Rian stepped out of the booth, taking in a deep breath. He usually waited a couple of days after his rut ended to head back to work, and it was… strange to already be back. He walked down the hallway and headed to the storage room, intent on refilling his pocket. He was almost out of the emergency contraceptive he kept on hand, and he turned the corner, not paying attention as he brushed by someone. 

“What the hell are you doing back already?”

Rian quickly turned, surprised to see his mother as she turned to face him. Halia frowned as she looked up at her son and Rian avoided her questioning gaze. He had only called his parents the first day of his rut to let them know he was safe, and had pointedly avoided all questions about his lucidity or why he wasn’t going out of town this time. He had hoped his mother wasn’t working at this shelter today. 

“Well?”

“I felt fine and Ysemna said it was okay,” Rian answered, chancing a look down as his mother’s blue eyes met his own. He looked remarkably like her, inheriting her alpha status as well, even if he was taller like his father. His mother was not the type of alpha to let something like height stop her, and considering how much she liked to brag about her size to other alphas, she enjoyed being the biggest in the room. In more ways than one. 

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“When do we meet him or her?” Halia insisted and Rian’s hand flew up to his neck as he swore. He had forgotten his bond tally was visible, and he groaned as he once again decided to look anywhere but at the woman who was now leaning into his chest. “Rian Inphey.”

“Mom, can we not? We’re at work.”

“Don’t try that with me. I’ve been working here long before you or Ysemna stepped foot in this shelter,” Halia pushed and Rian ran a hand over his face, trying to gather himself before speaking again. The worst thing he could do now was allow the alpha in him to react. Unlike Halia, Rian wasn't normally very aggressive but the presence of an alpha like his mother, one that never knew how to back down, always brought out that side of him.

“I’m not doing this here,” he said, keeping his voice low. The hallway was empty for now, but someone could walk by at any moment. “I’m on my way to restock, not to have a family interrogation. I still have two more omegas to take care of.”

“First you call your father after your rut started, and he said you refused to explain how you were even talking.” Halia didn’t back off, not even a little. She crossed her arms, watching him with a level of scrutiny that made him feel like he was fifteen again and had come home reeking of smoke and half-baked lies. “You didn’t even call him when it ended. You expect me not to ask questions when you show up to work the next day and clearly marked?”

“It’s complicated.”

“We’re deltas, Rian, we can’t afford complicated.” Halia insisted and Rian finally glared at his mother. She met his look evenly, no hint of intimidation in her eyes. “Your father and I only work because we’re both deltas. So I’ll ask again, who are they?”

Rian felt his pulse tighten in his throat, like the skin there was too thin and every beat pushed against it with a dull warning. He dropped his gaze to the tile biting back the words that wanted to spoil forth. He would not get into it with his mother today 

“Are you pair broken?”

“No, we haven’t talked about it yet,” Rian finally answered, still refusing to look at his mother as she finally took a step back. He was not going to tell her about how this started; Halia would have the police here before Rian could finish explaining. “If you would let me finish my shift, I could–”

“Oh. MY. GAWD!” 

Squealing made Rian turn to see what was going on and he was surprised to see several of the omegas standing in the hallway behind him. It was clear they had come from the games room, as the door stood wide open as they seemed fixated on something. Rian took a deep breath as he sighed; if it wasn’t one thing, it was another. 

“Hey,” Rian called out as he started walking toward the group, but it only took him a moment to notice that Katy and a few other beta attendants were also in the group. “Hey, you guys can’t–”

“Rian! You absolute disaster!” Katy shouted over her shoulder, her voice riding high on uncontainable glee. She turned, face flushed with excitement, and waved him over like he wasn’t already closing the distance between them. “All these years and you said your mark was ugly!”

Oh fuck.

Rian made his way to the group to find a very surrounded, very calm Alta standing among all the other omegas. Katy and two of the other betas were holding his hand, examining the mark as if it were a museum artifact instead of a personal, deeply intimate piece of his body. Rian’s stomach dropped as he took in the way Alta stood with practiced ease, allowing the attention. His gaze was steady, polite, guarded behind the soft edges of a bemused smile. If Rian hadn’t known better, he would’ve mistaken Alta’s stillness for pride. 

But there was a look in Alta’s eyes Rian had grown to know intimately over the last month. Alta was disassociating, and was barely even aware of what was going on. It made something in Rian flare protectively and he took a moment to breathe.

“Okay, I get it. I’ve never allowed my mate here before, and I would like to know why he’s here now,” Rian sighed, noticing the way Alta shrugged. He had warned Alta about the lie at work to hide his delta status, and Alta had agreed to wait outside the shelter and to call Rian when he arrived. “And especially what he’s doing in the back of the shelter.”

“Well I saw a gorgeous redhead with a glorious ponytail in the lobby asking if this was your shelter today, and I KNEW it had to be your mate!” Katy beamed and Rian let out a frustrated sigh. Of course it was Katy; of all the betas, she was the most enthusiastic about anything even vaguely romantic. She lived for it and she always believed in jumping to the biggest, boldest conclusion like a real life drama, regardless of context, tone, or permission.

