ONE
ONE
Gwin’s pov
“Not feeling it today?”
I looked up from staring down at the grass at my feet and looked up to Henry. He had walked up to the wall that I was leaning against and leaned against it as well, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked at me. His hard, brown eyes seemed to soften towards me, despite his normal angry demeanor he had with the Delta-bloods he would train with. In fact, with the sweat that covered his body, I assumed he just got out of training.
“I never like to go out with these ‘suitors’,” I mumbled to him, raising an eyebrow.
Once a month, a handful of those who were eligible to find their mates were chosen by the Elders of the Court to meet with another suitor from another pack. Everyone gets five suitors, and they are always of the same rank. No one ever mated with someone out of their rank, and it was very difficult to change ranks unless there are extraordinary circumstances.
He was looking at me with an unreadable expression and he hesitated before he began to speak a bit quieter, “Have you thought about challenging your rank-”
“Hen, what are you doing talking to the bastard?” A voice mocked from behind me and I didn’t turn my head because I knew who it was. The Beta’s son, Corvus. I could hear snickers from beside him and knew it was more than likely warriors from our pack; Delta bloods.
That was my nickname throughout the pack and everyone I met in my life. I was the bastard. It came from the fact that my mother had never chosen a mate, but did get pregnant with me after going to bed with a Delta-blood. I was a monstrosity to most people in the pack, which explained my lack of friends. Although my mom was an omega and everyone hoped I would catch the submissive gene; I didn’t. As a child I held my own and spoke up what I thought wasn’t right.
I started shutting my mouth when I turned twelve and three other boys my age had beat me after I had said a certain quip I couldn’t remember now, but it must have gotten them riled up enough to ‘teach me a lesson.’ When I came home to my mom covered in bruises, she had simply told me I shouldn’t be pushing my luck the way I was. I was left to tend to myself.
My wolf hadn’t emerged then, so I did my best to clean and bandage and compress. Henry had seen me the next day and helped tend to me. Ever since then, I considered him my only friend.
A grumble arose from Henry and he glared in their direction. “What have I told you about using that language towards her?” He pushed himself off of the wall and stalked towards them.
Although I wished I could fight my battles for myself, I was glad he was there to defend me as well. I found out I wasn’t allowed to fight back when the day after I had been attacked by the boys, I had been the one reprimanded for it because I had caused quite a few wounds on them myself. Apparently, because I was an omega, I wasn’t allowed to fight back. And I got punished for it.
The group went quiet behind me and that was when I decided it was time for me to leave as I pushed myself off of the wall and started my way towards the town. When I received my letter to meet my suitor, it definitely made me raise my eyebrows. Most of the time the omega would request to go to the park, or to the library, but this time I was to go to the local bar. I wasn’t complaining, just simply surprised.
As I walked towards the bar, I thought to who I would be meeting with today. The note I received didn’t say his name, but it did say that he was of the New Moon pack. Out of the four main packs, the New Moon was said to be most vicious and deadly. The rumors said the Alpha of the New Moon was cold-hearted and slaughtered people with ease. I wondered if the omega I were to meet would show any signs of the horror they witnessed.
Up until this point I had only met with one suitor from my pack, the Full Moon, one from the Waxing Gibbous, and one from the Waning Crescent. He would be my fourth suitor, and he was of the New Moon pack.
I wouldn’t let that deter me though. The other suitors I had met with were standoffish, and seemed repelled by my scent. I was told that I didn’t smell just like an omega, but something stronger as well. I’d start feeling sorry, but I had gotten over what I was long ago and just learned to live with it. To push down my defiance and strength and play the omega. That is, afterall, what I will always be.
My thoughts brought me to the local bar that I had been told to meet at. As I entered, a wave of warmth hit me and I didn’t realize how cold it had been outside. I glanced around the room, only seeing a couple of guys in there playing pool. I didn’t recognize them, but their scent said they were higher ranking members of a pack… the New Moon pack. It had been the only scent I didn’t know. I side-eyed them cautiously, but they either didn’t notice me, or didn’t care as they kept eyes on the game they played.
I finally tore my eyes off of them and went over to the bar to take a seat, the bartender making his way over to me immediately. Now, he I could recognize. Elio. He was a fellow omega in my pack, an obvious terror in his eyes as he looked from me to the other two men in the room.
“Give me a double of whatever your strongest is,” I let him know as I hop up onto the stool.
