"You haven't run off yet?" Jean asked teasingly.
"Not yet." I replied with a smile. She had been gone for vacation for two weeks now, but during my first month here she had been an immense help. All the other employees were friendly and helpful, but Jean was the only one of us able to deal with scary people when they got angry, and she wasn't afraid to step in when it was one of us that had to deal with those. The two weeks without her here to deal with those people had been tough.
"How was Hawaii?" I asked.
"It was great. Mehwish loved it." Jean said ginning. As tough as Jean was, she was a little lovesick puppy when it came to her girlfriend Mehwish. Mehwish was stunningly beautiful, thick glossy hair, a long straight nose, unblemished tan skin and curves that could rival a racecourse.
"I'm sure she did, and I'm sure you took advantage of finally having her all alone." I teased. Mehwish had six younger siblings, and her parent was a single father so most of their dates were in the home or with Mehwish's siblings tagging along. I got a wolfish grin in response as she passed by me something about it making her look like an actual apex predator.
Sometimes Jean seemed so much like a werewolf I forgot she was human, I'd had near slips twice where I'd mentioned werewolves and then had to play it off as making a comparison with the animals. Jean probably thought I was obsessed with wolves.
"My shift is over I'm heading out." I called to Jean to which I only got a muffled response.
I walked over to the aisles to find Chen to let him know I was leaving. He was one of the three supervisors at the library and by far my favourite. He was the most relaxed of the three, only interfering when necessary otherwise quietly doing his own work. Josephine was always whispering weird things to me because I was one of the only two other wolves there, and the only one she didn't think was going to commit a heinous crime in the next decade. She also enjoyed forcing random books on people clearly uninterested in those titles. Our last manager Margret was suspicious of everyone and everything. Apparently she'd been very wronged as a child and still was quite unable to trust everyone, except for Chen who she clearly had a crush on.
"I'm heading out, it's five thirty, do you need anything else?" I asked.
"No thank you, you did very well today, I know it was your first time on the counter alone, but Aspen called in sick and Jean couldn't come in early." He said apologetically.
"It's fine, really, weekday afternoons are never busy." I said and he nodded.
"Bye Chen." I called out quietly, and he bid me a goodnight as I walked back to the counter.
"Someone will be right with you." I said to the young woman standing there, bouncing a chubby cheeked toddler on her hip who was clutching two books and trying to chew both of them while his mother tried desperately to keep them away from his mouth. Her efforts only rewarded with loud giggles. I smiled at the little munchkin as I walked by, getting a saliva coated fist waved violently in my direction which I assumed was meant to be a wave and not a threat.
I ducked into the breakroom quickly pulling on my coat and scarf, swinging my purse onto my shoulder.
"Bye Jean." I said as I walked out and she called out bye to me around the gigantic bite of apple turnover in her mouth. The other reason I liked Chen was he often brought in food for us.
Chen was at the counter helping the lady when I got back out and I smiled at him as I walked by. My phone vibrated in my purse but I shrugged it off as another useless email from all the random stores I had been forced to subscribe to by aggressively chipper employees.
I hurried out towards the parking lot at the back of the library, pulling out my keys from my pocket, my hands already starting to get red due to the bitter cold. I unlocked my little white Toyota Yaris before climbing in, starting the car up immediately.
I fiddled with the radio as I waited for the car to warm, letting out a little huff in triumph as I finally figured out how to pre-set some stations.
I pulled out of the parking lot, driving straight down to the little burrito place down the road. I'd asked my family this morning and all of them had turned their noses up at the idea of Mexican this morning. They'd wanted to try a new Hakka place but I was a little sick of Hakka food so I was going to get myself a burrito, and definitely not share with any of them.
I hurried into the burrito place after doing a horrid job parallel parking in front of the store. I'd passed my driver's test years ago, and barely had to drive since then until I'd decided to buy a car a few weeks ago. My heart was really too frail to be able to get a ride from my brother on a daily basis.
I walked into the burrito store, unable to control my smile at the ridiculously warm greeting I got from the wolf couple that ran the store. They were the nicest people ever, and made the best burritos.
"Going home beautiful?" Magna asked me as she rang me up.
"Yeah, but I'm the only one having a burrito today, the rest want to try that new hakka place near Micah's work." I said making Magna roll her eyes dramatically to which I giggled.
