Dave and the Linguistics Professor
There was a knock on her office door that brought Dr. Alex Blake out of her thoughts.
She had just been dwelling on the fact that she was unmated and never had been. She had admitted sometime ago that she was lonely but every alpha she dated had gotten either to demanding or she wasn't attracted to them at least not enough to consider making it a permanent relationship.
"Come in," Alex called automatically not looking up from where she was grading papers.
Finally, Alex looked up and was surprised to see a somewhat older man standing there and immediately thought he was very handsome.
"Can I help you?" Alex asked.
He was also an alpha Alex analyzed once he walked closer and she could clearly smell his scent.
"My name is David Rossi and I came to thank you for all you've done for my son Dr, Blake."
"That would be Spencer than," Alex said immediately identifying Spencer by his last name. She knew all her students names and who their parents were it was one thing that made her such a good professor.
Spencer was only 16, but he was also a brilliant boy along with his brothers Kade and Julio. Spencer was an omega while Julio ad Kade were alphas and therefore had more confidence in themselves then their brother did.
Triplets of course, as there species rarely had singletons. All three boys were absolutely brilliant some of the most intelligent students that she had come across in a long time. Spencer had a real knack for linguistics which few people did.
"Yes doctor," David Rossi said, as Alex gestured to the two chairs in front of her desk.
"Please have a seat Mr. Rossi.
"I just wanted to thank you," Dave said. "I love my son, but he's always had problems with his self confidence. His mother passed away giving birth to him and his brothers and it was lucky that all three survived."
"I'm really sorry about your wife," Alex said.
"Oh the boys mother wasn't my wife Dr," Dave told her with an easy smile. "I adopted them because their father wasn't treating them properly and so they were taken out of his custody. Let's just say the neighbors noticed how the three of them were left on their own a lot and were apparently expected to take care of the house, including the laundry, cook food for dinner and go to school as well."
"No housekeeper?" Alex asked shocked. "Somebody who could could do all the shopping and household chores necessary while the boys just went to school and did their homework."
"The father didn't want to waste the money apparently not realizing that it was all but impossible for the boys to do everything or it's possible he just didn't care. They were seven when some of the neighbors reported them to child services."
Dave's disgust for the triplets birth father was quite clear.
"So how did you come to adopt them then?" Alex asked curiously.
"The case happened to be caught by a friend of mine in childcare services," Dave explained. "She immediately realized that all three were geniuses and that they would likely never reach their full potential in the childcare system where they would likely be separated instead of being kept together. I know social services tries their best to place siblings together but it doesn't always work out like that."
"I know childcare workers try their best to find good good foster parents for the numerous kids, but a lot of people in the childcare system abuse it," Alex agreed soberly. "They only want to take in a child for the paycheck and then don't treat them very well. They don't use the money for that child."
"You sound like you're speaking from experience," Dave said eyeing Alex with every evidence of interest.
"It never happened to me personally, but to one of my best friends when I was growing up," Alex explained. "Elena had lost her parents and her twin sister in a home invasion robbery. She was the only survivor. Anyway she was placed in a situation in my neighborhood in Kentucky where I grew up. Apparently, there were no relatives to take her or at least none that wanted the responsibility. She was still grieving when she was placed with this family the Kirkes who had signed up for fostering. While the wife was a kind lady the husband was a different matter and was gruff and abrasive. It turned out that he had only agreed to fostering for the money and not because he particularly loved children. I know many people sign up for foster care when they can't have children of their own and that's what happened in this case."
"So he uses the checks sent by the government for his own selfish purposes," Dave guessed and Alex nodded in confirmation.
"While Elena walked around in the clothes that were way too big for her and also looked like they should be in the rag bag. The wife could do nothing as she was too afraid of her husband's temper. He was known as a bully and a wife beater. This all came out when the wife reported the misuse of the childcare checks when things got particularly bad. This didn't happen for several years though and by then Elena was nearly 18. She stayed with us for the last three months before her 18th birthday and childcare services allowed it. It helped that my father is a cop and so were both my brothers. My family had a good reputation within the community."
