Kegan had been at Leon's pack house for over a month when his preheat hit. He'd been very well behaved for the course of the month, but he didn't know how his wolf would react during his heat.
During heat, Kegan's wolf often took the lead and helped him to protect himself when he was the most vulnerable. He was terrified how his wolf would react during his first heat with an Alpha.
It was no secret that Kegan's wolf despised him for not trying to escape or fight back against Leon. Unlike Kegan, his wolf hadn't given up hope yet, and he wanted nothing more than to fight as hard as possible to escape and find his mate.
Kegan shook his head at his wolf's determination, walking to Leon's closet and looking around. He needed nesting materials, but nothing that smelled like Leon appealed to him.
So, he chose a few T-shirts that Leon rarely wore so they offered some kind of comfort but didn't make Kegan or his wolf want to tear them up and run.
Someone knocked on the door and Kegan hissed, unable to stop it. The door opened and Kegan saw someone that he actually liked on the other side.
Her name was Tali, and she was a Beta. She'd started working as a servant about a week after Kegan had arrived in the pack. She didn't have a distinct scent, which Kegan found strange, but it didn't really matter to him either way.
Tali was nice to him, so he accepted her and liked her being around.
Leon noticed this when he found Kegan sniffing around the mansion trying to find her when he finally let Kegan have free reign of the mansion about three weeks in.
Due to this, Leon assigned Tali to take care of Kegan during the day and to make sure he was eating during his preheat. Oftentimes, when Omegas didn't have their Alpha present, a Beta or Omega being around could comfort them and keep them from feeling rejected.
"Hissing at me, Kegan?" Tali asked, holding a tray of fruit. "Pretty aggressive of you."
Kegan stopped his hissing and calmed down, smiling at Tali. "I missed you," he said as Tali sat beside him on the bed.
"Missed you too," Tali responded, handing him the tray.
Kegan shook his head. "I'm not hungry," he growled, putting the tray on the desk in the corner of the room.
Tali sighed. "You need to eat, Kegan," she said, watching the Omega as he tried to build his nest and make it as comfortable as possible, despite the unenjoyable scent.
"I don't want to," Kegan growled, being more aggressive than he ever had been with Tali. "I want to build my nest and I want a scent that I actually like!"
Tali looked at him sadly. She knew Kegan's situation and felt horrible for him. It hurt her to watch him try to organize his nest and his thoughts, only to fail because his true mate wasn't present.
"Tali?" Kegan asked, sitting uncomfortably in the middle of his nest.
Tali hummed, looking at the Omega. "What is it?" she asked, watching him rock back and forth, tears building in his eyes.
"I don't want to give my heat to the Alpha," he whispered. "I want to wait for my mate."
Tali sighed. "Don't worry, Kegan. It'll all work out," she promised, brushing loose strands of hair out of Kegan's face.
Kegan shook his head. "No it won't. My mate will never want me. I'm just a breeding tool," he said, the tears finally falling.
Tali growled at him. "Don't say that about yourself. Ever," she ordered, making Kegan shiver and lower his head in slight fear.
"Sorry," he whispered, not wanting to upset his only friend.
"It's okay, Kegan. I didn't mean to scare you. I just don't want you to think so lowly of yourself. I promise you, everything will be okay," she said, grabbing the bowl of fruit. "Now eat."
Kegan obeyed, grabbing a piece of melon and bringing it to his lips. He chewed slowly, not really hungry but wanting to please Tali. She was the only one in the whole mansion who had ever praised him genuinely.
Leon only praised him after he raped him.
"Good boy, Kegan," Tali said proudly, making Kegan smile and eat another piece of fruit. "You deserve so much better than this."
It wasn't the first time Kegan had heard Tali say that. She said it a lot, that he deserved more and that nothing that had happened was because he was an Omega. It was strange for her to speak against her pack, but Kegan never questioned it or brought it up to Leon. He didn't want to see Tali get hurt.
"Tali?"
"Yeah?"
