Jason peeked out from behind the dumpster. Tonight was probably not the best night to go out, but he was hungry. Plus, Ivy's latest rampage would have scared away all the other regular dumpster-divers so Jason should have free reign of all the best tidbits.

So far, he had found a sandwich with only one bite taken out of it and two water bottles. He would need to dump the water and refill them with, hopefully, untainted water from the fountains in the park, but all-in-all Jason had a good run tonight.

Now it was time to head back to his nest.

He could hear Batman and Robin nearby, fighting Ivy's plants. Ivy herself wouldn't be far away and even if she were, her plants were still dangerous. The last thing Jason wanted to was to find an Alpha or Omega doused in pollen and falling into a rut or heat.

Everyone knew a rutting Alpha didn't care who they attacked. They just wanted a good time. And an in-heat Omega was going to attract droves of heat-crazed Alphas.

When he didn't see anyone in the alley, Jason scampered from his hiding place and booked it away from the sounds of fighting, back toward his nest. He made it less than a block before he skidded to a halt.

He sniffed.

There was an Omega somewhere around here. An Omega in heat. The thick, flowery scent was unmistakable. There was an undercurrent of the Omega's natural scent, an indicator that the Omega was only just starting their heat.

Still, there was no way Jason was going to be touching that with a ten-foot pole. He turned on his heel and started down a different alley that would take him a street over.

A choked-off whine stopped him.

That was a puppy's whine. But pups weren't supposed to keep those whines quiet. It was meant to be a call to the pack, a cry for protection, for comfort. The only times Jason had heard those whines stifled were if the pup didn't have a pack...or were in dangerous territory with the possibility of someone who was not pack finding them first.

Jason closed his eyes.

This was stupid. This was stupid. This was stupid.

He turned around. He might have been a no-good street rat, a packless puppy with no real home, but he wasn't about to let an Omega pup get raped or kidnapped.

Jason inched down the street, following the Omega's scent. The stink of help-terror-leavemealone started to tickle Jason's nose. It got stronger the further down the alley he went until he was nearly choking on it.

Yep. The pup had definitely gotten a lungful of Ivy's pollen. Another muffled pack whimper broke through the silence.

Jason whined in response. He wanted to protect this puppy and he filled his heart with that desire, hoping his scent would convey that.

The pile of boxes twenty feet away shifted.

"Hello?" called Jason softly. He glanced to the sides and behind him again. There was no reason to alert any ill-intentioned wanderers that there were two puppies, one of which was an in-heat Omega, ripe for the picking.

There was no response from the boxes.

Jason shuffled closer. "Hello? Are you okay?"

"Go away," whispered a voice from the boxes.

"I...I can help," said Jason. "If you want."

The voice started sobbing. "I don't-I don't n-need any he-help."

Jason cringed. "Wait, no. Not that kind of help. I mean...I have a nest. You can borrow it. If you want."

The sobbing got louder and was accompanied by a high keen.

The keen wrapped itself around Jason's heart and squeezed. Jason almost keened with him. Where was Momma? She would know what to do here. She would be able to comfort the pup, no problem. Jason was just screwing it up.

But Momma wasn't here. She was gone forever. It was just Jason now.

Jason whined.

The pile of boxes shifted again and this time, Jason spied a pair of wide, wet blue eyes peeking over the top.

Jason scrubbed at the tear that threatened to fall from his own eyes. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," said the kid. "Um, are you alright?"

"I was the one supposed to be asking you, idiot." His voice was wetter than he expected.

The eyes disappeared again. "S-sorry."

"Wait, no. Come back."

This time, the kid's entire head popped up.

Jason shifted his weight. "Are you-Do you...need somewhere to stay?"

The boy didn't say anything.

"I-I have a nest. If you want."

"I have a house, okay?" the boy snapped.

Jason dropped his head. Well, this had been a stupid idea. "Okay. I'll just go then." He started to walk toward the street again.

"Wait!" shouted the kid. He whined and a sharp grimace crossed his face. "Please. It hurts. Don't leave."

Jason shuffled toward the boy again. The sandwich in his hand crossed his vision and, much to his inner scavenger's horror, he held it out to the boy. "Are you hungry?"

The kid shook his head. "It just hurts." He doubled over, leaning his head on the box, and clutched his stomach. He whined again. The honey-sweet scent got thicker, if that was possible. So did the overwhelming stench of fear.

The heat was obviously getting stronger. Jason had heard about pollen heats from a few of the call girls when he stopped to check on them. They had sounded painful and intense.

Jason needed to get this pup back to a nest, pronto.

"Okay," said Jason. "Um, what's your name?"

"Tim," the pup whispered.

"Hi, Tim. I'm Jason. Can-Can I pick you up? We can get there faster."

Tim curled into himself again, disappearing behind the boxes. More suppressed whines floated toward Jason.

Jason tried to answer the whines with comforting chuffs, but all that came out was more keening, a plead for comfort.

Tim went silent again. After a few moment, he said, "Okay," in the quietest voice Jason had ever heard. "Please...please be gentle."

Jason nodded. So, so softly and slowly, he stepped toward the boxes. He offered the sandwich and water bottles again. "I can carry you better if you hold these for me."

Tim stared at them before reaching out and tenderly took them.

Jason maneuvered around the boxes and gathered the pup in his arms.

He was light, much lighter than was healthy, and yet the pup didn't look like a typical street kid. He was clean and his clothes didn't have holes. So why was he so thin? The kid didn't look older than ten and Jason had probably been heavier at that age.

Tim was almost as big as Jason and even though Jason lifted him as high as he could, the kid's feet dangled only about a foot off the ground.

Tim didn't seem to mind. He wrapped his arms around Jason's neck and shoved his nose next to the scent gland there. It quickly became wet with tears and, no doubt, snot, but Jason found didn't mind.

He had a puppy. And he was going to protect his puppy with all his might. He reached up to rub his wrist over Tim's back, covering him in safe-protected-Alpha.

Tim purred and the rancid smell of overwhelming terror started to fade into a simple, unpleasant scared-needpack-alone.

Jason hooked his hands under Tim's knees, prompting the puppy to wrap his legs around Jason's waist. With the pup in his arms, Jason's focus tuned back into their surroundings. The fight had moved closer to them. They needed to get out of here and get to Jason's nest.

He sprinted out of the alley, the pup's legs bouncing awkwardly. He skidded around corners and beneath fences. He didn't slow down even when his den was in view.

After what seemed like an eternity, Jason was pushing Tim through the little crack in the wall that led to Jason's pile of blankets.

Jason took the sandwich and water bottles from Tim and nudged the boy into his nest.

Tim practically collapsed.

As soon as Jason was finished putting the food away-Tim would need it when his heat was finished-he gathered the puppy in his arms again and wiggled deeper into the nest. They fell asleep curled around each other.

After his mom had died, Jason's nests had always felt so empty. Tonight, this one didn't.