“Gwin,” he breathed out and I gave him a look, wondering why he was acting so odd, “you need to leave. The New Moon pack-”
“I’m aware, and I’m meeting with a suitor tonight. As long as they don’t bring out their claws, I won’t bring out mine.” I told him simply before nodding to the alcohol case from behind him. I could hear one of the males chuckle while they played pool and wondered if they were here to meet with suitors as well.
Elio gawked at me, but got a dark bottle from the highest shelf and poured it into the tall shot glass he had put out. “Be careful.” He murmured to me quietly as he slid over the shot glass.
I brought it to my lips and downed it quickly, a small grimace overtaking me as I felt it slide down and burn my throat before settling in my stomach. I saw that Elio had begun to put the bottle away, and I opened my mouth to tell him to keep it out, but a deep voice spoke out before I could. “Oh, we’ll be requiring the whole bottle.”
That voice had a mischievous glint to it, but also held power, undeniable and dominant power that had now taken over the room as if like a fog. His scent encased me and he smelt sweet like honey. Despite the dangerous vibes of the voice, my wolf rustled curiously in me to look to who was speaking. I brought my head up to look at a very handsome male that had sun-kissed skin and his dark black hair fanned over his forehead, a few pieces draping over his dark blue orbs. His gaze entrapped me and he stared back at me with such an intensity and wonder that I’m sure I looked back at him the same way.
There was no way this could be the male I was to meet with; the omega. He felt stronger than even the men to the side playing pool, who I now noticed had stopped and were looking towards us now. It wasn’t just that power seemed to fall off of him in waves, it was also that his aura showed that he wasn’t merely an omega. My body wanted to bow to him, on instinct but I halted it and simply stared into his eyes. I would need to know who he was before I simply bowed to him.
A smirk played on his lips, as if he knew that I was fighting the urge to submit, and he strode over to me, taking the seat beside me, and grabbing the bottle while keeping his eyes locked on my own. “You must be the suitress I am to meet tonight. It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Soren,” he held out a hand to me, a playful smile still on his face.
I hesitated to shake his hand, a deep pit in my stomach telling me I would be making a deal with the devil if I shook it. I could barely believe this was the man that was my suitor. And I couldn’t believe I had previously thought this omega of the New Moon pack would be terrified in his role. No, if anything, the others should be terrified of him.
As if to play with fate, I still held his gaze as I brought my hand up and placed it in his to shake. As our hands touched I could feel my wolf inside me shuddering against the barrier in her mind. She was actually, for once, interested in this male. The one who’s aura dared me to keep staring him in the eyes. In his eyes, I could swear I saw a glint of surprise at our touch, but it was soon masked with the same look of mischief.
I pulled my hand out of his grip after a quick shake and gave him a look of boredom. “Gwin, nice to meet you too.” I said to him before I lifted my shot glass up and brought it up in a gesture to him. “Pour me another?” I asked him, hoping I could muster up half of the dominant aura that he was showing me. I knew he was being obvious by showing his power. I’m not sure if to taunt me or to challenge me, but I would show him I wouldn’t back down.
As if my gesture had been the answer to a secret riddle, I felt the aura lighten up until I could barely feel his dominance as he poured me another double shot. “Did you like the feeling of my power? I’m actually impressed you didn’t drop to your knee’s bowing.”
I raised an eyebrow to him and pulled the shot closer to me. “I see you enjoy playing mind games. I don’t,” I told him bluntly, offering him a sarcastic smile that only seemed to brighten his. “I doubt anyone would bow to an omega.”
The room went eerily quiet and I could once again feel the others from his pack staring at us- at me more intently. I wanted to tell them to mind their own business, but I saw it on Soren’s face too, if only for a split second. Disbelief.
“What?” I said with a hard look, feeling like he knew something I didn’t.
He raised his eyebrows and now had an interesting smirk on his face. “It’s nothing. You’re just… you feel a lot stronger than an omega.”
I studied his face for a moment, trying to dig under that mask and see what was inside his mind like he seemed to be able to do with mine, but I couldn’t get past his deep eyes. I could feel them pulling me in the longer I looked into them, so I turned away to take the shot he had poured for me, shuddering once again at the burning sensation. “What can I say? I’m a blessing and a curse,” was all I said in response to that.
“I disagree,” I looked up in time to see him taking the glass from my hands, our fingers brushing against one another and making my wolf shudder in me again. He pulled away almost too slowly and I watched as he poured himself a shot and took it, no look of grimace crossing his features. A handsome smile stayed locked on his lips. “I would say you seem more like a blessing to me.” He leaned forward, bringing his arm to drape across the back of my chair. He wasn’t touching me, but my body still reacted with how close he was. “But, I’m sure you’ll be able to convince me otherwise over time.”
