First Time (Pure Omega Love Book 1) Page 3

  Picking up the notepad, Dell tucked it into his breast pocket with his cigarettes and made his way out from behind the desk. Making a face, Gavin took his place. “Stop and smell some flowers for me, would you?”

  “Sure,” Dell said, and smiled. “I’ll pee on some too.”

  He left the beta chuckling and headed out into the street. Montana wasn’t a state known for its tropical climate, but it was positively warm today, with just enough of a breeze to temper the heat. Rolling his shoulders, Dell luxuriated in the caress of sunlight on his neck and then turned his face toward the wind. He headed out of town at a relaxed stroll, tossing back a Frisbee that strayed in his direction and making sure to smile at everyone he passed. A few people stopped to say hello and he indulged them in a few moments of small talk before continuing off on his way.

  Before long, his heavy blue uniform was growing damp under the arms with sweat. He didn’t mind it though. There was no shame in sweat and hard work.

  Once he left the city limits, he ducked down on the opposite side of a hill and then emerged up again in wolf form. As with every time he transformed, there came a rush to his blood that set his brain to tingling. He could almost understand the urge to lose one’s mind and to never leave this body. Almost. There were some things a wolf simply couldn’t do.

  Dell started out in a trot even farther away from the town, until he had all but lost sight of the tallest building, which was the church. The tall spire with its cross was nothing more than a white smudge against the snow threading down the sides of the distant mountains. And that was with his powerful eyesight. Any human looking in his direction wouldn’t be able to see anything at all, even if they were staring right at him.

  The sun warmed the earth beneath his paws, soothing his ragged-edge nerves. Out here, there were no annoying co-workers or aggressive alphas who needed to be taken down a notch. There was only him and the sound of the wilderness. He easily heard the scurrying of a mouse, could feel the tiniest of vibrations its little paws made as it ran away from him. The wolf in the back of his mind begged to give chase, purely for the thrill as a mouse wouldn’t be anything more than a morsel of food. Dell almost gave in to the temptation before pulling back from the brink and focusing once more on the job at hand. He had to secure the perimeter.

  I’m sure no one will mind if I do a very thorough job of it. I’ll drag it out as long as I can.

  For perhaps an hour, he made the most of his temporary freedom. He zigzagged back and forth, following the faintest of scent trails that could even be somewhat taken as a threat. That mostly meant foxes and badgers, though he did pick up traces of human near the distant roads. The scents were always overlain with grease or sweat, signaling homeless drifters who passed by or people who left their cars for a moment to stretch their legs. Their traces were always faint but distinct and he could tell approximate age and sex without much deliberation. He was often praised for his tracking skills, though he didn’t see why. All wolves had this ability, didn’t they?

  Then, he caught a scent that didn’t match all the others. He knew it in an instant because he had smelled it only the day before. It was the silver omega.

  Dell stopped, shoulders tensing. Lowering his muzzle to the ground, he took a deep sniff and then looked around. Sometimes remembering one’s location was difficult out here when so much looked the same and yet different, but he knew that this was not anywhere near where he’d chased the omega yesterday. And this scent was fresh, only an hour old or so.

  Well, the dilemma he faced yesterday had returned and this time there were no other options. One strange occurrence was mere coincidence and could safely be ignored, but two similar occurrences in such a short timeframe signaled the beginning of a pattern. He couldn’t ignore the omega this time. He had to find him and make contact.

  Jefferson would understand, or perhaps not. He didn’t much care either way because his true loyalty wasn’t to Jefferson, or even Michael. He was loyal to the people he protected, to the city of Eureka. They came first.

  For the second time in as many days, Dell started to track the omega’s scent. It staggered around more than before and he could tell from the puddles of scent and occasional flattened patches of earth that the little wolf had started falling over. Presumably, he was even more exhausted than before. He saw a paw print smudged in the soil and the track was blurred instead of clear.

  I don’t know why this guy is so scared. Poor thing.

  Although he didn’t consider himself the most sensitive of wolves, Dell’s heart tightened with sympathy. He could understand fear, even if he didn’t understand the cause.

