Only Omega

Chapter Eleven.

By sunrise we reached Titan territory and upon entering we were met with a group of wolves leading us deeper into Hugh’s land at our flanks. Tate and Tyler shared a look when they were lead to an open clearing where the pack house was stood and were forced to stop by two large male wolves. Both of them were grey with one being slightly darker than the other and both had dark emerald eyes. It looked like they were picking a fight from the way Tate snapped at them and moved to shield me protectively.

“Dwain, Dylan! Is that any way to treat our guests?” a man asked, stepping out of the house with his blonde hair cropped short and his emerald eyes matching those of the wolves. The two grey wolves snapped at each other then backed off but kept staring at me.

“Forgive my sons, they tend to get a little cocky around new comers” Hugh said stepping closer but Tate took a protective stance, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks. I hugged Holden closer to my frame, revealing him to all three the Titan pack members for the first time.

“I see-.” Hugh muttered glancing towards his sons before he turned to Hayden with his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides “I was unaware that you and your mate had conceived, Caine failed to inform me of such” 

Hayden nodded, blushing slightly at Hugh’s words then hoisted himself off of Tyler’s back to stretch his aching muscles while the Enforcer wolf disappeared back into the forest.

“We’re very protective of our pup” Hayden informed coming over to help me off Tate’s back so that he could go shift after a good six hours of none stop running. I leaned up against Hayden’s chest as he wrapped his arms around me and wearily glanced at the Alpha’s sons.

“I can understand as much, I’m a father myself after all” Hugh said with a faint smile when Tate and Tyler came from the tree line dressed in nothing but shorts with Tyler carrying the duffle bags he’d carried the entire run.

“Hugh!” Tate called catching Hugh’s attention. The Alpha glanced behind me and Hayden and his eyes lit up with a gleam of familiarity.

“Well if it isn’t Tate, I knew I smelt something off” he teased as Tate came up beside me and Tyler beside Hayden dropping his and Tate’s bag down by his feet.

“You always had a sense of humour, old man” Tate said with a sly smirk causing Hugh to chuckle and the wolves behind him to growl in warning. Tate waved them off, taking a stand in front of me.

“Is it just me or are you two getting more ballsy every time we meet?” Tate mocked and the two wolves started pacing behind their father, shooting glares and baring their canines in Tate’s direction.

“So Caine told me that his heir still needs training-.” Hugh began trying to change the subject and take Tate’s attention away from his sons. Tyler had his fingers intertwined behind his head while Hayden let go of me to take a stand beside Tate.

“And he asked me to make shore that you get some proper training in before I send you back” Hugh finished his eyes now fixed on only Hayden who was trying to handle the situation like a true Alpha.

“Who’ll be training me?” he asked his eyes glancing behind Hugh for a second at the two predatory wolves before they locked with Hugh’s once more.

“My eldest son, Dwain” Hugh replied motioning towards the darker shade of grey wolf. Hayden met eyes with Dwain for a split second until the wolf snarled and Hayden averted his eyes to Tate.

“I figured that Tate would be the one training me” he said taking into consideration that Caine chose the future Beta to train him for a reason but I stepped forward.

“No” I hurriedly announced, turning everyone’s attentions towards me including Tate’s stone hard gaze with his jaw clenched tightly.

“Not after what happened” I insisted when Holden started crying probably hungry since he just woke up from his sleep and hadn’t had a bottle since we left Tyrant territory.

“Then it’s settled, Dwain will take up your training until the time comes to depart” Hugh said, nodding towards me as I lightly tried shushing Holden, rocking him from side to side. Hayden glanced at me then back at Hugh.

“Agreed” he simply said, bowing his head in a show of respect. Tate never once took his eyes off me while Tyler was more curious in a crying Holden than the conversation.

“Great, now if you’ll excuse me I have some business to attend to, my mate, Carla will be out in a minute to show you to your rooms” Hugh assured bowing his head then took off towards the tree line, leaving nothing standing between his sons and us. The lighter grey wolf snarled and lunged at Tate but he stood un affected.

“I don’t have time to play pup, go bother your girlfriend or something” this only angered Dylan even more but before the wolf could actually attack a brunette haired woman with yellow gold eyes stepped out of the back sliding glass doors. When she heard Holden’s wailing her eyes instantly found my form.

“Oh my! The pore thing must be exhausted after the long trip!” Carla exclaimed, rushing over to my side so that she could look at Holden’s red face stained with tears.