"Spicy beef nachos and your usual steak burrito wrap then?" She asked.
"Make it the party tray or they'll start eating my nachos." I grumbled making her laugh.
"Sure thing sweetheart." She said, and I tapped my debit card before getting out of the way to go wait at the high counter on the side with the spinning stools. Although I had more dignity than Micah and resisted the urge to actually spin in them. I drummed my fingers against the counter top as I waited, Antonio knew what toppings I liked so I never really had to tell them. My family and I had been eating here at least once a month for the past ten years, so they had all our orders memorized.
"Parisa your food's ready." Antonio called out, his accent making all the words sound warm even though unlike Magna he wasn't one for endearments. He was actually quite a scary-looking man with all his tattoos and muscles, with age he'd developed a bit of a belly but even that was the scary solid type. He was a total sweetheart though, one of the gentlest alphas I knew, and the absolute best chef, topped only by my mother, although they made different cuisines so it wasn't fair to compare them.
"Thanks Antonio." I said with a smile as I grabbed the gigantic bag off the counter, shaking my head at him when I noted another container atop the one of nachos beside the burrito which was the size of a werewolf newborn baby. The little dipping sauce that I could smell held caramel giving it away. Antonio had snuck in free churros. He gave me an innocent shrug of his shoulders making me laugh.
"Thank you." I said again, and he nodded, reaching over the counter to pat my shoulder before shooing me away, mumbling about how he still had to get the chicken started for the dinnertime rush.
I walked out of there with a smile on my face, the delicious smell of the food making my stomach grumble. I was not ashamed to admit I might've sped just a little on the way home in order to get to the food quicker.
I turned into our driveway, noting that everyone was already home, since their cars were all packed in the driveway. Quickly locking up I balanced the food in one arm while unlocking the door to the house with the other.
I opened up the door not bothering to call out hello since they would know it's me. I tugged off my boots quickly, making quick work of my jacket and scarf and hanging them in the coats closet because otherwise my dad would have my head.
"I was nice enough to bring nachos for everyone but if any of you knuckleheads tries to touch my burrito-" I called out as I walked down the hallway towards the sitting room where I could hear everyone was, my eyes widening and mouth freezing around the threat that had formed in my head as I rounded the corner only to make eye contact with a pair of unfamiliar dark eyes.
I snapped my mouth shut as I realized the pack Alpha and pack Beta of Herrington pack were currently sitting in our living room, surrounded by my family members who were blinking owlishly at me. I swallowed nervously as the two stranger's eyes stayed locked on me, the intensity of the dark pair making my skin prickle.
"Parisa you remember Alpha Mrow and his beta Beta Arenas." My mother said, standing up from her seat. I offered them both a shallow little bow of my head in greeting, in response to which they both stood up, but only the alpha approached me. He held his hand out for me to shake again, and I gingerly placed mine in his. Shaking it quickly before pulling my hand back, remembering he was one of those alphas that had staring competitions every time you looked into their eyes, so not bothering to glance up. I kept my eyes trained on his chest.
The alpha opened his mouth slightly as if about to speak before closing it shut again. He retreated back to his seat, keeping his eyes on me as he did. My eldest sister Nina grabbed a hold of my arm, gently guiding me into the seat beside her, wrapping her arm protectively around my shoulder. I stayed seated even though the food in my lap was lighting my thighs on fire because of how hot it was, curse Antonio for his amazing always fresh food policy.
"Alpha Mrow, Beta Arenas, would you care to join us for dinner? It's really quite late, I'd hate to send you on your way without you having eaten anything. You've been here since noon, the both of you must be famished." My mother said politely. The beta looked like he was going to protest, but Alpha Mrow spoke up before he could, and like any respectable pack beta, Beta Arenas went along with what his alpha was saying. Pack members never argued with their pack Alpha in front of other packs. It showed a lack of unity within the pack and disrespect for the alpha.
"We'd love to, thank you for offering." Alpha Mrow said, his formal way of speaking making him sound decades older than he looked. Wolves aged slower than people, but he looked to be in his late twenties, so he was probably in his early thirties, same as Nina.
"Micah, Parisa, help me set up?" My father asked, and we nodded, getting up to follow him out of the kitchen.