I raised an eyebrow at what he was implying. “You seem to think I will want to be in your presence after tonight,” I said to him, and I wasn’t sure if I did or not. My body was split in reaction, between attraction and dread, I couldn’t deny that I was curious as to see where this would lead. None of the other suitors had entranced me like he had. I still wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
Another beautiful smirk played on his lips, this time one with a challenge. “Oh? It’s been awhile since a female has made me fight for her affection,” he said with a slight raise of his eyebrow. “This will perhaps be the only time I actually fight for said affection. You should feel honored,” he teased with a wink and I rolled my eyes at his audacity. “Tell you what, if you beat me in a game of pool, then you can walk away from this. But, if I win, then we continue to see where this curious attraction leads and allow me to begin courting you.”
I felt something shift in my stomach at the last remark he made and wondered if he felt the same tug at his wolf that mine did for him. I scanned over his face again, and couldn’t read anything except mischief.
I weighed the options in my head, coming to a rather quick answer that I hated to admit. I only had one more suitor after him, and despite his arrogance and the fact that something about him drove me crazy, I couldn’t ignore that interest that I felt. Something told me I had to try it, maybe it was a feral part inside of me, or maybe it was just my wolf.
“You have yourself a deal. I hope your ego can handle losing,” I said, giving him a smirk of my own that he seemed to marvel at, gazing too long at my lips. I hopped off of my seat and made my way over to the pool table.
Let the games begin.
*
The game was close, but Soren did end up winning in the end. I had a small smile on my lips and he grinned back at me with a wicked stare. “It looks like you’re stuck with me, princess.” He said as he leaned against the pool table, only a foot or so away from me. “You don’t look too defeated. Perhaps, you wanted me to win.”
I let out a little scoff that made his lips curve to a smirk and he leaned even closer. “You just got lucky,” I simply quipped towards him, which was such a lame reply but I had no other defense. He was good at the pool, but I wasn’t even sure if I had tried my hardest or not. “And don’t call me princess.”
“Oh, I’m definitely hoping to get lucky later,” he sent me a wink which just had a reply of my eye roll. He was a major flirt, but that seemed to be his personality. He was an oddity to any other omega I had ever met, and maybe that is what drew me to him. Maybe he was like me, having to push the defiance and strong will in public settings.
“Good luck with that,” is all I let slip past my lips. I opened my mouth to ask where he would want to meet for our next outing, but it felt like the air shifted because he had tensed and glanced towards the two males in his pack who chose to play darts after we took over the pool table. The two males had already put down their darts and made their way outside, giving only a simple glance to Soren before they left. “Is something wrong?”
“There’s a disturbance on the west border, so they went to go check it out,” Soren told me with a small smile as he started putting our pool sticks away. “I should get you back to your packhouse somewhere safe in case anything happens-”
“I’m fine to walk myself,” I let him know, raising my eyebrow. I had grown up here and knew these lands. I would say I was worried for him, but honestly he was the strongest being I had ever met. I held back the shiver at the thought of meeting his Alpha. “You can write to me when you want to meet up again, if you want,”I told him before I started to turn to make my way out, but he had suddenly trapped me against the pool table.
I looked at him and although my body was buzzing in alert of danger, I could feel that he didn’t mean any harm. “Please allow me to walk you to your pack house. If something happens, I don’t know what I’ll-”
“Soren,” at the sound of his name on my lips he had stopped talking and a flash of hunger went over his features before he looked at me intently. My words didn’t hold the bite I had intended, and as he had paused for me to talk, I’m glad it didn’t. “I will be fine. I can protect myself.” I let him know. “If anything, I should be offering to walk you to where you’re staying in case something attacks you.”
It took a moment as he stared at my face, almost determining whether to trust my words or not, then a small chuckle escaped his lips as he pulled back from me a little bit, although he still had his hands on my hips. I didn’t mind it. “I would take you up on that offer, but I don’t want you to have to travel any farther than necessary. We can save that energy for another occasion.” His mischievous smile spoke for itself and I rolled my eyes at it. “Please be safe, Gwin.”
“Of course,” I breathed out, the sound of my name on his lips somehow sounding just right on his tongue. I pulled from his grasp, gave him a nod before I made my way out of the bar. I could feel his eyes on me as I walked out into the cold.
Luckily, my body was warmed by the alcohol I had consumed, and although I had a little buzz, I was still aware of my surroundings and began my walk to the pack house. Soren stayed on my mind the whole time.
