Ezra gives me a smile, and I nearly trip while going to my room. When I look in the mirror, I grimace. There’s some mascara under my eyes, and my hair looks like two raccoons had a fight inside of the blonde locks. He looked at me like he’d never seen anything more beautiful. I can’t help the giddy feeling that follows me to the shower. I make quick work of washing myself and trying to detangle the nest living on the top of my head.
I follow suit, wearing a short sleeve, simple shirt, a pair of jeans, and boots. When I walk downstairs with my hair still slightly damp and minimal makeup on, Ezra wraps an arm around my shoulder. “You look perfect,” he says.
I can’t help but smile at him with the small phrase of praise. When I lived with my mom, it was like I would take any crumb of a compliment she would give me. I’ve been here such a short time, and the amount of times I’ve felt like I’m good has been overwhelming. Can it truly be this easy to be happy?
The drive to the zoo is quiet, and I’m thankful as I almost fall asleep at least three times. My late night chat with James and the even later finger bang with Ian is finally catching up to me. When Ezra puts an iced chai and a chocolate croissant in my hand, I hum in approval and slowly let the sugar and caffeine help keep me awake.
When we get to the zoo, Ezra parks in the facility parking spots, and I already know at this point that all the guys seem a little touchy about getting car doors and such, so I wait for him to open my door for me. As soon as I’m out, he holds out a lightweight black vest with the logo on the left chest.
I grin as he helps me put it on, and I can’t help but feel proud. Proud that Ezra is willing to take me to where he works, and even more proud as he walks into work with his hand wrapped around mine.
It’s simple with Ezra. He’s an Alpha, and I’m an Omega. There’s no confusion like there is between Ian and I or even James, with both of us being Omegas.
“We’re going to check on Kenzie and her pup.”
An excited squeal slips out, and Ezra squeezes my hand and smiles. Who wouldn’t be excited to see a baby lemur?
As we walk through the back of the zoo, we meet a few of Ezra’s co-workers. Every time he introduces me, he says, “Our Omega, Luna.” Thank god I wore scent-blocking panties because how is a girl supposed to hear that and not get wet? There’s no falter in the way he says it, and he always says ‘our,’ not just mine.
A few of his co-workers give him a confused look, no doubt knowing that he already has an Omega, but everyone is friendly and kind as he introduces me. It’s almost overwhelming being shown off like this. It’s clear that Ezra is proud to be seen with me, and it’s something I’m not used to. But I soak up every single second of it.
When we finally get to Lemur island, four bounding ring-tailed lemurs come bouncing toward Ezra. His smile is bright as they all cuddle together and wait patiently at the tree house. I spot the tiny, little pup clinging onto one of the lemurs, and I can’t help but stare and smile.
“That’s Kenzie and Kit. How are we doing today, darling?” he asks the lemur, and I nearly faint. “The three others are Terrance, Tonya, and Hugh.”
“Oh my goodness, they are so cute.”
“They are. They’re pretty docile, but we try to keep their habitat as close to nature as possible. All of them came from a man who was keeping them as pets.”
I try not to judge the guy too hard, because they are adorable, but they’re wild animals. They shouldn’t be pets.
“Kenzie was already pregnant when she came to us,” he tells me as he carves out a pumpkin and starts filling it with fruit. The lemurs watch him intensely, and the small mammals make noises of encouragement as they watch.
“Oi, hold your horses, will ya? Hugh is a bit of an arsehole.” I cover my laugh with my hands as I watch the small lemur throw a fit. “Stay here, all right?” he tells me, and I nod my head. I watch as he enters the enclosure and places the two pumpkins on their tree house. There is clearly a hierarchy. Kenzie, her pup, and Tonya take one pumpkin, and Hugh and Terrance share another. I watch as Ezra stealthily takes a look at Kenzie and her baby, making sure that they are doing fine. He seems pleased as he cleans up a few things in their enclosure and does a check of the perimeter.
I may not actively be doing something, but all my sleepiness has left as I watch Ezra work and see how much joy his work brings him. Seeing him happy gives me butterflies. I don’t know this Alpha well, but I really want to.
Chapter 14
Ezra
Thisdayfeelssoreminiscent of the one where I met James. Should I be ashamed of the fact that I keep luring these Omegas in with cute animals? Possibly. But I have no shame, only unadulterated joy about my current situation.
“I want to thank you,” I tell her as she walks next to me while I push the wheelbarrow.
“For what?”
“For whatever you and James did last night. He never sleeps in our beds. It was nice to have him.”
She tilts her head and shrugs. “I’m not sure that I did anything. James doesn’t seem like the type of person to do anything he doesn’t want to.”
“This is true, but something you did or said must have made him want to come be with me.”
She taps her chin and shrugs again. “James and I are very different Omegas. I think a lot of the time he’s fighting against his instincts, maybe he’s done fighting.”
I can’t help but smile. Do I want James to change? No, I love the stubborn, handsome asshole with my whole heart. But do I want to touch him more openly and often, yes, I certainly do. I won’t push, even if this was just a one night thing. I’ll take whatever these two Omegas are willing to give.
“How was your first night at the house?” I ask her, changing the subject. Her cheeks redden, and I hide a smirk. I knew immediately when I walked into Ian’s room that they had done something. The mix of their scents was too thick not to notice.
