Of course I recognised the scent of the man who approached us; he was Glenn White, second son of my father's first Beta, Giles. He also resembled his father in both temperament and build. And if he continued to be loyal to my brother, he would also become an excellent Beta in his own right. It was a surprise to me that he was mated to a Male. Given the clearly youthful look of the boy, this was a recent pairing, but his eyes softened each time he held the boy in his vision, so it was clear that he did not resent the match in anyway.
The boy I did not recognise, but if I am guessing his age correctly, he would have been only around eight or nine years of age when I left the pack. I had been arrogant enough a youth to think that small pups were beneath me and even hanging around with my little brother was just about tolerable, nothing more. From his scent, I'd say he was an Omega as well.
Wolf hierarchy was a little more formal than other shifter groups, although the ranks do not really mean much different. For instance, the Alpha, King, Flock Leader was the head of the group, but whilst a wolf Alpha demanded absolute conformity from his pack, Pride Kings tended to be a little more flexible and Flock Leaders even more so. Beta's or seconds were always the Leader's immediate subordinates, those he could trust and they in turn could speak for him. Then came the Head Warrior and Gamma beneath the Beta's; the former would lead the warriors and hunters of the group and the Gamma or Third tended to be the one who the normal members turned to first, he or she would see if they needed their issues to be brought before the Alpha.
The Luna or Queen (flock leader mates did not have a title as the pair would jointly reign) was considered the 'mother' of the pack. Emotional problems tended to come her way, to which she might lend her ear. The Luna was also absolute ruler of the Pack House and would organise volunteers to stay with the pups during the pack runs. I'm sure the Queen was equally as respected in some other way.
Omega's were a unique rank. One did not become an Omega, one was born. A shifter group was merely a bunch of individuals living under one proverbial roof with the strongest amongst them as the one who sets the rules, but otherwise there was no unity... at least without an Omega. The Alpha was the head of the pack, the betas its arms, the gamma it's logistical mind, the warriors it's muscle, but the omega's were its beating heart; the core that every other shifter was programmed to protect. Granted, it was instinct to protect the pups, but a family unit would put their pups above everyone else's. But no one could dismiss the need to look after the Omega. In turn, omega's tended to have sunnier dispositions, be more loving and caring towards the vulnerable, have a more nurturing nature. Their inner beasts tend to be slightly weaker in terms of average strength and smaller in build, but much more playful. But a small beast did not equal an Omega; take Alex's friend Adam. That man's little wolf had a slightly malicious nature and was quite capable at hunting down and taking the life of a rabbit. An Omega would struggle to take a life. My mother just happened to be an omega.
Saying that they owed Gabriel their lives was likely not unjustified. Only a monster would intentionally hurt an Omega and my father might have a twisted sense of right and wrong, but he wasn't a monster. However an Omega could neither live without his pack nor his mate, once claimed. The boy would have wasted away if either Glenn or both of them was exiled because of the same sex pairing. Glenn would have likely fought to the death rather than see his mate suffer or be separated from him, knowing his mate would die without him.
No, my father was not a monster, but he was an idiot.
As Alex wisely suggested, we gathered on the patio. Eric placed his huge self protectively around Alex, leaving me able to be the Alpha that I was in front of these two. The boy, Samuel, was unperturbed by my aura, another Omega trait. Unless a shifter of rank commanded them personally, they pretty much were immune to our presence. They were completely submissive to commands otherwise. He sat calmly beside his mate's feet. He was likely only here as he could not be separated from the man that my brother trusted to deliver his message. Him having been in wolf form was likely a protective measure, which had not entirely worked due to the Beta's presence and scent. And now the boy was strangely obsessed with starring at my human mate. Not that I was worried, he probably meant no harm.
"What is the message?" I asked, bluntly, there was no point prolonging their visit after all.
The man shook his head before speaking. "Gabriel wanted us to tell you, that his investigations are not totally complete, that he thinks he's missing a piece of the puzzle, but... he says to tell you that the pack is broke."
"Broke?" How in the Goddess' name did a pack become broke? Especially with a tight-fisted arse like Gamma June.
"As in bankrupt, well not officially," the man replied. "Most of the pack aren't aware of this mind you and the Alpha appears to be holding out for some loan, so the situation isn't entirely destitute, yet."
"But why would that make the Alpha want Michael over Gabriel?" Alex asked, curiously. Bless him, as if my father's reasons were so simple.
