I Am the Alpha and the Omega

It's a Pool's Game....

Kiona's birthday was about as interesting as any other day, that is until now. She had her usual afternoon of cleaning the warrior's quarters ahead of her and after her second round of cooking she had an evening of pool to survive through.

"Why did you do that Kio?" exclaimed Rose in worry. "You know how the warriors like to bully and shame us. I'll come with you; I don't want you to be alone. I feel like it is all my fault."

"Maybe you'll think again before you shoot your mouth off next time! Seriously Rose!" shouted Will.

Rose pouted and screwed her face in her little bratty style. She had an opinion about everything and wasn't afraid to speak her mind amongst her own group. When Miles came in and interrupted their conversation, she went from being a spunky teenager to a wallowing fish when it's out of water.

"I'm just used to expressing myself freely with you guys! I can't keep it locked inside me! I'll admit it I'm useless at secrets and love a good old piece of gossip, but I don't expect someone else to pay the price for my candour.”

“Too little too late Rose,” retorted Will.

“Ok already! I’ve learnt my lesson Will! Quit bitching!” grumbled Rose.

“No Rose! You’ve been here two seconds and already feel qualified to judge everyone! Get off your high horse!"

This was the first time any of them had seen Will get this upset over something. He was usually so timid and quiet; another body in the kitchen they would sometimes joke. Cora walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"What's bothering you Will?" she asked, soothingly.

"We are all adults here; we know better and have seen how badly this pack can treat people. We have a child here, a mere child," he replied pointing at Kiona. "She's put up with more s**t in the five years she's been with us than all four of us combined! I don't know her story, but I don't need to. We accepted her and she's one of us. We should be protecting her," Will growled, and stormed off.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the kitchen. Kiona, unsure of what to do, apologised to the three of them and ran after Will. She followed his scent and it led her through the pack house main corridor. Then the trail ran cold, so she walked back and then stopped at a door. Without thinking twice, she opened the door and slipped in and noticed it was a washroom. Will was sat on the floor in a corner slightly hidden from view. His eyes were black in anger, so Kiona approached him slowly and sat down next to him. After a few minutes he had calmed down and his breathing was steady.

"You know you shouldn't be in here Kiona," Will stated, breaking the silence.

"It's just a washroom," Kio replied, confused.

"No, it's the men's washroom," he chuckled.

Kiona's lips formed a little O and she started to get up. Will pulled her back down again.

"Since you are here already, you might as well stay," he grinned. "I need to tell you something anyway."

Will told her of a story about how he lost his mate. He found his mate around three years ago when he turned 18 and she was human. He found her by chance when he was out in the city shopping for items for a pack event when they passed each other in the street. Her name was Justine. Will paused his story as he noticed there were people coming in and out of the washroom to use it. They were all giving both of them dirty looks as they went about their business. Will continued once they were alone again.

"We texted and called for some time before it got too much to be apart. Then, with the Alpha's permission I brought her to the pack, and she was initiated. The pack members were not overly fond of her and some made her unwelcome, but she ignored it,"

"What happened?" Kiona asked.

"She was working in the laundry rooms, that was her duty, while I worked in the kitchens here and in the school. Aunt Lily had popped out briefly and Justine was working with a few of her team. Some warriors marched into the washroom and grabbed two of the unmated Omegas and wanted to have their way with them. Justine was trying to stop them. There was a struggle that broke out and when the warriors let their wolves take control Justine was hurt in the crossfire. She died from her injuries. She died trying to save two Omegas from being r***d by two warriors who couldn't control their urges," he concluded bitterly.

"What happened to the warriors and Omegas?"

" The Omegas survived although traumatised by the whole incident. The Alpha punished the warriors and swore to castrate them if there was a repeat incident. That wouldn't bring my Justine back though."

"I'm so sorry Will," Kio had tears coming down her face, her lilac eyes a little deeper in colour as emotions were swirling around in her mind. She wrapped her little arms around him in a hug.

The two of them sat there curled up in an embrace for a few minutes when a someone in the washroom cleared their throat and there came a low growl.

Kiona and Will looked up and saw the Alpha looking down at them, the veins in his neck looked like they were about to burst, his eyes were black. Kiona and Will sprang apart and got to their feet, bowing down to their Alpha.

"What are you doing here?"

"I-I'm sorry Alpha, I -I lost my t-t-temper and K-Kio came here to calm me down." Will stammered out

"Stop snivelling and get back to work!"

