It was about the murder case in New York.
The suspect was a wealthy Alpha, and coincidentally, his reputation wasn't exactly stellar. People with money and power make enemies easily. And if the suspect is an arrogant Alpha and the victim a powerless Omega all the more 50.
But what really had people stirred up wasn't the crime it was the prosecutor handling the case.
With a breath of admiration, Rose set the cup in front of him. Josh gave a brief thanks and brought the coffee to his lips when Rose, still unable to take her eyes off
the photo, spoke. "Do you think he's an Alpha or an Omega?"
"Hard to say..."
Alphas and Omegas who manifested in their teens-not those rare, late-blooming cases from Beta were usually strikingly attractive. There were exceptions, of course, but most of the time, you could guess it from looks alone. If not the pheromones, then just by appearance, you could often peg someone as either an
Alpha or at least an Omega.
Even among those, someone this handsome was rare. Even Josh had momentarily been distracted when he first saw the man's photo. And that was with a low-res newspaper print how good-looking must he be in person?
Thinking that far, Josh hesitated. Calling this man "handsome" didn't quite fit, he was beautiful, and calling him beautiful felt inadequate too. Whatever the case,
the photo alone was enough to make it clear he was stunning. "He's probably not a Beta, right? Well, I guess it's not impossible."
It wasn't just Josh who couldn't quitedecide. Rose glanced at him and mumbled uncertainly. There were, very rarely, some betas with exceptional looks. That's what had let Josh keep his identity hidden all this time. He offered her a vague smile again, and she quickly latched onto it, sitting down beside him with gleaming eyes.
"I was so surprised when I found out a guy as gorgeous as you was a Beta. I really thought you had to be an Alpha."
She spoke in a tone that was hard to interpret-maybe disappointment, maybe
intrigue. Josh had heard that kind of comment countless times in his life. "You look like an Alpha," or "Can't believe a Beta looks like you." Too bad they were both
wrong.
Josh was an Omega. One who carried a
mark etched into his ear.If it weren't for his job, he wouldn't have to
hide it. But unfortunately, no one hired
Omegas as bodyguards. So from the very
beginning of this line of work, he had
always pretended to be a Beta.
It wasn't hard to hide. People constantly mistook him for an Alpha anyway, and his pheromones were weak. During his heat cycles, the scent inevitably got stronger, so he had to take suppressants-but even that had lessened since being marked.
He was confident he could go his entire life without being discovered.
Josh nearly touched his ear out of habit but caught himself just in time. If anyone saw the mark, it would be a disaster. Pretending to be an Alpha was another
option, but if he did that, he'd have to come up with another whole story to explain why he'd been acting like a Beta all
this time. Eventually, the truth that he was an Omega would come out All he could do was keep hiding it with
everything he had. Even when he wasn't
working, he wore bodyguard earpieces or
found other ways to keep his ears
covered.
If anyone finds out... I could lose my job. The cold realization sent a chill down his spine. Josh avoided her gaze by pretending to sip his coffee. Clueless about the anxiety churning inside him,
Rose gave him a concerned look and
asked gently, "How old is Pete this year? Isn't it hard, raising a kid alone?"
"It's manageable"
Everyone in the office assumed Pete's
mother had abandoned them and left him
to raise the boy alone. Given the nature of
their work, it wasn't an unusual situation, and Josh didn't need to invent any stories. A faint smile was enough, and people filled in the blanks on their own. Until recently, It had worked fine.
Rose's sympathy for the "poor single father had shifted into interest a few months ago right after she'd gone through a divorce. Unfortunately for Josh, that wasn't a welcome development.
She ignored every subtle rejection and
leaned in closer.
"But don't you think a child needs a
mother? Poor thing, he's at that age when
he must miss her... You haven't heard
anything from the mother, right?"
Josh's brow twitched ever so slightly. A casual fling was one thing but whatever direction Rose was hoping this would go, he couldn't give it to her.
"Rose you're standing a little too close."
His warning didn't work. Rose learned in
even more, puckering her lips and closing her eyes. She was definitely going for a kiss. Josh raised a hand and blocked her lips just before they touched him.
Startled, Rose opened her eyes wide. Their gazes met, barely an inch apart, as Josh smiled gently.
"Rose. I really don't want to see you
fighting with her over me."
