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Pack
Kade
Trepidationfilledmeas we drove to the compound in Sweetwater. Axel drove and Blake sat next to me in the back, keeping my hand in his for reassurance. I was sure that he could feel my nerves through our fledgling bond. There were echoes of his excitement on my side. He was broadcasting pretty loudly, and I found that it helped as I concentrated on his feelings instead of my own.
I couldn’t help but dwell on the idea of the bear pack re-joining with the wolves. It was difficult to get a read on Dakota’s feelings about my mate, and I worried he wouldn’t react well. Selfishly, I wanted them to get along and for the wolves and bears to be together so I wouldn’t feel pulled in two directions. The bears had been there for me and had made me feel more welcome than I’d ever expected. Plus, I would get a kick out of Janet bossing the enforcers about.
The car pulled up at the gate and a familiar face was there to check the car and let us through. I leaned forward to speak to him. “Hey, Kaine, how’s it going?”
There was an awful awkward second where I thought he wasn’t going to speak to me. “Hello, Alpha Mate.” His words were polite but there was something hard in his eyes, their expression hateful when I’d only met the man that once. I brushed it aside. Since he was still on active duty, he must have passed the checks that Blake, his brothers, and Deke were doing. I was probably imagining things, seeing shadows that weren’t there.
Blake leaned forward, too. “Kaine, we’re just heading to the omega housing if anyone needs me. I’m introducing Kade to the pack in stages.”
Kaine pushed forward and put his head through the open window, making me jump back until I was in Blake’s lap. “You have no scent, Alpha Mate. That will scare the little ones.”
I gave an uneasy laugh, trying to pass off my reaction to the enforcer. “Oh, my talisman. I’ll take it off.” It had been a habit to put it on as we left the house and my mind had still been on the conversation with the Flemmings from the day before. I carefully untied the strap and put it in my jeans pocket. “Better?”
The enforcer took a deep inhale of my scent. “Yes.” Then he moved back from the truck to let us carry on with our journey. I noticed Blake and Axel exchanged a look, but I swallowed my misgivings, trying not to let my feelings be known through the bond.
We traveled much deeper into the pack compound than I’d been before, having only seen the main pack house where Blake and his higher ups lived. There were smaller homes built around the pack house, and I assumed that the other enforcers and betas who worked in the main house lived in those.
“The people that work the orchard and the factory live closer to the omega houses and on the outskirts of the territory. There’s another entrance on the other side, but the one that we came in by is the main one.” Blake explained.
I could hear children playing as we approached a number of small buildings circled around one larger one, the entire area encircled within a high fence. It managed not to look prison-like, though I wondered why the fence was necessary. “That’s their community center and school. A lot of the omegas don’t trust outsiders, so they homeschool the pups. I’ve brought in tutors and tried to encourage the older ones to go to high school, but it depends on their mom. There are still a lot of single mothers here.”
“Mom? Is it just female omegas here? You don’t allow males?”
“Well, you know males are rarer, but no, it isn’t my choice, just how things turned out. My dad didn’t like having male omegas. He thought they were unnatural.” I flinched. “Obviously I don’t think that and he absolutely hated he had a gay alpha son. He wouldn’t have cared about Axel or Chase.” Since they can’t sire pups were the unspoken words. Even with humans or other supernaturals, they were still infertile. It didn’t feel fair, but it was a way of keeping the population low when we lived for so long. The humans got to have lots of children, but they had shorter lives. “I’m hoping now that I’ve found you that this will encourage male omegas to join the pack.”
“It would be nice not to be the only one.” My voice was small. Being a part of the Sweetwater pack was supposed to be a new start for me. I’d have my mate and his family, but yet again I’d be other. An outsider as the only male omega.
Axel pulled the truck into a free space and shut off the engine. Within moments, children of all ages shouting for their alpha surrounded the vehicle. A grin lit Blake’s face and he turned to me. “Do you mind if I shift and play with the pups for a bit? Axel can introduce you to their mothers. Chase should be here soon too.”