Kegan sighed, resting his head against one of the pillows on the bed. "Why don't you have a scent?" he asked, looking at his friend.
If she had a scent, Kegan would had asked her for some of her items so he could put them in his nest to feel safer.
Tali shook her head. "I don't have one. Not right now at least. You'll understand soon, okay?" she asked, smiling at the Omega.
Kegan just nodded, not wanting to push his friend. "Okay."
Tali smiled once more, grabbing the half full bowl of fruit. "I'll see you later, okay?"
Kegan waved as she left the room, laying back on his nest. He needed sleep; his pains were always terribly painful, so resting beforehand was something that would benefit him later.
He had a few days left of preheat before he entered a full blown heat.
It was not something he was looking forward to.
•••
Kegan woke up to Leon climbing into his space and rubbing his nose along Kegan's neck.
"You smell so good," Leon whispered, nibbling on the flesh and pulling at Kegan's pants.
Kegan felt his wolf fight against him, forcing him to growl at Leon. However, Kegan wasn't mad at his wolf. He didn't want Leon on him; he wasn't in full heat yet and Leon was in his personal space.
Leon was surprised by the growling; Kegan had been well behaved for the past month and had only growled the first night he spent at the manor.
"What was that?" Leon asked darkly, his own growl rumbling in his throat.
Usually, any growl from the Alpha would make Kegan stand down and bare his neck, but he was too uncomfortable and defensive.
"You're in my space," Kegan said weakly. "I don't feel safe."
Leon growled once again. "I'm your Alpha. You do feel safe, it's just the heat," he said, laying over Kegan.
Kegan whimpered and pushed back against Leon. "I'm not in heat yet! Get off!" he said, his wolf urging him to continue the behavior.
"It's not your responsibility to tell me what to do," Leon snarled, grabbing Kegan's hair and forcing him to bare his neck. "Stay still. I want this to be good for you, but it won't be if you keep fighting me!"
Kegan snarled back, fueled by his wolf, and surged forward, punching Leon in the throat.
Leon hadn't expected it and fell backward, trying to catch his breath. It gave Kegan the opportunity to run for the closet, diving inside and locking the door behind him.
"Omega! Open the door!" Leon shouted, shaking the handle and growling. "You better open it or else I will, and you will not be happy if I have to come in there and get you!"
"I'm not happy right now!" Kegan spat back, feeling more confident with the piece of wood between him and Leon. "Leave me alone!"
Leon roared and tried to rip the door off of its hinges, but he was interrupted when another pack mate burst into the room.
"Alpha!" the voice of Leon's Beta, Corban, yelled, making Leon stop pounding on the door.
"Corban! You better have good reason for being in here!" Leon snarled, the sound making Kegan scoot further into the closet.
"I do, Alpha," Corban promised. "We're under attack! Another pack is raiding us!"
"A pack? How do we know it's not just rogues?"
"They're from the Blood Moon pack, Alpha. We can't fight them! They're too strong!"
Leon growled. "Did they say what they wanted? Or are they attacking for land? We've been at peace with them for years!"
Corban looked nervously at the closet door. "They want your Omega. I don't know why."
Leon snarled. "Kill as many of them as you can. I'm not giving up my property because some other Alpha wants it!" he growled furiously, slamming his fist on the closet door.
"But, Alpha-"
"Silence, Corban. Let's go," Leon said angrily.
•••
Kegan had been hidden in the closet for nearly an hour when he heard footsteps in the room. They were heavy and clearly belonged to someone much bigger than him.
Growls filled the room, but Leon's dominating scent didn't follow. Instead, a different and more pleasant scent filled the room, making Kegan's mouth fill with saliva.
The door to the closet began to shake, and seconds later, it was torn off of its hinges.
A large Alpha male walked inside, his icy blue eyes finding Kegan's own watery brown ones. He was terrified but couldn't deny the desire to go toward the Alpha.
The Alpha knelt down in front of Kegan, and for the first time in twenty years, Kegan heard the voice of his wolf in his head.
"Mate!"