Page 2 of My Omega's Gift

“Sure.” He reached into the display of protein bars and grabbed a handful. “Here, take these.”

“I don’t—” I stopped myself. This was for my little one. “Thanks.”

“Sorry I sounded like such a dick before. I thought you were—”

The bell dinged, indicating another person had come in. I took that as my cue to leave.

As I passed the other person, I realized what had happened. The person was dressed in makeup straight out of a horror movie. He thought I was here for whatever that guy was. Great.

“Little one, your dad looks like he belongs in a horror movie contest,” I told the baby, rubbing my bump in slow circles.

But at least we had two sandwiches and some protein bars. That was more than I had when I got here. I was at the point in my life where I had to be grateful for every little thing—even if it was old food and yucky bars.

Once outside, the cold air hit my face. I really needed to find some sort of shelter. My sleeping bag was not the best, and at most staved off the worst of the cold. Maybe luck would stay on my side, and I’d find an old barn along the way to sleep for the night.

Chapter Two

Kurt

Five years before…

Pack alpha is not a job for the fainthearted. In most cases, it involves a challenge, often to the death between two wolves who actually want the job. I’d heard of this many times growing up when packs got together for a gathering. Legends told of battles where multiple alphas showed up to fight for the leadership of a group, and one as big as ours might have drawn many and led to a bloodbath of historic proportions. But we lived in peace, my whole life had been a serene and

There was a big difference between sitting by the campfire and listening to tales of yore or even of packs far far away and being an adult standing at my dying father’s bedside. My dying pack alpha father’s bedside.

Although his body was worn out, his limbs failing him, and his big, strong heart beating an erratic thump, his mind remained strong. His faded blue eyes studied me with a keen stare. “You must pick up the reins.”

“I don’t—”

He lifted a blue-veined hand. My father had been older when I was born; how much, no one seemed to know. But he’d been pack alpha for decades. And even lying in bed, his breathing irregular, his command held strong.

I closed my lips around the words I’d been about to utter. He knew what I was about to say anyway. It wasn’t the first time I’d protested what I’d hoped would never happen.

“You’ve heard about how other packs have chosen their alphas. In blood and trauma.”

“But not us. It has never been our way.” Of that I was certain.

He cleared his throat, painfully, before speaking. “Not true.”

“What, no! We are an example of peaceful transition.” I couldn’t think of us any other way. “In pack history, we were taught about all of the alphas who led us. We studied back almost two hundred years.”

“But not to our origins. Did you never wonder why?” Father moved to sit up then sank back down, and I hurried to help him higher against the pillows. “Thank you, Son. Now, answer my question.”

“I guess I didn’t think of us as having a beginning. It just felt like we were always the same. Or that maybe we just didn’t have time to get to ancient history.”

“As the new pack alpha, you need to think deeper into things. And you need to know our full history, ancient or otherwise.”

“Father…why are you so insistent that I take on this role? My brother would love to assume the alpha seat.”

“For a number of reasons. Now, I need you to listen and not interrupt because my strength is not limitless and by the time the sun rises, I will be gone.”

It was all too much. I had never wanted to be alpha, and there were only a few hours of night left before morning. If my father said he’d be gone, he would be gone, but I had to do whatever it took to set his mind at ease before he passed. So, I did the only thing I could. I pulled a chair up to his bedside and sat down, prepared to listen.

“Long ago, this pack did not exist. We were part of another, one that had grown large and was under an alpha who did not have good control either of his pack or of his wolf. Unrest simmered under the surface. And the betas were quick to punish, not always in the most civilized ways.”

“As in physical punishment?”

“As in executions. And everything up to that point as well for minor infractions of rules that were never made clear.”

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