"Your legs okay Pari?" Micah asked when we were far away enough from the living room to be out of earshot.
"They're more charred than the steak in my burrito." I grumbled, rubbing at the fronts of my thighs with my hands as my brother grabbed the food from me with his signature loud bark of laughter.
"Why didn't you guys call me?" I growled, with a whack to my brother's shoulder.
"Are those churros? Tell me you got caramel sauce." My brother said, ever so distracted.
"Use your stupid sniffer." I answered, making him bump his shoulder with mine in retaliation.
"I smell corn syrup." My brother said and I shook my head. He had the worst sense of smell, worse than a human who'd been kicked in the nose.
"I got caramel you idiot." I said and he grinned, inhaling deeply, trying to catch the strong scent of hot caramel which any other wolf would've been able to smell at the other end of the house, let alone an alpha who should be able to smell it from across the street.
"Useless mutt." I mumbled under my breath, taking my embarrassment out on my brother. Who wasn't so innocent, and whacked me at the back of the head as soon as he'd put the food down.
"Don't hit your sister Micah." My father scolded, clearly not having heard what I'd said. My brother's mouth gaped, looking positively appalled making me smirk as I hugged my father, him patting my head as he got the food unpacked.
"Mutt." I mouthed to him again, facing carefully away from my father, my arm still around his shoulders.
"I heard that Pari." My father said making me pout as Micah laughed.
"Dad why don't we just toss Micah away, I mean a wolf is useless without an adequate sense of smell." I teased making my father laugh.
"Better yet let's toss Pari away, it's customary to leave the runt to survive on it's own." My brother said in retaliation, growling out when Nina whacked him hard on the back of the head as she walked in.
"No one's tossing Pari away." My sister said, gathering me up into a hug, pressing a kiss to my head.
"Stop cuddling you idiots, mom's running out of small talk material." Lola said walking into the kitchen.
"Nina, Lola you two should've stayed there, it's rude for us to all be in the kitchen." My father scolded.
"It was starting to get awkward." Lola complained, and Nina nodded, still holding me as if some eagle was going to try to swoop in and carry me away.
"Let go of Pari Nina you're suffocating her. Others are going to think she's mated with how much your scent is always on her." Lola said.
"Good, Pari's too young to be mating anyone anyway, everyone should stay away." Nina huffed making the rest of us all simultaneously roll our eyes.
If it were up to Nina, I would only now be going to university, she had come up with the most ridiculous excuses for as to why I was too young to go at 18. Now at 24 I was apparently too young to be in a romantic relationship. Some humans got married at 24.
I'd only ever had one relationship that could be considered serious, and even then Nina had hounded the poor boy into a constant state of terror. Last I'd heard he was getting therapy, and Nina was probably often brought up in his sessions.
"Okay Nina, no one's trying to mate me anyway." I said as I gently disentangled myself from her. Jumping as suddenly a loud cough was heard.
My mom had been leading Alpha Mrow and Beta Arenas into the kitchen, and for some reason Beta Arenas was chocking horribly. Alpha Mrow was looking at him with a weird mixture of alarm and disdain. Micah was somehow already behind him, performing the Heimlich maneuver with an unnecessary amount of enthusiasm considering the beta had probably just chocked on his own spit.
"He's alright." Alpha Mrow said after a moment, probably worried for his Beta's ribs. My brother shrugged, letting go of him and moving away to go grab plates. The poor beta rubbed at his ribs staring after Micah with a disdainful look.
"Follow me to the dining room please." My mother said, making it clear we were going to be all fancy and dine in the dining room instead of on the comfortable kitchen table. She led them to the dining room and the rest of us each grabbed the nearest item before following them. Micah being the idiot he was, was haphazardly juggling plates and horribly piled glasses on top that looked very wobbly. Luckily though Lola seemed to notice and grabbed the glasses, glaring at Micah who chuckled nervously.
We set the things down, only then realizing we had forgotten drinks.
"I'll grab them." I volunteered, getting a grateful smile from my dad. I grabbed a few small bottles of soda from the pantry and a jug of water from the fridge, tilting my head in confusion as the only seat left was now beside Alpha Mrow when before there had been one between Nina and Micah. Nina looked quite disgruntled at the new seating arrangement, drilling hoes into the side of Beta Arenas' head who was mumbling something about loving Szechuan beef without making eye contact with anyone.
