As the omegas, the alphas, moved forward, taking their preordained place by the packs’ sides, I stepped away. The alpha had been right to remind me of my place, and it sure as hell wasn’t here. I needed to get home, get the hell away from here. I’d lie low until I was ready to leave and then—
But literally nothing was going to be easy today.
I was trying to slink away like any other teenager caught in the shit, and instead, every eye turned to me. The wolves had shied away from the omegas’ outstretched hands, rejecting them in a way that was hard to misconstrue, though no doubt there’d be attempts tomorrow. The sounds of the omegas’ discontent filled the air as I shook my head, hoping that would change what was happening, but it didn’t.
“They follow you everywhere,” Nik had said about the boys, and I’d just shrugged.
“It’s just the promise they made to Dad.”
“But it’s not. It can’t be. They follow your every move, have eyes on you the whole time,” she said, and I saw a familiar concern on her face.
No one wanted this for any of us, because this was the road to pain and anguish. But the first step was being taken on it now.
“Boys…” rumbled Malcolm, one of the other Vanguard alphas. “Don’t do this.”
“No…” I whispered as they pulled away from the omegas. “No, no,” as they wove through the gaps in the loose circle of adults. “Fuck, no…” I hissed as they reformed into a pack, every single one of them tracking me.
“What the fuck is going on?” another Vanguard alpha said.
“Permission to speak,” Keith said, keeping his head bowed as the rest of his pack shifted back, getting dressed with well-practised rapidity.
“Granted,” Omega Vanguard said, even as her alphas shot her heated looks.
“This is what we saw when we turned up.” I kept backing up slowly, so as not to trigger their hunting instincts, but the wolves kept coming, trotting when my pace picked up. “The girl, Riley, she was making out with another beta when they caught them together, but…” Keith swallowed hard, daring a glance at the ruling pack, then dragging his eyes down again. “They weren’t being protective or making sure she was safe. They acted like she was their—”
“Enough!” John said, and everyone went very quiet and very still. “Eloise, get Riley in the car and take her to her mother’s.”
“John…” The ruling omega of our town stepped forward, but he cut her off with a sharp shake of his head. She sighed, then turned on her heel and bustled over to me.
“C’mon, honey,” she said, using that soothing purr only omegas seemed to possess. When she took my arm, I sagged into her grip, my alcohol sodden brain not able to take a single thing more. But of course there was more.
Low growls built into harsh snarls, then rabid barks as she hustled me over to her car, then even those sounds were cut off by an order from their father. To make it even worse, some continued to growl after he had given them the command.
“In the car, quickly.”
There was real fear in the omega’s voice, one that didn’t seem to stop, even when we pulled rapidly out of the carpark, driving at speed towards my place.
“I’m so sorry…” I said, not even knowing what I was sorry for right now but feeling like it needed to be said.
“It’s OK, Riley,” she assured me, even as she shifted gears like a raceway driver. “None of this is your fault, love.” Before I knew it, we were parked out the front of my house. “Now come along, we need to let your mum know what’s been happening.”
Mum was at the door waiting, obviously having recognised Omega Vanguard’s car when we pulled up.
“Change of plan, Alice,” the omega said as soon as we got inside. “The boys shifted for the first time tonight.”
“Tonight?” Mum’s hands rubbed at her temples. “I thought we had more time.” Her focus switched instantly to me. “Riley, go and pack your bags. You don’t need to take everything, the movers will take care of the rest. Just pack whatever you’ll need for the next couple of weeks until the rest of our stuff arrives.”
“What?”
I was being rude and disrespectful. I’d been given a direct order, it was on me to follow it, and I would, as soon as I understood. I just blinked, staring at them and unable to stop, hearing the sounds of the boys’ wolves as—
“Things have progressed with your scholarship,” the omega said with a warm smile. “When we heard how amazingly you’d done, we wanted to help your family out. Your mum was worried about you being in the big smoke all by yourself, so we decided to relocate the both of you to the city, but things are progressing faster than expected. The university approached us tonight about getting you into a kind of pre-med bootcamp for really capable students. It’s an ideal opportunity.”
I knew exactly what she meant, having applied for the program when I heard word of it, but I’d had no expectation of getting in. It was for the best of the best, and I in no way considered myself part of that elite.
“The fast-track program?” I asked in a thin voice.
“That’s the one. Someone dropped out, so a spot opened up, and they asked us and your mother whether you’d be interested and we said yes,” the omega said with a warm smile.