"No, it can't be about our assets," I informed him, the suggestion of stealing away our hard earned livelihood coming from Eric. I crossed my arms about my chest. "If it was, he would not have made it abundantly clear that not only does he still not approve of you, Eric, he doesn't want you to return with me. There must be something else, whatever it is that Gabriel still is yet to uncover."
"He wanted you to know what he had discovered so far," Glenn grunted. "He hoped you might have some ideas, but I can see you are just as in the dark about the Alpha's actions as we are." I shrugged. It completely blew my mind imagining the pack as broke, let alone trying to figure out what I had to do with that.
"I ripped up the last letter," Alex said. My temper immediately softened. He was worrying that there might have been clues in the letter which he tore in two. It was not enough damage for the letter to have become unreadable, but it didn't matter anyway. There was nothing that my father had to say that was interesting or new, but he clearly felt as it was my responsibility to become Alpha, he would take responsibility and find me a good match for a Luna. The man just refused to get it!
"We managed to read it," I reassured him. "My father had nothing new to say, so there is no need to worry." An image of a coy she wolf flashed before my eyes, her tail flicking to one side invitingly. My wolf and I shuddered at the thought causing a certain tiger to huff softly at his own jest. "I am not mating with the female of his choice," I told him, my voice descending into a growl. Something about my words caught my attention, but I wasn't sure why. In the end I muttered; "I'm not some stud wolf he can use to produce his ideal grand pups." Was this what my father wanted... no it didn't sound right, even if he had used the excuse before that Eric could not produce children for me.
"Can I ask a quick question?" The Omega suddenly asked and we all turned to glance at him. He turned red, but continued as his mate urged him on; "How is it possible?" He appeared to be indicating Alex and Eric. Did he mean our unusual arrangement?
"You mean the triage mating? We're not entirely certain ourselves, but we are all Goddess blessed," I told the curious boy.
But he shook his head, denying that that was what he was referring to; "No sorry," he apologised. "What I meant was how can he smell like a pregnant female?" All eyes immediately fell upon Alex.
Alex began to chuckle nervously for a moment. "Actually," he said, directly to the boy; "I'm one of a few rare human males that can fall pregnant. I have an oestrogen cycle, that might be what you can scent from me."
The boy tilted his head, sniffed the air carefully, before shaking his head once more. He had my wolf and I doing the same. I subconsciously moved closer to Alex and Eric turned over his large, orange form to take in our mate's scent from where he lay. "No, I'm not wrong," Samuel said, finally. "Your carrying pups... cubs... um.. well that I can't tell. But you are definitely pregnant."
The colour drained from Alex's face and his words spilled falteringly from his lips. "No, that's not possible," he denied. "We've always been so careful..." He down at Eric, who purred as he sent an image of the party thrown by the Pride King into our minds. "But there was evidence we used protection that night," he said, weakly, his words unconvincing to himself and us.
"The bleach smelled stronger," I mused as I thought back over certain signs. "You fainted. You fall asleep easily and deeply and it is a struggle to wake you," I added as Eric sent the thought to me. "When was the last time that you experienced a bleed?"
His eyes looked distant for a moment. "About a week before the wedding, I guess," he replied. That was already seven weeks ago, though it had been just over four since the party. "But that doesn't mean that I'm pregnant, it was my first. How am I supposed to know the intervals in between... and I haven't been sick. Don't pregnant woman suffer morning sickness?"
"Ah, not all do," the Omega said, helpfully. "The morning part is a lie by the way. If a woman.. person is going to suffer it, it will be at any point in the day. I've heard some just feel nausea, don't actually vomit at all. And my sister didn't have any morning sickness. She suffered from heartburn a lot instead. Every girl... person... is different." Alex did not look entirely convinced.
Eric yowled and pressed his face against Alex's stomach, nuzzling it gently. "No, it's not that I don't want your cubs," he told my worried tiger, running his fingers through the striped fur. "I'm just scared..."
I kneeled down beside him, taking him into my arms as I tried once more to analyse his scent. I really couldn't tell, but the evidence was there. I felt a swell of pride and affection build within my core as tears of joy stung my eyes. "My love, pregnant or false alarm," I said to him, trying to reassure him, though I admit I prayed for the former. "We will support you, we love you deeply. You are not alone in this." He nodded as he pressed deeper into my embrace. I turned to glance up at Glenn, who looked at us with clear awe upon his face. "Not a word about this should be spoken."
He nodded, ready to submit, even though I was not his Alpha. "Understood," he said. "There would be too many interested in your mate. Especially males that long for same sex mates, even if at the expense of offspring." His eyes looked meltingly down at the boy leaning against his legs as he spoke, before lifting the boy into his arms and guiding himself off of our property.