Only Omega

Chapter Eighteen.

I woke up early the next morning, pulling on some black jogging shorts, a white tank top and some trainers. I tied my hair back into a messy bun then hung Tate’s necklace in place before patting Hayden’s leg.

“Common, up” I said, hearing Hayden groan in protest as I headed over to pick a wailing Holden up out of his crib.

“You hungry huh? Let’s go fix you breakfast” I cooed grabbing Holden’s baby bag from the old antique rocking chair beside the crib. Hayden hadn’t moved an inch so when I passed the bed on the way to the door, I tugged the blankets off and smacked his foot.

“Up” I ordered disappearing out the door and down the hall but paused when I heard nothing but light snoring.

“Hayden, up!” I called, this time receiving a grunt in reply before there was a loud thud followed by a string of curses. Shaking my head I breathed a laugh and made my way downstairs to the kitchen.

“Morning dear” Rebecca cheerfully greeted with a motherly smile as I started getting Holden’s baby food ready, popping it into the microwave to heat a bit “Morning” I shot her a small smile and took a seat at the kitchen table with Holden in my lap, cooing as I fed him.

“Sleep well?” Rebecca asked, scooping some scrambled eggs and bacon onto a plate, setting it down on the table in front of me.

“Like a dream” I said groaning in exaggeration and causing Rebecca to laugh, turning to grab a glass from the cabinet and the carton of orange juice from the fridge.

“That’s good, I was worried that after everything that happened yesterday you wouldn’t get in an ounce of sleep” she informed, pouring me a glass of orange juice before she put the carton away and set the glass down beside my plate.

“I guess I was just really tired” I muttered shrugging my shoulders and wiping at the corner of Holden’s mouth with his bib.

“That wouldn’t surprise me, you’ve been training hard these past few days and goodness knows Caine can be brutal out there” she said shooting me a glance about to turn to the sink when her eyes caught sight of the necklace I was wearing. She instantly froze.

“Mom? Is everything alright?” I asked when she kept staring at the necklace, snapping her out of it. She blinked her eyes and cleared her throat “Y-Yes dear just um-never mind” she waved off, turning to the sink so she could start on washing the dishes.

“Caine called” she suddenly said, trying to change the subject by shifting completely off topic. I dropped Holden’s spoon into his empty bowl and pushed it aside to start on eating my breakfast.

“Oh?” I asked glancing at Rebecca as I took a bite of some toast and scrambled eggs. Rebecca nodded her head.

“He said that the Trojan pack agreed to side with us against the Raptors, he’s heading for Astral territory next” she informed placing a clean plate on the drying rack beside the sink. I took a few gulps of orange juice.

“We’ll need as many packs on our side as possible” I started taking another bite of food and swallowing before I continued “With a total of ten packs in the entire U.S, not including Rogue packs, I think we might have a shot at taking Reign on” I truthfully said as Holden reached out and grabbed onto my tank top, pulling at it to catch my attention. I quickly bent down and kissed the top of his head, covered in a layer of thin black strands.

“That’s if they agree dear, and besides the Raptors are nearly twice the size of any pack in the U.S and with the Rogues helping them-.” she paused, sighing deeply and placing another plate onto the drying rack “It’s a battle against the odds” I finished with my plate and gulped down the rest of my juice, getting up to dump everything into the sink.

“Not if everything goes as planned” I stated proudly as Rebecca wiped her hands off on the drying cloth so she could take Holden from me.

“Of course, dear” she agreed and shifted Holden to her hip with his baby bag slung over her shoulder. I smiled and pecked her cheek.

“Thanks again for watching Holden for me, mom” I thanked quickly kissing Holden’s cheek before I started for the back door.

“Not a problem honey” Rebecca assured and I smiled when I exited out onto the back porch and started towards the training clearing where Dalton was already waiting along with the rest of them.

“About time” Dalton snapped but I ignored him, instead turning to face the crowd of males we would be training. I was about to say something when Hayden came jogging up to us, panting heavily with his hair wet and messy.