“He’s just hungry, I haven’t had a chance to feed him since we left” I explained shifting Holden to sit more comfortably on my hip. I also adjusted the baby bag still slung over my shoulder.

“Yes, yes of course dear, here let me show you inside” she offered motioning for us to follow. I shot Hayden a look then followed, instinctively trusting the woman with my life while the rest trailed after. Carla lead us upstairs to the second floor and down the hall to three empty guest bedrooms.

“Make yourselves at home dear, Breakfast should be ready in an hour” she said then disappeared down the hall to most likely get started on fixing breakfast. I set Holden’s baby bag down on the queen size bed covered in soft yellow sheets then started digging through it for one of Holden’s already prepared bottles.

“I’m going to go heat this up” I announced planting a soft kiss to the corner of Hayden’s lips before I left. Tate was pulling on a shirt when I passed his room and Tyler was lying face down on his bed probably fast asleep after his run. When I found the kitchen Carla was already busy frying up bacon and scrambling eggs while bread toasted in the toaster. I popped Holden’s bottle into the microwave when Carla spoke.

“Pore thing must be starving, how old is he?” she asked and I turned to her gently bouncing Holden on my hip as she scrapped some of the bacon onto a plate.

“Six months” I replied after looking at Holden for some time, trying to figure out just how old he was. He was too young to be a year old and since I had no idea when he was born I guessed.

“He’s too darling” she gushed with a loving smile just as the microwave beeped and I turned to take the bottle out from it, testing to see if it wasn’t too warm before I stated feeding Holden.

“I remember when Dwain was born, I couldn’t get any sleep in. He always kept me up, I was lucky to get an hours sleep a night at least” Carla was saying when Hayden came strolling into the room, no longer wearing his hoodie but a tight grey T-Shirt, dark jeans and a pair of grey vans.

“Tell me about it” he grunted running a hand through his messy brown hair as he went to lean up against the counter next to me and Holden. He pressed a quick kiss to Holden’s cheek as Carla laughed lightly.

“Usually it’s the mother that complains” she said grinning at Hayden who shook his head from side to side, staring at the ground but glanced up at me when he spoke.

“She’s like superwoman or something” he muttered and this time it was I who breathed a laugh. I pulled Holden’s empty bottle away from him and set it on the counter to burp him.

“And you’re my superman” I said smiling up at him, my eyes filled with so much love and happiness while Holden babbled in my arms. 

I felt content in that moment like everything was perfect and nothing could ever ruin it.

------------------------------

It was around eleven AM when I went down to the kitchen later on to get a water bottle with Holden on my hip and his baby bag slung over my shoulder. Hayden was fast asleep upstairs after another grumpy mood swing and Tyler was nowhere to be found. Tate was leaning up against the counter when I reached the kitchen.

“Hey” I greeted politely with a small smile heading towards the fridge. Tate looked up at me, shooting glances at Holden with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Hey, you heading somewhere?” he asked, nodding towards the baby bag. I unscrewed the cap to my water bottle and closed the fridge before taking a swing.

“Yeah, I just thought I’d spend some quality time with Holden. Maybe go for a walk in the woods or something” I said shrugging as I stuck my bottle in the side of Holden’s bag. Tate looked me over for a minute then turned his eyes to stare out the kitchen window.

“I’ll go with you, make shore you’re safe” he insisted and I was about to tell him that it wasn’t necessary when he shot me another look. He pushed himself off the counter and headed for the back sliding glass doors.

“You coming?” he asked when I didn’t follow, glancing back at me from over his shoulder. I nodded, trailing behind as we headed outside into the warm midday sun.

“You know it’s the first time I haven’t seen you in a sports bra and sweats” Tate suddenly said as we made our way towards the tree line. I looked up from a babbling Holden to see Tate with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans staring straight ahead.

“I’m on vacation and you weren’t at the initiation ceremony, were you?” I asked, shrugging as I thought back and trying to remember seeing him there but I hadn’t seen him anywhere. Tate chuckled.

“No I was too busy taking care of a busted nose” he replied, shooting a glance in my direction again taking in my appearance. I was dressed in a white tank top with shorts and brown sandals with my hair up in a messy bun.

“Yeah sorry about that” I apologized with a breath of laughter, causing Tate to shrug and wave it off “I kind of deserved it so no problem” 

I shook my head with a faint smile crossing my lips, staring at the ground as we walked for a moment in silence until we reached a small clearing with tall lush green grass and filled with flowers of all kind.