"Because she was close to being of age and to change schools in the middle of the year..." Dave said.
"Would've been harder on Elena than anything else," Alex agreed. "She was still grieving for her family that she lost and she never really had a chance to do so."
"I'm not surprised as people like the husband see any emotion as a weakness whether that's grief, sorrow or sadness," Dave said. "It wouldn't be good to show emotion in front of someone like that."
"True," Alex agreed soberly. "So you adopted those boys as your own once your friend contacted you."
"My friend and I had kept in contact over the years and she knew that I had made a success of myself and that I would treat them with kindness and love which they likely wouldn't get in a foster home. Not unless they were very lucky. While one of the brothers might've gotten into a good foster home that treated him with kindness it's unlikely all three would have. So thank you for how you giving my son confidence in himself. Spencer is so changed from the young man that first started here. I always knew he was intelligent just as his two siblings are, but he was so mistreated by his father because he's an omega his self-confidence and self-esteem was very low. I could really not do anything, though I did try, but whenever I complimented him before they just seemed to go in one ear and out the other. It was as if I was speaking a foreign language."
Alex chuckled at that example as it was quite apt.
"His father did such a number on him, even though he was still quite young when he and his brothers were placed in my care. It was as if he believed he didn't deserve any compliments on his accomplishments. His brothers fared better because both are alphas. Spencer's eidetic memory didn't help. William Reid seems to have had a real problem with Omegas even though his wife and son were ones."
"Unfortunately, it happens all the time," Alex said being genuinely sympathetic. "I was lucky that my parents were nothing like that as both my brothers are alphas while I'm the only omega among the lot other than my mother. I'm glad I was able to help your son with his self-confidence issues. He's free to come to me for advice if he needs it at any time."
Alex concealed her interest in the alpha before her, because even though he hadn't mentioned a mate she was sure that he wouldn't be interested in someone like her. She made decent money at the university that was true and she knew she was a beautiful woman but David Ross was in a league all his own. One of the most handsome alphas she'd ever seen as he simply exuded an air of masculinity and confidence. That combination drew Alex to him like a moth to a flame. His hair was black as was his beard, he was broad of shoulder and there was intelligence in his brown eyes. He had been polite enough at least to thank her for the help that she had given his son Spencer so that meant he had manners and so many alphas did not. Besides, one did not just display an interest in a strong alpha as some could take it the wrong way, as they had to be the ones to display their interest first and if the omega was so bold it often led to trouble for them from that alpha.
"So Dr. Blake what about dinner that is if you don't have a mate you need to get home too?" Dave asked.
"I'm sure you know I'm not mated it Mr. Rossi," Alex said smiling a little. "It's easy to tell at least for one of our kind."
"You could've been married to a human," Dave pointed out, "but yes, I knew you were unmated to one of our kind as for one thing the pouch on the side of your neck is unbroken and it looks like it never has been. You also don't smell like another alpha. If you had I never would've asked."
"I've never been mated or married. Yes, I'm well aware that a lot of our kind are mated by now. I've just never met anyone that's ever been interested in me for myself. They always want me too change something major so they can consider me a suitable mate," Alex said frankly.
"They want you to quit your job," Dave said not doubting at all that was at least one reason Dr. Blake was as yet unmated. "Wait on them hand and foot. To always be available when they need something instead of them getting up to get it themselves."
"There have been a few like that," Alex admitted seeing how perceptive David Rossi was. "They want to be the ones that bring home the money. They don't respect the fact that I went to college and worked hard to get my degree in linguistics. I still have student loans to pay though they're mostly paid off now."
"And these alphas of course weren't going to pay off what remained of your student loans," Dave said.
"No they weren't," Alex agreed with a grimace. "I don't know how they expected me to pay off the rest of my debts if I didn't keep working."
"I doubt they thought that far ahead if they thought at all," Dave said his contempt for those alphas obvious. "So about that dinner invitation."