“You’re late” Dalton growled and I flinched, knowing all too well how much Dalton hated latecomers. Hayden didn’t even get a chance to reply when Colton said “You’ll be divided into groups of five, me excluded, and we’ll work from there” everyone nodded as I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at Dalton saying “Ladies first” he grouched causing Colton to chuckle but the Enforcer instantly stopped when Dalton shot him a warning glare.

“Hayden” Dalton said, narrowing his cold icy blue eyes onto Hayden’s slender form that went stiff the moment his name escaped my brother’s mouth. Hayden nodded and made his way over to where Dalton stood.

“No objections?” Dalton asked me when I didn’t say anything and instead kept glancing over the small crowd. I met his eyes and simply shrugged my shoulders.

“I know you’ll do a better job at training him so-.” I trailed off and Dalton nodded, waiting impatiently for me to take my pick at the group “Tate” the name escaped my lips before I could even realised what I’d said and Tate stepped up to my side, dressed in only a pair of baggy, low slung grey sweatpants and trainers. While Dalton decided on who to choose, Tate leaned in to whisper in my ear “The necklace looks beautiful on you, princess” his warm breath breathing down on my neck and lightly brushing my ear sent chills up my spine.

“Blondie” Dalton called motioning towards Tanner as he turned to look at me almost to study me while I took my pick.

“Jake” I chose and visibly saw him relax as he jogged over to my side, muttering a quick “Thanks for the save” as he did.

“You” Dalton announced, looking directly at Collin with hard eyes as cold as his tone whenever he spoke.

“Beau” I called as Dalton scanned the few that remained, eventually locking his eyes with Cameron who was laughing at something Brett said “You, joker” I breathed a laugh at the nickname Dalton gave him and watched as Cameron stiffened like a dear caught in the headlights of a car.

“Get over here, now!” Dalton barked when Cameron only stared in horror but snapped out of it as soon as Dalton’s demanding voice echoed throughout the clearing, hurriedly rushing over to stand at Dalton’s side.

“Fletcher” I said watching as his shoulders slumped and he let out a breath he had been holding, mouthing a ‘thank you’ when he reached me.

“You” Dalton chose looking at Cooper as he jerked his head towards his group. Brett grinned as he made his way over to my group.

“Guess that leaves you with me huh?” he asked wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me into a hug. I laughed, shoving him off me when Dalton snarled “Give me a hundred sit ups, two hundred push ups, a hundred crunches and fifty miles!” when no one moved he added a demanding “Now!” that got everyone doing as told including myself. I preferred to train with the group instead of standing around motivating them like some cheerleader.

“Is he always this bossy?” Fletcher asked me in a whisper as he reached his tenth sit up. I breathed a laugh, shooting a quick glance in Dalton’s direction where he was talking to Colton.

“Bossy is an understatement, he’s been training me since I was twelve” I replied remembering back when Dalton took up the responsibility since I always wanted to be a fighter, to be good enough in my father’s eyes.

“Twelve, how many years is that? Like eight” Fletcher muttered while the rest of my group tuned into our conversation. Dalton’s group was off to the side, closer to him so he could keep an eye on them in case anyone was slacking.

“Eight? How old do you think I am?” I asked with a breath of laughter but instead of it being Fletcher to answer, it was Jake “Twenty-twenty one” I shook my head at him, wondering if any of them knew that it was impolite to ask a girl her age. Fletcher furrowed his eyebrows “Then how old are you?” I froze on my fiftieth sit up, looking between the group as I started up again, sweat already starting to coat my forehead and neck “Eighteen” Fletcher faltered in his routine to look at me with wide eyes, disbelief clouding through them.

“Okay so he’s been bossing you around for like six years, great” I couldn’t help but laugh at the sarcasm in Fletcher’s tone when he spoke, rolling his eyes to get his point across.

“No, he’s been bossing me around my entire life, it just got worse when I turned twelve” I muttered catching Tate’s attention and drawing him into the conversation asking “I’m guessing that’s part of why you left, right?” shrugging my shoulders, I stared off into the distance, thinking about all the years I spent saying ‘Yes, of course’ not being given the choice to say ‘No’

“I was about to get married-.” I trailed off, not knowing where to start and as soon as the words left my lips Tate stiffened, clearly not knowing about Tristan, none of them did “It was an arranged marriage to my best friend and I didn’t have a choice” when I stopped to bring my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them, I noticed the anger in Tate’s gaze as his nostrils flared and his eyes darkened.