“Here hold him” I said, handing Holden over to Tate along with his baby bag. Tate looked at me in confusion and took Holden with a gleam of happiness in his eyes but as soon as it was there it was gone.

“Why? Where are you going?” he asked, glancing down at Holden who was reaching up towards his face only to start laughing when he felt Tate’s stubble scratch at his tiny hands.

“To shift” I replied then took off towards a nearby tree, leaving Tate to keep an eye on Holden. As soon as I reached the tree I started stripping out of my clothes and allowed my wolf to surface.

I gritted my teeth when an overwhelming pain shot through my body and dug my clawed hands into the tree trunk to steady myself. My eyes flickered from blue to black and back again as my bones shifted and cracked. I fell to my knees from the immense pain, curling in on myself with my eyes tightly squeezed shut but when I opened them the pain was gone and my hands were replaced with paws. 

I breathed in through my snout trying to compose myself then took my clothes into my mouth and came out from behind the tree. My sandals sat on the ground beside Tate who was tickling a laughing Holden and when he heard the grass crunching beneath my weight his eyes snapped up towards me. He only stared at me as I made my way towards them, dropping my clothes down beside my abandoned sandals and standing in front of Tate. I reached his stomach in height since I was smaller than most wolves but faster. 

Tate slowly went down on his hinges and set Holden down in the grass facing me. His big blue eyes stared up at me frightened but then he started laughing happily, reaching out to touch me. Slowly I started leaning forward until his small hands were stroking my golden blonde pelt. He found my ears and started tugging on them until I flicked them and he let go in surprise blinking up at me curiously. I tilted my head down and pressed the top of it to his little torso causing him to babble again, grabbing onto both sides on my head.

“You’re smaller than I imagined” Tate muttered still on his hinges, staring directly at me until I pulled back from Holden to meet his eyes.

‘Speed is my strongpoint, strength is my weakness so I have to train harder when it comes to fighting to be able to balance them out’ I replied through the mind link as Holden grabbed onto my muzzle and was pulling my head back down towards him. Tate scoffed turning his head to the side.

“It’s always about strength with our kind” he grumbled lowly his eyes catching the sun’s rays in their rust metallic colour. My eyes searched him, trying to find a reason why he was so touchy when it came to the topic of strength.

‘What do you mean?’ I asked meeting his eyes when he turned back to look at me. There was so much pain and misunderstanding hidden within them, swirling around like a blazing fire.

“Werewolves rely on strength, if you’re not strong enough then you don’t mean anything to the pack-.” he paused, tearing his eyes away from me to stare down at the ground in front of him.

“You automatically become an Omega by trait” he finished, picking at the grass and refusing to meet my eyes even though mine were fixed on him.

“Rank is strength” he whispered as if he was remembering someone else saying those exact words to him. I searched his strong features, looking for any sign of what he was reliving but found nothing “And I wasn’t strong enough” if I hadn’t strained my hearing I wouldn’t even have heard him say it but I did.

‘Tate, what are you talking about?’ I asked through the link, seeing him stiffen before it was replaced with his cold blooded façade where he shut out everyone and everything around him.

‘You can tell me-.’ I assured trying to meet his eyes but he closed them.

‘I won’t judge you’ I said causing him to squeeze his eyes shut more tightly as if he was hoping to just disappear and when he opened then he’d be somewhere else but when they peeled open he was still in front of me with Holden sitting between us. He sighed deeply.

“When I was younger I wasn’t exactly who I am now, I was weak and scared. I instantly became an Omega in everyone else’s eyes. I was picked on, bullied for being the little fat kid and-.” he stopped taking a deep shaky breath, trying to compose himself before he continued.

“And one day I just snapped. I wanted to become stronger, to be more than just an Omega so Brice, my adoptive father, trained me. I pushed myself harder than I ever had and when I was finally strong enough my father made me his heir. No one, apart from the higher ranking wolves, were strong enough to beat me that is until you came along” he said, his sorrow filled eyes moving to meet with my emotionless crystal blue ones. I stared at him for a second taking in his every word and each emotion that managed to slip past his façade.

“I wasn’t strong enough back then to matter just like you weren’t strong enough to matter to your father” he mumbled the last part, again tearing his eyes away from me to focus on the ground. I took a step towards him, shielding Holden beneath my large frame as I towered over him.

‘It isn’t the strength of a wolf that makes an Alpha but his ability to think before he does’ I quoted causing Tate’s eyes to look up at me with confusion and a hint of gratitude.