I settled into the seat beside Alpha Mrow, not wanting to make a fuss. He handed me the burrito as soon as I was seated, and I thanked him with a small smile as everyone began serving themselves.
Luckily we always ordered extra food so it was no trouble that there were now two extra gigantic men joining us for dinner. My siblings loved Hakka, so on top of our habit of ordering in excess, they always ordered enough to eat it at night as well. Although with the way Beta Arenas was practically diving into the Szechuan beef, I doubted any would be left for them to.
I unwrapped my burrito, glancing at the alpha to see if he was looking before stretching my mouth an obscene amount to be able to take a bite of the gigantic burrito. It was as good as always. Bless Magna and Antonio for sharing their talent with the world. I reached for the nachos after a couple bites of the burrito, crunching on them happily, stopping mid chewing when Alpha Mrow leaned down a little closer to me. My back stiffened immediately as he got closer, and I looked at him from the corner of my eye.
"May I have some nachos, or have you decided those are prohibited as well?" The Alpha asked, his expression solemn, but his dark eyes alight with mischief.
"No, please go ahead." I mumbled awkwardly, trying to not to get distracted by how ridiculously good the man smelt. His aftershave had to be something designer, but it was his natural scent that made my mind a little hazy. A heady spicy sweet scent that reminded me of fresh sweet cinnamon pastries and made me want to nuzzle my face into his neck.
Wolves didn't have pre-destined mates but some wolves naturally smelled better to them than others. It was an attraction thing, some people just attracted you more than others. Last time I had met the alpha I had been too cold for my sense of smell to be working, but this time I was positively high on his scent.
He reached over me, grabbing a nacho, offering me a small smile in gratitude after. I looked away from him as I realized he had dimples. He smelled like fresh cinnamon pastries and had dimples, I prayed for any and all gods to give me strength.
For the rest of dinner I pointedly kept my face away from him, conversing with Lola who sat at the end of the table so that my eyes and nose would be pointed away from the man. The Alpha had been nothing but polite to me, more polite than most Pack Alphas were to omegas, and here I was objectifying him.
Also it was useless to get all bent up over a wolf from another pack, I would never leave my pack and I could never ask another to leave theirs for me, let alone asking a Pack Alpha to do so. Plus just a delicious natural scent and dimpled smile meant nothing, I just had to carefully avoid getting at all attached. Attraction was not exactly common for wolves, it was the first time another's scent had appealed to me so, but it happened, and Nina was right, I was still so young.
"Do you work?" The man asked me suddenly and I wanted to bang my head against the table as I realized his voice was a deep raspy baritone, something that lingered a bit even after. So ridiculously impactful just in its sound that the man could be saying that Jigglypuff was a pink Pokémon and it would sound like he was reciting the philosophical truths of the universe.
"Yes, at the library in the city." I said politely, avoiding looking directly at him, keeping my eyes on the churro in my hand.
"How do you like it?" He asked sounding like he was making a strenuous effort to soften his voice but it was so deep and heavy that it was basically impossible. My shoulders tensed a bit subconsciously and his eyes lingered on the movement, followed by him hunching in on himself a little to make himself appear smaller, making me press my lips together to hold back a smile.
Having grown up surrounded by Alphas, I was fairly comfortable around them, I just couldn't help the natural physical reaction of seeming as though I was a little wary of them. Something in my physiology as an omega wolf made me a little skittish around alphas and I couldn't help it despite rationally knowing they would not attack me.
"It's quite nice actually, very peaceful. I find quite a few books as well that I otherwise would not have had I not worked at a library." I answered.
"Do you borrow books from the library? I never could, the scents on them make me unable to pay attention to the words." The alpha confessed.
"I usually buy the books from a store, where they've had less hands on them, but you're an Alpha, so your sense of smell is even more sensitive, you should try ordering online Alpha Mrow." I said, throwing in his title to make sure he wasn't offended by my direct speech.
"That's a very good idea. Are there any you recommend?" The alpha asked.
"I recently read Memoirs of a Geisha and it left a very lasting impression. It's written so beautifully, it transports you decades back into the Japan where the main character is made to exist. All the details he uses weave a tale so intricately it really doesn't seem like fiction." I said.
"I've watched a bit of the movie, it seemed interesting." The Alpha offers.