  He came up to the top of a rise and looked off down the slope. A few trees broke apart the sun-stained golden plain before him. In the frail shadow beneath one of those trees was what appeared to be a sizable rock.

  It was not a rock.

  Dell started off down the side of the hill, approaching cautiously. He kept his body relaxed, his posturing friendly to show that he was anything but a threat. He did contemplate showing himself in human form, but he would be more vulnerable to sudden attacks like that, and feral animals did tend to attack when they were backed into a corner.

  When he was within thirty feet of the fallen omega, Dell said, “Hey. Kid.”

  It was difficult to speak as a wolf, requiring a great deal of effort, but everyone could manage a word or two if they so desired.

  The omega didn’t stir. He lay on his side, pelt shining even in the shade. Its flank rose rapidly up and down, panting in shuddering gasps of breath even though it looked to be unconscious. Dell saw the little wolf’s ribs sticking sharply out from underneath his skin, visible even beneath the thick fur, and felt his heart give that strange, sympathetic twist. He was starving, dehydrated. He was at his limit here, perhaps even beyond that.

  I might have to put him out of his misery.

  Thirty feet became twenty, then ten. Dell closed the last bit of distance and peered down at the omega. “Kid,” he said again. His voice came out a growl, but he just had to hope that he didn’t sound as intimidating as he thought. “Wake up.”

  The omega’s ears twitched as if he was listening, but otherwise, he didn’t stir.

  Sighing, Dell bent down his head and nudged the omega’s shoulder hard with his snout. He pushed perhaps a little harder than he meant to, hard enough to shift the smaller wolf’s entire body because it was so light.

  The omega sprang to his feet, twisting around with something that almost resembled grace. Dell sprang back, fur bushing out to protect himself from an attack, but there was no need. The omega’s grace immediately faltered as he twisted, and he landed hard on his snout. A yelp pulled from his throat and then he was up and running for his life again.

  You won’t get far in that condition, kid.

  He was right. Before he even reached the next tree, he collapsed again. Shaking his head, he approached once more and then sat five feet away, with his tail curled neatly over his paws. Tilting his neck, he regarded the omega and wondered how to proceed. He couldn’t help but to admire him, though. Weak he might be, within an inch of collapsing and dying of exposure, but he continued to fight in his own way, reaching down into a well of strength to keep moving.

  Dell nodded a little to himself. “Listen, kid. Turn back. Human. Understand?”

  The omega stirred again, trying to lift his head. He couldn’t quite manage to muster up the energy and settled for just turning to look at him with his chin resting on the dirt.

  Looking into those pale green eyes, nearly as white as the mountain snow, Dell searched for a glimpse of humanity that would let him know a human was still in there. The color was human, but that didn’t mean anything.

  From deep inside the omega’s pale gaze, a human soul watched him. He was dead-tired, too tired to even be afraid anymore. Even more than tired, he was confused, as lost as a pup that had strayed too far from the nest.

  “Turn human,” Dell encouraged.

>   And those confused eyes questioned him, begging him for an answer to a question that he didn’t understand.

  A demonstration then.

  Dell closed his eyes. He didn’t need to put on a physical display to transform but it would be a worthless demonstration otherwise. He relaxed, making a show of it. Shoulders slumped, ears up, tail relaxed. He was the epitome of calm. Then, he started to transform and was soon enough in his human body, sitting in the grass with his legs folded.

  Resting his hands on his knees, Dell leaned forward slightly. The omega looked newly terrified but his ears strained toward him with yearning, and he whimpered softly. The sound did something to Dell’s stomach, stirred a protectiveness inside him that was normally reserved for children on the occasion when he encountered them.

  “Listen, kid,” Dell said. “I can tell that you’re a kid, you know. Pretty young. I’d guess not even twenty yet, right? Well, look. Son, I’m a police officer. A cop. I can help you. You have to trust me though, okay?”

  The omega just looked at him.

  “If you understand, blink twice.”

