"Wait!" I heard my brother, the alpha, shout as I raced out of the packhouse in anger. The woman I wanted as my mate, the woman I have loved for years, has chosen another mate from another pack.
Her excuse was, I am only the beta, he was a pack alpha. She had often suggested I should have taken my brother's place, but I'd not taken her seriously enough. I thought she was joking. After all, my brother is older, as tradition goes the firstborn is usually the next alpha. I am only a beta, I am fine with it.
I have never wanted to lead. We were both trained together just in case but I have always been happy to have him be the leader. He's more rational and patient than I am.
I raced off into the woods, shifting the moment I near the tree line. My anger bubbled over into my wolf and he roared in rage. He scented the air around him looking for something to fight or kill, anything to ease our anger.
We caught a scent, another wolf. This wolf isn't from the pack. A trespasser! My wolf growled.
We changed direction and increased our pace. The trespasser was laying down in a small clearing. The fool was sleeping on pack land. My wolf growled and he stirred slightly but didn't get up.
My anger spiked and I pounced. The wolf didn't have time to react before my claws scratched at his hind legs. It yelped and tried to run but I bit down hard on its tail.
I pulled it back, it quickly turned and bit me. Thankfully, its bite was nothing compared to mine since it was a lot smaller than I was. It was at least half my size. It snarled, growled and snapped at me trying to break free.
We were a blur of growls, claws and teeth. That is until my alpha's call stopped me cold.
"Enough!"
I panted as I snarled at him. He walked towards me calmly in his human form.
"Enough!" he ordered again with a softer voice this time.
The trespasser was out cold underneath me so I reluctantly stepped away. My wolf growled a little as I tried to calm us both down.
"Change back," he ordered me and I reluctantly complied.
Once back in my human form I felt some of my anger leave me a little. Now there was only pain. Not from the fight, but from my heart. She really left us!
My brother was bent down looking at the wolf I attacked. My nose flared and I caught its scent. I could smell blood as well as something else. Something I couldn't quite pinpoint. It was like the forest after a rainstorm and a hot summer's day all mixed together with something else. That was something else I couldn't place.
"Cole, are you calm now?" my brother asked.
"No, not yet, but I will be," I tell him.
"Good, then come and deal with the innocent wolf you've just attacked," he told me.
'Attacked? Innocent?' I thought.
"He's a trespasser," I growled.
"Cole, he's on his own and very weak. I doubt he posed a threat," he told me.
"Not a threat, you weren't the one he was biting," I told him indignantly.
"Come look," he ordered.
Reluctantly I approached the stranger. My brother was knelt down next to what I could only describe as a skeleton with skin. His short brown hair was matted with dirt and blood, his pale skin seemed paler against the various bruises and scars.
'Were those bruises from me?', I thought to myself, feeling a little guilty. The scars can't be from the fight, they look too old.
"We'll take him back to the packhouse, you carry him, Cole," he ordered before walking away.
"What! Why!" I yelled.
He turned to me with a calm and cool look on his face and simply said.
"Because I said so."
Reluctantly, I picked him up. His limp body felt too light in my arms. As I carried him I noticed his skin felt cold. Wolves always run hot, so why was he so cold?
I was ordered to put him in my room. When I demanded to know why he just said the same thing as before.
'Because I said so.'
My brother was a real ass sometimes.
Anyway, I did as instructed and then left for the healer to see him. I waited outside with my brother. Not because I wanted to but because he told me to. Why should I care about a stranger on our lands?
The healer eventually called for us to come back in. The stranger had been cleaned up and bandaged up. His skin was still pale but it looked better than before. His hair was wet slightly but I could still see and smell the blood residue.
"From what I can tell his injuries are mostly not from the attack," she said, giving me a glare. "He has either been attacked or got into fights regularly or he has been tortured. My money is on torture. He is too weak and malnourished."
She placed a soft hand on his face and frowned.
"Cole, did you notice anything strange when you found him? Or when you carried him?" she asked me.
"Well, when I approached him he stirred a little but didn't move much more until I pounced. When I carried him he was very light and very cold," I told her.
A stab of guilt rushed through me like a knife. Had I attacked someone who was too weak to fight back properly? No! He fought back so he had been fine. I told myself but it didn't ease the guilty feeling.
"Will he be ok Mai?" my brother asked, concern etched in his face.
Mai looked at the stranger with a strange expression before turning back to us.
"Honestly I'm not sure, he's very weak, Alpha," she said.
My memories of the attack flashed through my mind as a worrying feeling joined my guilty side. As I recalled the memory something else struck me.
"Wait, I remember something else. Something I found strange at the time but only for a second," I started.
"What was it?" Mai asked.
"His wolf was half my size, which is strange for a male but he was also pure white."
Mai's gasp had us both looking confused. Especially when it quickly turned to happiness.
"Really?" she jumped up and down excitedly. "He was pure white? No dark spots?"
I nodded and she squealed. We shared a look before looking back at the older woman. Her wrinkled face now looked young and vibrant. Where she had frown lines and tired eyes now were smooth and fresh.
"What?" I demanded.