"The movie does the book no justice, although the casting of the characters is very good, they look almost exactly how I pictured them." I said, forgetting myself in my passion for the book.
"That is if you enjoy historical fiction Alpha Mrow." I said a little quieter.
"I enjoy all genres, as long as the book is well written." The man said, and I smiled at him looking up into his dark eyes. Realizing now they were a very dark grey, so much so that they seemed black, but not the way my own did, mine were a very dark brown so they were a warmer kind of black, his had this quality to them that reminded me of clear rushing water reflecting the night sky. I found them to be infinitely more beautiful than my own.
"Books are great." Nina interjected suddenly, making the both of us turn to look at her.
"They truly are." I offered not wanting her to feel embarrassed when she was very clearly just trying to be protective as always.
"Yes." The alpha murmured quietly, and I could seem him looking at me again, but I focused on my churro instead of looking at him.
We finished our meal in silence, my mother and Lola clearing up while my mother sent a pointed look Nina's way which very clearly meant she was to practise being a pack Alpha by speaking to the visitors. I tried to seem engaged for a few minutes but Micah was so obviously not paying attention to their conversation that I couldn't help but allow my own mind to wander off as well.
"Do you think so?" The alpha suddenly said turning to me, making me jolt out of my thoughts of what I wanted to get done tomorrow on my day off. I looked around the table to see everyone was looking at me.
I tried to read their expressions to figure out what they had been saying but there was an odd mix of emotions. Beta Arenas looked excited, Alpha Mrow looked like he was trying to appear as gentle as possible despite being a hulking man with dark as night eyes, Micah looked confused which admittedly was nothing new. My father looked a tad amused, and Nina looked like she was going to attack Beta Arenas over the table.
"Absolutely." I said, my eyes darting from face to face to check if that was the right thing to say, until I saw Nina's face who looked like she was going to lunge at me now.
"I agree, omegas generally are more mature, so them mating at a younger age, of course after properly establishing themselves, is less of an issue than Alphas or Betas who head into relationships in their twenties." Alpha Mrow said, his eyes gleaming. It took me a moment to peace together what they had said, my cheeks flushing as I realized what they had probably been talking about. My agreeing so definitively probably made them think I was interested in Beta Arenas seeing as Nina was glaring at him so he was probably the one to first bring up the topic.
"Well not entirely, I mean like a few years age gap is alright when you're both adults and mature, but everyone should get the chance to discover themselves entirely before being mated." I said making Alpha Mrow nod slowly, his eyes dimming slightly, while Beta Arenas looked positively let down. I didn't even know when and how I had given the man the wrong idea when I hadn't even directly addressed him ever. He must be one of those terribly presumptuous people.
The next time he glanced at me throughout the conversation I let my polite expression drop momentarily to adopt a more fitting scowl. I hated when wolves let their status get to their heads, making them think everyone would be after them. Beta Arenas' simply looked away to laugh politely at something Micah said before his eyes darted back to look at me, widening in alarm at my less than friendly expression.
This wasn't the first time this had happened. Werewolf literature loved portraying omegas as submissive docile little things, and of course every creepy beta and alpha decided that a little submissive omega who would do everything they say and blush every time they so much as looked at them was what they wanted.
The pack had visitors constantly, and since we lived in the pack house, they always stayed with us. Since I had turned 18 many of them had been creepy enough to try to hit on me simply because I was an omega, and the daughter of the Pack Alpha which meant I had high status in the pack. Surprised when I didn't turn into a blushing blubbering mess and spread my legs the first time they spoke to me. It was as if they were surprised real life wasn't like the porn videos they probably watched in private. Depraved little mutts.
"Speaking of pack members, I wanted to tell you Alpha Mrow that my intended, who you know I love very much and am faithful to is doing quite well. She has recovered from her cold." Beta Arenas said suddenly making my eyes widen. I was the presumptuous asshole.
"I'm glad Beta Arenas, but I trust she did recover seeing as she had that cold three years ago." Alpha Mrow said, his brows crinkling in confusion as he stared at his beta in a way that was absolutely not adorable.
"Yes, I just thought I would let you know for sure, in case you were worried. Seeing as you haven't had a churro yet, and you don't eat sweets when you're worried." Beta Arenas said, his voice cracking as he stumbled over his words.
