The Unicorn's Dearest Omega

by Marilyn Black

  As I went back in, the radio started playing the Verve's “Bittersweet Symphony,” and it only served to make me feel more melancholic.

  The whole time I thought 'I shouldn't have let Tommy go. He might be picked up by his abusive wolf mate again.' Was it possible he was lying? Of course. But there was something about the way he spoke, the way he held himself, everything about his scent that told me he was telling the truth-- and I, as an Alpha, was obliged to help him.

  Tommy

  It took every ounce of strength in my battered body to go into Steamy Cups, even when I knew I was probably being watched through the trees by a madman. I'd passed by the place once or twice before and caught a whiff of some beautiful scents: baking croissants, aromatic spices, and the fresh musk of a powerful Alpha. It was like a Candyland in there, and I always wanted to go in, but for as long as I was under control, that wasn't an option unless my old Alpha gave me permission. And that wasn't ever going to happen, not as long as he felt so jealous and threatened of the unicorns.

  His name was Jonathan. A beautiful name wasted on someone so wretched! I felt strange about Jonathan from the moment I met him, but his family wouldn't take no for an answer once they learned their star boy was smitten with me. And in those early days, he was an amazing lover. He knew exactly what to say and said it well. But those wolves were terrifying. Wolves were always a bit scary to me because I’m a Cat by birth, but most of them utilized that scariness for good, to make themselves more intimidating and dominant and, thus, helpful. The Grover Wolf family used it to become tyrannical. If it wasn't for the unicorns, they'd have a monopoly on this town and all us Omegas, and we'd probably be reduced to little more than breeding stock. I didn't understand their belief system and why they thought so little of Omegas, but I didn't want to stick around any longer than I had to.

  That morning, my door was left open. It wasn’t like Jonathan to do make such a simple mistake. Yet even with the world calling out to me with arms wide open, it took most of my strength to leave Jonathan's house, which explains why going into Steamy Cups sapped the last of it out of me. There was a bit of fear to it that he was testing me to see what I’d do: if I’d take the bait and give him a reason to really break me. I'd been considering it for years, but I always believed that maybe next time-- maybe next time-- I'd be able to change Jonathan. Maybe if I were just a bit more submissive, just a bit more insecure, just a bit more humble, just a bit more filled with self-hatred, he'd at least pity me and maybe realize what he was doing to me. And yet that never came and as I cried myself to sleep night after night and he'd yell at me for making such noises, I wondered if anyone would even care if I disappeared.

  But I couldn't let it get to that. Not yet. I could still disappear, but in a positive way-- if I had enough energy to consider the alternative, I had enough energy to run away. Even if it killed me, at least it would be better than another day under him. But as soon as I left, I was plagued by doubts. Where was I going to go? What was I going to do? Everyone had IDs nowadays. Everyone could buy cheap little plastic cameras at Walgreens and you could see families snapping photos everywhere. Jonathan could call the police and tell them that I was missing, and they'd issue a missing person's alert or whatever they did and dedicate so many resources to find me, all so they could bring me back to him and think they'd done good.

  I'd need to leave the country just to have a chance, and even then, it was possible that someone might recognize me. Someone might snitch. I could talk to the wrong person, who mentioned my whereabouts to the right person, and that eventually got to Jonathan's ears-- 'Oh, Tommy boy's living it up in Cozumel! Pack a baseball bat and go teach him a lesson.'

  Ugh. But if I bogged myself down with possibilities, I'd never take a certain action. After all, anything was better, right? And I wasn't totally powerless.

  Starting out at Steamy Cup was supposed to just be the first chapter of a multipart story arc of my new life. I just wanted a bagel and a cup of java. But I didn't have any money whatsoever. Jonathan did a good job on me to make sure I preemptively disarmed myself.

  I was so out of my mind nervous that I completely passed up the Steamy Cup the first time around and had to backtrack, and I was seriously scared that Jonathan was hiding out in an unmarked car somewhere, a sniper rifle trained on my forehead. Was that paranoid? Yeah. Did I have any right to be? You bet. I didn't want to see just how wrathful Jonathan could be.

