Rising Alpha

23

Savannah heads over to the females and sighs. "Are you guys tired?" The dark circles are becoming more prominent under her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm about to pass out right here." Alison gives a small smile and rubs her eyes.

"Do you know where we're sleeping?" Abigail grimaces as she looks at the males and her daughter lays on her arm.

Shit, we need to get them all in bed, including my mate. The word mate echoes in my mind, but for once, I'm at peace with it. She's mine, and I'll protect her to the bitter end. "I figured Abigail and Charlotte would want to share a room, and Alison would need a bed for herself since she's pregnant.

You three can go pick out what rooms you want."

"What about Savannah?" Charlotte's eyes widen and she takes a step toward Savannah.

There is no way I'm letting her out of my sight. "The men will need at least two rooms which works out since we all need to take shifts. So that means Savannah can stay with me." Not like I planned it that way or anything.

The two younger women stare at me while Abigail turns her attention to Savannah. "Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah, I'm fine with it." Her eyes meet mine and scans me head to toe. "He's brought us this far; it might be good for me to keep an eye on him."

If she keeps staring at me that way, she might get more of an eyeful than she expects. Before embarrassing myself and others, I look at one of the young men who seems wide awake or at least caffeinated with how fast his foot is tapping. "How ’bout you take the first shift?"

"Huh, me?" The young guy points to himself and takes a step back. "Uh... Okay." He pulls at a lock of his long black hair that's fallen from his ponytail.

He's scrawny, but will probably do the best job out of all of us right now. In fact, all these men are thin. I guess being alone has been rough on them. "Yeah, do you have a problem with that?"

"Uh..." He bites his bottom lip and tap his foot even faster. "Not at all."

"Then get to it. Someone will relieve you in four hours." I'm hoping he's just nervous and things will smooth out. "Paul, can we talk for a minute?"

"Come on, I'll help you all find a room." Savannah leads the ladies down the hall to give us some privacy.

"Why don't the rest of you hunker down once they've settled on their rooms?" I hate giving orders, but they all seem a little helpless right now. There's a kid; I can't justify calling him a man, who has bad acne. He seems to be the most alert out of the rest of them. "You," I say as a point to him, "take next watch in four hours. Got it?"

The kid reaches up and scratches at one of his pimples and nods. "Uh... yes, sir."

Without wasting any more time, the other three follow the women to settle in for the night.

"Is everything okay?" Paul arches an eyebrow and tilts his head ever so slightly to the right.

"I'm not sure." These men seem young, weak, and inexperienced. Paul doesn't seem that way, but he's older. He has to be every bit of forty. "You seem to be the spokesperson of the group. So, I'd like to hear your back story."

"Oh, I see now." He walks over to the couch and sits. "I'd had hoped to put off this conversation till tomorrow, but I can see that it can't wait. Is there a particular reason for your concern?" He rubs his fingers against his chin and sighs. "Maybe a girl perhaps."

I've been in the military long enough to realize when someone is deflecting. What concerns me is why. "Yes, I won't deny it. Savannah is my fated mate."

His hand drops to his lap. "Really?" He glances back the way the women left. "Those are so rare now. Is that why she ran?"

"No, she ran because he's an egotistical asshole and wanted to break her. I met her right before the ceremony and helped her escape." Now I've answered all his questions which he should have known if he talked to John. "Now, back to you."

"Fine, the boys and I split from our original packs." He takes a breath and remains silent.

This isn't a good sign. "Tell me something I don't already know."

He nods and rubs his hands together. "Well, to be honest we were the omegas of the group and were tired of being bullied as much as these women."

"So, you guys are looking to join another pack?" They left to find a better situation. That's understandable.

"Oh, no. We don't want to be part of a pack again." He shakes his head and closes his eyes. "We've been through enough pain, we just want to be left alone. We all met the past year when we were stationed overseas. We came back here and run together but haven’t formed an official pack.

That’s how I met John.”

This has to be some kind of joke. How the hell did John think they could help us? But if they all served, maybe they’re stronger than they appear. “Thanks for the info. You probably want some rest." "That sounds perfect." He stands and moves fast. He's out of my sight within seconds.

It's late, but I can't wait till tomorrow to call John. How the hell did he think this was a good idea? I head back into the kitchen so it's further away from the rest of the group and pull out my phone.

I go to my recent call list and press his name.

It only takes two rings before John answers. "Is something wrong?"

"Hell yeah there's something wrong." I try to stay calm enough to keep my voice low. "Why did you send me the omegas of everyone's pack? They couldn't stand the torment anymore so they ran and you expect them to help protect these women?"

"All of them have been separated from their packs for over five years. If they hadn't found some kind of strength they would either be dead or crazy by now." John clears his throat and there are sounds of movement coming from his end. "I met them like I met you. I visited overseas and they had already formed a bond. You know what it's like not feeling like you belong.”

Oh, that's a low blow. "Listen here, dickhead. This isn't about them being the low man on the totem pole in their last pack. It's about protection."

"You're an alpha. Tell them what to do." He yawns and sighs. "Maybe a pack of wolves struggling to fit in is exactly what you need. They could be what makes your pack. You were always the trainer back at the base for new recruits."