“And you just let him back here? This is not a hang out space for any omega, Katy. This is for unpaired omegas in heat,” Rian asked, his voice pitched low enough to not attract more attention, but sharp enough that Katy finally had the decency to flinch a little. “You’re lucky it’s me who caught you and not Ysemna or–”

“Oh don’t worry I’m listening,” Halia’s voice made Rian roll his eyes and he barely shook his head at Alta as he heard his mother stand beside him. “And Katy, you and I are gonna have words about you bringing people back here again.”

“But he’s an omega too!”

“And are paired omegas allowed into the shelters? Do you want to be responsible if one of these lovely people end up hurt because of your actions?” Halia pushed back and under his mother’s watchful eye, the brightness drained from Katy’s expression. She mumbled a “no, ma’am,” like a schoolchild caught red-handed and slunk behind the other betas, who suddenly found the floor or the backs of their hands fascinating. 

Halia shook her head as she addressed the omegas, adopting a softer tone. “Alright, I know it’s all very exciting, but let's keep the hallway clear. Remember, we are all here for a reason.”

The group nodded, the men and women slowly walking back into the gaming room as the betas suddenly scattered to do their jobs. Leaving Rian alone with Alta…

And his mother.

“For what it’s worth, I tried to tell her no,” Alta shrugged and Rian nodded, taking another deep breath. 

“Katy’s a repeat offender when it comes to bringing mates back here. She knows better, but she thinks since ‘they’re all omegas’ it's fine,” Rian stepped a bit closer to Alta, still noting the distant look in the omega’s expression. Alta was still miles away. “Did your talk go well?”

“Yeah, we can talk about it after… everything else first.” Alta offered and Rian nodded, allowing himself a slight smile. “Didn’t realize I was a celebrity already.”

“That’s what happens when us deltas have to pretend to be paired. We never bring spouses to company parties, and suddenly you’re the gossip of the shelter,” Halia quickly stepped closer again, causing Rian to shift to Alta’s side. He carefully put his hand on the small of Alta’s back, offering gentle, reassuring rubs as his mother stepped closer. “I’m Halia Inphey, Rian’s mother.”

“Nice to meet you?” Alta’s tone was unsure and more measured than polite, his words walking a tightrope between formal courtesy and the apprehension of someone being introduced to a potential in-law under wildly inappropriate circumstances. “I’m not sure what else to say.”

“I guess not, since Rian said you two need to talk.” Halia shot a glance up at her son and Rian met the look evenly. He’s not the one who brought Alta into the shelter. “Take him to room 47. Have your talk, the sooner the better. I’ll handle your last two omegas, I was already done for the day.”

“Fine,” Rian rolled his eyes, reaching into his chest pocket to pull the list Ysemna had given him before handing it to his mother. “While you’re at it, take care of Katy with Ysemna, we’ll likely leave when we’re done.”

“Don’t tell me how to do my job, Rian.” Halia snapped, but Rian was already gently turning Alta, determined to put as much space between them and his mother. He hated interacting with her at work on a good day, but today was turning out to be anything but. “And call your father!”

“Fine!” Rian shouted back, his voice echoing down the corridor, followed by a door slamming behind him and Alta as they stepped into Room 47. It was one of the couple rooms, and Rian sighed heavily as he leaned against the door. He opened his eyes to see Alta slowly sitting on the double bed, a tired look on his face. “Sorry about all… that.”

“It’s okay. I only came in because I couldn’t see your car and wasn’t sure if I was at the right shelter,” Alta admitted and Rian nodded, slowly pushing himself off the door. 

“Backups park in a separate lot, it keeps omegas from trying to corner us when we leave.”

“That happens?”

“I mean, you saw me and my mom. The blue kinda gives us away and despite us not being available for pairing, it doesn’t stop omegas from trying to become secondaries,” Rian explained slowly sitting on the bed. The air felt charged, and he sighed again. This was not how he wanted this talk to go. “I had hoped we could talk elsewhere.”

“We still can.” 

“My mother is probably watching the security camera to make sure I don’t. She has security access because she’s been a backup here for almost twenty five years. She can't take my omegas anyway since both prefer male alphas so she's probably just going to hand them off,” Rian leaned back on the bed, noticing the way Alta was watching him. There was a slight smile on the omega’s face and Rian couldn’t help but return it. “You look good in my shirt.”

“Don’t know the band,” Alta admitted and Rian’s smile grew. “Not much into rock.”

“It’s not for everyone,” Rian chuckled, finally laying down so he could stretch one arm across the top of the mattress. The muscles in his shoulders ached with tension, and the heaviness in his chest hadn’t let up since the hallway confrontation. “I just like it.”

“Well, maybe you can change my mind about it,” Rian didn’t resist as Alta laid down with him, curling up into his side. “I guess we should talk about… this.”

“Yeah…” Rian agreed, his head swimming with thoughts. He had only been freed of his rut for twelve hours, which was why he at least wanted a full work shift to think about everything, but it seemed that fate, especially lately, didn’t really care about what he wanted. 

“We should.”