  So, when I went into Steamy Cups to grab a bite and realized that I screwed up, I tried leaving in a daze, but that real chunky and scraggly hunk of an Alpha stopped me in my tracks, and his voice messed up my insides.

  He seemed like he actually cared and didn't want to alert anyone nearby to my presence, which was a lot to pick up from my stammering.

  That warm feeling he gave me, it was unlike anything I had ever felt. I knew just from his name, Paulson, that he was a Unicorn. I wanted to stay by his side. I wanted to stay under his wing. I wanted to stay by his horn. But I knew better. If I stayed anywhere near that place, near another Alpha, I'd have been skinned raw by the end of the day. And I couldn't accept that as being a possibility anymore. If it did anything other than scare me, there was one thing that running away did for me: give me confidence and made me realize that I truly did have power over my own destiny.

  But again, it scared me. And I hated that I kept thinking of myself, but that's what Jonathan had inflicted in me: a total denial of self to the point where even considering my own preservation was seen as selfish. That could not be tolerated, I kept telling myself. Even the lowliest of animals had self-preservation, and here I was telling myself that I was a narcissist for having it? That wasn't normal. No. I wouldn't let that happen anymore.

  So, with a heavy heart and fuzzy brain, I rushed out of Steamy Cups and out into the world. That man kept calling back to me, saying my name with passion and earnestness. And yeah, it felt damn good to feel like someone actually cared. But I didn't want to bring him into my Hell. This wasn't his fight.

  'If he gets involved,' I told myself, 'I'd never be able to forgive...' And I stopped myself, even in my own head, because I had to focus. Brooks Creek was the last place I wanted to be as long as Jonathan lived there, so my plan was to hitchhike or catch a train-- literally, run to a nearby train and jump on the side and hope that it brought me to greener pastures.

  But there that man was, managing to catch up to me even though I had the agility of a Cat.

  He stopped me and said, "Tommy, wait!" And he wasn't panting-- he looked as if running so fast was natural for him, or maybe he managed to keep it within him just so he could talk to me more properly.

  "You've got to listen to me!" I said. "I can't stay here. I've gotta go."

  And he said, "I can help you! Whatever it is, just tell me. I'll protect you. Do anything to help. Is it one of the wolves, like you said? Then look, I can gather all of my mates. We'll be your barrier, and I'll be your rock."

  I sniffled and shook my head. "This... This is..." And turned away. Damn, did it sound good to hear him care so much, but you gotta realize that I just met the man five minutes earlier. It wasn't natural for him to throw himself at my feet proclaiming that he'd lay down his life for me. It certainly made him more attractive, and I knew that Alpha males (and females too) had that innate impulse to help Omegas, but he was a bit too much for me at the moment.

  He then stooped down onto one knee and pressed his chin against his fist in a bizarre performance that I had heard only unicorns did when they proposed to life mates.

  He didn't propose (unfortunately!), instead saying, "Let me just bring you back. Back to my place. I'll keep you safe in there. And we can talk about this. You don't need to take drastic measures."

  "No, you don't understand!" I said, putting my foot down. "He's-- Jonathan will find me sooner or later!"

  "And my fist will find his chin. Don't you worry, Tommy. It's not the end of the world for you-- you came to the right place. And besides..." He s
tood and pat my shoulder. "You're starting soon, right?"

  For a moment, my tongue nearly slipped on itself before I remembered that was slang for entering estrous-- heat, in other words. Thus, I nodded.

  "You can't go around this world in heat, especially in a place that's still full of wolves that might be looking for you. At the very least, lay low with me for a few days."

  "But how--"

  "Don't worry about that part." He smiled, and it really tore me up how good it looked on his face. "It's my problem now."

  And why did he have to say that? I specifically thought for him to not say that!

