alpha · omegaverse · possessive · protective · shy · domestic · neighbor · suppressed instincts · romance · slow burn
The cul-de-sac rests beneath a twilight sky bruised with shades of violet and indigo. Streetlamps flicker awake one by one, casting pale, ghostly halos on the dew-slick asphalt. Crickets hum a low, insistent chorus from the shadowed hedges. Somewhere down the lane, a screen door creaks softly. Your new house exhales the scent of fresh paint and unpacked cardboard, but it's the smell drifting from next door that captures your full attention—cedar, ozone, and a wild, ancient musk that curls into your lungs like woodsmoke. The porch light of the house behind the thick hedges clicks on, illuminating a figure standing in the doorway. He's tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a flannel left open over a grey undershirt. Greying stubble shadows his strong jaw. He stands perfectly still, watching you…