All of it had broken Dane’s heart, but it was part of life, and he’d gotten on with things. Though he wasn’t an only child, he hadn’t seen his brother in years and suspected that he had met his end well before their parents. He’d always run with the wrong sorts, and when their parents died, no trace of him could be found. After seven years, Dane had him declared legally dead to free up certain funds left behind by their parents. It wasn’t greed but a matter of practicality that had driven him to do so. The government loved to take money that lingered unclaimed, and he had already taken their father’s company to new heights. If his brother turned up, he’d happily make him whole.
Done with cleaning, he made his way out to the workshop his father had built. It was separate but joined to the house by a breezeway. The roses his mother had planted along the trellises on one side were in full bloom, filling the air with their velvet scent. It took him back to better times. Those roses had been her pride and joy. She’d toiled with them for hours, enjoying the dirt between her fingers and the way they looked and smelled when they finally flowered each spring.
The workshop was dark, but the dampness hit him in the face the moment he opened the door. He flipped on a light and looked around in disgust. The back corner was damaged and had been an entry point for water for who knew how long. There was mold and mildew and rust apparent on the tools hanging on that wall.
“Fuck me,” he muttered.
He had intended to get started on a new project but it looked like the shop itself was going to be his new endeavor instead. He grumbled and turned the light off, closing the door. He’d get an early start on it tomorrow. It wasn’t as if there could be much more damage overnight.
Returning to the house, he pulled out one of the steaks he had brought up with him and turned on the indoor grill. He mostly grilled on the patio and it was usually something he’d stalked and killed in the woods rather than a specialty cut from the butcher on the edge of town. He’d been planning on doing some work to the place this trip, not so much hunting, so he’d stocked up on groceries. Still, he hadn’t planned on just how much the place had declined in his absence. He’d have to hire a caretaker to keep it up between visits if he was going to stay away for months.
He threw the steak on the hot grill and tossed some peppers and onions in a skillet on the stove. He finished up with some pre-packaged mushroom flavored rice in the microwave. It wasn’t fancy, but it would do the trick. Cracking open a beer from the fridge, he leaned back against the countertop and opened his phone. He had some notifications from the Alpha Meets Omega app but hadn’t contacted anyone recently. Glancing through it earlier must have put him back on some sort of active profile list or something.
Dane Jenson, the billionaire real estate developer, had been very popular on the app, but DJ, the small construction business owner, wasn’t quite as alluring. It was an unfortunate fact that he’d learned early on: a lot of Omegas out there were just looking for a man to take care of them. He wasn’t opposed to taking care of a woman—in fact, he couldn’t imagine not doing so—but he didn’t want someone in his life who was only there as a matter of their own comfort.
It might be old fashioned, but he wanted someone to love him for who he was, not for what he could give them. Perhaps the love that his parents shared was unobtainable to him. Maybe it only came along once in a lifetime. Whatever the case, he wasn’t worried about it. He had time. He was only twenty-eight and content to just enjoy his life for now. It got lonely sometimes, but better lonely than with the wrong person.
He opened the notification and saw a petite redhead with a brilliant smile looking back at him. She was an Omega, but an attractive one with dark eyes that contrasted greatly with her pale complexion. He’d describe them as smoldering, which sounded a bit exaggerated but was an apt description. He contemplated sending her a message but decided to wait until after dinner to make contact. For now, he enjoyed his beer and ate the simple plate of food he had prepared.
Afterward, he stood out on the patio and looked up at the full moon. Stripping off his clothes, he stepped out into the middle of the back yard and shifted. The feeling of shifting was something that you’d think he’d be used to after all these years, but the truth was that he didn’t do it that often. In the city, there was very little safety in doing so. It was reserved for dark, moonless nights when the fog settled in and prevented any sighting of his dragon soaring above the metropolis below.