Olive Leaf

Rory 

        "I'm Raya." She introduced herself, voice soft as she sank into the spot beside me on the couch in her sitting room. She put a little space between us, to clearly give me some space, which I genuinely appreciated.

I cleared my throat as I began to speak. "I'm Rory."

"Aw, a pretty name for a pretty boy." She spoke, voice having an excited lith and I cracked a smile this time. I haven't smile in over two days, so it felt great to finally do so, even if it only lasted for a couple of seconds.

I let my eyes wander around the interior of the sitting room. The entire place was as cozy as the passageway of her house was. It wasn't that spacious, but it felt warm and homey, well lived in, telling from the pictures around the place.

"So, Rory… where are you from?" She asked after a few minutes and I shrugged, not knowing how to respond to that. I knew the pack I was from, but was it sensible to reveal that piece of information for someone whom I had just met?

After a few more moments, she rushed to add. "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to, that's totally okay."

I couldn't help but flash her another smile, a grateful one this time. "Thank you." I spoke quietly, meaning the two words.

She shifted in her seat a little before continuing. "You seemed quite great with kids out there. What you did with my daughter, no one had been able to do that since I could remember. That's genuinely so crazy to me." 

I felt my lips curving into a wry smile this time at her words, because she wasn't wrong in any way.

I've always loved kids since I could remember. People usually said it was the omega in me, that it made me more warm towards kids and made kids more trusting towards me. But I always insisted that it wasn't because I've witnessed a whole lot of omegas who were horrible with kids, so I was certain that it had been and not because of my wolf status.

After I presented as an omega and got to understand that I couldn't have kids, I found myself pulling away from kids, because being around them always made me feel pain, because they reminded me of something I'd never get to have. It was why I tried to stay away from kids even though I loved them with everything in me, so Raya was right, I really was great with kids.

"Thank you." I finally ended up responding. "I'm indeed great with kids, but I don't think it's anything special or something." I explained and she instantly sat up, leaning forward.

"What?! It's actually a big deal! You're literally a day care's dream. My daughter is what sitters refers to as a nightmare, but you were able to easily calm her down. It was like you performed magic."

I chuckled awkwardly, not knowing where she was getting at. There was a glint in her eyes, like she was excited but trying to keep it under control.

"Uh…" I started but she cut me off as he closed the distance between us a little.

"So, I- I don't mean this in an offensive way, but do you have somewhere to sleep at tonight? Or someone whom you're traveling to?" She asked, voice holding no judgement and I felt myself getting engulfed in embarrassment as I tentatively shook my head, even though I contemplated lying about that answer, but I easily ended up deciding against doing that because I figured it wasn't gonna change anything. 

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" She aside without hesitating and my eyes widened, that wasn't what I had expected to hear. I was a complete stranger to her, for one.

"You don't have to agree, but you can stay if you want. You can leave tomorrow if you want, but it's already late so I believe it's best you just spend the night here." She pointed towards a wall clock as she spoke and I realized it was past six in the evening.

"Are you sure that's alright?" I asked, feeling completely unsure. She seemed genuine about her offer, which was undoubtedly because of pity. That made me feel uncomfortable, but there wasn't much I could do about that since technically, I needed all the help I can get.

She nodded almost eagerly. "Yes, it is. I promise."

I glanced around the sitting room again. "What about your mate?" I asked, having noticed a man in some of those pictures around the house.

"He's not around for now. He's on a business trip, so you don't have to worry. And besides, he wouldn't mind even if he was present, I promise." She continued, sounding quite earnest.

I felt genuinely grateful that she was offering me somewhere to spend the night, it was something I didn't even see coming to begin with. 

She resssured me that it was completely alright again, but I made sure to confirm again that I wasn't inconveniencing her or anything, and she reassured me that I wasn't.

~~~

     I never imagined that a shower would ever feel this great until right now. Raya had provided me with some toiletries and a change of clothes, which belonged to her husband, so they were way too big for me when I slipped into them after the shower.

She cooed a little as I stepped into the sitting room and I rolled my eyes a little as I sank into the spot beside her.

"Your husband isn't gonna mind this…?"

She shook her head again. "He's not, I promise."

I found myself relaxing a little after that. I've been strung up for the past two days. It felt nice to finally be able to relax and not worry about if I'd end up dying of hunger or thirst.

I unconsciously wrapped my arm around my stomach, feeling my heart grow heavy with so much emotion.

When my eyes caught Raya's this time, she had an soft look across her face and I felt myself flush in embarrassment before glancing away.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?"