Hedgehog for Hawke by Fel Fern
River
Michael pressed his spines against my cheek, making me groan. Lately, Michael preferred sleeping in his hedgehog form. When he did it again, I opened my eyes. It was still dark. Early.
Five more minutes, I told myself. I shut my eyes, but Michael refused to sit still. It didn’t help Vincenzo joined us in bed and snuggled next to me. “I’m up,” I said with a sigh.
I crawled out of bed and drew the curtains open. The glare of the morning sun nearly blinded me. Wait. The morning sun? I looked out the window. My apartment building was located right in the center of town.
I spotted early morning joggers on the sidewalk. A young mother pushing a stroller. A dog walker. I opened the window and took in the fresh air. City air never smelled like this. Every time I opened the windows at my old apartment, only the scent of sewage and pollution wafted in.
“Wait. This isn’t the time to appreciate the view,” I muttered to myself.
Why didn’t my alarm go off? I swiped my phone under my pillow and cursed. Low battery. I forgot to charge it last night. Michael shifted back to human form and gleefully echoed my curse word. Oh no. I kept forgetting that at this age, Michael enjoyed repeating my words.
“Let’s forget what I said. It’s a bad word,” I told my nephew.
Crap. For a second, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I easily got rattled when things didn’t go according to plan. Right. I needed to get myself and Michael ready.
Fortunately for me, Claws Inc. had a daycare for employees. I was planning to drop Michael off there. As for school, it had to wait. I had a meeting with a principal with one of the three preschools I was eying this Saturday morning. It was only Monday.
It took us thirty minutes to get ready.
“Sorry, buddy. We have to eat on the way,” I told Michael.
I made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, then we left the apartment. Once in my car, I checked on him in the back seat. Michael happily ate his breakfast. I drove to my new workplace. It wasn’t a long drive. The office was only two blocks away. The 3 schools I narrowed down for Michael were also close by.
Once I found a parking spot, I didn’t leave the car right away. I took deep a breath. Noticing I still gripped the steering wheel, I let go.
“I’m going to ace my first day. I can do this.”
I always gave myself a pep talk when I was nervous. There was no reason to be worried. I wasn’t a newbie at this. I had five years of work experience under my belt.
Sixty months of my life wasted working for an unappreciative boss. Don’t think about Brent, I reminded myself. I got out of the car and opened the back seat. I held out a hand to Michael. Beaming, he took it. Together, we walked inside the building.
I checked my watch. I was cutting it close, but I was on time.
“Wait, hold the elevator!” someone said.
I pressed the open button, and an Alpha joined Michael and me in the elevator. He was gorgeous. Built like a linebacker. He had short gold hair, wicked dark blue eyes the color of storm clouds, and a sexy smile that melted me like a puddle of goo.
He wore a plain white shirt and blue jeans. Wait. No. I couldn’t be attracted to this strange Alpha. I certainly distrusted that easy smile. Alphas like this guy didn’t take anything or anyone seriously. This Alpha could have any Omega with a crook of his finger. I’d never been adventurous and even if I was, I had Michael to think about.
Was he a security specialist? Hunter mentioned the dress code in the office was casual. Who was I kidding? I was a mess. No way this Alpha was flirting with me. Maybe he did it with everyone.
Flirting could be as natural to him as breathing. For some reason, that made me angry. Maybe he thought I was an easy mark? That he could easily use his charms on me and I’ll fall at his feet?
“Hey, haven’t seen you around here before. You new?” He asked me. “I’m Hawke by the way.”
Since it seemed impolite not to introduce myself, I opened my mouth. “River. Yeah, first day.”
I tried to sound indifferent, uninterested. Why was the elevator taking so long?
“And you, kiddo? What’s your name?” Hawke asked.
Most Alphas who see an Omega with a kid usually pretended they didn’t see kid there, so I kind of liked the fact Hawke acknowledged Michael’s presence immediately.
“Mike,” Michael blurted, beaming at him.
That surprised me. Normally, Michael was shy around strangers. Heck, he disliked all of Reece’s boyfriends. What made this Alpha so different?
“Bring your kids to work day was like, a week ago,” Hawke pointed out.
“Oh, Michael’s not mine. I mean, he’s my nephew and I’ve been taking care of him since he was a baby…” I trailed off.
This was so unlike me. Why did this handsome Alpha have such an effect on me? The elevator doors finally opened, and we stepped out.
“That’s pretty sweet of you,” he said. “So, which department are you in? Tech? I can be your guide.”
“Do I look like an IT guy to you? Just because I’m an Omega doesn’t mean I can’t be a security specialist,” I blurted.
Now I sounded openly hostile. Hawke raised one eyebrow at me.
“Just being friendly,” he said, raising both his hands in mock defeat. Did nothing faze this Alpha? That annoyed me even more. He continued, “I didn’t mean any offence.”
“None taken. Sorry, I haven’t been having the best day. I thought I set my alarm early, but it turns out I forgot to charge my phone and—” I trailed off, because at that moment, Michael changed forms. He shrunk in size and now a hedgehog wiggled out of a pile of clothes. I groaned, picking him up.
“Do you know which floor the daycare is?” I asked with an exasperated sigh. I frowned, glancing at Hawke, who covered his mouth with his hand.
