The next few days flew by really fast as Payton and I tried to get used to our new life as the laundry boys. It was a nice and easy job, and we quickly got the hang of it. Our new coworkers were fun and helpful, and I had to admit, I quickly became to adore Sabine. I had the feeling Payton was warming up to her as well, although she still kept accidentally scaring him simply by being so loud.

It was easy to stay in a happy, excited mood for as long as I focused on this new life, especially after my heat ended and my body went back to normal, but… I would’ve been lying if I said I didn’t miss my old life. That clan, those people… We lost our family in one single night. There was no going back, I knew that, but if… If they’d come asking for our forgiveness and promising us they wouldn’t do stupid things again…

I would’ve returned to them.

Because even though this new life was exciting, and I was happy and grateful we were given this chance, it was also scary. I had no idea how long this would last. We were basically at the mercy of these strangers. They could easily decide to just kick us out without a warning because they owed us nothing. They didn’t have to help us. Sure, they wouldn’t have helped us in the first place if they didn’t want to, so maybe I was scared for nothing, but what would happen if we made a mistake? We didn’t even know what counted as a mistake with these people. The mafia had their rules and codes everyone had to follow, and we knew nothing about them.

I kept these thoughts to myself and did my best not to show my fear in front of Payton. He was still just as devastated as I was, maybe even more, and he desperately needed to feel safe right now. I didn’t want to take that away from him. I was most likely just overthinking things and scaring myself for nothing, anyway.

Thankfully, I got good at keeping myself distracted from those gloomy thoughts. All I really needed to do was let that mafioso, Lucas, slide into my thoughts. He was in my thoughts quite a lot, actually… I couldn’t help it, especially since I just had my heat. And the guy looked good. He was big and strong. He was really kind. He’d helped us even though it was against the rules.

Very nice alpha… my omega agreed.

I really wanted to see him again…

On Wednesday, I entertained that idea the entire day while we worked, and when Payton and I were finishing up our last batch of clean towels, I asked him if he’d like to come with me to the bar Lucas owned. He tensed up, but after a short moment, he nodded timidly.

“I just want to go tell Lucas how grateful we are for his help, but I can go alone if you want to stay at home and get some rest,” I offered, but he shook his head.

“I want to come. I could get some fresh air, and…” he trailed off and turned a bit more flustered.

“And…?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He blushed harder. “You know… Maybe… Like… Maybe we should start meeting people…”

I raised my eyebrow even higher. “Yeah?”

He nodded, then sighed. “I mean… We should try to find alphas… Mates… You know? I don’t think we have any other way out of these streets. And I don’t mean we should try to find our true mates… Just… Mates. People who have jobs and homes… Because let’s face it, this isn’t going to last. They won’t let us stay in this hotel forever. Right?”

I breathed out and smiled. “Right…”

“So… We need to find mates,” he concluded, and turned to grab a clean towel from the laundry machine. “You like Lucas, don’t you?”

I smiled a little wider. “Yeah… He seems like a good alpha…”

He nodded and tried to smile as well, but it was fake. “Maybe I’d learn to like Atticus…”

“He does seem like a good alpha, too,” I said tentatively.

“He’s only interested because of how I look…” he mumbled. “They all are. I’m cute and small and quiet and I got a lot of feminine traits… I’m just a pretty doll to fuck…”

“Right, you’ve had your fair share of creeps…” I muttered. “I’m sorry.”

“Sometimes I wish I’d be the second choice…” he said and sighed. “It’s not fair to you either! You’re pretty too! I don’t understand why they’re all so weird about your height. But that just proves me right. They just want pocket rockets!”

I did not mean to laugh at that last part, but I did. Thankfully, he did too.

“You’re much more than a pocket rocket,” I told him.

“And you’re more than just your height,” he replied. “But yeah. Let’s go see Lucas. I want to thank him too.”

Once our work was done for the day, we went to find Sabine and ask her if it was all right that we went to see Lucas. She had no problem with it at all. On the contrary, she seemed pleased to hear we wanted to thank Lucas for helping us out. She even gave us both twenty bucks to buy something to drink! We tried to object, and even reminded her that she wasn’t supposed to pay us.

