Chapter 3

WREN

I sleptfor most of the day, waking up some time in the evening, ravenous with hunger.

I was wrapped up in blankets, cozier than I could ever remember being, and incredibly relaxed.

The room I had taken no notice of when I'd been carried in, was fancier than any hotel room I'd ever been in. There was a shiny glass-topped desk and a swivel chair in front of the window, and a large, velvety armchair on the other side of the room. And the bed was huge—more than enough for three people.

Manny was sitting at my side, looking lost in thought.

"Where is the alpha?" I asked.

"Chase," Manny supplied, his fingers running through my hair. "He left. Said we could stay here for the night."

My eyes fluttered shut at his gentle touch and I smiled, wiggling closer to him to wrap an arm around his still naked waist.

"Mm. So we get to snuggle naked in an actual bed," I purred.

He chuckled softly.

"You hungry?"

"Starving."

I watched as he reached for the hotel menu, flipping through it before lifting the phone and ordering far more food than we probably needed.

At my raised brow, Manny shrugged.

"He said he'd cover it."

A surprising warmth filled me at that. For an alpha taking two street omegas into his hotel room, there was something considerate and kind about Chase. I'd sensed it the whole way through… I'd trusted him, completely. That didn't happen often, if ever.

Desperation had pushed me into his bed, but I hadn't had fear in the back of my mind the way I usually did with strangers. Of course, Manny's presence was a huge part of that.

Manny was quiet, even when I sat up and nestled against his side, leaning on the cushioned headboard.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, gently.

He smiled softly, still not meeting my gaze.

"I should be asking you that."

Such an Usman response to give. He always over thought and got lost in his own mind, sharing only his concern for me and rarely his own troubles. Luckily, he didn't need to speak for me to understand him and to know what he needed to hear.

"I'm fine," I said honestly, threading our fingers together. "He was nice and having you there… made it even better."

That seemed to soothe him, just as I was hoping it would and he smiled, looking down at me with those gentle green eyes surrounded by such black lashes.

"Good," he said firmly.

When the food arrived at our door, we spread it out on the bed like a feast and ate more than I could remember ever eating. Still, we had plenty left over and moved it all onto the desk to have later.

"There's a Jacuzzi in the washroom," Manny said, eyes glinting.

I sat up at once.

"Come on!"

Laughing, he followed me.

The warm water felt amazing, the bubbles like the massage I didn't know I needed. We didn't want to get out and spent a long time washing each other, running soapy hands over each other's bodies, revelling in the simple pleasure of a bath.

Normally, bathing happened at the nearest fast food place's washroom. We used their soap and paper towels and scrubbed down from top to bottom. It did the trick, but was methodical, having nothing to do with pleasure and relaxation.

This was intimate and fun and relaxing all at once, and if not for the fact that I was so spent from earlier, we probably would have made love in the bubbles, but instead, made do with holding each other and kissing, knowing we had all the time in the world.

Manny did get hard eventually though and let me suck him off while he perched on the edge of the tub, gently running his fingers through my hair.

"You're so beautiful," he told me, and I believed him. Usman adored me and never hid it.

But he looked troubled over what had happened, and it was obvious why. He had never seen me being fucked by someone else before. Especially an alpha, something he could never be. And something I didn't want him to be. I loved him just the way he was.

I wished I could show him that there was nothing wrong with him, with us, that there were perks to his being an omega. Things like the fact that I could make him get wet by just one suggestive look, that yes, he could fuck me, but he also let me fuck him. And more than that, he understood me inside and out. We were the same in so many ways.

Then, I saw the number that Chase had left scrawled on the little notepad next to the phone and I knew what I wanted to do.

Soon, Manny would be in heat too, and I would show him then.

I would show him how much fun being an omega was. I would show him how much pleasure he could have.

I would teach him not to be ashamed of wanting the things that nature insisted he have.

Camping out, living on the riverbank surrounded by the other transients of Lunar City was not ideal on most days, but I was used to it.

Coming directly from a luxury hotel though, to the cold and unforgiving landscape of what we called home changed things a little.

I couldn't help feeling bitter as I pulled my jacket tight across my shoulders, heading back to our tent.

Weaving through the area on a gloomy afternoon, there weren't loads of people about. Most would be out working, begging, doing whatever they did on chilly winter days, but Shae, of course, appeared before us, his matted wolf form just as unwelcome as his sneering human face.

Together, me and Usman tried to pass him, but he leaped into our way and shifted into his human form, that trademark sneer on his filthy face, showing all the teeth he was missing.

"When an omega's in heat, he don't usually need another one to hold his hand while an alpha fucks him," he said disdainfully.

