Alpha, Beta, Omega

Chapter Seven

Kali woke with sunlight streaming across her face.

She murmured softly, turning her head into the pillow, drawing a deep breath as she tried to fight off waking. She was comfortable, completely relaxed, and wasn't ready to get up and face the world. With her face pressed into the pillow she easily drew in the scents that lingered there. Scents that had her smiling even as she rubbed her face into the pillow, drawing more and more of the scents, her mates scents, into her lungs. She could still remember leaving the forest with them last night, could remember following them to a massive house at the edge of the town of Lawton.

What happened after they'd gotten to the house made her cheeks burn and an ache to immediately form between her legs.

She reached up and touched her shoulder, fingertips sliding lightly over the mating mark her Alpha mate had placed there during their claiming the previous night. On the opposite side of her neck was a second mark. Her Beta mate's mark. Unlike other marks or wounds these marks would never go away. They were permenant. They would show any wolf who saw them that she was mated.

It was rare to have two mates, she could only think of a handful of times when she'd heard of it, but after last night, after the claiming her mates had gifted her with, she was glad of having two. She felt privileged that fate had deemed her worthy of two mates. Especially mates who were an Alpha and a Beta of their own pack.

That thought caused her heart to skip a bit.

She was mated.

Claimed.

She would have to leave her old pack.

That thought alone was enough to sap some of her happiness and replace it with fear and nervousness.

Was she ready for that step?

Was she ready to leave her old life behind in favour of a new one?

Drawing a deep breath she decided that, at that moment, it didn't matter. She could figure that out later. Right now she wanted her mates. Lifting her head from the pillow she glanced around her. The bed, large enough for at least four people, was empty save for her, though the sheets were still fairly warm, meaning that her mates hadn't been gone for very long. Still smiling she looked around the room. It was large, spacious and tastefully furnished. It had a very homey feel and it warmed her to know that at least one of her mates was down to earth.

Slowly climbing from the bed she looked around for her clothes, no way was she walking around naked even if it was her mate's home, only to remember that her clothes were still out in the forest. Folded neatly right where she'd left them, and her shoulder bag, back in her old pack's territory. With a soft sigh she looked around, spotting a shirt draped over the arm of the desk chair in the corner. Grabbing it up she easily identified her Alpha mate's scent and her smile widened as she held the fabric to her nose, inhaling deeply, the soft cotton of the shirt rubbing gently against her face.

After a moment she slipped the shirt on.

It was far too big for her, pooling around her body more like a blanket than a shirt, and she wasn't surprised to find the hem reached almost to her knees. She started to reach for the buttons only to be forced to stop and roll the sleeves up passed her elbows first. Once she was clothed, or rather as clothed as possible, she headed towards the door, pausing only long enough to listen for any movement in the hallway. Satisfied that she was in no immediate danger she opened the door and stepped out in the hallway.

Scenting the air her stomach growled as she caught the scent of bacon and eggs cooking. Following her nose she eventually ended up in the kitchen doorway. A man, tall with dark hair, stood at the stove, his back to her. Instinctively she scented the air, but with the cooking food it was impossible to catch the man's scent. She fidgeted nervously, debating the risks of speaking, when arms suddenly wrapped around her waist making her jump and a soft cry of surprise fall from her lips, causing the man at the stove to whirl around.

She was focused, however, on the man behind her. His scent tickling her nose and she immediately recognized the scent of her Beta mate. Turning her head she looked at him, smiling softly as the while, taking in his happy expression and rich, chocolate coloured eyes. Kay, she remembered his name being Kay. Kay Yorke. She remembered her surprise when she'd first seen him in human form. Recognizing him as the man who'd been in the book store yesterday. The man that had unnerved Amy so much.

She couldn't help but wonder what her best friend's reaction would be to learn that he had turned out to be one of her mates.

"Hello, darling," he purred in her ear, nuzzling her hair affectionately.

"Hi," she whispered, suddenly feeling very shy, even though this man was her mate.

He smiled at her. "Hope you're hungry, darling," he said as he looked at the man by the stove. "Thornton's cooked enough food for an army."

She heard a snort and looked at the man by the stove, recognizing him immediately as her other mate. The Lawton Pack Alpha, Thornton Garroway. He smiled at her when he noticed her looking at him, those vibrant blue eyes shining brightly. "Did you sleep well, love?"

She nodded. "I did," she said as Kay's hand splayed over her abdomen, rubbing lightly while he nuzzled the mark he had left on her neck, making her giggle as his curly hair brushed faintly over her skin. "Kay, that tickles."

She felt him grin against her neck and she whimpered softly as he kissed and nipped at his mark. Shivering against him she couldn't help but lean back, resting her body against him, head tipping to the side, giving him more room. She felt, rather than heard, Kay's rumble of appreciation and she suspected they were about to head back to the bedroom when Thornton cleared his throat.

"Kay, don't molest Kali until after breakfast please."

Kali couldn't help but giggle as Kay lifted his head, letting his chin rest on her shoulder and he gave Thornton a pouty look. "You used to be fun," he said as he rubbed Kali's abdomen through her shirt. "And it's not molesting when she's our mate."

"Be that as it may, our mate hasn't eaten since some time yesterday and after last night I'm certain she is more hungry than horny at the moment," Thornton retorted, accent drifting through the air and making Kali shiver with want. Oh now that's just unfair, she thought as she watched him turn the stove off and carry plates of food to the table. He could say the silliest thing ever and I would probably still turn into a puddle of goo.

"Well maybe she should be allowed to decide what she wants to do," Kay fired back, kissing Kali's cheek which made her smile. "So, Kali my dear, what do you want, hmm? You want to eat or do you want to..."

Before Kay could finish what he was saying Kali's stomach growled, loudly, and her cheeks turned red in embarrassment.