“That feeling I got after I was told that I had to marry him no matter what, was like a wakeup call” the rest of the group stopped doing sit ups and waited for me to continue “It made me realise that I was just a puppet my father strung along for his own gain” I closed my eyes, trying to suppress the feeling of anger I had whenever I’d think of my father and what he did.

“So I ran” I finished my fingers unconsciously going to grip the moon charm dangling around my neck, taking comfort in its presence “Rachel, we didn’t know…I’m so sorry about-.” shaking my head, I cut Brett off by going back to my sit ups.

“It’s over now, it’s nothing” I assured as Brett and Beau shared a look before following my lead. Soon everyone was back on doing sit ups until we eventually moved on to push ups then crunches. I reached eighty five crunches when the voice reached my ears.

“You call those crunches? Do you even think that you can protect my sister or does cowering behind her do it for you? You’re nothing but a useless little Omega!” it was Dalton’s voice and he was picking on Hayden. I froze, turning my attention towards the group across the field from us to see Hayden trying his best to ignore Dalton.

“You’re worthless, you don’t deserve her and you know it” he paused leaning down further until he was face to face with Hayden to spat “She can do so much better than you and that scares you, doesn’t it runt? You’re afraid that she’ll find someone better than you, someone stronger” before I could even realise what was happening Hayden had Dalton pinned down and was pounding Dalton’s head into the ground with his fists.

“Hayden!” I cried out jumping to my feet and rushing towards the scene as Cameron struggled to drag Hayden off Dalton. As soon as Dalton could stand, he lunged at Hayden only to pummel me to the ground instead, sending his fist into my jaw a few times before he realised who was actually beneath him since I’d jumped in front of Hayden at the last second.

“Rachel, I-.” he began getting off me as soon as he realised what he’d done. I rolled onto all fours and spat blood while my vision blurred slightly “I didn’t mean to, I didn’t know-.” I shook my head and cut him off by rising to my feet and wiping the back of my hand across my split lip “Dalton don’t, just don’t” my shoulders shook with suppressed rage as I balled my fists at my sides and hid my face in the shadows of my features.

“Rachel, are you alright?” Colton asked reaching a hand out towards me but I grabbed hold of his wrist with a bone crushing grip that caused him to cry out in pain. He quickly pulled his wrist away from me and staggered back.

“What the-?” he muttered glancing from me to his wrist then back to me as my canines extended and my breathing came out in ragged pants.

“Rachel, you need to calm down” Tate tried to reason stepping closer when I snapped my head up to look at him. His eyes widened when they caught sight of my bright red ones.

“Rachel, please” he pleaded when I gripped his throat with my clawed hand, piercing skin with my nails but Tate stayed calm and kept staring into my eyes.

“Princess…” he breathed reaching a hand out to tenderly grab hold of my wrist, gently tugging on it to see if I’d budge “Please, princess” my eyes flickered from red to black then faded into their natural clear blue colour while my canines and claws disappeared back into my skin and gums. Tate tried tugging my hand away from his throat again and this time I let him, revealing five holes in his neck, oozing with blood that trickled down his throat and bare chest.

“Good” he whispered and all I wanted was for him to wrap me in his arms and hold me forever but instead I pulled my wrist away from his hold and turned to face the groups.

“You’re all dismissed, that’s enough training for today” with that said, I took off, heading in the direction of the pack house, leaving everyone behind to do what they pleased.

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Later on that day when I’d finished taking a shower and cleaned my wounds, I dressed in a simple pair of booty shorts and a plain black tank top. I was bounding down the stairs, heading towards the back porch door when Nicole called from the living room.

“Rachel! I heard what happened; I’m so sorry I-.” I cut her with a shrug and waved it away as I met her worried gaze. My left cheek was badly bruised but should be healed in a few hours while my split lip and brow had already started healing.

“It’s nothing, really I’m fine, promise” I assured her as Dalton, Tate, Jake and Hayden stood around the living room, all eyes locked directly on me.

“You sure?” Nicole asked with concern flickering through her eyes as she stroked Aiden’s hair back out of his face.

