Luckily for Erin, outside of his run-in with the mystery Alpha, he had an uneventful day. Uneventful, but long. In order to finish up the rest of his courses in time to graduate, he had to maximize his schedule. The result was a more rigorous semester than he was used to. When Erin stepped through the front door he was exhausted. He kicked off his shoes in the entry and slumped across the couch. The light from the adjacent window warmed the top of his head, and he closed his eyes, enjoying the heat from the afternoon sun.

Ring. Ring.

The phone buzzed in his pocket just as he was dozing off. His sister’s name blared from the screen, and Erin immediately hit ‘answer'.

“Hello, Nina,” Erin answered raising up from the couch.

“Hey. I got your message this morning but I just got a break at work. Everything okay?”

“Sure…” Erin fluffed the pillows before he stood and went into the kitchen. “Everything’s fine.”

“What’s wrong?” her tone hardened. “What happened and who do I need to come kill.”

“Nothing's wrong. Nothing happened, and you don’t need to kill anyone.”

“Then why do you sound like that?” she demanded. Erin debated on whether to tell her what a crazy morning he'd had. Nina was the queen of overreacting and if she felt like Erin was struggling she would swoop in like a Mama bird and peck the offender’s eyes out. But this situation couldn’t be fixed with aggression.

“I’m just tired. I had trouble sleeping last night." He grabbed a container of yogurt out of the fridge and fetched a spoon. “I woke up late and Annalee and I had to rush out of the door.”

“That’s not like you at all.”

“No. It’s not.” Erin ripped the covering off the yogurt and licked it. “And then I got lost getting to my first class.”

“You got lost?” Nina gasped. “Oh my god. Are you okay?!”

“Fine.” Erin rolled his eyes. “A guy helped me out.”

“Oh.” She paused. “An Alpha?”

“Yup!” Erin smiled smugly. “And he was really nice.” Nina scoffed on the line and Erin said, “I’m serious, Nina. He was a perfect gentleman. He took me to the general studies building. I thanked him and that was that.”

“And he didn’t ask for your number?” she asked dubiously.

“Nope.” Erin shook his head. “He didn’t ask me for anything. Told me to have a good day in class and not to worry about it.”

“He must be one of those Alphas who like Alphas or something.”

“Nina!” Erin shook his head laughing. “Why do you find it so hard to believe that not all  Alphas are lecherous dogs?”

“Because, Rin-Rin, I know the truth. They’re all horny bastards trying to get their dicks wet.”

“Including you?”

“Especially me.” Erin giggled and shook his head.

“Well, I hate to disappoint you.” He stirred the yogurt slowly. “But Remy isn’t anything like that either.”

“That’s what you think.” Nina snorted. “He’s probably got a girlfriend in every city.”

“He does not have a girlfriend in every—” Erin cut himself off. “Wait. They actually do that?”

“Of course. You remember I dated that flight attendant?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, he was a man of the world, if you know what I mean…” She cackled at her own joke.

Erin frowned and tapped the spoon against his lips. Was that what Remy was doing while he was away?

“It's a shame he got married," Nina continued without pause. "/That/ was a tight little piece of ass...I should call him and see if he's allowed to have friends-”

“Nina!”

She laughed again. “All I’m saying is, don’t be surprised if he tries to push up on you.”

“He’s not going to do that,” Erin protested.

“How do you know?”

“Because he’s not that kind of Alpha. As a matter of fact, I’m the one that—” Erin stopped before he exposed himself.

“The one that what?” Nina urged him to finish.

“Nothing...I just know he isn't like that, okay?” Nina wouldn’t let him live it down if he told her about the dream he had last night. And anyway, it didn’t mean anything. It’d been a while since he and Mitch broke up, and he was in close proximity to an Alpha. A powerful one. Even with Remy's abscense Erin could smell him. His scent clung to the walls and furniture like a spicy perfume. With that said, it was normal to be affected by Remy's presence. And have certain...urges.

Erin checked the timer on the oven and swallowed down the last spoonful of yogurt. “Nina. I have to go. Annalee will be here soon.” He hurried to the door. “I’ll call you later after I cook dinner.”

“K. Talk to you later, Rin-Rin. Muah.”

He ended the call and rushed down to meet Annalee. Just as he was coming off the elevator the bus pulled up.

Erin plastered on his biggest bright smile, hoping to mirror Annalee's. Bad day or not, he was still her nanny, and that meant he had a job to do.

The bus doors opened, and Erin waved to her from under the condo's awning. He gasped when he saw the girl running off the bus in tears.

Annalee?!

Erin rushed to meet her outside opening up his arms for her. When she saw him kneel she bolted into his arms, and clung to him.

“Oh my god, Baby. What happened?” Annalee didn’t answer but continued to sob loudly against his chest. Erin didn't think it was possible to be afraid, heartbroken and angry all at once, but here he was, ready to rip someone apart, while simultaneously wishing he could make it all better.

“Please, sweetheart.” He picked her up in his arms and carried her to the elevator. “Tell me what happened."