Armin jolted up from the ringing of the alarm on his termite-infested nightstand.
He rolled into his blanket and groaned,
“Ten more minutes, please.” Slowly, the realization hit him: Archer didn’t spend the night at home…
again.
His brother had grown fond of the local brothel over the past few years.
He spent most of his life enjoying the company of beautiful beta and omega women.
As a beta himself, Archer was more than happy that he wasn’t entangled in the madness of alphas obsessing over beautiful omegas, or the pathetic omegas falling victim to dominant alphas’ pheromones.
Unlike Archer, Armin was an omega, taking after his omega mother.
He hadn’t only inherited her genes; he had also inherited her beauty.
Marilyn was a beautiful woman.
She had been in love with her high school crush, Zachary, and soon after their graduation, they got married, believing all they needed was their love and understanding for each other.
When she tested positive for her first pregnancy, Zach was over the moon.
He brought her flowers and a small gift every day.
Together, they started furnishing their decent home to welcome their firstborn child.
They had big dreams; they were going to give their baby the best life they could afford.
Or so they thought, until the ultrasound scan revealed that they were expecting twin boys.
Most families would throw a big feast for a baby shower, with “double blessing” fireworks blasting in the night sky.
But Zach was a milk and paper delivery man, and Marilyn was a freelance editor.
They certainly couldn’t afford twins at the moment.
The situation was scary for them, and with every passing day approaching delivery, it grew even scarier.
By the time the boys were born and had grown to be five years old, Marilyn had tried different small jobs to keep the family going.
She cleaned people’s homes, ran grocery errands for families, and picked up mail and packages for small pay.
It wasn’t much, but it cooked a shabby dinner so the boys wouldn’t have to cry themselves to sleep with grumbling stomachs.
Marilyn started selling apples and flowers under an umbrella in front of their home, while Zach still delivered milk and paper for the company he worked for.
They had hope that they would be fine soon.
How so?
They had no idea—they had only hope and love for each other.
But hope was more easily shattered than anything.
Then came the unfortunate day, Zach had an accident with the delivery van.
The two vehicles involved in the crash were damaged beyond repair and had be replaced.
Zach was arrested and had to sign a document to settle the insurance for a new van as well as the victim’s car, and then he was fired.
Marilyn cried all night.
Not only had their source of income been snatched from them, but now they were in heavy debt.
The kids were pulled out of school, and properties were sold until their house lacked furniture and gadgets.
Marilyn sold off all her jewelry, but still, only a fragment of the debt was paid.
The financial and emotional struggle was weighing her down.
Her beauty was fading, and her hairline was balding from stress.
The dark bags under her eyes were visible even from a yard away.
Sooner rather than later, she realized that love wasn’t all it took to be happy.
Love?
Hell, she wasn’t thinking of love anymore.
It was more about survival now.
When one of her many admirers approached her, she didn’t turn him away.
She was tired of living without hope.
She looked at her new admirer and forced herself to see a glint of new hope.
Under a heavy, rainy night with thunderstorms, she fled with her new lover, leaving behind her once-upon-a-time high school crush, her fifteen-year-old sons, and every trace of her old life.
It had been seven years already.
Zach had self-retired from the lawn-mowing jobs he had been taking to sustain what was left of the family.
He now entirely relied on Armin.
Armin worked as a mechanic in a car repair garage uptown, taking the responsibility of the breadwinner on his small shoulders.
He had been paying off his father’s debt relentlessly, and this had made Zach become completely nonchalant toward his debt, bills, or life as a whole.
He did nothing all day except laze on the couch drinking and smoking.
Whenever he eventually went out, it was to gamble, which he mostly lost.
Some days he would fight with fellow gamblers, get beaten up, and get thrown out.
Other days, he came home and transferred his aggression onto his sons.
Armin was always the victim because Archer was as short-tempered as his father had become after their mother’s disappearance.
Archer was loud, sturdy, and stubborn.
Growing up, he defended Armin closely from the bullies who tried to use their family’s situation to mock them.
He had beaten one kid up so badly that the boy had to be hospitalized for weeks.
