Page 2 of Fractured Fang: Omega

“Understood,” Wilder said and then shoved a mouth full of eggs into his mouth, ending that conversation for the time being.

“We got word that our son Gabe is coming to visit.” Edith smiled brightly.

“Oh,” I said, “That’ll be exciting.”

Both Edith and her mate talked a lot about their first three children but less about their only omega son Gabriel. I didn’t know a whole lot about him, and until she mentioned he was for sure coming, I sort of thought they might’ve had a falling out. I was glad to see they hadn’t.

“It’ll be very nice to meet him,” Jasmin said. “I’ve only met him at our mating ceremony. Though we’ve video chatted with him and the kids. He’s sent them plenty of gifts over the years.”

“It’s been years since we’ve seen him,” Edith said.

“Nearly five,” Phillip agreed. “We were shocked when he called us out of the blue a few weeks ago.”

I’d known they were all scattered to the winds, but still, it seemed odd to think they hadn’t seen him in that long. I knew one of their older sons was mated to an omega overseas. They video-chatted with him and his offspring often.

“Gabe’s a real good worker. He’ll pull his weight around here,” Phillip said with a pointed look toward Wilder. I didn’t see Wilder as the type to kick out family based on productivity, but it seemed to be a thing Phillip worried about. So it was good that he got it off his chest, and it told me a bit about the pack he’d come from, once again making me grateful I had Fractured Fang.

Wilder’s brow furrowed. “He’s welcome anytime. There’s no need to worry about him working.” Wilder’s response didn’t surprise me at all. He wasn’t a dick. If he were, we wouldn’t have naturally found ourselves choosing him to be our Alpha even before we understood we were a pack. That whole thing had been weird.

Phillip and Edith exchanged a glance. “Gabe has always had his head in the clouds, his nose buried in his sketchbooks. Getting the kid to do chores was like pulling teeth, but we did it. He’ll work.”

I bristled at that. They couldn’t get over the idea that Gabe needed to work? For what? He would be visiting us. We weren’t a worker's camp. Hell, we had to make up chores to keep ourselves busy. There were only so many times we could re-arrange the storage sheds.

And art had value, too, although they both seemed to dismiss that notion with their comment about him being “buried in his sketchbook.” This wasn’t a side of Phillip and Edith I’d seen before, and I wasn’t a fan. Not even close. Maybe I was just overreacting because I was in a mood, but in either case, it set me on edge.

I didn’t even know this omega son of theirs, and I was annoyed for him. It was the first time I’d begun to question anything about Edith and Phillip. They were always so level-headed. Were they under the impression that he needed to hold some sort of job here? Why the emphasis on putting him to work right away?

“We’re excited to have him. He can stay in the house, of course. Unless he wants the cabin.” Wilder eyed me as if asking my permission. Even if I had it in my head to start using it, I’d have put it on hold. It sounded like their son could use a place to escape to like I did with my fur.

I hadn’t yet made the open cabin my home. My wolf wasn’t ready. He’d decided the outdoors was the best place for us. And so far, I didn’t mind. I actually preferred it.

I shrugged. “Either is fine.” I finished my plate, put it in the kitchen, and wandered off outside. I didn’t want to get into the middle of this, not when I was feeling like this. It wouldn’t end well.

If I did get some sheep, maybe that would pull me out of my funk.

Chapter 2

Gabe

Packingup.

I was always packing up. Gathering my belongings, folding them down to the smallest possible shape, stuffing them into a suitcase, a box, or a tote, whatever I had available. Sometimes it was just a garbage bag that I could slip over my shoulder and go on my way.

When was the last time I’d actually fully unpacked and gotten rid of the totes and boxes instead of storing them away for when I would need them next? I’d had a dorm when I lived at the human college. I supposed I hadn’t kept the boxes then. The dorm had been okay for a short amount of time. But college had been a disaster.

Not the degree. That had been amazing. The lessons I learned in art college were spectacular. Being unable to shift to my fur for long periods? That hadn’t been easy. On more than one occasion, I was worried my beast would take over during class. Never again would I try to live in the human world. It just wasn’t for me.

Now I was at least back into the pack life, but not in a permanent way.

I’d had to flee college immediately after graduation and seek safety. I’d been very thankful for the Asilo Pride. Despite the fact that I was a wolf and they were all cats, they welcomed me with open arms as they did for all omegas and young shifters who needed their help. But now it was time for me to go. I couldn’t avoid my parents any longer. It was time for me to reunite with them.

Leaving Asilo, and especially since I would be leaving Levi here, was in and of itself heartbreaking for me. If there were a way to avoid it, I surely would. At least this would only be temporary.

I picked up the last tote and pushed it into the back of my SUV. When I’d been at the human college, I’d had some marginal success selling art. And thankfully, that had paid for the car I continued to keep. Eventually, I might not need the vehicle if I ever found a pack to call home. Perhaps this Fractured Fang would be it.

My parents seemed happy there, and my older brother and his family had settled there as well.

But a fledgling pack required work. They were brand new, only a few years old at this point, with a limited number of members. I wasn’t afraid of hard work. But there was no work I was particularly good at, not the kind a pack needed, anyway. My father and mother seemed to point that out whenever they could. Not that they meant to. It was their way of worrying and caring for me. The problem was that they wanted me to become a wolf I’d never be.

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