Omega Sanctuary

Cortez Gardens was not associated with any city or town, but it was a fifteen-minute stroll from Honeysuckle village. It was not situated inside Horsefly Forest – named after the nasty creatures that attacked any unfortunate souls who found themselves within its boundaries – but it was close enough to the forest that the little bloodsuckers would land on the front door with hopeful eyes and greedy mouths, only to drop dead at the hands of a discounted can of insect spray.

At first glance, Doctor Diego Cortez did not seem the type to be running a safe house for broken and abused omegas, mainly because he himself was an ex-military alpha.

However, he kept his omegas safe and healthy and even if they didn’t always fully trust him because of their backgrounds, he had never allowed any harm to come to them.

Diego’s wife, Ivy, had once been in the position of many of the scared omegas they rescued. Before Diego had even left the military, Ivy had been beaten and abused daily by her drunkard ex-husband and she had barely managed to escape with her life when Diego ran into her. She was bruised and terrified and although she hadn’t been ready to trust another alpha, Diego was a doctor offering to fix her broken shoulder.

Kind words and a gentle heart melted Ivy’s walls and when her ex-husband came looking for her, Diego gave him a lesson that he would never forget. Ivy was not the type of omega who fell quickly for muscular men with handsome smiles, but there was something about Diego that left her wanting.

Apparently, there was something about Ivy too, because they were mated the next year and talking about buying the secluded manor house on the lake behind Horsefly Forest. It took a couple of years for discussions of an omega safe house to become part of their daily conversations and another couple of years for them to renovate the property into a functioning sanctuary.

Cortez Gardens had been up and running for ten years now and many omegas had left its gates more confident and in a far better position than they had arrived.

Currently, there were seven residents, not including Diego and Ivy and although each of them had their own stories, they were slowly healing and coming to terms with the fact that they were safe within their new home.

They were protected by the Cortez couple and the location of the house itself. If any angry boyfriend or abusive parent did somehow manage to find the manor, they were chased off by Diego and Ivy.

City rules did not apply to a secluded safe house near wild shifter territory and people tended not to argue too heatedly when they had a shotgun aimed between their eyes.

Whilst the main threat to the omega residents tended to be their pasts catching up to them, there were other, more expected threats. Winters were bitter in Cortez Gardens and when the storms came, they tended to wreak havoc upon the manor’s heating and electricity.

There was also the threat of the wild shifters that lived in the forest. Mostly, they kept to themselves since they didn’t particularly like civilised shifters, but occasionally Cortez Gardens would have an unwelcome visitor looking for a pretty omega to satisfy his rut. They were usually fairly easy to scare away.

Diego and Ivy had no pack, but they had their omega charges and they would protect them. Besides, what use did civilised shifters have for packs anymore? In the city, everyone looked out for only themselves – it was just one of the reasons why Diego and Ivy had left.

“The winds are going to reach one hundred miles-per-hour tonight,” Ivy says as she grabs some blankets from the top shelf of the wardrobe. “And temperatures are going to drop below minus fifteen Celsius.”

Her thick brown curls flip over her shoulder as she turns to him and her emerald eyes sparkle under the moonlight pouring in from the crack between the curtains. Diego takes a moment to admire her beauty and his gaze falls to plump pink lips that he has tasted over a thousand times. He has the sudden urge to taste them again and he walks towards her slowly, smirking when he sees the moment that she figures out where his thoughts lie.

“We had better sleep naked tonight,” he hums, brown eyes sparkling mischievously, “share body heat to keep warm.”

She allows him to draw her close, his lips inches from hers. “Is that what they teach you in the army?” she purrs.

He nods solemnly. “Mind you, I wasn’t particularly fond of the sergeant’s balls nestling into the crack of my ass.”

There is a pause and Ivy shoves at his chest with a laugh as he shoots her a grin.

“Go distribute these downstairs,” she orders with an amused shake of her head as she thrusts the blankets at him.

He winks at her and puckers his lips and she rolls her eyes before leaning in for a kiss. The moment their lips part, he rubs his stubbly cheek against hers and she squeals as she pushes him away.

“I’ve got friction burns,” she pouts, rubbing her face and he gives her a serious look.

“Want me to shave it off?”

Her eyes widen for a moment before the corners of her mouth twist into a smile and she lets her eyes drift to the designer stubble that he’s trying out.

“...No, no. Makes you attractive,” she teases and he grins at her before trotting downstairs with his pile of blankets.

