His Isolated Omega Luna

I absently watched the patterns of rain as they streamed down the window, reflecting moonlight against the dark of the night outside, making the little paths of water look like sparkling rivers when they moved down the glass.  I was lost deep in thought again. Something that was happening to me with increasing regularity. I suppose it was just one of the many consequences of spending so much time alone.  I was quickly startled back to the present by the tone that signaled another desperate caller. I reached forward and grabbed the edge of my desk to pull myself closer and quickly flicked the switch on the operating panel, trying hard to forget about the storm outside. “911. What is your emergency?” I asked in a clear voice. It all came so easily to me now.  I had been working the graveyard shift on emergency dispatch for close to six years. At first, I took the job out of necessity, but over time, I actually came to like it. It served my purpose well. It was quiet there and nobody bothered me. I didn’t really even have to do much paperwork and more importantly, it was the one place I felt almost safe. Working the night shift kept me locked away from everything that terrified me.  I made sure I took my suppressants regularly and always got the early morning bus home after my shift when the rest of the world was asleep. I still got frightened and jittery when I knew I might be exposed and vulnerable. Fear and anxiety about what might happen to me if someone ever found out the truth about me consumed every last part of the confidence and trust I had left in humanity. The logical part of my mind knew I was being irrational and paranoid, but it didn’t seem to make the threat any less real. It just seemed safer to stay at work. The nightmares still came though. I lost count of how many times I had woken up shivering in the middle of the night with beads of sweat making my hair damp and dark images causing my breath to come hot and fast. Teeth and claws and pain. Sometimes I thought my heat was coming in again when the feeling came on me without warning and I could hardly breathe. The way my blood pumped through my veins with so much force, I could hear the beat in my own ears. I tried very hard to control it over the years with some degree of success but had eventually come to the conclusion that avoidance was the best strategy.  I would find a way to deal with the side effects of remaining unmated, but when my heat was so intense I almost gave up hope. It was hard to stay away from some of the men who walked past my window, tempting me in with the intoxicating scent of heady pheromones and rampant hormones. Everything seemed so hazy and strange when I was ripe for breeding. My senses were heightened and I could almost smell the scent of prowling alphas through the air vents. There had been times I found it almost impossible to overcome. That had always passed but the fear remained. It was something I could never quite identify. There must have been something, some trigger in my past that had caused me to be so scared but I had consciously blocked it all out. Maybe I was just different. I was no ordinary omega. I didn’t want to be claimed or taken by anyone, and unlike many of my kind, I hated the thought of being touched and dominated. The submission, the pain of being bitten for the first time. Even the very thought of it made me feel sick. I knew I would have no control over any of these things if my secret was ever discovered and if I didn’t constantly fight my desires away. It was just in my nature. Calls came in steadily for one service or another and I watched the blurry red and blue lights from the safety of the basement window. The sirens blared, echoes soon fading away into the distance after vehicles moved out of the parking lot and sped off down the dark empty streets to various destinations. I was always mesmerized by the way the lights pulsed in the darkness before they disappeared. It was hypnotic somehow, helping me to focus during the long lonely nights I spent there alone. The only problem with that was it gave me time to think about my life and the rules of the society I was in. I was an omega with a place. A place I just didn’t fit in. *** Early morning light started to creep over the horizon and I rubbed my eyes to chase away the sleep I desperately wanted to take. I would have to go back to my apartment soon. I rarely used it, but I had to get a fresh change of clothes and pick up my mail.  I waited until the last moment before grabbing my jacket and rushing up the stairs. I passed one of my colleagues on the way up when she arrived for the next shift. I knew her name was Hayley from the name tag she wore but I didn’t speak to her much. I was happy just to exchange a few pleasantries with her when we met between shifts. I never considered her to be any real threat. She knew I was usually reluctant to go outside at all. I was just one of those workplace oddities no one really knew much about and I never initiated conversations. I told myself it was better that way. No questions, no assumptions. As far as anyone at work knew, I convinced them all I was just agoraphobic and no one ever questioned me about it. I doubted very much they would even believe I was anything other than a neurotic hypochondriac who preferred her own company. Social skills were overrated, anyway.  