2. Blake

Chapter 2

Blake

Driving out to Denver to work at the shelter wasn’t my favorite thing to do on a cold December night, but the people I was helping had it much harder than me, and that’s why I did it.

Every week, I made the hour-long drive from my isolated mountain community to the town that had an abundance of drug abuse, domestic abuse, and abandoned omegas with young children who needed medical attention.

And every now and then, I came across a shifter like myself who was too afraid to go to a human doctor but needed care. That’s originally why I started volunteering in the city, but I kept doing it because it was the right thing to do. Giving back to my community was something my mom had instilled in me since I was a cub. She was a midwife for most of her career and still assisted me with deliveries in our community now and then, but she had retired a long time ago.

Now, I was one of the few shifter physicians in the area, so I had a responsibility to provide access to care to everyone—humans and shifters alike. It was satisfying to know I was helping people who couldn’t just walk into any regular doctor’s office and get the care they needed.

Unfortunately, there were still a lot of people out there I wasn’t helping. Not because I didn’t want to, but just because they didn’t have access to the resources I served.

Resources like those found at the shelter for omegas and children I was pulling into.

It was past visiting hours when I arrived, so there were only a few cars in the parking lot. I parked in a spot underneath the streetlight, not too close to the front but with a clear path for me to get to the door in case it was snowing on my way out. The forecast called for two inches of snow by morning, but I hoped to be home and in bed well before the first flakes fell.

As I passed a slightly beat-up sedan, I noticed it was moving. Not like it was rolling away, but like there was someone inside the car. Curious, I leaned in to see if maybe a pet or child had been left in the backseat and was surprised to see a person curled up in a sleeping bag.

What the hell? According to my watch it was barely six o’clock in the evening, so maybe whoever was in there was just catching a power nap before making the drive home. I’d certainly had to pull over once or twice after long nights at the hospital when I didn’t feel safe on the road.

I continued inside and checked in with Lena. As always, she was happy to see me and had a list of patients waiting for me to see. Grabbing the list, I turned to head in the direction of the makeshift infirmary when I thought of the guy outside. “Lena, do you know who owns that blue Corolla parked out front?”

She looked toward the window, but didn’t actually look outside. “That’s probably Riley. He was in here a little while ago, but we just don’t have room for a single omega tonight.” She frowned as she shrugged. “I wish we could help them all, but you know we can’t.”

“I know.” I glanced down at the list again and then back at her. “Will he be okay out there? Is there somewhere else he can go?”

“There might be space over near the university, but I don’t know if he’ll head out there. Sometimes he just stays in the parking lot. At least he’s got someone to keep an eye on him. I’ll let our night security know he’s staying there.”

“Okay.” I held up the list and waved it toward her. “I guess I better get started.”

“Thank you, Doctor. We really appreciate you coming out here.”

For the next two hours, I doled out cough syrup and painkillers, packs of antibiotics and condoms, and most importantly, heat suppressants.

The omegas staying there were most vulnerable to their own biology. If an unmated alpha started sniffing around while someone was in heat, things could escalate to a dangerous situation very quickly. Lives had been lost during unmanaged heats in shelters just like this, and I was committed to making sure that didn’t happen on my watch.

Before I left for the night, I made sure every last suppressant was handed out to those omegas who were of age and left the supply of condoms I brought with me with Lena. She’d make sure they got into the hands of anyone who needed them.

As I was leaving, I was careful to walk past the little Corolla I saw earlier. Riley’s car, according to Lena. When I saw it was still there, I couldn’t help but frown. But I was more concerned that the windows were frosted. There was no way he’d survive if it was already freezing.

According to my phone, it was 31° and dropping fast.

I knocked on the window and took a step back, not wanting to startle the poor guy.

After a minute, I knocked again, getting more concerned by the second. I reached for the handle and it was locked, so I checked the other three doors. All locked. On some level, I was relieved he had enough sense to lock the doors, but locking himself in an icebox was still locking himself in an icebox. He might’ve been safe from strangers, but he was definitely not safe from the weather. I knocked again, getting more anxious. “Riley. Are you okay in there?”

There was some movement inside the car and the crank window rolled down just an inch. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Well, he was alive, but that didn’t make him fine. “Riley, can you open the door, please?”

The window went back up and the door cracked open, and with it came the unmistakable aroma of omega hormones. An omega in heat.

Fuck . My bear took notice, showing more interest than he had all night. Even inside me, he got pretty lazy during the winter months in his own version of hibernation. Not now, buddy. I’ve got work to do.

Riley was shivering inside a sleeping bag that looked like it was made for summer camping as he looked up at me. “Do I have to leave?”

“Yeah, kinda. You’re gonna freeze out here. Do you have somewhere to go?”

He shook his head. “No, but I can park somewhere else.”

I did my best to breathe through my mouth and not taste the pheromones in the air, even though there was no way to ignore them. “You’re starting a heat, Riley. You can’t stay out here by yourself.”

His eyes went wide when he realized I was an alpha and we were alone in the parking lot. “Stay back. I have mace.” He pulled a can of bear spray out of his sleeping bag and pointed it at me.

It was bear spray he probably picked up at a gas station. “That’s not mace.” And it wouldn’t stop a horny alpha who really wanted to get to him.

“It’s just as good. Don’t make me spray you.”

I held up my hand to calm him. “I promise, I’m not gonna make you do anything. My name is Blake Brown, and I’m a doctor. I was volunteering here tonight, and Lena told me you didn’t have a place to stay. Let me take you to the hospital at least. They have heat wings that will keep you safe until it passes.”

“No, thanks.” He leaned back and slammed the door right in my face.

I really didn’t have time for this.

Inhaling deeply to keep my composure, I knocked on the window again and stood there waiting. When nothing happened, I reached for the handle and it was still unlocked. Out of options, I opened the door and stuck my head inside. As soon as I did, I realized the error of my way because the stench of his aroma hit me square in the face.

Damn, that was strong. Not the normal reaction my body naturally had to omegas in heat. This was different. Intense. Intoxicating. I stood up and took a deep breath of the cold air to clear my lungs of his delicious taste. “Riley, it’s not safe here. It’s already freezing, and you’re not gonna be able to stay warm. Even if you have the engine running all night, you’ll run out of gas eventually.”

He scoffed and turned away. “Kinda already did, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

I rolled my eyes at the smartass. “Fine, then let me take you somewhere.”

“I’m not going to the hospital. I don’t have insurance, and I owe them from a wrist injury last year, so they won’t treat me until I pay off my balance.”

I waved my hand in frustration. “I work there, so I can admit you. I’ll get you settled in, and we don’t even have to go through the billing department. I’ll tell him you’re my brother.”

Riley raised an eyebrow and smirked. “No offense, but we look nothing alike. No one would believe that you have a scrawny little brother like me.”

Well, that was ridiculous and untrue, but it was getting colder by the second, and I was pretty sure I felt a snowflake on my head. Arguing with him wasn’t the move. “Look. I can’t just leave you here. I get that you’re scared, but what can I do to make sure you survive the night?”

“Nothing. You’re fine. You’re absolved of any obligation to the pathetic omega stranded on the side of the road. Go home to your family, have a hot shower and some warm cookies, and go to bed like a normal person. I’ll be fine or I won’t. It doesn’t really matter.”

My bear did not like the sound of that and pushed forward, urging me to let him out so we could take care of this boy properly.

No reasonable option came to my mind which left only one very unreasonable option to fall from my lips. “At least come back to my place with me. I’ll set you up in the basement apartment. It’s too late for supplements to kick in, but I can give you something to speed up the symptoms of your heat so it passes in a day or two instead of four or five without being broken.”