The Arrangement (Omegas of Hunter's Point Book 1)

Chapter 15

Now, she'd done it. In the deceptive safety and openness of the atmosphere, she'd had too much wine and dragged down the whole evening dredging up a past that literally no one wanted to relive, least of all her. "I'm sorry," Von said, running both hands through her hair. "I don't know where that all came from. I'm not usually one to overshare."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Damian responded. "I asked. To tell the truth, my father had it in him to be a bit of a bastard, too. He was your typical alpha head-of-household, all domination and aggression, especially when he didn't get what he wanted out of my mother, or my sibs, or me. It was not a nice childhood. I swore I'd never be anything like him."

"Is that why you've stayed single?"

Damian nodded, checking the sauce and giving it a stir. "I don't know if my parents ever loved one another. If they did, they had a very strange way of showing it. Given the examples I grew up with, what kind of mate could I possibly make? I'm not sure I'll make a good parent, either, but I know what kind I don't want to be, so I guess that's a start. I cannot leave Michael with my mother. He deserves to be raised in a house with someone who will give him the love and attention he deserves, you know?"

An alpha who wanted to raise a child, and an omega who couldn't have children. "Wow, we are a fucking mess," Von mused.

Damian laughed. He reached for his glass and clinked it against Von's. "I will drink to that."

"Even after everything that happened between us, I always kind of wanted to be my father," Von revealed, contemplative. "Everywhere he went, he was respected, and it wasn't purely because he was alpha. I mean, that had a lot to do with it, but people knew him. They knew what he'd accomplished, what he'd done with his life, and they respected him for it. I always wanted that, but I'm not the right dynamic."

"I would have been happy staying a cog in the machine that is Sharp and Ambrose, invisible. I'm not one for that kind of attention," Damian responded. "I can't avoid it, sometimes, though, not since my father died. It feels very strange to be seeking it out now."

"I never thought I'd meet a shy alpha," Von mused.

His nose scrunched, adorably. "Not shy, just not real big on attention. Everybody staring, judging." He shook himself.

Thinking about the number of public parties and events they'd attended over the previous couple of weeks, Von said, "This is an odd choice of scheme for someone who doesn't like attention."

"A necessary evil," he admitted. "And a temporary one. I'll be very honest. I'd rather do this."

"What? Cook for me?"

He grinned. "Yes, but also have evenings in."

But how nice to at least have the option, Von thought. How often over the past fifteen years had she rushed home to make it in before the sun went down and the predators came out to play?

She watched him assemble their plates: noodles, vegetables, and sauce tossed in a small bowl before the noodles were twisted artistically onto each plate, the remaining vegetables and sauce poured over top.

"Dinner is served," Damian announced, setting down Von's plate with a flourish. He came around the counter to sit beside her and settled his own plate onto the placemat.

It looked incredible, and the scent told her it would probably taste even better.

Damian gestured. "Dig in. I'm on tenterhooks, here."

Von swirled noodles, clumsily, and speared a bit of broccoli on the end of her fork, before lifting the lot to her mouth. By far, it was the best meal Von remembered having at any point in the past few years. Neither she nor Fancy really cooked, and this was just...the sauce was creamy and perfectly balanced, with a hint of cheese. The noodles were a little chewy in the middle, just like they were supposed to be, and the vegetables were soft on the outside with a subtle crunch at the center. Von closed her eyes, savoring every delicious molecule that bounced off her tastebuds.