“One hundred percent” I replied and Nicole nodded, taking a deep breath as she looked down at Aiden hiding behind her legs and clinging to her clothes. The fear in his eyes made me want to curl up in a corner since the Aunt he knew and loved became the Aunt he feared.

“I was about to watch a movie, want to join me?” Nicole offered but I shook my head, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the back door.

“Sorry I can’t, I was planning on going for a walk to stretch my legs-.” I trailed off and Nicole nodded, half turning away but paused to glance back at me with a faint smile plastered across her lips “If by any chance you change your mind, the offer still stands” I returned the smile, giving a small nod then took off out the door with a quick glance at Dalton who refused to meet my eyes. As soon as my bare feet hit the back porch, I felt a presence approaching from behind me.

“Mind if I come with?” Tate’s voice asked as I turned to face him. The necklace he gave me felt cold against my bare skin as I unconsciously went to grip at the crescent pendant.

“I really don’t have a choice, do I?” I playfully asked shooting him a sincere smile as I backed off the porch steps.

“If you did then it still wouldn’t matter” he muttered following down the steps and towards the forest tree line while I walked out backwards, facing him.

“You’re such a jerk” I playfully said causing him to stop dead in his tracks and fake gasp, his hand gripping at his chest.

“Love you too, princess” he taunted, winking at me as I threw my head back, laughing before I turned around to walk beside him.

“I didn’t say that” I noted in a matter-of-factly tone but couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my lips. Tate shrugged, glancing down at me with a sly smirk.

“But you were thinking it” he countered causing me to smack his bare upper arm playfully which had him laughing at my pouting lips.

“You’re mean” I stated picking up my pace to walk a few feet ahead of him. Tate didn’t bother to try and catch up and instead called out to me “But you still love me!” I stopped walking to turn around with my hands placed firm on my hips. I was up on a slope which made me appear taller when he moved to stand in front of me.

“No, I don’t” I defended, holding my head up high with pride as I struggled to hide my smile. Tate scoffed “Yeah, you do” looking down onto Tate, I was met with a wide grin that stretched from eye to eye.

“And how exactly do you know that?” I asked leaning down to playfully glare at him. Tate’s eyes went from mine down to my lips then found their way to my neckline.

“You’re wearing the necklace I gave you” he muttered and I dropped my hands from my hips, looking down at the silver charm dangling around my neck before gripping it tightly.

“It’s pretty” I said as if it was obvious and Tate smiled slightly, reaching a hand out to lightly stroke my bruised cheek, being careful not to hurt me.

“And you’re beautiful” he whispered as I leaned into his touch, closing my eyes and cupping his hand with one of my own. Turning my head, I placed a quick kiss to the palm of his hand before he leaned in and pecked my lips, pressing his forehead against mine.

“Let’s play a game” I muttered and Tate looked up at me with furrowed brows as I got closer to his ear, lightly nipping on it.

“Like what?” he asked, eyes closed as he savoured the feel of my teeth grazing his ear lobe and lips brushing across his skin.

“Like…tag, you’re it!” I said pushing hard against his chest, causing him to stumble back and giving me enough time to run in the opposite direction.

“Rachel!” Tate yelled chasing after me but I dodged, swerving in and out of trees, jumping over fallen tree branches.

“Common, you can do better than that!” I called out laughing as I glanced back to see where Tate was but he wasn’t that far behind.

“How the Hell are you so fast?” Tate asked struggling to keep up as I broke through into an open area which ironically was the clearing I first kissed Tate in the night of Jake’s initiation. I stopped, staring up at the cloudless blue sky and tall green grass in awe.

“Gotcha!” Tate yelled pummelling me to the ground from behind. He landed right on top of me with me pinned down beneath his muscular build.

“Tag, you’re it” he said smiling down at me with a sincere smile, one I only ever got to see. I was breathing hard from the run with my chest heaving up and down with every breath and my hair splayed out around me.

“You’ve got a little-uh here let me” Tate muttered reaching out to pull a blade of grass out of my hair before tossing it aside and staring down at me.

