“My name is Pierce Tenebrae,” I said gently. “And you are?”
“Uh,” the omega said, his voice cracking. “A little confused?”
I chuckled. “I bet. I’m sorry if I interrupted something with those alphas, but I didn’t like the way they were staring at you.”
“Me neither,” the omega admitted. He seemed to calm down enough to loosen the tension in his shoulders. He outstretched a hand. “I’m Benji Foster.”
I shook his hand, desperately wishing that I wasn’t wearing gloves. A strange sensation stirred in my stomach. Benji still exuded that amazing, intoxicating scent, the one I wasn’t sure I would ever get enough of.
I recalled Margaret’s words about us needing to find omega mates. There was no way I could have already stumbled across mine… was there?
My mind raced with possibilities, the most prominent being scooping Benji up in my arms and whisking him away to the mansion. But realistically, I knew humans weren’t so fond of that. At least, not in the beginning.
Benji sighed as the bus disappeared from view. “The next one won’t be here for a while, so I guess I better sit back down…”
The question manifested instantly. “Why don’t you come home with me instead?”
3
Benji
I stared at him in disbelief.
As weirdly hot as this guy was, I wassonot about to go home with a random man who showed up out of nowhere and beat up a bunch of alphas for my sake. Seriously, I hadjustavoided a confrontation with those other guys. I really didn’t want another one.
“Er, that’s okay,” I said. “I think I’ll stay here and wait for my bus.”
I expected disappointment to flash across Pierce’s face, but his expression remained a calm, cool smile.
“Forgive me, but you seem troubled, Benji,” he commented. “Is there anything in particular I can assist you with?”
I didn’t really know how to feel. I shuffled in my seat. “Uh, it’s okay, but my problems aren’t really your concern.”
Pierce wasn’t off-putting or anything, and I didn’t get the same sense of unease that I did with the other alphas, but there was definitely something… different about him. Maybe it was the fact that alphas didn’t usually stop other alphas from harassing omegas. With so little of us around, we were easy prey - especially during a heat, if we weren’t locked up in our houses.
But Pierce didn’t give off that bad vibe. In a way, I felt kind of safe, which was totally stupid considering I barely even knew the guy.
Pierce considered my words. While he did that, I took the opportunity to check him out. Saying he was attractive would have been an understatement. His windswept black hair was smoothed back in a casual way, making him look sexily carefree. His nose was hawkish and handsome, just like the rest of his features. The black peacoat sat nicely on his tall, lean form. Finally, trying not to make it obvious that I was staring at him, my eyes flitted back to his - dark, almost pitch black, and smolderingly hot.
And he was totally, completely out of my league.
“You say that, Benji,” Pierce finally said, “but I believe I can absolutely help you.”
To prove his point, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a clean leather wallet. It took me a moment to process the amount of cash he fingered out of it - the number of hundred dollar bills staring me in the face nearly made me choke.
“If it’s money you need, I’d be willing and able to assist you.”
I was too busy gawking at the bills to talk.
Pierce smiled. “Are you interested in hearing my suggestion?”
“Hm,” I replied, raising a wary brow. “What’s the catch?”
“I hope this doesn’t frighten you, but…” Pierce regarded me for a moment. “If you’re seriously considering the offer, it’s something we can discuss in private.”
Red flags shot up in my mind. All my paranoia and anxiety screamed at me torun awayas I shot up from my seat. “Sorry, but pass. There’s no way I’m discussing anything in private.”
Pierce didn’t attempt to block my way as I shouldered past him, out of the bus shelter and onto the sidewalk. I managed to walk ten feet away before the memory of the stack of bills made me pause.