“Like hell those little mafia boys are telling ME what to do!” she literally shouted and laughed so loud even I flinched this time.

There wasn’t much room for arguments after that. She was also kind enough to let Lucas know we were coming to visit, so our trip wouldn’t be for nothing. We thanked her and left to get ready for the night out.

I was feeling a little nervous, but also excited while we got ready. Payton didn’t share my enthusiasm, and I had the feeling it was mostly because he feared we’d run into Atticus again. It was a shame, really… I secretly hoped Atticus wasn’t only interested in his looks, but the mafioso knew nothing about Payton, so… Looks were all he got.

It was around seven in the evening when we arrived at the bar, smelling fresh. We’d decided to wear simple hoodies with jeans this time, and not our best outfits because that would’ve been the third time we showed up in the same clothes. That would’ve been a social disaster.

I wasn’t surprised to see Lana behind the bar counter when we entered the place. She was serving a few alphas when we approached her, but once she was done with them, she gave us a friendly smile.

“Hey guys. Back so soon?” she said and grabbed a few glasses for us. “Sodas?”

“Yeah. This time, we can pay for them,” I said while pulling out my wallet, but she shook her head.

“You’re still on Lucas’ tab,” she said.

“But we can pay now,” I said.

“Don’t worry about it. So! You’re having a night out?” she asked, while I put my wallet away in defeat.

“Yeah, and we really wanted to come to thank you and Lucas for everything. You two pretty much saved our lives,” I told her.

“You two are the sweetest. We don’t leave omegas to fend for themselves. Not in this country,” she said reassuringly. “Lucas is having a little meeting at the back, but he should be done any minute now. Do you want a private room or…?”

“Nah, it’s fine,” I said and grinned. “We’ve spent the past few days in small rooms. We’re getting a little claustrophobic.”

“Aight,” she said, and gave us our sodas. “I’ll tell Lucas to come find you once he’s done.”

“Thanks,” I said.

We found a quiet table by the windows where we could see almost the entire bar while we still had some privacy. It was actually really nice to see people and the city outside the windows. The laundry room was in the basement, so we never saw people or views while we worked, and the only view we got from our apartment was the parking lot and a small patch of grass. This was nice. I really liked this bar, too… And not just because it belonged to Lucas’ family. It was so cozy and clean and peaceful with old music playing quietly in the background.

We didn’t have to wait for Lucas for long. Maybe ten minutes after we sat down, I spotted him talking to Lana behind the counter. They exchanged a few words, and Lucas grabbed himself a drink, then headed our way.

“Lucas! Hi!” I chirped when he was close enough, and cursed myself right away. I just couldn’t help myself…

“Hi,” he said when he reached our table and gave us a small smile. “Back already, huh?”

“We wanted to drop by to thank you for everything you did for us,” I said, but he waved his hand dismissively while pulling a chair for himself.

“It didn’t feel right to turn my back on you two,” he said. “So? How’s it going? Is Sabine treating you well?”

“She’s great. A loud personality, like you said, but she’s very nice,” I said. “And the job isn’t bad at all. And the apartment is beautiful. It’s more than we ever could’ve dreamed of.”

“Great. That’s great,” he said. “So everything is all right now?”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said with a nod.

I got a little ahead of myself and blabbered on about our past few days, which really weren’t that interesting, but I was so happy to talk to this guy that it took a moment before I was able to shut my mouth. But he seemed glad to hear we were excited and liking our new life.

When I finally silenced myself, Lucas nodded a few times, his expression turning a bit serious.

“And no one has been bothering you…?” he asked tentatively.

“No,” I said. “I mean, we don’t really get to see the visitors that much.”

“Right… And no one has come looking for you?” he asked quietly.

“No…” I said slowly. “You mean… The looters? I don’t think any of them know where we are, and we certainly won’t be in contact with any of them.”

“Good, good…” he said.

“…What?” I asked.

“I don’t know if I should tell you this, but someone has been looking for you,” Lucas said.

I immediately tensed up, and Payton got scared. “Yeah?”

“He came here a few days ago,” Lucas said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Lana saved this clip for me.”

He gave us the phone, and I didn’t even need to look at it closer to recognize him.