“Thanks” I mumbled smiling when Tate suddenly leaned down to whisper in my ear, supporting his weight on his elbows “You really are beautiful, princess” no matter how many times he’s told me that, my heart still fluttered at hearing him call me beautiful.

“Tate-.” I trailed, not shore what to say as he pulled back slightly to meet my gaze. Slowly I reached my hands out to him, cupping his face in both my palms as I rubbed my thumbs along his cheek bones. He leaned into me, pressing his forehead against mine with our noses touching.

“Kiss me” I breathed knowing that it was wrong, that I had a mate but to me it felt so right. Tate didn’t hesitate and tenderly locked our lips in a sweet kiss but I wanted more. My hands moved to tangle in his hair as the kiss became more urgent, causing Tate to groan when I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth. We were still moving slow when he flicked his tongue across my bottom lip, asking for entrance but I refused. Tate grew impatient and used one of his hands to pull my leg up, wrapping it around his waist as he ground his hard groin into my crotch once. I gasped out in surprise and Tate took the opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth, battling for dominance. My Alpha was determined to win the battle but Tate’s male strength and scent allowed him to win in the end, freely roaming my mouth like it was his territory. I moaned when his hand on my thigh moved down along my leg and slipped under the fabric of my shorts to grip my rear. Eventually we had to pull away, both of us gasping for air with Tate’s hair sticking up in all directions and my lips swollen from his slow, passionate attack.

“Tate-.” I managed to get out between pants as he continued to trail kisses down my jaw and neck, stopping just above the place where Hayden marked me to place a quick kiss to my forehead.

“Yes, princess?” he asked into my hair as I tilted my head to the side and away from him, trying to put on a serious expression “I still don’t love you” Tate chuckled lowly, making it hard for me to hold my serious expression as I turned to playfully glare up at him.

“Yeah, you do” he stated running his nose along my jaw and to my chin where he nuzzled my neck, forcing me to tilt my head back.

“No, I don’t” I countered like I did earlier and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Whatever you say, princess” he muttered, pulling back to loom over me before he sat up, bringing me with him so that I was straddling his waist. 

Why did I feel so complete around Tate? It was like we had a mate connection like Hayden and I did but I just couldn’t understand why?

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By the time we got back to the pack house it was already dark. Rebecca had dinner set out and everyone was already gathered around eating and talking.

“Oh Rachel, dear I heard what happened, are you-?” Rebecca exclaimed as soon as I walked through the door with Tate trailing behind, placing her conversation with Nicole on hold.

“I’m fine mom, really, just a few hits” I assured with a wave of my hand, going over to take my seat beside Hayden when she noticed the bruise on my cheek “Just a few hits? Goodness dear, look at you!” she jumped up from her seat and made her way around the table towards me, grabbing hold of my face to get a good look, causing me to flinch.

“It’s only a bruise and a few cuts mom, I’ll be fine!” I said but Rebecca wouldn’t have it and met my eyes, glaring at me with a mother’s scolding gaze “It’s not the physicality’s I’m worried about here Rachel, it’s the emotional impact it has on you that I’m fussing over!” I hid my face, staring at the ground, knowing that she was right. The physical pain didn’t hurt at all but the idea of knowing that my brother inflicted it was what hurt the most.

“Mom, I-.” I was cut off by Holden suddenly wailing in Hayden’s lap and as a mother my attention was instantly focused on him.

“He’s tired” Hayden said trying to coo Holden but it wasn’t working so I sighed and went over to scoop him up along with his baby bag.

“I’ll go put him to bed, I’m not hungry anyway” I offered, bending down to peck Hayden’s cheek as I started lightly rocking Holden to sleep in my arms.

“Thanks” Hayden thanked, smiling up at me as he kissed my lips and pecked Holden’s forehead whispering “Night little man” I stood up to face the group of people gathered around the dining room table, including Tate who sat on Hayden’s left “See you guys tomorrow” with that I turned to face Rebecca, planting a kiss to her cheek.