"Thank you for letting me know." Alpha Mrow said, pointedly reaching for a churro with amusement clear in his dark eyes.
"You're welcome." Beta Arenas answered, pressing his lips together and hunching in on himself a little as soon as the words were out.
We sat in silence waiting for my mother and Lola to return, a vein in my dad's forehead looking like it was about to pop with how hard he was trying to keep from laughing. I could smell blood so Micah was probably digging his claws into his palms to maintain his straight face. Nina had much more exposure and was busying herself by fiddling with the tablecloth as if straightening it leaving me there to regret ever being born to have been put in this situation.
"So-you said library." Beta Arenas suddenly said when it became clear my mother wasn't going to be back anytime soon since the sounds of dishes clinking was heard. I blinked owlishly at the Beta for a moment before stringing together in my head what he was trying to do.
"Yes, library." I said, before frowning as I realized that that had not gone as I had planned in my head, to which point even the bloody palms weren't enough to hold Micah back who was now positively howling with laughter leaving Nina horrified. The rest of us couldn't help but to join in but of course with a little more dignity, but then Micah did everything with less dignity than others.
My laughter died down and I immediately tried to think of anything but how deep and raspy Alpha Mrow's laughter was, so rich and decadent like thick chocolate cake. The man was goddamn walking dessert and the universe was testing my patience.
"Alpha Mrow how is your mother? Last I heard she was travelling." My father said when silence settled on us once more, all except for Micah of course whose shoulders were still shaking with silent laughter even though the glare Nina was directing at him was enough to warm the entire room. I worried a little for his safety when our visitors had left.
"Yes, she's in Mexico right now. I'm guessing she'll come to visit within the next week or so, since she is in the continent. I'd love to have your family over while she is visiting, she always spoke quite fondly of you and Alpha Warina." Alpha Mrow said, a small smile on his face, and not only did he have dimples he also had the little half crescent things at the edges of his smile. I was just going to try to shut my senses off for the rest of the duration of his stay.
"That sounds very nice, Alpha Warina and your mother were close friends when they were younger. There was speculation that your mother and she would mate and join the packs together, but they were always just friends." My father said with a little chuckle.
"People always talk about the Pack Alphas, I'm sure to-be Alpha Nina here knows exactly what I mean." Alpha Mrow said kindly.
"It's just harmless gossip, the pack members make our lives seem much more interesting than they actually are I'm afraid." Nina said, and I could practically feel how badly Micah wanted to say something about that, but I was very proud of him for holding back. I'd give him a churro after for doing so.
"Personally I would prefer it if they wouldn't engage in the gossip though, at times it can actually cause quite a few problems." Beta Arenas grumbled, there was clearly a bad experience there that I was very much curious about but didn't know him well enough to pester him about.
My mother and Lola finally came back into the dining room, Alpha Mrow standing up as soon as they did.
"It's quite late, my beta and I should head out now. Dinner was delicious, we thank you for your hospitality." The Alpha said with a little bow of his head.
"No need to thank us Alpha Mrow, I heard your mother would be visiting soon, we'll have to impose and ask you to return the favor when she does." My mother said to which he agreed immediately.
My mother offered to walk the two men out, and we trailed behind them awkwardly as she led them to the door. The two men shook everyone's' hands in farewell. Alpha Mrow approaching me last. He grabbed a hold of my hand, holding it between the both of his.
"It was very nice speaking with you Parisa, I'll be sure to give Memoirs of a Geisha a try." The Alpha said, smiling down at me with his sparkling eyes.
"You won't regret it." I responded.
"I'm sure I won't, take care of yourself Parisa." The man said, before letting go of my hand and stepping away. The Beta only offered me a little wave from the doorway, probably replaying my horrible reaction to his innocent question and choosing not to approach me since I probably seemed like a lunatic to him. I waved back at him with a little apologetic smile, leaning into Nina's side as the men finally left, and my mom shut the door behind them.
"Especially your life." Micah said to Nina as soon as the door was closed and locked behind the two men. Everyone turned to look at Micah in confusion who seemed to be almost panting as though keeping that in had caused him actual physical strain. I shook my head in disdain, gesturing to the others to let it go who did so easily, all heading up to their rooms to change into comfier clothes. No churro for Micah.