"I'm sure you are mated Mr. Rossi and you don't need to be asking another woman out to dinner as your mate would misunderstand. You are considerably older than me and as you just pointed out most alphas and omegas are mated by your age," Alex said giving Dave an easy out if he wanted to take it.
"I'm not actually," Dave said with an easy smile not looking insulted that Alex would assume he was mated since most of their kind were by his age, as Alex had just pointed out. "I never would've asked you out for dinner if I was. I'm not the kind of alpha that would ask a lady out to dinner if I wasn't available unless she was my sister or someone who was just a friend."
"All right then," Alex agreed trying to hide her surprise that Spencer's adoptive father didn't have a mate at home waiting on him.
"I was once, over 15 years ago," Dave said looking at everything in Alex's office except her.
"So what happened if you don't mind my asking?" Alex inquired.
"She died along with my twin girls. She had an aneurysm in the brain and it just burst one day. Carolyn just happened to have a headache all day when it happened. She also happened to be pregnant and wasn't far enough along for my twin girls to survive, especially not twenty years ago. The strain on her body with the pregnancy was apparently too much for a lady with an unknown aneurysm."
"I'm so sorry," Alex said. "I can understand why you're not mated now."
"This was a long time ago though, so it's likely that if it ever happens again, which is unlikely I know, that the children will survive if the woman happens to be in the last few weeks," Dave said and the sadness in his voice was heartbreaking making Alex want to soothe him. "I grieved of course, but even though I've dated I have yet to find another mate. One of the omegas I dated didn't want to deal with my sons and suggested putting them to boarding school or even to an orphanage when they learned that they weren't mine by blood."
"Suggesting that to an alpha is a good way to end up in the hospital," Alex sputtered genuinely shocked knowing how alphas thought. She was also furious on Dave's behalf
"Absolutely!" Dave agreed with a ferocious grin. "I threw her out, as we happened to be at my home and told her not to come back. I even broke her arm, because I was a little bit rough and she landed on it awkwardly. It might've been an accident, but I wasn't sorry in the least."
"That Omega was lucky it wasn't worse," Alex said in understanding.
"Yes she was," Dave said his expression fierce. "I had two police officers showing up at my door as she had reported me, but when I told them what she had suggested there were no charges. Since I had no past record I was believed and in fact, those officers were rather disgusted with her when they learned the truth. She had apparently spun them another story entirely trying to cause trouble for me."
"It was an accident," Alex said Dave nodded. "Even if it hadn't been she got what she deserved for suggesting you put your kids in boarding school or even send them to an orphanage just because they weren't technically related to you."
"I think that's partly where Spencer's lack of confidence comes from as he was there for the incident as well his brothers," Dave admitted. "I think he feared I was actually going to take Samantha up on it."
"Fears aren't always logical," Alex said and Dave nodded.
"No, they're not and the fact that his father was such a lousy parent didn't help," Dave said.
The feelings she had for Dave surged up in her so strongly they took Alex by surprise. What it happened to him more than nearly twenty years ago had definitely been a tragedy but she also understood that it happened but as for her wanting to soothe him that wasn't like her at all. That was something a mate would do or at least a good female friend. She and Dave did not have that kind of relationship.
She might like to, but she didn't know how likely it was that they would actually mate as they might not be suited for each other. She was attracted that was for sure but attraction wasn't everything.
She wanted a more intimate relationship with the strong, handsome alpha, Alex realized silently.
Dave already understood that she wanted to continue to work, that she loved teaching and that was definitely a bonus. The way he had adopted Spencer and his two siblings also spoke of a willingness to raise someone else's kids. She understood now that the triplets father hadn't been doing a proper job of raising his children after the death of their mother, hadn't even bothered to hire a housekeeper.
Of course, Alex was well aware that finances played apart in being able to hire that housekeeper, but the least William Reid could've done was ask the neighbors to keep an eye on them and he probably hadn't even done that much.
The two of them talked for a little longer before Dave rose after telling Alex he would pick her up at 6 o'clock for dinner and got the address for her apartment.
Alex hadn't been so excited for date in years.
~~~Dave and Alex~~~