“Where’d you hear that?” he asked not believing a single word of it but deep down he had a little bit of hope tugging him towards believing.

‘My grandfather said those words to me a long time ago before he died’ I explained sending a mental image through the mind link of when my grandfather would take me to the park near my old pack house ‘They mean that in a battle strength doesn’t always matter but strategy is what wins the fight’ 

Tate stared at me, his eyes roaming my features as if he was looking for doubt. When he found none, he settled for questioning me “And you believe that?” he asked as I searched through his eyes with the sun’s rays reflecting off my golden pelt.

‘With everything I have’ I replied in all seriousness, glancing up at the bright blue sky above with not a cloud in sight. Tate nodded his head, eyes still boring into mine.

“Thank you” he breathed, the sincerity in his words shinning brighter than a million stars in the night sky. I bowed my head towards him when Holden started crying and I stepped back to lightly nuzzle his face as Tate reached for the baby bag, pulling out Holden’s orange shaker toy and handing it to him. Holden stopped crying and took the toy instantly sticking it into his mouth.

“Crying to get what you want huh?” Tate asked, poking Holden’s side to catch his attention.

“I can tell that you’re going to be a real ladies man when you grow up” Tate said as Holden blinked up at him with still slightly glazed over blue eyes. At this Tate nodded, glancing towards the tree line before he focused back on Holden “The dreamy blue eyes, yeah we’ve got a chick magnet over here” 

I couldn’t help but smile inwardly at Tate’s conversation. I watched as Holden babbled something and Tate shrugged pretending to understand “What can I say? Chicks dig the blue eyes” 

I shook my head from side to side, laughing lightly through the mind link and causing Tate to smile as he looked up at me saying “You’re kid might just out play me one day” 

For the first time since I’ve known him, Tate actually smiled, turning back to scoop Holden up, tossing him into the air a few times as he repeated.

“Are you a ladies man? Huh, are you a ladies man?” I could only stare up at the two in amazement. 

Never before had I ever seen Tate as openly happy as he was when he was with me and Holden.

------------------------------

We went back to the pack house around sundown and a few hours later we found ourselves seated around the dining room table with Holden fast asleep upstairs. At the ends sat Hugh and Hayden with their mates on their right hand sides.

“So how was your day dear?” Carla asked placing a hand on her mate’s knee under the table to catch his attention. Hugh seemed far off like he was thinking through something.

“If I have to listen to one more thing that Martin has to say then I’m going to lose it” he said taking a sip of his wine before he sighed heavily and ran hand after hand through his blonde hair. Carla’s jaw clenched as her mate sunk back into his seat.

“He’s your Beta dear, he’s only trying to help” she tried to reason while Dwain and Dylan shared a look from their seats across from each other. Hugh nodded, playing with his glass as he stared aimlessly ahead.

“I know but it just seems like no matter what we try, nothing helps” I tried to ignore the conversation but everyone else was quite apart from Dwain and Dylan who were having a silent conversation with one another through their pack link.

“The Rogues want your land Hugh, nothing we try to do is going to change that” my utensils clanked against my plate, snapping Tate and Tyler out of their conversation as well as catching everyone else’s attentions.

“Rogues?” I asked folding my hands in front of me. Hugh looked up at me with a hard gaze.

“It’s nothing” he assured but the look Carla shot him was enough for me to know that something was clearly going on.

“Carla, no” Hugh protested but the brunette who was about to say something to me rounded on him with Hell’s fury in her eyes “Hugh, you said it yourself, you’ve tried everything so maybe a little help is all we need” 

Hugh grumbled turning his gaze to the side, thinking that Carla didn’t hear but she did and she wasn’t all too happy.

“Hugh Daniels, I’m going to pretend like I didn’t just hear you grouching at me!” she exclaimed causing everything male at the table to flinch and me to take a sip of my wine, earning me an odd look from Hayden probably for my calm and collected stature.

“Now as I was about to say before I got so rudely interrupted, about a month ago these Rogues started showing up on our land calling themselves-oh what was it?” Carla asked looking to Dylan for an answer. The younger twin didn’t hesitate to reply.

“Bandits” Carla nodded crossing her legs beneath the table as she took another swing of her wine.

“Bandits, thank you dear, they started making these threats that if we didn’t hand over our land they’d kill us off” I nodded setting my own glass down on the table beside my plate.

“And now you’re trying to figure out how to get rid of them?” I asked and Carla nodded her head in agreement. I processed the information for a second then looked back up at her “So why not just kill them off?” 