  He pulled me in closer and said, "I'm aware that you're in danger. This isn't the first time I've heard of the Grover family harming someone. But listen, you really shouldn't be on the streets or trying to run away in such a risky way-- you're just putting yourself in more danger."

  Funny as heck, the more he kept repeating that point, the more I believed it. Maybe because it was true and I knew it was true all along but had to swallow my reservations. Even catching a train had the potential to be deadly-- I had seen some immigrants from the Meso-American countries try doing the same thing on TV, and the mortality rates were very unpleasant. I didn't want to slip off and fall, especially when the weather around here was like living in the insides of a clamfish.

  Plus, I couldn't deny that Neil was a hottie. That wasn't good enough for me to trust him-- as much as I'd hate to say it, Jonathan was quite the looker too. Looks aren't everything in this world, and the evil can exploit good looks for their own profit. That he was so insistent on helping me was a bit suspect-- really, can you blame me for being paranoid? He was putting his hands all over me and telling me to come back to his place after just five minutes of knowing him... If I wasn't literally the most desperate Omega alive at that moment, I'd have run from him too, no matter how nice his smile.

  I guess that's also how I got caught up with Jonathan. When you gamble, you run the risk of being deal an awful hand.

  Once more, I had to gamble and decided to risk this new path. Neil walked back to his shop and I followed, meek and hopeful. But I’d keep my body shifted to the side, always ready to bolt straight out the door if they tried anything.

  Once we were back inside where it was dry and warm, he gave me my coffee and bagel and told me, "You can stay upstairs. We have special charms that can nullify scent. In fact, it's a good thing you wandered around so much, because that'll throw them off."

  I sipped the black coffee and nearly spit it out, having forgotten that I hadn't ordered anything with it. Straight black wasn't my tongue's favorite. Tasted like burned beans to me, even when done right. The only reason why I ordered it was because I needed to feel something.

  Neil offered to spread butter on the bagel for me, but I took the reins and did it myself just to prove to myself that I was capable of doing something, anything on my own. And he smiled.

  "What's this place all about, anyway?"

  Again, he smiled and said, "This? It's just an old shop I bought a while back. Decided to renovate it into a coffee shop just to see if I could do it."

  Something about the way he said that gave me a sense of commonality, as if he said it only because I spread my own butter and he wanted to connect with me in some fleeting way. Certainly a better start than Jonathan ever had.

  "C-can I go upstairs? Like, just do it now?"

  "Yeah, sure," he said quickly. And he looked over my shoulder as he stood up. "You think they're coming now?"

  "I bet he's already come home and found my room empty, so yeah. He doesn't have a traditional job."

  He pressed his arm around me and pulled me towards the stairs in the back. "We can talk about that out of sight. If you don't feel comfortable down here, we don't have to stay."

  I looked back. "Didn't you have a coworker? Where is he?"

  "Oh, you mean Scott? He's my brother. And it's lunch break. Even if I'm chasing after a damn monster, he's going to clock out and head to an arcade lounge down the street."

  I wanted to laugh because it sounded so wacky in a way, the idea that his brother was that stubborn to his schedule. I was laughing at a lot of things because I felt bubbly. Not because I was madly in love with Neil-- though I was starting to really feel that itch-- but because laughter was the only way to relieve the stress.

  Neil

  I was thoroughly pleased to have brought Tommy back into my personal quarters. I brought him into a spare office room-- no windows, with a door in & out and a door to a closet. I asked him if he smelled anything specific, and he said:

  "Some old musky paper and coffee stains."

  I laughed through my teeth. "That's all?"

  All at once, his eyes seemed to widen and he spoke with the most ginger honesty, "Yeah!"

  "See? I told you. You're safe in here. And we can figure out this issue without worrying if Jonny-boy's coming. And don't worry, if he does try crashing the place, I've got a good bit of help."

  "What kind of help?"

  I pulled from my pocket a flip phone and said, "I've got 40 unicorns on speed dial, not including my other bros, and not including Scott either. And it probably won't even come to that because you're looking at a well-trained and well-bred unicorn, my good man."