Omegas were rare, and female omegas were almost unheard of. I wanted them all to remain blissfully oblivious to my condition. The fear I could be taken for some dark purpose was enough to make me keep my mouth shut.  I knew there was a murky side to the city at night. Beta females were common in the local clubs that lined the strip and an attractive male omega could fetch a good price if he was unlucky enough to fall prey to some of the immoral and ruthless profiteers who lived on the east side of the river. Junkies needing a fix would usually be prepared to do anything to raise enough money for another hit. All this I knew and it terrified me. I would be a s****l target and no one would care.  I shivered, holding on to the stair rail to steady myself. “Where you off to in such a hurry?” Hayley asked, looking confused. I forced a friendly smile and tried to ease past her. “Just home to sleep. I got to pick up some stuff from the apartment.” I must have started to look nervous almost immediately because she patted my arm gently and tilted her head with one of those pitying expressions I seemed to experience on a regular basis. “You want me to walk you to the stop?” She asked kindly. I carefully removed my arm. I found the mere touch of another person discomforting and unsettling. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so I just sighed and wrapped my coat around my shoulders tighter as a distraction. “Thanks, but I’m sure I can make it across the sidewalk in one piece. Besides, I don’t want you to be late for your shift.” “Are you sure?” Blonde curls fell across her face when she searched my eyes. “Sure.” I took a deep breath after she left and swallowed hard at the thought of going out into the fresh air and daylight.  I made my way to the exit, pushing it open just a crack so I could assess any potential obstacles in my path to the bus stop. I knew I was overreacting. Again. I could never go for medical advice because it would expose the truth about what I was, and I wasn't prepared to take that chance. It was still early and the streets were reasonably empty, so I made it home without anything more than an increased heart rate and some tension in the back of my neck. I quickly scanned the key card and let myself into the main entrance of the apartment building. I closed the door with my back and leaned against it for a few seconds until I felt calm again before heading over to collect my mail. The flap was hanging open with the number of letters and parcels wedged carelessly into the slot. It must have been longer than I realized since I had been back to the apartment. I pulled at the stack of papers and a few smaller ones came away in my hand. I made a little noise of frustration when I caught my finger on the sharp edge at the top. I sucked it into my mouth and felt the unmistakable taste of blood on my tongue. “Need some help?” A deep voice growled next to my ear. It sent shivers of fear and arousal shooting down my body. I wondered how anyone could make that one simple question sound like liquid s*x when it washed over my senses.  I spun around and almost stopped breathing when I was pinned fast by the brightest green eyes I had ever seen. “You okay?” The man asked, with a lop-sided smile. “Here, let me have a look at that.” He breathed against my cheek, gently pulling the digit from slack lips and examining the cut. He licked his mouth in concentration before lapping at the drops with a slick tongue. I could only watch the movement with wide eyes, my breath coming in short gasps.  I quickly backed up, my body slamming hard against the row of mailboxes with a thud. I pulled my finger away and dropped all the letters I was holding on the floor. I quickly bent to pick them up and tried to avoid looking into those eyes again. My hands started to tremble when I fumbled for the edges of the envelopes. “Hey, it’s okay. I don’t bite.” The man purred. He helped me to retrieve the stack of letters, but there was something about the way he said it that caused me to look back up in alarm. Those words brought all my fear back into focus, and even the distraction of such a handsome face couldn't overcome the panic that suddenly surged through me. My gaze was drawn to the white teeth that glinted in the morning light. For one passing moment, I thought I could see the sharp points of canines just underneath those full pink lips, but I might have been mistaken. There was something musky and potent about the scent I couldn’t quite place, but it was enough to send me running away and bypassing the lift that would take me up to the fourth floor. I took the steps two at a time, desperately searching for my key before I even made it to the hallway. *** As soon as I got inside, I discarded my coat and poured myself a glass of water. I took several large gulps before hurriedly opening one of the crumpled packages. I pulled out a new batch of suppressants my brother had sent me. I popped two out and quickly knocked them back. There was something dangerous about that man I had encountered downstairs.  