  For a long moment, the omega did nothing. Then, he blinked twice.

  “If you trust me, blink once.”

  Quicker this time, the omega blinked once.

  Reassured that he wasn’t just randomly blinking, Dell continued, “Good. Now, I’m just like you. You just saw it, that I was a wolf and now I’m a human. I can do that at any time and so can you. All you have to do is relax and focus on being a human. Picture yourself. Can you do that? Do you remember what it’s like to be human?”

  The omega blinked again and then gave a small sigh as if he was trying to relax, but he still heaved as if struggling for breath. His paws flexed, nails digging into the earth and then releasing, over and over.

  “Do you have a name?” Dell asked. “My name is Dell. Dell Brightly. Officer Brightly, but you can call me Dell. And you? Are you a Dell, or do you have a more normal name?”

  Was that a smile in his eyes, tiny but present?

  “I bet you’re a John. Something common. John. Brett. Brandon? Sam. Richard. Robert. Corey. Lance. Oh… A reaction on that one, huh? Lance? No? Corey?”

  The omega whined, and Dell considered that answer enough. “Your name is Corey. If you can’t remember what it’s like to be human, then focus on your name, Corey. You have two hands, two arms, two legs, and two feet. You walk upright and speak in full sentences, just like myself.”

  He continued rattling on, saying anything that came into mind. As he spoke, the omega closed his eyes and seemed to be focusing as hard as he could. His body trembled violently and he breathed faster and faster, and then held his breath. The fur on the nape of his neck stood on end.

  And then there was no fur. Dell watched with amazement as the omega shifted at an incredibly slow pace, providing an intimate view of everything that normally happened in the blink of an eye. Both fascinating and disturbing, Dell watched as his fur disappeared in random patches and his bone structure realigned with an audible grinding. Paws lengthened into hands and feet, and blunt claws softened into fingernails. His muzzle receded back into his face and his ears shifted downward. In half a minute, the transformation was complete and a young man crouched on the grass in front of him.

  Dell studied him and felt his pity fully blossom. His heart didn’t just twinge but ached as he looked at the pitiful specimen of a boy.

  The omega’s hair was soft blond, but thin and patchy from malnourishment. There were shadows under his pale eyes, which were sunken into his skull. He was small and frail, slight enough to be broken in half with ease. He wasn’t naked but he might as well have been from the way his clothes hung on his frame, exposing large swaths of skin. Despite all that, he could tell that the omega had been attractive once. The lines of his face were stark beneath his skin, skeletal now, but presumably quite fine when he had some meat on his bones.

  “Hello, Corey.”

  Chapter 4

  Corey stared up into the eyes of the man before him, feeling his breathing slow as his human body returned to him. He had no idea who he was or what had happened to him, but this police officer was the same as him; a man who could turn into a wolf. He’d been right to come back near the city, although he wasn’t sure if he’d done that on purpose or if it was random chance. Either way, he was so glad to be able to have fingers again.

  Some part of him registered that the police officer sitting in front of him was rather attractive. He had honey-brown eyes that glistened amber in the light. His face was strong and handsome, clean-shaven and framed with a mass of untamed brown curls. His shoulders were broad, muscles straining at the seams of his blue uniform. This was a person that could be trusted, Corey knew. This Dell, Officer Brightly, had spoken to him so gently…

  “Where am I?” Corey whispered. He tried to speak normally, but a whisper was all he could manage. His throat was parched, his tongue like a dead, bloated snake in his cotton mouth.

  Dell nodded almost as if in approval, honey eyes glimmering pleasantly. Corey couldn’t stop looking at him, couldn’t keep from staring into those eyes. They grounded him to the world somehow, kept him from going crazy again. “Good. You’ve got a voice. This is Montana, Corey. Near Eureka.”

  “Eureka?”

  “Never heard of it? Not surprised. We’ve only got a little more than 1,000 residents so we’re just a speck on the map. Wouldn’t be on the map at all if we weren’t famous for our tobacco in the past.” Dell reached into his pocket. Corey cringed, expecting a gun, but the cop just brought out a battered pack of cigarettes. “I like to keep up the tradition, of course. Help out the local economy and all.”

