own.”
I sat down, looking at him seriously. “Does it bother you? What other people think?”
He blinked in confusion. “Of course it does. People judge me every day of my life. Hell, it’s more weird that it doesn’t bother you.”
I shrugged. “They can think what they want.” I smiled at him. “We’re just an alpha and an omega trying to raise an abandoned baby together.”
It took a moment, but he returned my smile cautiously. “Okay. If you say so.”
I puffed out my chest in a display of over-the-top masculinity. “And if anyone bothers us, I’ll just crush them with my alpha powers.”
Scar let out a chuckle, which filled me with warmth.
Had he always had such a nice smile?
Then, it happened again—the strange pull from earlier tonight. It ran through my blood, prickling my skin.
I remembered when Scar asked me earlier tonight if I’d felt something. At the time, I lied shamefully. But now that it was happening again, I couldn’t deny that I knew exactly what he meant. Except this time, I wasn’t as keen to push him away. The fear of his rejection had put me on my guard—but after he’d snapped and sent me away, he apologized and sought me out again. I’d seen the desperation in his eyes when he asked for my help. He needed me.
And to do this, I needed him too.
“Stay here with me,” I said.
Scar asked, “What?”
“Stay here,” I repeated. “It will be easier to take care of Angel if both of us are in the same place. I have a spare air mattress you can sleep on, and it’s not too far from your bar.”
Scar looked like I’d just asked him to find me a pink elephant. “Um… I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Why?”
“I’m not a good roommate,” he stammered. “I’ll get in your way. I’ll probably piss you off with my hobbling around, just like I bother old man Pete.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous he was being. “What are you talking about? Pete’s just cranky. You can’t control the sound of your prosthetic. And even if you could, it still wouldn’t bother me.”
I wanted to add you’re my friend to the end of my statement, but the words wouldn’t come out. For some reason, they didn’t seem quite right anymore.
Scar rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know…”
“Please.” I grasped Angel’s carrier and turned it to face him. “Look, Angel wants you here, too. She needs an omega to help take care of her. Isn’t that right, Angel?”
Angel, who was still sleeping, obviously did not reply. But looking at her sleeping face seemed to give Scar the final push he needed.
With a sigh, he said slowly, “If you’re sure.”
“Yes!” I cried. “This is going to be great. Like an extended sleepover.”
He stared at me deadpan and lifted a brow. “You know we’re raising a baby and that this isn’t some fun game, right?”
“Oh, lighten up,” I said. “It’s not good for Angel if her parents are too serious all the time.”
Scar nearly choked. “Parents!?”
Realizing what I’d accidentally said, I blushed. “Well, not parents—just—unrelated alpha and omega caretakers sounds kind of dry, doesn’t it?”
“Guess so,” Scar mumbled, sounding flustered as well. “Anyway, it’s getting kind of late. Where’s this air mattress you promised me?”
I smiled. “Right this way.”
As I set up the necessary items for Scar, he watched over Angel. He sat on the tatami mat by the low table with his eyes glued to her like a hawk. I’d never seen him so focused on something—or someone. I wondered if his omega instincts kicked in, the same way my protective alpha ones did when I’d learned Angel was abandoned. It was true we weren’t related to Angel by blood, but we knew without words that we’d both fight tooth and nail to keep her safe.
“Here’s the bed,” I told Scar. He tore his gaze away from Angel.
“Thanks,” he said. “Um… Where should Angel sleep tonight? Unless you’re hiding one somewhere, we exactly have a crib on such short notice.”
I frowned. I hadn’t thought about that. “She can sleep in bed with me, and we can get one tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Scar frowned. “Where should I put the air mattress?”
I noticed his gaze was laser-focused on Angel. Separating them, even for a night, felt strangely cruel. I got the feeling he needed to be by her side.
“You can put it in my bedroom,” I offered. “That way if she needs anything, we’re both there.”
Scar nodded and got to work dragging the air mattress into my bedroom. I gave him a quick tour of my apartment in case he needed anything.
“Feel free to treat this place like your own home,” I told him.
After everything was set up, I carefully placed Angel on a soft throw blanket beside me and propped a pillow beside her to act as a barrier. I noticed Scar, who was laying on the air mattress on the floor beside my futon, staring up at Angel.
“Do you think she’ll be okay through the night?” he asked anxiously. “What if she falls? Maybe I should stay awake and watch her just in case…”
“She’ll be fine,” I reassured him with a smile. “I’m a light sleeper. One peep, and I’m up.”
Scar frowned, unconvinced.
“You need your rest, too,” I said sternly. “You’ve been up all night. You can’t take care of a baby without taking care of yourself.”
Scar groaned and slumped into the air mattress. “Fine, if you’re gonna get all preachy about it…”
“Yeah, I will. So get some sleep.”
He silently flipped me off. I chuckled.
“Goodnight, Scar.”
“Night,” he mumbled. “And goodnight Angel.”
I glanced down at her beautiful form. Angel was fast asleep, completely unaware of what she’d been through and the new sit
uation she was in. I felt a pang of sadness knowing one day she would ask us where she came from, and we would have to tell her the truth.
A fire burned in the pit of my stomach. Whoever did this to Angel would pay.
9
Scar
Angel woke us both at the crack of dawn.
A sharp, sudden cry jolted me upright. Up on the futon, Angel’s fists were balled up as she cried.
Ryu was up just as fast. He lunged to the bedside, eyes wide with panic.
“What’s wrong with her?” I cried. “So many things could be wrong!”
“Let’s calm down,” Ryu said over the sound of Angel’s wailing. “Maybe she’s hungry? I can mash up some food in the fridge.”
Suddenly, something hit me. My nose wrinkled and I grimaced, the panic fading. “Nevermind. I just smelled what’s wrong with her.”
A second later he caught the smell as well. “Oh, crap.”
“Yeah.”
His face paled. “I don’t have any diapers.”
My expression matched his. “Shit.”
“Yes, that does appear to be the problem.”
Ignoring his remark, I struggled to my feet and towards the door. There was only one way to solve this problem. I had to hurry.
“Where are you going?” he called.
“To the store. Where’s the nearest one?”
“There’s a convenience store right around the corner,” he said.
I quickly left without another word. My body moved surprisingly quickly despite my physical disability. Today, just like many other days, I woke with pains in my body from my old trauma—but my urge to care for Angel was stronger than my own agony. She needed me.
Ryu had cleaned up Angel as best he could before I returned. Huffing, I handed him a bag filled with diapers and baby food. Angel stopped crying by the time Ryu fitted her with a clean diaper and washed up.
“That was so scary,” I said with a sigh. It was only now that I noticed the dark circles under Ryu’s eyes—and I probably had ones to match. We’d gotten to bed late and only had a few hours of sleep before Angel woke up.