That soft tone made her freeze for a
second before narrowing her eyes.
"There is no 'her,"
"Well, who knows? She might suddenly
show up right in front of us."
"You're teasing me now, aren't you?"
As her brows furrowed, Josh whispered
with a sly grin,
"Listen. I think I hear footsteps coming
this way. Maybe it's her?"
"What are you talking about?"
Though clearly skeptical, Rose glanced
back toward the door. And right then-It
flew open.
"What the hell are you two doing first thing
in the morning?"
"Ah!"
With his usual rough greeting, the boss
stormed in. Rose jumped in surprise and quickly stood up. Josh also stood, acting like nothing was amiss.
"Morning, Mark."
"You been waiting for me?"
Mark glanced at Rose, who turned hastily
to fix her clothes, then headed straight into
his office. Josh followed close behind and
shut the door behind them.
"Whew"
He let out a dramatic sigh, Mark, rounding
his desk, gave him a sidelong glance.
"Why don't you just give in already?
Raising a kid alone's gotta be rough."
Josh heard the same line from Mark that
he'd just heard from Rose. He repeated the
lie he'd told countless times before.
"She'll come back after finishing school"
"Ah. Right."
Mark didn't seem to care either way as he pulled out a cigarette. Josh had quit smoking when he got pregnant with Pete, and he still hadn't touched one since. To
avoid the smell, he stepped back a bit and
spoke
"Mark, can I get an advance on my pay?" "Advance? How much?"
*Ten thousand."
"Cough!"
Mark suddenly burst into a fit of coughing. Josh, for a split second, went over CPR protocol in his mind in case he stopped breathing. Finally recovering, Mark gave
him a suspicious look
"You gambling or something?"
"No."
Josh shook his head and replied honestly. "My mom's sick. I need some money." "She had a condition, right? Is it her blood
pressure?"
"Yes. Her kidneys too... a few things."
His tone was flat, devoid of emotion. He didn't want to make it sound like he was begging for sympathy, so he delivered the explanation as clinically as possible.
"There are some hospital bills that've piled
up. I've got some savings, but it's not
nearly enough. So, I was wondering... Is
there any way?"
Mark didn't answer. He just smoked,
dragging hard on his cigarette. Could a small security company like this even afford to front that kind of money? He seemed to be seriously weighing the question. After a long pause, he finally
exhaled and spoke.
"I'll think about it."
He hadn't said no. But he looked deeply
troubled. Josh wanted to ask why, but he
doubted he'd get a real answer.
*I'll take anything. Any kind of job, even
low-level security."
He added one more plea before leaving.
Mark muttered under his breath.
"You think you're gonna eam ten grand
just doing guard duty? Be realistic."
Josh gave a strained laugh and left the
office. Behind him, Mark was still puffing
smoke, wearing a grim expression.
"Daddy, you smell like cigarettes."
The moment Pete saw Josh, he lit up with
joy-then scrunched his nose and scolded
him, pinching his nose shut. Josh quickly
brushed off his clothes in a fluster.
Once
Pete judged he was "ready," the boy held out both hands. Josh scooped him up high and rubbed his lips against Pete's chubby cheek.
"Kyahaha!"
Josh made a silly buzzing sound, and Pete
squirmed in laughter. It looked like Mrs.
Roberts had gifted Pete a new toy while he was gone. A tiny toy car-one Josh hadn't seen before was clutched tightly in the
boy's little hands. Catching his glance, Mrs. Roberts smiled. "I just picked it up while I was out
Thought of Pete"
Josh returned a grateful smile, not
wanting to reject her kindness, and made
sure Pete thanked her properly. "Was everything alright? I hope he didn't cause trouble."
"Pete's always sweet. You could've taken
longer-honestly, I love the time I get to
spend with him. He's welcome anytime,
don't worry."
Her gentle smile was warm and genuine.
Seeing how she'd bought Pete a gift out of affection, Josh felt a growing sense of responsibility to repay her somehow.
She did mention the bathroom light was
out, didn't she?
He subtly glanced toward the back of the
house, then shifted the subject.
"Is there anything that needs fixing around
here? I've got the day off, so I have a bit of
time."
Mrs. Roberts beamed.
"Would you? Then-well, there's the light in the bathroom... and, ah, the sink too. It's draining really slow"