  “How did I get here?”

  “I would assume that you ran here, just like you’ve been running everywhere. Been running for a while now, haven’t you?”

  Corey nodded. A tremor ran through his shoulders and didn’t stop, making every part of him quiver like a drawn bowstring. “Yes. But I… I can’t really remember.” He lifted one hand to his head and pressed the cushion of his palm against his eyes. The movement took far more effort than it should have, making him feel as if he was underwater.

  I certainly feel like I’m drowning…

  “No memory?” Dell looked skeptical. “Nothing at all?”

  Corey so badly wanted this man to believe him, to help him, so he struggled for more. “I… I think I might have been jumped? Like, attacked? But I don’t think I saw them, or at least I can’t remember. And then… this happened.”

  “And?”

  “Well, this might be normal for you, but it’s never happened to me before!” Corey blustered. His heart rammed up in his throat and his spine tingled, the urge to flee rising in him once more. “I’m not a monster!”

  “And you aren’t a monster now,” Dell said. His voice tightened, though Corey couldn’t tell why. “There are a lot of people who would be real offended that you think you’re a monster, because that means you think they’re monsters too.”

  “Is this normal? Can everyone do it?”

  “Not everyone. Some. We’re rarer than normal humans.” Dell frowned and crossed his arms, looking Corey up and down. That intense gaze made a different sort of shiver pass through his body. “You’ve never transformed before? Not even once?”

  “I can’t remember,” Corey whispered. He lowered his head, neck sagging beneath the weight of his overfull brain. “Am I in trouble?”

  “No,” Dell soothed. “No, you aren’t in trouble. Do you remember if you have family or anything, kid?”

  All Corey could do was shake his head. He felt his lips tremble, but was too tired even for tears, though his eyes still burned with their heat.

  “Okay, then here’s what we’ll do.” Dell put his hands in the grass and pushed himself up to his feet. His body, though large, moved with an enviable liquid grace. “I could take you to the station right away, but I think you’d pass out by the time you finished giving your first state
ment. I live in an apartment pretty close to the edge of town. I’ll take you there. You can rest, get some food in you, and then we’ll start getting things figured out for you. Okay?”

  Corey nodded and tried to stand. “Okay.” Relieved beyond words, he moved to his knees and pushed himself up but collapsed down again before he’d gotten very far.

  Dell reached down, offering his hand. Corey hesitated but took it in the end, noticing the size difference between them. As the officer dragged him to his feet, Corey’s fingers were fully engulfed. He didn’t want to let go of the other’s hand, needing the emotional support just as much as he needed the physical. However, Dell gently dislodged their fingers and started off back up the slope they had both descended. “Town’s this way. Come on.”

  The brief respite had let Corey get his breath back, but it hadn’t done much in the way of helping his exhaustion. Every step was a struggle, what with his legs feeling like the unholy offspring of noodles and gelatin. His lungs ached and his chest burned, but somehow he managed. Somehow.

  As they walked, he noticed the way that Dell kept rubbing the fingers of one hand, as if he wasn’t aware of doing that action. His own fingers tingled a little from their touch, and he didn’t know quite what to make of that. Maybe it was just a monster thing.

  “Do you remember your last name, kid?”

  Corey shook his head. “No.”

  “Do you know how long you’ve been on the run?”

  “No.”

  “Hm. Well, that’s going to make it tough to find out where you came from.” Dell stopped and turned back, waiting for Corey to catch up. “Doesn’t matter so much though. We’ll put out a description of you and see if anything comes up. If anyone is missing you, we’ll find them.”

  He nodded, but didn’t feel any better for some reason. He couldn’t quite remember anything, only felt vague echoes of feeling and glimpsed the barest impressions of other figures when he concentrated, but something told him that he wasn’t being missed. He felt as if he used to be lonely much of the time, though there were always other people around. Yet, for the life of him, he couldn’t recall who those people had been or why he didn’t enjoy their company.