The excitement on his face had me saying, “sure,” when I really just wanted to cling by his side. As Alpha Mate, I’d have to learn to navigate these situations. These were my pack, my people, too.
Blake stripped quickly and, in a flash of bright light, he changed into the wolf I’d dreamed about. Glossy black fur covered him from his nose to the tip of his tail. Bright light blue eyes that were too knowing to be anything other than supernatural stared at me. A pink tongue peeked out and then licked me from my chin to forehead as I grimaced. Still, I needed to sink my fingers into that fur, so I grabbed him by the ruff of the neck and turned his wolf face to mine. “Hello, I can’t wait until my wolf can play with yours.” Then I pressed a kiss between his eyes and released him, opening the door so he could jump out to play with the pups.
Blake’s wolf gave a joyous bark and performed a play bow to the gaggle of children that surrounded him. Some of the older, more self-conscious ones moved to use the safety of the truck to strip off and shift. It hurt my heart to see shifters be so concerned about exposing their human skin when it was something so inherent in us.
Soon there were a pile of wolves, a couple of mountain lions and a few racoon shifters surrounding the majestic looking black wolf that was my mate. He radiated happiness as they played and, knowing that we would be blessed with children, I could finally relax into the idea that he was my future.
We couldn’t bond yet but would at some point soon. After Rincoln was out of the way. The delay was a relief because I wanted genuine feelings to grow between us without the bond forcing the issue. There was something there, not just physical attraction. Blake was stunning to look at, but he was also kind and gentle with me. He cared about those around him and believed in fairness.
Watching him with the kids had affection rising in me. I felt my wolf surge within me. Sending them an apology and resting our heads together, I pushed love towards them. “I’m sorry,” I told them with all the love that I had for my wolf self. They chuffed and brushed against me, accepting my apology and watching our mate. It was easy to tell that Blake and his wolf impressed them. Then they returned to resting. All energy seeping out of them.
From the front, Axel tilted his head as if listening to something and then said, “I’m going to join him.” He quickly stripped off showing ink and tanned skin before he changed into a more charcoal colored wolf. He leapt at Blake, crashing into him and turning them into a blur of fur and limbs.
A man approached as I watched the shifters playing, filled with longing to join them. Similar in height and build to Axel and Blake, with slightly more delicate features. Their eyes were the same as Blake and Axel’s, so I could only assume this was the younger twin, Chase. His hair was a light brown and a spring breeze ruffled it as he neared. “Hey, you must be Kade. Nice to meet you,” he said as he held out a hand for me to shake, a congenial smile on his face.
“Nice to meet you too, Chase.”
His smile widened when I used his name. My guess was correct. “I really wanna shift and play with my brothers and the kids, but we need at least one of us here to watch over the area.” At my questioning look he continued, “we don’t allow unmated alphas down here aside from Blake. Not that he’s unmated any more. The single alphas have to stay out of this fenced off area since some of the older ones wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
My stomach fell at the implications of that statement, but I wasn’t surprised. I’d heard rumors, which is why I hadn’t petitioned to join the pack when I’d moved to the area. What impressed me, though, was how open the Sweetwater brothers were about the issues the pack had tried to overcome. “How do the alphas meet omegas to mate?”
“We hold meetings when we will allow the alphas to visit under supervision. Everything is done at the omega’s pace. The mated alphas are likely at work just now, so I’ll keep a lookout. It’s very stereotypical with the gender roles here.” Chase gave an eye-roll. “It’s getting better, and there are a couple of omegas that are the breadwinners for their families, but they are in the minority.”
I gave a scoff. “My old pack wasn’t much better. Papa, my birthing parent, had a job as a kindergarten teacher because it was seen as a feminine job.” It was my turn to give an eye-roll. “My father, Rincoln, was the alpha, so he could make more of an allowance for Papa to keep him happy. Most of the omegas, though, were kept at home with their children. We were to keep house and serve the alphas and betas.”