Carla turned to Hugh and locked eyes with him for a moment seeming to be communicating through their link before Hugh eventually turned to me “They say the Raptors sent them” 

My drumming fingers stopped as I froze completely in my seat. Tate’s jaw clenched and Tyler tensed from his spot beside me.

“The Raptors?” I questioned not shore if I heard that right and Dwain nodded no one seeming interested in their food anymore.

“So you see our situation” Carla said reaching out to cup her mate’s hand in a loving gesture as if reassuring him that everything was going to be alright. I looked at Tate across from me.

‘Last time I checked the Raptors don’t use Rogues to do their dirty work’ I sent through the mind link making shore that both Hayden and Tyler could hear our conversation.

‘You’re right, isn’t that more of Cowen’s style?’ Tate asked as Tyler leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest.

‘Damn straight it is but if Reign’s really behind this then we’ve got some serious problems’ Tyler said and I turned to look at him hearing him speak for the first time since the episode at training.

‘You think? Why would they be trying to take over pack territories now?’ Tate wondered looking to me for an answer along with Tyler.

‘They could be trying to expand their pack’ I suggested causing Tate to shake his head in disagreement. He had a hunch like the one he had about the black market so I asked ‘What’s your hunch?’ 

He glanced back at me as Tyler raised a confused eyebrow up at him, waiting for him to say something ‘You take over the territory, you take over the pack’ 

I shared a look with Tyler at Tate’s words then leaned forward in my seat, folding my hands in front of me ‘Are you suggesting that the Raptors are trying to take over the States?’ 

Tate’s jaw clenched but after a slight pause he nodded his head. Tyler suddenly sat up straight turning to look at me.

‘With Rogues?’ Tyler asked with an eyebrow raised up in confusion. Tate shrugged his shoulders, pushing his chair out from under the table so that he could lean his elbows onto his knees.

‘But how are they doing it, I mean Rogues aren’t exactly their minions so-?’ Tyler trailed off setting my mind’s gears in action as I thought about it, trying to figure out the question on all three of our minds.

‘The Helix pack’ I whispered lowly but not low enough for Tate and Tyler not to hear me. They both looked at me like I was a genius.

‘Right because Cowen knows just how to manipulate Rogues through bargaining’ Tate said catching my meaning followed by Tyler who instantly pitched in his input ‘But what is Reign using to bargain with them?’ 

My mind went back to my and Tate’s earlier conversation and the answer was screaming in my face ‘The black market’ I breathed. 

Hayden dropped his utensils to look at me with a hard gaze ‘You think Cowen has something the Rogues want?’ he asked as I took another sip of my wine before looking at him nodding.

‘Something Reign wants to pay the Rogues off with’ there was a moment’s pause between us as we listened to the sounds of Dwain and Dylan’s clanking plates while they ate.

‘Which is why Cowen wants a truce, not just protection for himself and his pack but protection for whatever Reign’s after’ Tyler muttered and I was the next to speak running a hand through my lose curls as I breathed out through my nose ‘Caine has to make that truce’ 

Tate looked at me like I was crazy. His head whipped round so that he could stare at me through wide rust coloured eyes filled with disbelief.

‘And jumpstart a war? I don’t think so’ he protested but I shot him a look that told him to back down as I spoke ‘It’s either a war or an era of s*****y, your choice’ Tate shook his head from side to side staring down at the ground as he ran his own hands repeatedly through his messy black hair. When he didn’t say anything I looked up to lock eyes with Hugh.

“Don’t do anything, just stand your ground and fend them off” I replied to Carla’s earlier question causing Hugh to shoot upright in his seat and her eyes to widen in shock. She gapped at me then glanced at her husband.

“Just fend them off? Why?” Hugh asked after a second looking back at me with hard emerald eyes. I twirled my empty wine glass between my fingertips staring at the reflection of my blue eyes in its side, seeing them flicker to black when I spoke “Because we’re going to need as many packs as possible of we’re going to win this war” 

Both Dwain and Dylan stopped their conversation to look at me with furrowed eyebrows. Hugh stood from his seat with his hands pressed down on the table top.

“War? What war?” he questioned looking from me to Hayden to Tate and finally Tyler who was picking at his teeth, lounging back in his seat.

“The one that’s about to start” I replied causing Hugh’s eyes to widen along with the rest of them at the new found information. None of them said anything after that and Hugh only sank back into his seat staring ahead in complete and utter shock.