"Yes Alpha," they both chimed.

"And you! Unless you are cleaning, little girls DO NOT to come in here! Do you understand!"

"Yes Alpha."

"Get out of my sight before I punish you both!"

Will and Kiona dashed out of the washroom before they could give the Alpha another chance to shout at them. The rest of the day passed smoothly enough. Kiona considered that her birthday gift blessing from the Moon Goddess was that nobody had bullied her today. She just had put away the cleaning supplies and entered the kitchen, when Mia pulled her into a corner.

"Kio, are you ok?" Mia asked her kindly. "Sorry if I have been neglecting you my dear, time is short although the days are long."

"No Mia, I'm fine," Kio replied smiling. "Let's get cooking, what are we making today?" Kio asked, excitedly rubbing her hands together.

"We are making lasagne today I believe with roast vegetables and sticky toffee pudding for dessert. Now forget that for a moment, I wanted to ask you something, but I need you to keep it to yourself for the moment. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course, Mia, anything for you," Kio nodded eagerly.

"You remember this morning, the Alpha talked about planning and organising the party and the Mating Ball?"

"Oh yes, the party Rose was super excited about!"

"Yes, exactly Kio. Well, this is what I need you to be quiet about. I choose you to be one of the two people on my team."

Kio gasped in surprise. At first, she felt love for Mia, because she has taught her so much and chose her to work with her on such an important project. Then she felt excitement at all the new things she will get to experience and do. Finally, she felt a little nervous; why did she need to keep quiet about this?

"I can see you already are looking forward to it Kio," Mia continued thoughtfully. "I think you are wondering why I am asking you to keep quiet. Well, there's going to be a lot of people who will want to get involved, but I need someone I can trust, who will perform to at least the standards I set and someone creative. You have more than proven yourself. I just need to decide on the second person, and I don't want someone who will clash with our personalities."

Kio nodded understandingly, she had a lot to learn about this and listened intently to Mia.

"Cora is a good candidate but she is working fewer hours now as she and her mate are trying for a baby. It is also quite likely she may attend the welcome party with her mate. I need someone who is committed, so she isn't an option. Will hasn't quite got the skill sets we need but I know he wouldn't let us down so I will ask him as a back-up. Rose is not capable, she is new and her work is sloppy at best. I have asked my younger sister if she can help and she has experience for all the family gatherings she has organised. I'm hoping if she comes through, I can give both of your names to the Alpha tomorrow."

"I will do my best Mia; I will not let you down."

"I know you won't my love. Come on, that lasagne will not assemble itself!"

Dinner service happened smoothly, even Rose kept her grumbling and whinging to a minimum. Kiona made a few new suggestions to the usual lasagne recipe and it was a complete success. After all the work was finished, the five of them were dividing up the scraps that were left. Kiona just sat down and was half-heartedly nibbling on the vegetables on her plate when she felt a presence behind her.

"Come on little one we are waiting for you," came a chuckle.

"Miles let her eat in peace, she can join us later. You can beat us in a few warmup games," Lee cajoled.

"I want to make sure she joins us and doesn't run away again."

Kiona sighed, rose to her feet and silently followed them to the games room. As they approached one of the free pool tables, someone blocked their way. If Kiona had to guess, he seemed to be a warrior like the rest of them; he looked just like Antoine, perhaps they were related.

"What's she doing here?" the warrior sneered, glaring at Kiona.

"She's with us," Miles explained, and tried to side-step the warrior but he blocked his way.

"Omegas are not allowed," the warrior persisted.

"Come on Marcus, you know that isn't really a rule. It was just made so we can keep this area to ourselves," Miles joked.

"She's trouble," he growled.

"There you go, now you sound exactly like your brother!" Lee chuckled.

That seemed to irritate Marcus somewhat; after giving Kiona a dirty look, he walked away in a huff. Moments later, Antoine and Kayden joined them.

"Ah you just missed your brother Antoine. What a regular ray of sunshine he is, I can't believe you're related!" Lee teased.

Antoine rolled his eyes and as they fell on Kiona he realised why his brother had just mind-linked him angrily. Antoine shrugged and began to arrange the balls on the table. Kiona went and stood against the wall overlooking the pool table and watched him.

Kayden pulled up a chair for her and offered her to sit down. Kiona politely declined but Kayden continued to insist.

"So, what's your story kid?" Miles asked leaning over the table and breaking the formation of balls and handing the stick to Lee.

Kiona sighed to herself. This was going to be a long night.