"If what you said is true then this could be a male omega," she told us.
As children we had learnt about omega's but not about male ones.
"He can't be an omega, they are always female," I told her like she had gone crazy.
"You weren't told everything young man. Your parents, God rest their souls, were good people but they were narrow-minded. It was how they were taught. Male Omegas are rare but they do exist. They believed that male omegas would bring bad omens to the pack, potentially even death."
She softly caressed the strangers face with a soft smile on her face. It almost looked like she was recalling a fond memory.
"Male omega's are beautiful in their wolf form. Most are almost purely white, like the females, but I have only known of one that was pure white. Many believe that the Moon Goddess didn't create them so they must be destroyed. That is absolute rubbish, of course."
"Surely someone as powerful as the Moon Goddess wouldn't allow someone or something else to mess with her children like that. Male omegas are not a curse, they are a blessing," she said softly.
"How can they be a blessing? He will do nothing but confuse our unmated males when he goes into heat. If one of them mates with him then how will he have children? Have you thought about that? Males can't have children remember!" I told her again speaking like she was a stupid child dreaming of fairytales.
Mai walked to me and punched my shoulder. For a little old woman, she packed a punch. I rubbed my sore spot as I glared at her, she glared back. After a few minutes of the glaring contest, we were interrupted.
"Enough you two! What do you mean by a blessing, Mai?" my brother asked her, pulling her focus away from me.
"What I mean Wes is that male omegas can do everything that a female omega can," she spoke slowly.
"You mean ..." Wes started and she nodded, a bright smile on her face.
"Impossible!" I yelled. "He's a man, he can't get pregnant."
"Yes he can," she stood firmly with her arms crossed. Daring me to disagree with her.
"How do you know?" Wes asked, trying to ease the tension.
Mai softened her eyes when she looked at him and then at the stranger.
"Because my father was an omega."
Both Wes and I were at a loss. Our mouths hung open and our eyes were wide. She chuckled at us, clearly enjoying our shock. She went to sit next to the stranger and held his hand tenderly. Much like she had done to us as kids when we were sick or injured.
"I know what you are thinking. That it's impossible and he could have just found me and said I came from him. I thought that too but then he found his mate and they had a child. I watched my father carry and give birth to my younger brother, we had to cut him open."
"When I was older I asked him how he had me. He told me honestly that he had been attacked during one of his first heats. Several wolves used him for their own enjoyment and then beat him after. One of them had marked him during the attack and that's how he became pregnant with me."
Her eyes filled with tears as she recalled the memory. Her dad had been so strong when he told her but she had broken down in a flood of tears.
"Several years later he met that wolf again and he was angry that he had mated and produced a child with a freak. He attacked my father and another wolf intervened. His mate was killed and the other wolf imprinted on him. He became my stepfather."
"So, you think he is an omega?" Wes asked as he stepped forward to place a hand on her shoulder.
She nodded as she patted his hand. She then looked at us pleadingly. It reminded me of the look the young pups give us when they want something or when they are trying to get out of being in trouble.
"Please don't send him away or kill him. He's already had a tough life so far, he needs somewhere safe to live. My stepfather was forced to leave his pack because they wouldn't accept his male mate. They didn't believe that I was his real child. It made my father feel really guilty."
Wes smiled down at her and nodded. I knew he wouldn't be able to say no to Mai even if he tried. When our mother had passed she had taken over as our mother figure. Our dad had mainly been focused on our training and had no idea how to comfort himself let alone us.
"Of course he can stay here Mai," Wes turned to me with a smirk. "Cole is going to take great care of him."
"What!" I shouted.
Mai jumped up excitedly and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed him on the cheek before coming and doing the same to me.
"Shall I prepare a room for him?" she asked and Wes shook his head.
"No, not yet. He will stay with Cole until he is fully healed and back in great health."
Mai nodded and left saying she needed to find him some clothes. I stared at Wes like he had grown two heads.
"Are you crazy? I'm not a healer, why would he stay with me?" I asked.
Wes smirked at me and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Cole, he needs someone strong around him right now. He is weak and I imagine he has been on his own for a long time. You also need something else to focus on, Abby left you for someone else. I know how much you loved her. This will help take your mind off of it," he told me.
I knew he was making sense but I still didn't like the idea of babysitting an omega.
"Do you have a problem with him being an omega? If you do, I won't force you to do this," he asked me.
For a minute I thought about saying I did, demanding he removes him from my room. However, I knew my guilt would make it impossible to stay away from this wolf anyway. I looked at the stranger and sighed.
"No, I don't have a problem with him. I'll do as you say," I told him.
He smiled at me and left. Leaving me alone with a weak, fragile male wolf. I had no idea how to take care of someone that was most likely broken.
Mai came back an hour later with lots of clothes. She put them away in my closet before kissing my forehead and leaving. I sat beside him as he slept but by nightfall, he still wasn't awake.
I had contemplated sleeping in the chair but I didn't fancy the neck and back pain that would come with it. So, I decided to sleep on the other side of the bed. If he freaks out I will deal with it tomorrow.
How will the angry wolf cope?