"This seat taken?" The dark eyed, exotic brunet nodded toward the second chair on the other side of Maddy's table. "If I have to sit with the blond bombshells over there, I'm liable to be chewing on their spleens by the end of breakfast."

Maddy giggled and shook her head. "Go for it. Those catty bitches are too damn much before I've had my third or fourth cup of coffee."

"A girl after my own heart," she placed her plate and mug on the table before holding out her hand. "Name's Alysandra."

Maddy smiled as the light played along Alysandra's café au lait skin. "Madeline Decker. Call me Maddy."

"Then you have to call me Lyssa. Wait," Alysandra flicked her eyes over Maddy's thick writing journal and the novels by her elbow. "You're M. I. Decker!"

Laughing, Maddy nodded. "That's me."

"Oh, my God, I've read all of your books!"

Maddy sipped her coffee before tilting her head to the side. "Which was your favorite?"

"Either Murder Most Delicious or The Boarder, for sure! I thought you were a male!"

Shaking her head, Maddy finished chewing a bit of bacon before answering. "A lot of people think that. It's one of those weird things: people think women can't write convincing horror, so it's better to put initials or a fake name on horror novels."

Lyssa wrinkled her nose in distaste. "That's just dumb."

"Just the way it is. Women couldn't publish anything at all a few hundred years ago, so there's that."

"It's progress, I suppose." Lyssa nodded at the notebook. "Can I ask?"

Maddy shrugged. "Just working on an outline, really. I'm thinking that it's about time for Detective Sharp from The Lonely Ones to meet up with Miss Sally from The Boarder."

Lyssa's eyes lit up with glee. "The detective gettin' it on with the housewife who kicks a surprising amount of ass?"

"Maybe," Maddy gazed out over the gently sloping hills. "They haven't told me if they're friends or more yet."

Lyssa shook her head and dug into the massive amount of food on her plate. "Want to go for a run after breakfast?"

"I could use a good stretch." Maddy twisted her neck gently from side to side. "Probably going to be locked in my room from tomorrow on."

"Yeah, it'll be another day or two for me I think." Lyssa nodded and pulled out her phone. "Let me give you my number in case you're ever in Pennsylvania."

"Wow, small world." Maddy giggled. "I live in western PA!"

"Ha! I'm in Wharton."

Maddy shook her head. "We live two hours away from each other. I'm over in Sheffield."

The women laughed as they exchanged numbers and regaled each other with tales of growing up in Alpha-filled families while they ate. With as many Omegas coming and going, breakfast proper lasted a solid two hours with buffet spreads rotated until noon. They stayed seated until cleanup began, and then went to their rooms where they shed their clothes and met up in the foyer after shifting forms.

Alyssa looked just as toned on four legs as she had on two, and Maddy hoped she was able to keep up once they started running. Her fears were soon abated, however, once they slipped through the doors and began capering about on the lawn before shooting off toward the trees. It seemed that their paws barely touched the ground as they ran, and the joy of such freedom made them raise their voices in shared delight.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Baron paced the length of his small open kitchen and living room before circling back again. Nine strides from the door to the window overlooking the back parking lot, circle the two-person table, and then back to the door. He had been following the same route since he got home an hour before, waiting on Corey to arrive with some sort of package Angie had put together for him. When the knock came, he swung the door open with such force that his tattooed friend jumped.

"Jesus, man, leave the thing on its hinges!"

Baron snarled lightly and motioned him in before shutting the door. "Whatever."

"Here," Corey set down the backpack he'd carried over his shoulder. "We didn't tell you about this over the phone. Thought you'd like the surprise after everything that's been going on."

"What?" Baron stopped dead at the sight of a raspberry jacket preserved in heavy plastic. "Is that . . ."

"Yeah, man. It's how Angie was able to ask those questions and figure things out. Thought I'd bring it over to you before heading to the gym." Returning the hug the larger man suddenly wrapped him in, Corey patted his back. "You gonna be alright?"

"Yeah," Baron nodded. "Just gonna hang out here for today. See if I can't figure something out."

After Corey left, Baron poured himself some whiskey over ice and sank down on the couch with the bag in hand. Pulling it open, he was once again enveloped in the scent he wanted to bathe in for the rest of his life. Unfolding the garment, he realized just how small the woman must be to fit a jacket that size. A single black curl had been caught in the lining, and he carefully placed it on the table to save. She smelled of trees, and flowers, and wide open fields in the summer sun, and he wanted to drink it in until his skin smelled of her and there was no doubt that he had found a mate. Pressing his nose into the nylon, he crushed the material to his face and felt himself grow hard.

Working himself into a frenzy with her smell and the thought of his hands buried in long, dark curls, he took care of the situation right there on the couch, hating how his knot swelled but was left unsatisfied. It was of no matter, however, once he thought of the mystery woman whose coat he held to his heart. No matter what sort of disappointment he was currently feeling, she would be feeling much worse. While Baron was at least able to take comfort in the knowledge of her presence, she had no idea he existed.

Having done his research and talking to Regal's wifemate Jennifer– the only Omega associated with anyone in the company – Baron had come to understand a few things. His mate would be feeling alone and lonely, dependent on the staff of Sheltering Pines to bring her food and help keep her clean the way he should be. It was to be his obligation and joy to serve her in any way she needed during this time, and being thousands of miles away made him want to claw his skin in agony. She would not know until they finally met that he had been searching for her, and so would remain thinking herself completely alone in the world.

With a sigh, he folded the jacket and repacked it for storage. Hopefully, he'd be able to return it soon.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Maddy curled into the mound of pillows on the bed and gave throwing herself off the roof some serious thought before the pain jackknifed her again. Her back bending painfully, her legs scissored on the bed as a wave of liquid heat pulled her under for seconds or hours. When she resurfaced, it was to the sight of a heavy painkiller along with a tray of food and assorted juices left by the ever discrete staff.

She had brought her own personal toys to assist her, and had laid them out on the opposite bedside table before the pain hit.

While the painkillers and sex toys would help relieve the worst of the physical effects of the heat, they did nothing for the mental and emotional upheaval. Maddy was well aware that, at twenty five, she was on the older side for unmated Omegas. Many of the others she had met at Sheltering Pines had found their mates and were thus able to find companionship and relief in a more natural way. Some older women who had lost their mates but had still not outgrown the heat cycle chose to seek sanctuary at one of the locations meant specifically for their age group.

It was common knowledge that, for people like her, the heat cycle was much more demanding and brutal than it is for others. While Alphas and Betas were able to mate and find satisfaction with anyone, not just their true mate, Omegas could sleep with a non-mate, but there would be no children from such a pairing, and the experience was always mutually disappointing for all involved. With a partner who was not also a true mate, an Omega would not be able to find the mental and emotional connections needed to be happy.

Swallowing the pills with half a bottle of orange juice, Maddy scrolled through the offerings on the television. Deciding on something she had seen a hundred times, The Princess Bride, Maddy hoped the pills would kick in soon. She didn't need a visual stimulus to aid in reaching orgasm, but she would need a soft place to land after.

The painkiller kicked in just as Fezzik began carrying a mastermind, a swordsman, and a princess up the Cliffs of Insanity, and Maddy reached for her favorite toy. When she closed her eyes, the image of large hands and bulging arms came to mind, and she sighed just a little. She hoped her true mate – when she found him – had a decent set of arms . . . and maybe some tattoos.