The omegas are in the lounge, scattered around the huge TV as they watch a very outdated horror film. The sweet smell of popcorn fills the air and Diego clears his throat to announce his presence. The sound of shrieking violins abruptly halts and the seven omegas turn to him and have to stifle their laughter when they can’t see his face from behind the tower of blankets.

“It’s going to be cold and windy tonight,” he says. “Ivy has told me to wrap you all in these, set the timer, and see if you’re cooked all the way through after an hour.”

There’s a round of snickers before the omegas relieve him of his load and he can see them. They are dressed in pyjamas, which makes him smile because none of them would have dreamed of looking so vulnerable in his presence when they first arrived.

Instead of mentioning this and making them uncomfortable, he spies the bowl of popcorn and not-too-subtly slides towards it. He steals a handful, licks his fingers obscenely, and grins at his disgusted audience.

“Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate?” he chirps.

“Hot chocolate,” Madison drawls, “but only if you wash your hands before you touch the cup.” She is only sixteen, but she’s brave and strong-minded and she’s come a long way from the frightened fifteen-year-old trying to escape her abusive parents.

“Why?” he fires back. “Afraid you’ll grow a beard as sexy as mine?”

Madison’s eyes twinkle with challenge. “No, but I don’t want to catch the parasite that’s been lowering your IQ over the past year.”

“The claws are out tonight,” he teases before glancing around the room for further drink orders. When his eyes land on five-year-old Rosie, his gaze softens the tiniest fraction. Ivy thinks it’s sweet how much he loves children.

It is a shame that he can’t produce any of his own.

Fortunately, Ivy doesn’t love him any less for it.

“Miss Lyons, would you prefer hot chocolate or juice?” he asks, lowering his head slightly.

Rosie takes a moment to ponder. “Chocolate!” she grins.

“Excellent choice, ma’am,” Diego nods, bowing ridiculously low.

Rosie’s young mother, Faith, smiles affectionately at him and he shares a knowing glance with her before whirling on his heel and marching out as though his old drill sergeant is barking orders two inches from his sore ears. The omegas immediately break into excited chatter once he reaches the next room and he grins when he hears Loretta and Shashi enthusiastically discussing whether he is an eight or a nine.

“I’m a ten!” he calls back playfully and laughter erupts from the lounge once more.

He returns with a tray of drinks and once he has dealt these out, he lingers by their newest member’s side.

“The little one giving you any trouble?” he asks quietly and Willow sips at her tea before shaking her head. She meets his gaze for a moment before dropping her eyes once more. He makes no move to touch her but he does smile as this is a significant improvement from where they were three months ago when she first arrived with a five-month-old bump.

“Good,” he murmurs. “If you need anything at all, you know where to find me.”

She nods, a small smile twitching her lips as he glides away.

Raphael is the only male omega in the group – which is unsurprising since male omegas are a rare feat of nature anyway – and he holds the bowl of popcorn out to Diego as he passes. Diego grins wordlessly and takes a large handful before climbing the stairs with the two remaining cups. He is hoping for that naked cuddle after all.

As he steps onto the landing, there is an alarming crash from downstairs and a cacophony of snarls and cries of terror.

He drops the tray, boiling liquid jumping onto the carpet, and descends the steps two at a time. He can feel Ivy behind him, her scent reeking of confusion and worry, and they arrive in the lounge together. Their eyes widen and a threatening growl tears from Diego’s throat as he takes in the scene.

There are seven wolves in his home – three alphas, three betas, and one omega – and they are surrounding Diego’s omegas, teeth bared and hackles raised; all except the lone omega, who is slinking low to the ground behind the betas, ears flat and tail tucked.

They are likely wild shifters if the blood and deep wounds are anything to judge by. There is no recognition of any of his omegas in their eyes, which is good, but they are still trying to intimidate his charges and Diego won’t stand for it.

There is no point in him trying to talk to these intruders since they won’t be able to understand him whilst they are in their canine forms. He shifts into his own wolf form, ignoring the way his clothes tear as he does so, and he bares his teeth in challenge at the three alphas, releasing a terrible snarl as he attempts to figure out who the pack leader is.

A wolf with red-brown fur and striking black markings steps towards Diego with a matching snarl. The smallest of the three alphas bares his teeth but remains behind the red, brown and black wolf, and the largest alpha – the one with red-brown fur and no black markings – takes the first alpha’s right side with a warning rumble.

They are all injured and the largest alpha lifts his front left paw off the ground in a way that suggests it isn’t very functional. The middle alpha appears to be the leader and when he notices Diego’s eyes drifting to his friend’s wounded paw, he snarls louder and steps towards Diego.