Usman stiffened at my side, but I took his hand, steering him around Shae.

"It's been a long time since I gave a shit about someone else's opinions," I muttered. "A filthy street dog certainly isn't going to make me start."

Manny's lips twitched, but behind us, clearly having heard my statement, Shae snarled.

I had no warning aside from that before I was suddenly tackled from behind, Shae's strong paws landing square in the middle of my back and taking me down.

My head snapped back from the force. Air left my lungs as I landed in the hardened mud, bones cracking from the impact, all the results from that glorious jacuzzi obliterated.

Itriedto crawl out from under him, my bodyinstinctivelyreacting, shifting into my wolf formjustas he wasshoved off of me.

I scrambled to my feet to see Manny, in his wolf form, fighting Shae as best he could. As a small, brown wolf, he was no match for the scrappy matted omega. I leaped forward, latching onto the back of Shae's neck.

He threw himself around wildly, what little finesse he'd had at the start gone.

I went flying, hearing Usman yelp just as I landed on the ground on my back.

As I scrambled to my feet, Usman was suddenly thrown, landing next to me.

Growling, I turned toward Shae, and my blood ran cold.

Jack, the alpha, now stood at his side in his hulking wolf form, solid white but caked in mud. Even as a wolf, the cruelty in his gaze was clear, and suddenly, his alpha pheromones flooded the area.

Shae seemed to like it, preening under the alpha's attention, but Jack's scent always turned my stomach.

Next to me, Usman stood on all fours, trembling. He was probably wondering what Jack would do next. If he wanted to attack us, there would be no fighting him. But worse, he seemed to want to control us.

It was working too, at least a little bit, because together, we cowered, hoping he would leave us alone.

Instead, he approached slowly.

Head bowed, I wouldn't meet his gaze no matter how long he waited.

I heard the swish of air as he shifted his form to that of the man who often walked around here like he owned the place, using heats to fuck the omegas who were desperate.

"Come now, there's no need to fight," he said. The words were innocent. But there was a sleezy slur to them. Even the way he spoke made my skin crawl.

Chancing a glance up didn't help when I caught his gaze and that creepy smile.

"Next time you go searching for an alpha, remember, I'm right here." He leaned closer. "I don't want either of you going looking for someone else. Got it?"

He winked and turned to Shae.

"Come," he ordered, and Shae followed at once.

I felt like I was going to be sick the moment he walked away.

Manny waited, made sure I was following and then hurried to our tent.

The moment we entered, I knew we had been robbed.

I shifted back into my human form, cursing.

"Fucking jerks!" I shouted.

Manny shifted at my side, looking beyond worried. Our tent was barren of all the small comforts we'd had. Blankets and pillows all gone along with our bags.

They hadn't held much; toiletries, our other clothes, the book Manny had found recently. But the contents didn't matter as much as the fact that they were ours.

His hands reached for me, trying to calm me, but my heart was racing, and I moved around the small space, trying to decipher the scents of whoever had been in here but the smells had already faded to a light whisper and I couldn't recognize them.

Sighing, I flopped onto my butt, hugging my knees.

"Taking our blankets was low," I said.

"Yeah," Manny agreed. "You'd think we weren't all in the same boat."

"We could go tent to tent, find who took them."

Manny was already shaking his head.

"We'll just buy new ones."

"That'll take forever to save up for."

"In the meantime, we'll just have to keep each other warm..."

I glanced up at him, warmth billowing through me at the solidarity in his gaze.

Somehow, a laugh bubbled to the surface, and I chuckled.

"I guess whoever it was didn't know about that part," I mused. "We don't need blankets to get through winters, do we?"

I crawled over to where he was sitting at the edge of the tent and snuggled into him. His arm went around me, holding me tightly to his side.

"You're warmer than any bit of fabric."

I could feel his smile in the kiss he pressed to my hair.

"Or maybe they did know and were jealous," he said.

I looked up at him, mesmerized by those soulful eyes, as always.

"Maybe," I agreed. "Who wouldn't be? They're all alone out there and we have each other."

He swallowed, suddenly looking worried.

"What is it?" I asked at once.

"I think it's true, that's all," he said softly. "I think the more open we are about—how we are with each other—the less people like it..."

My stomach twisted at his words. Truthfully, I'd noticed the looks and the whispers a while ago. They didn't bother me the way they bothered him though.

"What should we do about it?" I asked. "We have nowhere else to go."

His frown deepened.

"I wish I could take you somewhere," he whispered. "Somewhere it wouldn't matter... Somewhere you would be safe."

Again, an irrepressible smile lifted my lips.

"It's not your responsibility to look after me," I chastised but he shook his head firmly.

"Yes, it is."

My smile dwindled.

