Page 1 of Cost of Courting

Chapter one

Selene

The front door slamsopen, and I hold my breath, waiting for the telltalesound of it falling off the hinges again. When the sound doesn’t come, I relax and continue syringing food into Wolfie’s snarling mouth. He eats half, then wacks the syringe away with a tiny but adorable paw and sinks his less adorable teeth into the soft webbing between my thumb and finger.

“Oh, you little-”

My sister stalks in, bringing an intense incense scent that is stronger with her annoyance. With a dramatic huff, she throws her bag down on the table, ignoring the spitting kitten, and climbs up on the kitchen counter, swinging her legs and kicking off expensive stilettos that make her legs look like they go on forever. She’s naturally tall and thin, with a face that retains an innocence and sweetness that gives her omega designation away in seconds. She is almost always smiling, unless she’s mad at me. We have the same light blue eyes, but where my hair is blue thanks to her hair-dressing apprenticeship, hers is jet black.

“She did it again, Selene,” she whines and rolls her head, letting out another unattractive grunt. “Vindictive bitch always tries to ruin me.”

“Oh?” I ask in distraction, which earns me another bite. With a hiss, I carefully detach the carnivorous feline from my finger.

I glance at Luna in time to see her pout at the kitten like she’s unimpressed that he’s stealing all my time.

“She told Margo it was my fault. I got in trouble again, my final warning. She’s a total bitch, and she hates me for nogood reason!”

Luna crosses her arms under her breasts and wails a random and extended sound that has both me and the kitten cringing.

Ice slithers over my spine, but I don’t let it show. We can’t afford for Luna to lose her job again. The smell of her scent wafts around her, getting less stressed and finding calm now that she’s vented. Luna has never been able to smell it, but I can. We are both omegas, though my scent is almost non-existent. I think her sense of smell was damaged by a vicious blow from an ex-boyfriend a few years ago. Despite being twenty-three, she still acts like she’s a young eighteen and relies heavily on me to keep her life afloat. Her dream in life is to find someone to rescue her from this gutter we live in.

Truly, it’s inspiring.

I glance down at the kitten and carefully pat its face clean, before I set him in the carry cage, where he turns four times, face plants into the small cloth bed, and passes out. All signs of the needle-toothed tyrant that mutilated my hand are gone.

“Just keep your cool and don’t do anything hotheaded.”

By hotheaded, I mean on camera. Again. I can dish an icy revenge like the best of them, but my sister doesn’t think it through, she reacts.

She nods absently, not even listening, just chewing on a strand of her hair. “I told you I met someone a while ago. We’ve been dating for two months now.”

I lift my head, watching her carefully. Luna’s boyfriends have been more trouble than I have the energy to deal with. I still have nightmares and scars from the piece of shit who hit her.

The front door slams open, and, this time, there is a whirlwind of movement and shrill childish screams. I push unpleasant memories aside and turn to embrace Rain. The little boy throws himself at my thighs and squeezes tight.

“How is Wolfie today?” he practically shouts.

“Eating and very frisky, just take a look at my hand!” I show him my hand, and, in a typical childish response, the kid cackles.

Moira walks in slowly, looking exhausted. She’s got black bags under her eyes, a pale face and windblown brown hair threaded with grey. Even her uniform looks all washed out and tired. Rain is her third child and the youngest, but since her alpha died, she’s been struggling to look after the family.

So, I help out a bit just like I do with some of the other families on our street. A bit of cash when I have it, an extra pot of food delivered to them. If they need something that I can provide, I give it to them.

We’re all in the same boat here. We all help each other. That’s what this community is about.

I go to the fridge and pull out a covered dish and hand it to her.

“Thank you!” she whispers.

“No problem.” I turn to Rain. He’s missing a front tooth and has a nest of wild brown hair on his head. “You be careful carrying him home now.”

“I will! See you tomorrow, Selene.”

“I will swing by in the afternoon, but I think this is it. Wolfie is saying I’m big enough to eat on my own. So, I think it’s time to let her figure things out.”

“Really?”

“Really, really. She’s eating food from a plate, she’s refusing the food I’m offering. She drinks water. Wolfie is good.”

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