From the corner of his eye, he can see the betas eying him. They too are severely injured and as one of them takes a step towards Diego, Ivy is beside him as a beautiful black and coffee-coloured wolf. The beta hesitates then tries her luck, so Ivy swipes at her in warning and she retreats.

Diego’s canine form is rather intimidating to most shifters since he is an oily black with a few tan highlights that appear to shift and change with the light – as though his fur is lit by a fire from within. Unfortunately, these wild wolves are not impressed with his appearance and the lead alpha shifts his gaze to the cowering omegas.

Before Diego can figure out what he’s thinking, the other alpha twists and Diego shouts in alarm when he realises that his enemy is heading for Rosie.

Rosie screams and Faith switches to her wolf form as Diego launches towards the bloodied alpha, but it’s too late and the intruder drags the child backwards by the collar of her pyjamas and pushes her to the floor, keeping a paw on her stomach as he growls at Diego and Faith.

Diego stills and Faith begins to shake with fear. Before Diego can react, she surges towards their enemy and the lead alpha waits for her to near him before he strikes her across the face and tries to clamp his jaws around her muzzle. Before he can, Diego is on him, clawing and biting and searching for any weakness he can.

Faith drags Rosie out of their path and leaps out of the way of the biggest alpha’s jaws.

Diego is usually confident that he can beat most civilised alphas since he is well-trained in battle, but wild shifters are a whole other ballgame and they fight without any reservation; the same way a non-shifting animal would.

It seems that he and his enemy are similarly matched and he scrambles backwards when the other alpha’s jaws come too close to his jugular. His chest heaves as he sizes up his enemy and he takes a small victory in the fact that the other alpha makes no further moves to attack him or his omegas.

He lifts his chin and musters up his best furious Soldier Voice. “Explain to me why you broke into my house and threatened my pack.” Technically the omegas aren’t his pack but everyone knows that wild shifters aren’t particularly intelligent. They follow an antiquated hierarchy and they don’t understand anything that isn’t associated with fighting, food and... mating.

The other alpha narrows his eyes and Diego is momentarily surprised by how blue they are. This alpha is strangely... pretty for a wild pack leader.

“We need food and shelter from the storm,” replies the other alpha in a gruff voice, as though he has every right to invade Diego’s home.

“Fascinating,” growls Diego. “Get out.”

The other alpha bares his teeth again before glancing to the three betas on the other side of the room. “We’ll stay here until the storm eases,” he announces, as though Diego hasn’t just told him to leave. As though the manor is a hotel rather than a safe house from violent beasts like him.

“I don’t think you heard me,” Diego seethes as he stalks towards the other alpha. “I said get out before I break your friend’s other leg.”

That gets the alpha’s attention and he whirls on Diego with a snarl, lunging forwards until they are nearly nose to nose. “Touch my little brother and it’ll be the last thing you do.”

Little brother? The other alpha is taller and broader than both of them.

They stare at each other for a moment longer, hackles raised and scents radiating alpha fury before there is a heavy thud beside them and an alarmed cry from the pack leader’s younger brother.

Both of them turn as the brother races to the other side of the room and noses at a fallen beta. He whines softly when she doesn’t move and Diego hears the quiet concern in his enemy’s voice when he asks, “Indi?”

The remaining two betas snuffle at ‘Indi’ and when she doesn’t respond, they cast worried gazes to their pack leader.

The lead alpha begins to head towards the fallen beta but quickly remembers his enemy and hesitates as he narrows his eyes at Diego. His body leans towards his pack though and Diego is surprised since it leaves him slightly vulnerable to attack. Does this alpha care about the lower ranks of his pack more than his own safety?

It is ridiculous to even consider that omegas and betas are considered ‘lower’ than alphas in the wild, but every school child in civilisation grows up with the knowledge that although the world isn’t perfect, they have at least progressed further than wild shifters.

As such, it is rare to see a lead alpha care about the wellbeing of one of his betas. Perhaps she is the highest ranking of the betas?

Diego glares back but he isn’t cold-hearted enough to prevent the other alpha from tending to the beta. It is obvious that they had been in some sort of fight before breaking into the sanctuary.

The other alpha’s mouth tightens before he slinks over to Indi. He inspects her for a moment before growling softly and glaring at the battered omega that sinks even closer to the floor when she catches him staring.

Diego scowls. He doesn’t like the look of that. He’s seen that same expression on far too many abusive boyfriends, disdainful parents, and gaslighting girlfriends. He casts his gaze to his own omegas and wonders how he missed them shifting into their canine forms. They are huddled together, eyes wide with fear and pity as they flick their gazes between the wild pack and the battered lone omega.

