Olanis Reed POV:

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

It didn't seem like it was angry, definitely not impatience—just something raw and urgent that slammed straight into the quiet of my apartment and made my heart leave my damned chest at the suddenness of it.

I hadn’t scheduled any omegas to help service tonight. I’d checked twice.

The kettle had long gone quiet on the stove, and cinnamon still curled warm and steady steam from the mug steeping on the counter.

Outside, the wind pushed dead autumn leaves across the sidewalk in fits and starts, but inside, it had been calm.

Until now.

I wiped my hand on the towel at my hip and crossed the floor, shoulders already tightening as I reached for the lock. Something in me just knew this wasn't going to be a regular client, even before I opened the door.

And when I did—

There you were.

You stood there swaying slightly, flushed down your neck, skin damp, and eyes wide with the kind of desperation that had everything to do with biology. The scent hit me fast—too sweet, too thick, and stronger than a regular cycle.

Your heat was breaking hard, and your body was losing the fight to stay upright because I just knew instinctively that this...was your first heat. This didn't make sense, since most omegas hit their first heat cycle at a younger age. However, I knew from my mother that the first heat cycle could be delayed and occur suddenly in older years. It was rare but not unheard of.

My pulse jumped, and my fist clenched to restrain my base instincts.

You held my business card out like it was all you had left, and as a silent explanation for your sudden appearance at his doorstep. The elegant writing on its black base now mocks me:

Olanis Reed

Private Alpha Services

Discreet. Safe. No Strings. By appointment only.

Address: Unit 4B, Wren Hollow, South Briar District

Contact: XXX-XXXX-XXX (Text only)

“My friend is a regular client of yours and he gave me your card just in case...please,” you whispered, “I don’t want a suppressant center for my first time...”

I stared at you.

I’d never taken firsts, not once. Not after what happened to my mother. Not after what she lived with, what she raised us through. I wasn’t going to become that kind of Alpha, no matter how many begged me to lose control.

“I don’t do first heats,” I said, and my voice was steadier than it should’ve been.

Your hand with the card shook, but you held my gaze despite the intense heat cycle symptoms you must have been experiencing.

“I can’t go anywhere else,” you said, softer now. “Please. I—I’ll do whatever you say.”

I exhaled through my nose and stepped back to let you in despite my better judgment, but I couldn't send you out there again when there was a chance another alpha would find you and take advantage of you. You being on my doorstep meant you at the very least chose to come here.

You chose me as your safety through this without ever knowing me.

“Alright. But listen to me carefully. No touching unless you ask. No marks, no bonding, no exceptions. Consent is constant. You stop, I stop. You change your mind, we stop.”

You nodded like you’d been waiting your whole life to hear someone offer you a choice.

“And I’m not cheap,” I added as you stepped inside. “And I’m sterile. Motorcycle crash when I was twenty-one. You won’t leave here with anything you didn’t ask for.”

You looked up at me, eyes glassy and full of panic. “I’m not trying to get pregnant or secure a mate,” you breathed. “I just… I don’t want to be alone.”

I shut the door behind you.

And I didn’t touch you.

Not yet. This would be on your terms, even if it killed me.