“What?” I demanded.
“A hedgehog shifter. That’s so adorable. I’ve never met one before. Wait. You’re also one, aren’t you? An adorable hedgehog?” Hawke asked excitedly. He reminded me of a kid.
I scowled. “If you say adorable a third time, I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” Hawke asked in that same teasing voice.
Dang it. Any normal Alpha would’ve lost his temper by now, but clearly not this one.
“Hawke, are you bothering my new assistant?” Hearing my new boss’ voice made me sigh in relief.
Unlike Hawke, my boss was dressed in a suit. Hunter sipped a coffee and looked from Hawke and back to me. He glanced at Michael in my arms. For a second, I was worried Hunter would demand why I wasn’t at my desk yet or ask why I brought my kid to work.
“Was going to drop him at the daycare, but I got sidetracked,” I blurted.
“No worries. Daycare is on the sixth floor. Was Hawke bothering you?” Hunter asked me.
Hawke let out what sounded like a fake gasp. “I wasn’t. I only offered to show him around since he looked lost and all.”
“Do you even work here?” I asked Hawke, point blank.
“Ooh, feisty. Is that why you hired him, Hunter?” Hawke asked. Did these two Alphas know each other? Hawke seemed overly friendly with my new boss. “And as for your question, River. I do work here. Sometimes.”
“Let’s just all get back to work,” Hunter pointed out.
“Sure thing, bro. Catch ya later, River.” Hawke winked at me.
“He’s not my actual brother, in case you’re curious,” Hunter said. “Let’s head to the daycare first, so you can drop Michael off.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I blurted.
“I don’t mind. I’ll introduce you to Paolo. He runs the daycare,” Hunter explained.
Once we arrived at the sixth floor, he introduced me to Paolo, a super friendly Omega who seemed passionate about his job.
Michael, who back in his clothes, clasped my hand tightly as I was about to let him go. I knelt in front of him and ruffled his hair. “It’s going to be alright, buddy. I’ll see you at lunch.”
“Why don’t you join the other kids, Mike? We’re about to start finger painting,” Paolo said. “Your dad will come back for you later.”
He held out a hand to Michael. I didn’t bother telling the other Omega that Michael was just my nephew. Sometimes, it was tiring to explain my family situation to complete strangers. It was easier to just let them assume Michael was mine.
You corrected Hawke, I reminded myself. Hawke didn’t matter. I must’ve imagined the strange magnetic pull between us in the elevator.
“Paint?” Michael asked Paolo with interest. He looked at me and I nodded. Michael accepted Paolo’s hand and the other Omega led him to where the other kids were sitting.
“He’ll be fine,” Hunter reassured me. “Paolo’s great with kids.”
“I can see that.” Hunter and I returned to the offices on the tenth floor.
I was still a little worried about leaving Michael alone for a few hours, but that was just my overprotective instincts kicking in. Michael was also about to start preschool. I needed to get used to letting him go, even for just a few hours.
Hunter showed me to my desk, which was right outside his office. Hunter nodded to the fifty-something grey-haired woman sitting across from me. “By the way, this is Petunia. She’s Walker’s PA. If you have questions, you can ask her.”
Petunia continued knitting her pink scarf, not acknowledging Hunter at all. There were balls of yarn everywhere. On her desk, at her feet, and I wondered why Hunter’s partner would have hired her in the first place. Was knitting even allowed at work?
I must’ve asked the question out loud, because Hunter chuckled.
“Petunia’s a special case,” Hunter explained.
“I might not be a shifter, but I can hear you two gossiping about me,” Petunia muttered.
“Don’t worry. I’ve done this before,” I reassured Hunter. “I can handle it from here.”
“Are you sure? My last assistant made a mess of my old files,” Hunter said with a grimace.
“Absolutely. You can count on me. Do you want any coffee or need anything at the moment?”
Hunter shook his head. “I’m good for now. I knew hiring you was an excellent decision, River.”
Was it? Hunter barely knew me. Either way, I didn’t want to disappoint him. I sat down and immediately got to work. I groaned after looking through the disastrous mess his last assistant left behind.
I definitely had my work cut out for me. I was still sorting out the filing mess when someone drummed his fingers on my desk. I jumped in my seat.
“Sorry to startle you, but I came bearing gifts,” Hawke said.
He dangled two brown paper bags in front of me. Wonderful smells came from that bag. My stomach rumbled. I checked the time on my computer. It was already lunch?
“I lost track of the time. I got to get Michael some lunch, too,” I blurted.
“Hey, relax. I didn’t forget him either,” Hawke said.
Aw. That was kind of sweet but… “Sorry, don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t really know you,” I blurted.
“Right.” Hawke’s face fell, and for some reason I felt a little bad for rejecting him. “Well, I’m just going to leave these sandwiches here. Don’t worry, they’re safe.”
He said those words in a joking manner, but I could tell he sounded a little disappointed we weren’t eating together.
“I—” I began.
“Don’t worry about it.” Hawke winked at me. “You should know one thing about me, River.”
“What’s that?” I asked, curious. This Alpha was starting to rub off on me… but in a good way.
“I don’t give up that easily.”