Meeting My Alphas

Rugal's Past

Rugal's POV 

The little omega was comforting Leyla, letting her purge the pain that haunted her late at night. Even though she didn't have very many details, she still seemed to understand that Leyla needed to take this slowly and that there was only so much she could discuss at once. Even having been there with her I knew that she still bled from these old wounds. I couldn't help but be amazed by the little she wolf who was willing to help her with this pain despite having just met her. The goddess really knew what she was doing when she gave us this little mate. 

I was lost in my musing and staring at the sweet little woman before me when I realized that both women were looking at me expectantly. I swallowed, asking my wolf what I had missed and almost let out a relieved sigh when he told me it was my turn. I could do this, the past hurt me much less and I hadn't missed something important. 

"I am 90 years old this year, mated to Leyla for the last 50 as she mentioned. For the first 40 years of my life I was a member of one of the packs that live in the New York area. The pack I come from is no longer around as it was absorbed by a neighboring pack after a series of rogue attacks. My family still hold high positions in the new pack, but they are no longer the alpha family as they once were." 

Leyla looked bored but was still clinging to the little omega and Sophie was staring at me with hopeful eyes as I continued. 

"I was born as the third son of the then Alpha of my old pack. If you've heard the phrase 'heir and a spare' my father took the idea very seriously and wanted to have as many sons as possible. I have a younger brother as well. My parents were not mates, but came together as part of an arrangement between smaller packs, something that was much more common 50 years ago, when traveling across the country and finding your mate was somewhat more daunting. They grew to respect each other, but I wouldn't say that they ever loved one another. My mother saw it as her duty to provide healthy sons for my father and she was largely disconnected from the running of the pack." 

I took a harsh gulp of air as I thought about my mother, the only person from my old pack that I actually missed. 

"She spent a lot of time with her pups, making sure that we behaved well, that we knew everything we could, and that we were ready to take over at a moment's notice. She wasn't involved in our physical training as our pack didn't allow omegas to train." At this I heard Sophie take in a sharp breath of her own and the scent of her fear instantly flooded the small room. 

"Don't worry, Leyla and I don't hold to those kind of ideas, we want our partner to have the best possible life and we can tell that working out and being in the best shape possible is something you enjoy. We won't force you to be a traditional omega and we don't expect that from you. I'm sure when you meet other members of the pack you will see that we really mean that." I leaned across and cupped her little hand with both of mine and squeezed, holding her gaze until she sunk back into Leyla and her sweet scent returned. 

"When I was about 25 there was a rogue attack that took out my mother and one of my sisters along with several other members of the pack. It was an unfortunately timed attack that hit when most of the alphas were out training in the mountains. My father never really forgave himself after that, pushing us to train even harder than we used to, rarely leaving the main pack house, and pushing my brothers and I to work even harder. He eventually took a younger bride, hoping to birth more heirs, but at 250 years old and having not taken care of himself there were no more pups. Our new step mother was not happy with her position in life and largely avoided my siblings and I." 

I swallowed down tears at the memories of those 10 years, reminding myself that they were in the past. 

"When it came time for Leyla's marriage I was sent rather than one of my brothers because my father's health was declining and he wanted both the heir and the spare to stay at home. It was a lucky coincidence that led to finding my mate and while it also meant leaving behind the rest of the life that I had known, I will never be upset that I found Leyla." I caught her eye from across the seating area, holding it until I saw her brush prettily, reminding her that I chose her over any other and would do it again. 

"Once we got here I saw many different packs starting to fall behind the times, falling prey to new technologies, unable to compete in a world where brute strength wasn't enough to get by. I talked with Leyla and we decided to invest in different technologies and take in wolves who wanted to create a new world. Together we have created a pack that I feel that we can be proud of, one where your contributions and your drive for life are more important than your assignment. 

There are some nay-sayers who don't feel like we are an appropriate alpha couple as we are both Alphas, those who feel that we hide here in the city instead of seeing that we use it to our advantage, and those who hate us. However, we feel that our life's work speaks for itself and we are proud of where we are." 

I stopped myself realizing it sounded like I was giving a speech rather than giving my mate more information about myself. 

"I mostly run the legal and idea part of our businesses. I spend a lot of time researching what we should do next, talking with people because Leyla hates doing that, and trying to find new ways for us to reinvent ourselves. I feel strongly that this pack needs to keep evolving to make the most of the modern world and it is up to me to make sure that happens." 

"I like tea, sleeping under the stars, boxing, and I actually enjoy dancing a lot. Maybe you would like to go to a dance studio and learn some older and new dances one of these days?" I winked at Sophie, making her turn red and burrow deeper into Leyla's side. A small laugh escaping my mouth as a strangle reply came from hers. The bond between my two women was obviously coming along well. 

I decided that I had been in the shadows long enough and joined them on the lounger, bringing Sophie's face upward with a finger placed under her chin before placing a gentle kiss on her brow. 

"Now, how about we get you our phone numbers and get you home, it's well past time that you should be off and I don't want you out on the streets too late." 

I knew that my little mate would be disappointed that we didn't take this any farther physically today, but she needed time to think about what she had heard and to make a real choice. There would be plenty of time to be physical with her later, for now I just wanted her to know how much we cared.