Page 25 of Fractured Fang: Omega

Gabe laughed. “Well, I guess you’re going to meet Levi.”

My mate pushed open the door, and the little boy jumped in before Gabe could even get out of the car. They hugged for quite a while, and Gabe kissed his head over and over again. Then the boy backed up, his hands moving furiously.

Gabe nodded along as he understood what the boy was saying. I’d seen it before, sign language that was, but I had no understanding of it other than it was a way for the deaf community to communicate. The little boy climbed off of Gabe's lap and out of the vehicle, Gabe joining him.

I got out, walked around the front of the car, and waved hello to the omega on the porch. “I’m Macs,” I said.

“Welcome to Asilo. I trust that Gabe has filled you in.”

I nodded. “I never knew such a place existed.”

The omega nodded. “Unfortunately, they need to, but here we are. My name is Morgan. I am the forerunner here. Think of me as the alpha of the pack.”

“Where do you need the supplies?” I asked. “I can start unloading.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Morgan said.

Three omegas came out from another building next to the main house, and two teenage boys, alphas, as far as I could tell, but their animal wasn’t known to me.

“They’ll unload and put everything away where it goes.” The way he said it meant it was definitive, and my help wasn’t needed or wanted. Maybe it was because this was what the shifters in question needed, or possibly he didn’t want me, a stranger, to see what supplies they did or didn’t have on hand. In any case, I respected the boundary he set.

“Great,” I said.

Gabe and Levi came toward me, and I found myself sucking in a deep breath, my heart pounding. I was nervous about meeting this little human boy who meant so much to my mate.

“Macs, this is Levi. Levi, this is Macs,” Gabe said, his hands moving simultaneously so the young one could be apprised of what he was saying to me.

Levi’s hands moved quickly, and Gabe laughed at whatever he said. “Maybe,” he said.

I must have had a questioning look on my face because Gabe said to me, “He asked if I was your mate.”

“Maybe, huh?” I grinned. “No, maybe about it,” I said, and I turned to Levi. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Gabe went on to explain how Levi had two hearing aids but that even with them, he missed a good chunk of the words spoken around him. He also explained that while Levi could speak, and often would, he felt most comfortable using his sign when around strangers. I got the sense he worried his voice wasn’t good enough or that someone would make fun of him. And really, if sign was his comfortable communication method, it was up to me to learn it. And I would to the best of my ability.

Levi signed, and Gabe spoke for him. “What animal are you?”

“Wolf,” I said. “Do you want to see me?”

Levi nodded furiously. “Then we can talk.” Gabe translated.

I shot a questioning look at him.

“Oh, I suppose we can show you all our tricks here,” he said.

“The northern trail is unoccupied right now,” Morgan said. “If you guys want to go for a run. Then when you return, we need to talk about some things.”

“Okay,” Gabe said. He tugged on Levi’s hand. “You want to go for a walk?” he signed as he spoke.

Levi nodded.

The three of us walked to the head of a trail.

“We don’t like having people wandering around aimlessly on the territory since it’s not always safe, so we have trails here that people can follow rather than just free-walking. Not everyone here is a predator-type shifter. In fact, we have a hedgehog.”

“Really?” I said.

“Yep.”

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