Inside, she removed a small, green vine in a plastic planter from her grocery bag and sat it on the windowsill. It was small and pitiful looking, but it was a start. She returned to the kitchen and put all the food away before nuking a frozen dinner and taking it with her to the sofa. There was a kitchen to one side of the communal area downstairs if she ever felt the need to cook, but that would probably be something she saved for when she was down there doing laundry anyway. She wasn’t sure how she felt about sharing cooking space with strangers, but perhaps, she’d warm up to it if she got tired of being limited to cold or microwaveable foods.
It was quiet in here; too quiet. Other than the muted sound of traffic and the city below, she could barely hear a thing. Though the floorspace was small, the ceiling was high and even the sound of her heels clicking across the tiled floors echoed throughout. She pulled up some music on her tablet and let it play, wishing she had better speakers for it.
Picking up her cellphone, she opened the Alpha Meets Omega app and scrolled through some profiles. She had downloaded it before she had come here, hoping to meet someone once she got to the city, but she was scared. She’d lied in her profile, claiming she was a Beta.
So far, she had turned down everyone who had attempted to contact her. She sucked in her breath as she came across a profile for a guy named Thad. He was seriously gorgeous, an Alpha, and older. It was tempting. There was something about him that called out to her. She swiped right before she changed her mind and closed the app. Maybe she’d take it a step further tomorrow and send him a note. For now, it was time for some food.
After finishing dinner, she headed to the glass door that almost blended in with the large windowpanes. There was a key in the lock. She turned it and opened the door, trying the key on the other side to see if it unlocked the door from that side. The last thing she wanted was to get stranded on the balcony her first night in her new place. Satisfied that it did, she dropped the key in her pocket and stepped outside, walking over to the door at the end. Curiously, there was no lock on it. She opened it and stepped inside, noting the push bar on the inside.
“That’s not good,” she muttered aloud.
What would keep someone from using one of the other entrances up to the roof and then making their way down to her balcony? She supposed her door there would be locked, but just the fact that they could get down there didn’t sit well with her.
She made her way up the set of steps leading to the roof and went through another door there, expecting the large, open roof she had seen when the landlord had shown her an open apartment a bit farther down before calling to tell her this one was open. It was a bit smaller, but also cheaper.
Instead, she found herself all alone in an enclosed area. On three sides, there were walls. The remaining side was about waist high and topped with a metal railing. Above her was a large canopy that prevented anyone from seeing down into this space from the other sections of the roof.
To one side was a small patio table and chairs and a grill. She walked over and opened it. It was clean and seemed to be in good order. She could only assume the previous occupant had left it or it belonged to the building. Why hadn’t he mentioned that she had her own private space up here?
Smiling broadly, she began stripping off her clothes, laying them on the edge of the table. Overcome by a sudden sense of inexplicable joy, she shifted. Her petite figure changing into a lean wolf the color of her own chestnut-colored hair. She looked up to the sky and walked to the railing, putting her paws up on it to look out at the city below. Then she let loose with a long howl, as if to mark this place as her own.
Somewhere in the distance, her howl was met with another - a howl that couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than what it was - an Alpha. Feeling playful, she howled again, and it was returned, just a little closer this time. There was something primal about it, something that spoke to her, just her, but she shrank away from it.
Stepping away from the ledge, she shifted and got dressed before making her way back down the stairs and into her apartment. She stood looking out the window for a while, watching and wondering.