The other kids learned the hard way and avoided them.
This made Armin grow up lonely, while the girls swooned around Archer.
While Armin looked petite and could easily pass for a girl, Archer was tall with the sharp looks of an athlete.
He was handsome and he knew it.
When the girls came swooning around, he gave them all his attention and love.
“Why have one when you can have them all?” was his favorite motto.
Armin, on the other hand, was a nerdy, curious, and a responsible man.
He had once tried to reason with his brother to help clear off their father’s debt, but he had met an unyielding wall.
Archer had told him off: “Dad is an adult, let him handle his own affairs.”
But Armin was fragile at heart and highly emotional.
It pained him to see his once happy and kind father reduced to nothing but the town’s object of mockery.
He had vowed to pull his dad out of the debt and out of this town.
He was working hard toward his goal, and his efforts were paying off because the debt would be cleared before the year came to an end.
He wasn’t expecting much for the new year, which was four months away.
He just wished for a fresh start, nothing but happiness for his family, and maybe, for his brother to be less of a rogue and more of a responsible man.
The morning sun had barely pierced through the grime on the kitchen window when the front door slammed open.
Archer stumbled in, smelling heavily of cheap perfume, stale alcohol, and the unmistakable scent of omega women from the brothel.
Armin paused tying his work boots and looked up, his omega instincts instantly picking up on the chaotic energy entering the house.
“You’re finally back,” Armin said, keeping his voice low so as not to wake Zach, who was snoring heavily on the old couch in the next room.
“I have to leave for the garage in ten minutes, Archer.
The house bills are on the counter.”
Archer kicked off his shoes, a smug, tired grin on his face.
“Relax, little brother.
Why the long face so early in the morning?
You look like you’re carrying the weight of the whole world.”
“I am carrying it,” Armin snapped softly, standing up.
He pointed a slender hand toward the living room where their father slept surrounded by empty bottles.
“Look at him.
Look at this house.
You spent the night blowing what little money you have on hookers while I spent the night worrying about how we’re going to pay for the winter heating.”
Archer’s expression hardened, his stubborn, defensive nature instantly flaring up.
He crossed his arms, towering over Armin.
“Don’t start preaching to me, Armin.
I didn’t ask you to be the martyr.
I don’t owe this family anything, and I definitely don’t owe him anything.”
“He’s our father!” Armin’s voice cracked with emotion.
“He raised us after Mom ran away!
He didn’t always use to be like this.”
“Yeah, well, he is like this now,” Archer sneered, taking a step closer.
“He gave up seven years ago.
He lets you break your back at the garage while he drinks away your hard-earned cash and gets into bar fights.
Dad is an adult, Armin.
Let him handle his own affairs.”
“He can’t handle them, Archer!
If I don’t pay off his debt, the loan sharks will take what’s left of this house, or worse, they’ll put him in jail,” Armin pleaded, tears threatening to spill from his striking, beautiful eyes.
He gripped Archer’s jacket sleeve.
“Please.
Just help me.
The debt will be entirely cleared in four months—before the new year.
If you just contribute a little bit from your side jobs, we can move out of this horrible town.
We can have a fresh start.
Don’t you want that?”
Archer looked down at Armin’s fragile form, his short temper flashing into irritation, though a microscopic hint of guilt lingered deep in his eyes.
He aggressively yanked his arm away from Armin’s grip.
“I enjoy my life exactly how it is,” Archer barked, turning his back on his twin.
“I’m a beta.
I don’t get tied down by alpha-omega drama, and I’m sure as hell not getting tied down by Dad’s ghost debts.
You want to spend your youth playing the savior?
Go ahead.
But leave me out of your fairytale.”
Without another word, Archer stormed down the hallway and slammed his bedroom door shut, leaving Armin standing alone in the quiet, decaying kitchen.
Armin wiped a stray tear from his cheek, took a deep breath, and grabbed his mechanic’s jacket.
He had to go to work.
No matter how lonely the road was, he was going to buy his family’s freedom.
Welcome back to my new novel.
This is my second book and I hope you enjoy it more than the first one.
Happy reading!