My body knew before my mind fully processed it, some ancient hindbrain recognition that sent adrenaline floodingthrough my veins. My hands started shaking, not from the cold now but from something more primal. Every muscle tensed, ready to bolt, but I forced myself to keep singing, forced my voice to find the melody again even though it came out thinner, weaker.
Alphas didn't stop on this street. Alphas didn't idle in expensive cars listening to homeless Omegas sing. Alphas meant danger, meant hands that grabbed too hard, meant pack hierarchy, rules, and punishments I'd fled across three states to escape.
I tried to keep my eyes down, tried to maintain the careful invisibility I'd cultivated, but my gaze kept being pulled toward that car like iron to a magnet. Don't look. Don't engage. Don't give them any excuse to approach.
But the scent was getting stronger, filling my nose and throat, and underneath my fear there was something else, something I didn't want to acknowledge. A pull. A warmth I didn't ask for and didn't want, something in my omega biology recognizing something in that Alpha scent and responding to it against every rational thought in my head.
I faltered mid-note, the sound dying in my throat.
My eyes lifted slowly.
In the back, through the rolled-down car window, I saw him. Dark brown hair, though I couldn't make out much detail in the dim light. What I could see clearly were his eyes. They were locked on me with an intensity that made my breath catch, hazel-brown even in the darkness, and completely unreadable.
He wasn't smiling. Wasn't frowning. His expression was careful, controlled, the kind of mask that gave nothing away. But his eyes, they were assessing me, taking in every detail of my multiple layers, my worn cup, my position half in shadow. I felt dissected under that gaze, seen in a way that made my body sit up and take notice.
The moment stretched. Three seconds. Five. An eternity compressed into the space between one breath and the next.
I could see the firm line of his jaw, the way he sat in the passenger's seat with a kind of casual authority that spoke of power, money, and all the things that made someone dangerous to an Omega like me. He wore a suit; I could see the edge of dark fabric that probably cost more than I'd made in the last six months.
My mouth had gone completely dry. I tried to swallow and couldn't. The scent of oak was overwhelming now, drowning out everything else, filling my head until I felt dizzy with it.
Run, something in me whispered. Run now.
But I couldn't move. Couldn't look away. His eyes held mine like a physical touch, and I felt pinned by them, exposed. Everything about him radiated Alpha; the way he held himself, the intensity of his attention, the way the scent seemed to press against my skin.
Memories flashed, unbidden and violent. Other Alphas. Other eyes that had looked at me with that same intensity, but there had only been cruelty in them, hunger. Hands that had held me down. Voices that had told me I was nothing, worthless, that my only value was what I could provide. The pack that had beaten me for questioning, for hesitating, for not being grateful enough for their attention.
My breathing quickened, shallow rapid gulps that weren't getting enough air to my lungs. My throat tightened, heart pounding like a runaway train. I needed to run. Needed to get away before he got out of that car, before he came closer.
But underneath the terror, that pull was still there. Some part of me recognized his scent and responded to it in ways I couldn't control, couldn't stop.
His expression hadn't changed. He just watched me, that careful assessment continuing. I couldn't tell what he wasthinking, what he wanted. The not-knowing was almost worse than if he'd smiled, if he'd shown some clear intent. This blank intensity was a mystery I couldn't solve, and mysteries were dangerous.
My foot shifted backward. Just an inch. My body making the decision that my mind was still processing.
His eyes tracked the movement. I saw the slight narrowing, the slight change in his attention. He'd noticed. Of course he'd noticed. Alphas noticed everything.
That was what broke the spell. That tiny response, that proof that he was watching me so closely that he caught even the smallest movement. Terror spiked through me, sharp and chemical, and suddenly I could move again.
I stopped singing mid-phrase, the note falling away into nothing. My last few words echoed in the space between us, hanging in the cold air like visible breath. I bent down fast, too fast, grabbed my cup, and nearly spilled the coins in my haste. My fingers were clumsy as I snatched it up, metallic sounds ringing as the change shifted inside.
I didn't wait to see if he would get out of the car. Didn't wait to see if he would call out. I turned and ran.
My feet hit the pavement hard, splashing through a puddle I hadn't noticed, cold water seeping into my already-worn shoes. Ignoring the pain screaming through my ankle, I ran toward an alley I knew was there, the one that cut behind the buildings and led to a warren of narrow passages where cars couldn't follow.
Behind me, I could still hear my voice echoing. Those last notes bouncing off concrete and brick, a ghost of the song I'd abandoned. My footsteps were loud in my own ears, slapping against the hard pavement, my breathing harsh and ragged.
I risked one glance back.
The car was still there, idling at the curb. I couldn't see if he was watching me now, if he was getting out, if he was following. The not-seeing made me run faster.
I turned into the alley, my shoulder hitting the corner of a building, and pain bloomed bright and immediate. I didn't slow. Just kept running deeper into the darkness, taking the turns I knew by heart, navigating by muscle memory and desperation.
The scent of oak followed me, clinging to my clothes, my hair, filling my nose with every gasping breath. I couldn't elude it even as I put distance between myself and that black car. It had gotten inside me somehow, marked me, and I hated it. Hated the way my body had responded, the way some part of me had wanted to stay frozen in his gaze.
I ran until my lungs burned and my legs shook, until I was sure I'd put enough distance between us, until the alley opened onto a broader street and I could see the distant glow of the encampment's fires ahead.
Only then did I slow, pressing my hand against a wall to catch my breath, feeling my heart slam against my ribs like it was trying to escape.