“Goodnight mom” I said and she nodded, wrapping her arms around me in a comforting hug which I gladly accepted “Night sweetie” when she let go of me, I shot a quick smile in everyone’s directions before slipping out the door and heading upstairs. Holden was fast asleep by the time I reached my and Hayden’s room and set him down in his crib, wrapping him in his white baby blanket with his brown teddy bear. I dropped his bag down beside the crib then stripped out of my tank top and shorts, slipping into one of Hayden’s oversized long sleeve navy V-neck shirts so his scent would overpower Tate’s. Heading over to one of the arm chairs, I grabbed a book that sat on the bedside table and began reading ‘Fifty shades of grey’. It wasn’t long before Hayden strolled in, shutting the door behind him as he tugged his shirt off.

“Hey” he said trying to fold his T-shirt back up. I marked the page that I was on and set the book aside, making my way over to him.

“Hey” I breathed planting a quick kiss to his cheek as I started untying the belt to his dark wash jeans for him. He dropped his shirt when afterwards I ran my hands upwards along his stomach, chest and over his shoulders.

“Are you trying to tempt me?” he asked grinning down at me as his hands moved to lightly grip my waist. I bit my lip and leaned in, to whisper in his ear “Maybe just a little” he hummed with his arms snaking their way securely around my waist, holding me in place and pulling me flush against his body.

“Oh is that so?” he mockingly asked, smirking as he ran one of his hands down over my hip and to my thigh then back up again, slipping under the shirt I wore.

“Yes” I muttered while his hands rode the hem of the navy blue shirt up to my waist, exposing my black lace panties for him to stare at.

“Well in that case you know I can’t control myself around you like this, right?” he warned his eyes roaming my body while his hands traced patterns on my bare skin.

“What if I don’t want you to control yourself?” I asked my hands tenderly clawing at his exposed chest and over his n*****s. Hayden shuddered under my touch and leaned in to whisper “Your wish is my command” with that he lifted me up, his hands gripping my rear to support my weight then he threw me down onto the bed, climbing on top of me to crash his lips down onto mine in a passionate kiss. My hands roamed his muscles and tangled into his hair while he rode my shirt up higher, supporting his weight on one of his hands. I moaned at the feel of his hand trailing down to lift my leg and wrap it around his waist as our tongues battled for dominance. An image of me and Tate flashed through my mind and I instantly pulled back from Hayden, breathing hard but Hayden’s lips never once left my skin, instead trailing kisses along the route Tate took earlier.

“Hayden!” I gasped when he flicked his tongue over his mark in the junction of my shoulder and neck. The action caused a wave of pleasure to ripple throughout my body, blinding me in a wave of ecstasy. He slowly made his way down to my breasts but stopped when he noticed the necklace still dangling around my neck.

“Where’d you get this?” he asked pulling back to look at me with furrowed brows and messy hair sticking up in every direction “I’ve never seen you wear it before” I glanced down at the silver crescent moon charm, still struggling to catch my breath as I looked up into Hayden’s eyes.

“I found it, it was a present from my mom for my eighteenth birthday and-.” I paused glancing down at Hayden’s hand gripping my waist tenderly “I just miss them, is all” it was true I did miss them but it wasn’t the whole truth either. Hayden turned his head to stare off to the side as I gently took his hand in mine, intertwining our fingers.

“Maybe if we didn’t…then you wouldn’t have left them behind and-.” I cut him off by using my free hand to lightly cup his face, tracing my thumb along his cheek and over his plum lips, forcing him to look at me.

“And I’d do it all again, you’re my mate Hayden and I love you, don’t ever forget that” I assured him, pecking his lips before falling back into the mass of pillows and sheets. Hayden nodded, leaning down to nuzzle his nose against mine whispering an “Okay” while I planted kisses along his jaw and chin, nose and cheeks.

“Promise?” I asked wrapping my arms around his neck to pull him closer. He buried his head into my neck, breathing deeply to inhale my scent.

“Promise” he breathed and I stroked back his hair when he rolled us over so that I was lying on top of him. I cuddled up against his chest while he tugged a blanket over us before planting a quick kiss to the top of my head.

“Night, Rachel” he said reaching across to flick off the table lamp. I sighed in content, eyes closed with my legs entangled with his.

“Night” I mumbled giving a yawn and soon after that I fell fast asleep in Hayden’s arms but not before a feeling of dread came over me when thoughts of Tate clouded my mind.