Suddenly overwhelmed, I wanted to cry. Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes. I looked away from the child, even though they weren’t old enough to understand why I was upset, and hid my face in the crook of my arm. My sinuses began to ache and a pain bloomed in my skull. I hatedcrying.
On the other side of the room, I heard the door creakcautiouslyopen.
Even with my face buried in my arm, I knew the aura of the room had changed. A wild, powerful energy radiated from the opposite side of the playroom. It made my skin prickle and the hairs on the back of my neckshootup.
Slowly, I removed my face from the crook ofmyarm.
Standing in the doorway was a huge, well-muscled alpha. He wore a tight shirt that did a good job of displaying his biceps and pecs. His hair was short and mussed up, like he had just been running in wolf form. A deep, musky scent came off of him in waves and I almost shivered. An alpha’s scent only affected adult omegas, and thankfully the adoption centre was run almost exclusively bybetas.
But there was one thing that took me off guard about this alpha standing there, firm and sexy, on the other side oftheroom.
He looked totally,completelylost.
“Hello there,” one of the employees called. She gave him a cheerful smile. “Can I help you withsomething?”
When he spoke, it was a deep gruff voice that suited his appearance. “Just looking around,thankyou.”
“Alright. Let one of us know if you need any help. Oh, and watchyourstep.”
Already there was a crawling child by the alpha’s feet, grabbing onto his jeans and tugging. The employeesgiggled.
Now that the initial shock of seeing such a sexy alpha standing there had passed, a question burned in my mind. What the hell was an alpha doing at the adoption centre? Surely an alpha as powerful and attractive as him didn’tneedto adopt a child when he could find an omega mate and havehisown?
The alpha glanced around the room, taking in the colorful sights and gurgling sounds of the playroom. After the child tugging on his pant leg got bored and wandered off, the alpha strode around. He almost seemed like he was looking for something - but what would an alpha be searching for in the adoptioncentre?
Instantly, the negative part of my mind became suspicious. Maybe he was just surveying all the sad, parentless children in the pack. Maybe he already had biological kids of his own and just wanted to see how much better they were than these childreninneed.
I put a hard stop to those thoughts. What the hell was wrong with me? Here was a man minding his own business, not doing anything wrong, and my paranoia was turning him into a villain in myownmind.
Suddenly, his eyes locked onto mine. The breath left my lungs. Ifroze.
He startedtowardsme.
Oh, god, he’s coming over. What should I do? What should I say? What the hell doeshewant!?
“Excuse me,” he began, gazing down at me with rich brown eyes. The deep rumble of his voice sent a shiver down my spine. “Are youalright?”
“Huh?”
That was stupid. I’m so stupid. Why is he even talking to me?OhGod.
He raised a brow in confusion. “Your eyes are red and your cheeks are, uh… kind of red also,actually.”
My hands flew up to my face in embarrassment. “Oh my God, I’msorry.”
Now he looked even more confused. “What are yousorryfor?”
I’m so fucking stupidaargh-
He kneeled down so he was slightly above my eye level, his expression a mix of confusion and concern. That look on his face alone was enough to make me feel crazy - why was this hot alpha who didn’t evenknowme trying to make sure I wasalright?
“I don’t know,” I finally said. Or rather, squeaked, since my voice apparently didn’t want to workproperly.
“Alright. So… are you okay?” heasked.
I was definitely not okay, but I assumed he meant my puffy, post-crying face. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I brushed the last remains of moisture from the corners of my eyes. “Sorry, it’s embarrassing to cry in front ofstrangers.”
He only shrugged. “We’re in the same pack, right? So not total strangers.” He frowned. “Speaking of, I’ve never even seen you around before. What’syourname?”
