Mated to a Jackass (AlphaxAlpha)

Chapter 1

Tina Clinger breaks eye contact with the road ahead to stare at her son on the rearview mirror. Thomas is in the same position he was ten minutes ago; hunched over, playing games on his phone. Tina sighs.

"Timmy, you could stop staring at that damn screen for two seconds and enjoy the view for a change."

Her teenage son looks up at her at that, the bruise on his cheek is still noticeable, and his glasses are slightly askew. And those damn bangs, he should get a haircut.

"It's just trees mom"

He sounds so bored, Tina can't help but bit back her disappointment. Bored was her son's default setting, it was like he was born unimpressed with the world around him. And Tina was fine with that, god knew it is better to have an uninterested alpha for a son than, well, a normal alpha for a son. Still, Tina thought that the move would at least excite him a bit.

Tina sighs again.

"You think you'll miss your school, your friends?" she asks him after a moment of silence. They're almost there, and she wants to get her son's opinion on what's happening before everything becomes... real. But she knows him, Thomas doesn't really have opinions about stuff, not really. Tina still feels bad about making this decision with her husband and not consulting their son, so she asks anyway. Although she knows what his answer will be.

Thomas shrugs, already playing his game again. "Not really."

And that's the end of that conversation. When they pass the sign that says Welcome to Ulmrow, Thomas is still playing on his phone. And he's still playing on his phone as they pass the school he is supposed to go to tomorrow. As they pass nice little houses that are so different from the tall buildings in the city. As they pass the woods that stretch throughout town. And he's still on his phone as they arrive to their new brand house and park in the driveway.

"We're here, Tater Tot"

"Oh," Thomas says, looking up from his phone. He goes to open the car door, but it doesn't budge. "Can you open the door then?"

Tina puts her mom face on and turns around on her seat, trying to meet her son eye to eye. He meets her gaze. And she would lie if she said that didn't surprise her a bit. Thomas had a thing, of not looking at people in the eye. He always diverted his gaze. And Tina wasn't stupid, she new why he did it.

To say he didn't worry her sometimes would be a lie too.

"Thomas, you should... try to make friends, now that we're here, you know? It's different from the city. The town is small and... and it's mostly made up of betas, so you won't have any issues," her gaze falls on the bruise on his cheek. It's almost faded, but it's still there. A blue, dark purple tinge that just screamed to remind her why they were here.

"And you're seventeen already. You could find your mate. It doesn't have to be the same as before," her voice as she finishes is soft, sort of pleading. She knows that expecting Thomas to find his mate, when he doesn't even look at people in the eye, is stretching it a bit. She knows that expecting Thomas to find his mate, when Thomas is Thomas, is stretching it a bit. But she has the hope anyway. Every mother wants their kid to be happy.

And it's not like Thomas was unhappy. But he wasn't happy either. He's always just sort of there. Tina wants him to have more. To experience more. Sometimes she wonders if he's this... dull, because she and Henry are betas. Maybe if one of them were an alpha, or an omega. Someone who relayed more on their instincts, their feelings, maybe Thomas would actually...

"Ok," is the only thing Thomas says to his mother heartfelt little speech. Face as calm as ever. "Can I go out now?"

Tina lets out a breath, defeated. "Yeah, you can go out now."