"Shit," I muttered. "You're right... Just like it's my job to protect you."

He looked surprised and I snorted.

"Don't tell me you thought it went one way."

He shook his head, cheeks heating.

"No, I just... I never heard you say that before," he said.

I lifted enough to kiss him.

"You're so sweet when you're shy," I informed him, and his blush deepened.

"Let's give them a big middle finger and fuck on the bare floor," I whispered. "Nice and loud."

He laughed, breathily, shying away from my seeking lips.

"Come on," he muttered. "Don't you ever get tired?"

I chuckled.

"Not when you're around."

We did not in fact fuck nice and loud to mess with our neighbours because Manny clammed up and I would never push him.

Truthfully, I understood that he felt strange about people knowing our business. I understood that he didn't feel safe.

Instead, we went to our usual spot in the alley to beg. Sometimes we had good days, making enough to buy a few items that we needed as well as food. Today was not one of those days.

We returned, practically empty handed.

On the riverbank, the fires had already been started, but neither of us felt much like socializing with the degenerates that we were part of.

In the cold of our tent, we huddled together.

"We still have some of the food from the hotel," I reminded Manny, trying to cheer him up.

He went to our food haul in the paper bag, sorting through it and settling on one of the flatbreads. I took one of the pastries and we ate quietly, gazes catching every couple of seconds.

It was kind of funny sitting on the floor of our empty tent, eating gourmet food…

"We can shift," Manny suggested as we finished eating. "Our fur will help us keep warm."

"After," I said.

Thankfully, he didn't argue this time.

When I crawled over to him and pushed him down on his back, he let me, helping to wiggle out of his clothes at my prompting.

I didn't leave him to shiver for long, crawling over top of him a minute later, letting my naked skin warm his.

"Let me fuck you again?" I asked.

He nodded.

"I never got to finish last time you were inside me," he whispered quietly. "I can't stop thinking about it."

I let out a soft moan, finding his lips in the dark.

"Then let me make up for that," I whispered in return.

And make up for it, I would. Manny wasn't the only one that couldn't stop thinking about it. Except at some point since being inside him while I was being fucked from behind by a surprisingly kind and gentle alpha, a fantasy had formed.

Manny's heat was near, and I wanted him to be ready for it when it was time, so I reached down between his legs and pushed a finger into him.

He let out a soft moan, his breath instantly becoming shallow as a flood of slick reached his entrance, soaking my finger.

Biting back a moan of my own, I pushed another inside him, gently stroking until the hitched digits were rubbing his prostate with every languid thrust. I loved the feeling of his body squirming under mine, moving with the force of his muscles as they twitched in pleasure.

I was hard and wet now too, panting from the desire to just enter him.

I'd wanted to do more fingers first, but perhaps for the first try, two would do.

Biting my lip, I tried to keep quiet as I positioned my cock and pressed it inside him, not removing my fingers from within him.

My cock could barely take the hot, tight heat and twitched, spurting precome into him as I tried to reign in the approaching orgasm.

Usman was having even less luck.

He was holding his legs wide open now, trying to get me in deeper. He was trembling, his teeth gritted with the effort it took to stay quiet.

One long, slow thrust, my fingers still pressed tightly to his prostate, gently rubbing while I did it and a long, unsuppressed whine slipped from his throat.

Another deep thrust into his hole and he was clenching around me, his entire body tightening as come shot from his untouched cock.

The feelings had me losing myself, managing only two more slow deep thrusts into his clenching and unclenching hole and I was coming, burying my cock deep within him until every drop was emptied inside his body, making us one for this brief time.

Finally, shuddering, I pulled my cock and fingers from his hole, rolling to his side.

Usman's arms went around me at once and he kissed me lazily. Those sweet lips never failed to make me ache. He was so wonderful.

"I miss our pillows already," he grumbled.

I huffed.

"Yeah. Only the lowest of the low would take someone's blankets and pillows," I said, and then sighed. "Oh well. Just means we have to snuggle until we make enough to buy more."

He made a sleepy sound, and I nudged him, trying to rouse him before he was too deeply asleep.

"Shift first," I reminded him. "Now that we're warm, the fur will help us keep it."

I didn't think he'd heard me until with a sigh, he lifted and wiggled around to a good position, shifting into his wolf's form.

I followed his lead and once we were fully wrapped around each other, it didn't seem so bad at all.

Still, I couldn't help remembering that brief moment yesterday when Usman had been with me and the alpha, and everything had felt like peace and safety. Like we had nothing to worry about. Like we could truly be ourselves. I had Chase to thank for that lovely feeling…

With him there, caring for our needs, he had shown me what I hadn't even known was possible for us.