I had no idea who he was and would probably never see him again, but he made me picture all sorts of shameful things I spent most of my life trying to avoid. I was just about to close all the blinds and go to sleep when I heard a distinctive rap on the door. Why couldn’t people just leave me alone? I crept back across the room and peered through the spy hole. It was him. I cursed under my breath. My hand hovered over the chain, willing myself not to open the door. The man with green eyes stood back a little, looking up and down the dark corridor. I thought it seemed like he might walk away but then he scanned the address on the front of one of the envelopes just to make sure he had the right apartment. The man leaned forward and knocked on the door again before he rocked back on his heels and waited. It was much more insistent this time and I felt so torn.  I bit anxiously at one of my fingernails while I watched the stranger pace up and down outside the door. There was just something about him that made me reach for the lock. I slid the chain back and silently turned the key, opening the door just enough to be able to speak to him. “Hello?” I offered weakly. The man gave me a genuinely warm smile. He waggled a handful of letters through the gap. “You dropped these. You seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, so I thought I'd deliver them for you.” I couldn't speak.  I was digging my fingers into the door and trying desperately not to show this demi-god of a man standing outside my apartment what an uptight and inhibited anti-social f**k I really was. “Can’t be too careful leaving your stuff lying around like that.” The man continued. He raised his eyebrows in an attempt to encourage me to reply, but I didn't know what to say. “This place is full of freaks, you know.” He gave me a strange glance. “You should be more careful, is all.” I wondered what the man could possibly mean by such a cryptic warning.  I wasn’t in heat and took my pills every day. There was no way that man could smell me. I was always very careful to hide away when I was close to my heat. A few sick days here and there had never been questioned. “Okay, thank you,” I whispered quietly, reaching one arm into the hallway so I could retrieve my mail. The man held out the envelopes but he didn’t release his hold on them. I made a grab for the pile but was limited by the length of my arm, and the man deliberately held the letters just out of reach and began to study my face. The powerful intensity in that gaze was enough to make my voice fail me again. “I’m Axel, by the way. Axel Harrison. I just moved in down the hall with my brother. Room 69, if you wanted to know.” I swallowed. There was no way that was a coincidence. Axel finally placed the stack of papers gently in my hand and moved in a bit more until he was temptingly close. I took them, and Axel noticed how much my hand was shaking. “Listen,” Axel added, his voice moving through my body like it was made to be inside me. Flowing through every vein like lifeblood and setting my very soul on fire. Axel pulled back when I didn't respond. I was obviously reluctant to talk to him, and it didn't go unnoticed how I hadn't told Axel my name in return. “You know where I am if you need anything, anything at all.” He added. His tone suddenly dropped low, almost seductive. “I know what you are,” Axel whispered softly, eyes darting down the corridor once more to make sure they were still alone. “Just so you know - you had me at hello.” He murmured.  I could feel the heat of Axel's breath caress my mouth. I stared back into those hypnotic eyes, and just for a fleeting moment, I thought about pulling the door open and dragging Axel inside. The fear soon overcame the desire, and I swallowed hard again. My heart was beating so fast, I thought Axel might actually be able to hear it. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what you're implying, but I can assure you - you're mistaken.” I answered quickly, slamming the door hard before I even finished speaking. Axel Harrison was left standing alone in the hallway with a look of stunned disbelief on his face. I locked the door with trembling hands and slumped back while I tried to calm my breathing. How could Axel possibly know what I was? I once heard a legend that sometimes true mates would always find each other, but I never believed those stories. Not really. I convinced myself everything would be okay while the anxiety began to escalate. I wouldn’t speak to Axel again and decided I would have to spend even less time at the apartment from now on. I knew it had probably been a mistake coming back. When I finally got into bed, the terrible nightmares came worse than ever. I could almost sense the pain of being taken and knotted by force, but this time the claws and teeth had a name and piercing green eyes.