  It felt good watching him check me out, his eyes running up and down my body and taking many seconds to admire my girth. I felt like a model. If I did the same to him, that’d just be creepy, so I was willing to let him have his eyes’ worth.

  And he said, "I can tell you're def really strong. You don't think Jonathan's stronger?"

  "Pssh. No way, man." I leaned against the wall and said, "Now listen, you need anything, you just tell me. I'll accommodate you to the best of my abilities."

  As I turned to leave, I heard him speak up. "Um, actually, I do have one request."

  "Anything."

  "Can I work here?"

  The offer took me by surprise, and I genuinely didn't know how to respond. I didn't really need any more workers, though I was certainly bringing in enough to hire three more people if I wanted. That wasn't the point behind why I opened Steamy Cups, so really, I had no reason to reject his proposal.

  Except one.

  "Wouldn't that just make you more exposed?"

  He shrugged. "If this place is so well protected, then I don't need to worry that much, right? And I really, really need the money. Like, badly. Y-you saw what I came in with, right?"

  I nodded. "Ah, I see what you're getting at. And you're right. I am proud of this place, and I wouldn't mind having two more hands on deck. But," I added with a quick jut of my finger, "I'm not going to hire willy nilly!" And then I smiled because that's exactly what I was going to do.

  He looked concerned, as if I had just placed an ultimatum on his life. "I-if it's something wrong with me, I'll fix it. If you need me to do anything to prove myself, I'll do it! Just let me stay!"

  I asked, "You changed your tone there rather quickly. Just a few minutes ago, you thought it was foolish to stay here."

  "That was before I saw the scent protector," he said. "As long as Jonathan can't smell me, he can't find me. As long as I can see him coming, I can duck out of the way and still be an effective worker.

  "But what kind of an existence is that? Always being on the lookout, making yourself so exposed... Wouldn't you rather me solve the problem now?"

  "I mean..." He pressed his hand against his chin like a princess. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

  Seriously, it was only ten minutes ago that we met, and already he wanted to be my guardian angel. Tommy must've been from heaven. Or maybe a candy shop. Because he was just too sweet.

  "I mean..." He looked less confused as time went on, and I was satisfied. That meant he was running things through in his head and considering his options, a better state of affairs than what existed even an hour ago. "I suppose you're right, but I really do think that this would be a great option. If I can stay protected here and also
earn some money. Because I'm still in college."

  My eyes turned. "You are?"

  "Yeah, I didn't tell you? That’s why I need a place to work."

  I thought back through our conversation thus far, and I remembered that he did mention it in passing. But he was so stressed that he must've thought it was a larger moment of conversation than it really was.

  "I've been doing well. Really well. I could get on the dean's list if I keep this up. But I absolutely can't go back to Jonathan's place."

  I nodded. "You don't have to."

  "No, that's not what I meant. I mean, he literally kicked me out!"

  I bobbed my head. "Yes, you've mentioned that."

  "Oh... s-sorry."

  "That's fine, you're just under a lot of stress at the moment. That's normal to happen."

  "Are you sure? Because I-I don't think I'm making any sense right now."

  "You didn't mention why he kicked you out, so I suppose we could start there."

  From downstairs came, "Hey, jackass! We got customers!"

  I looked towards the door and snapped out of my trance. That was a fast fucking break! Right before I could brush away one of Tommy's tears from his soft cheek, my brother had to call me down. But he was right-- I was running a business, and I couldn't afford to take such long breaks during a peak hour. Not yet, at least. So I looked to Tommy.

  "Listen, just stay up here. You'll be protected. And once the day is over, we'll talk about all this. Okay?"

  He sniffled. "Alright. I'll... I don't really have much of a choice." As I turned away, he grabbed my arm and that sent an electric shock through my body and into my horn. "But if you see him, Jonathan, then act natural. Don't do anything to antagonize him."