She is an entirely white wolf but her fur is stained with dirt and blood – most likely her own. The fur around her lips is also stained red, which gives Diego hope that she at least got a few blows on her attacker.

Diego watches silently as the smallest alpha of the pack hobbles over to assess the downed beta. They hold a quiet conversation between themselves and Diego and Ivy use the time to join their own omegas and stand between them and the intruders.

Finally, the lead alpha growls lowly. “She needs help.” He slowly turns to Diego, a challenging look in his gaze.

“Then you had better go find her some,” Diego replies in the same tone.

The other alpha bares his teeth. “Fine. What do you want?”

Diego snorts in disbelief. “I want you out of my house.”

The other alpha barks in frustration. “Well, that’s obviously not going to happen when one of my pack members is unconscious on your floor! If you call a doctor, I’ll give you anything you want in return.”

Diego raises his brows (which looks rather comical in his canine form) and tilts his head slowly. He has never heard of wild shifters bargaining; he was under the impression that they took what they wanted by force and when that didn’t work, they lost interest.

To be honest, he has always been taught that wild shifters despise weakness and that they will abandon their own when they have surpassed their usefulness. He had half-expected the pack to leave the fallen beta and move on.

“She’d kick your ass if she caught you looking at her like that,” the other alpha growls suddenly and Diego realises that he has let his pitying gaze linger on Indi for too long. He returns his attention to his enemy.

“So, let me get this straight,” he says drily. “You break into my home – into an omega safe house, threaten its residents, attack a five-year-old girl, attack her mother, attack me, ignore my orders to leave, and now... you want me to help you? Have I got all that right?”

The other alpha wrinkles his nose. “...What’s an omega safe house?”

Diego narrows his eyes. “A place to protect omegas from violent assholes.”

The other alpha looks even more confused. “...Why would they need something like that?”

Diego’s mouth draws into a thin line. “You’re really starting to try my patience.”

His enemy blinks before flashing his teeth. “It’s not my fault that you civilised folk don’t teach your omegas how to defend themselves. Wouldn’t need crappy places like this then, would they?” The alpha shakes his head irritably as he stalks towards his pack. “And they think we’re backwards.”

Diego sputters angrily. “In what world should omegas have to learn how to fight to stop themselves from being attacked by brutes like you? They shouldn’t have to worry about entitled alphas and betas assaulting them!”

The alpha snorts derisively. “Leave it to city slickers to preach equality, then get offended when anyone suggests that omegas learn the same skills as alphas and betas.”

Diego’s eyes widen in shock as the other alpha glances over his shoulder. “So? What do I have to do to get you to call a doctor?”

Diego squares his jaw and when he can’t think of a good response, he prowls over to the other pack, hoping he looks at least a little intimidating. The pack growls at him so he takes it as a win.

“I’m sorry, did I say you could join us?” asks the other alpha coldly.

“Did I say you could enter my house and attack my omegas?” Diego shoots back.

The other alpha glares at him in silent defiance and Diego curls his lip in disdain. “You wanted a doctor. Well... here I am. Now, move.”

The other pack leader looks momentarily stunned and Diego basks in the feeling of smug satisfaction as he shoves past his enemy. He glances warily between the other pack members when they growl softly at him but his attention is quickly taken by the unconscious beta.

He needs to be in his human form to properly assess her.

“Ivy, could you get my dressing gown please?” he murmurs.

Ivy hesitates, glancing between the intruders and the omegas trembling behind her. She licks her lips and Diego realises the problem. If she leaves now, the other omegas are open to attack and Diego can’t hold them all off by himself. He’s about to ask her to take everyone upstairs when Raphael slinks around the couch.

“I’ll get it,” he says quietly and as he makes his way out of the room with his head lowered, Diego catches the youngest alpha blatantly watching him.

“Eyes off my omegas,” Diego snarls and the young alpha startles before glaring at him.

“Someone’s possessive,” he sneers. “You screwing all of them?”

Diego gives a chesty growl at that and the young alpha bares his teeth, not intimidated in the slightest.

Raphael returns with the dressing gown a few moments later and averts his gaze as Diego shifts into his bipedal form. He draws the gown around himself and nods gratefully at Raphael before focusing on the beta.

Cool extremities, pale gums, rapid pulses, a capillary refill time of more than two seconds...

And a gaping hole in her stomach that’s leaking blood like a tap.

The beta is suffering from hypovolemic shock. Fortunately, Diego has a room well-stocked with fluids and drip lines since most of his residents don’t want to go to a hospital when they arrive. It is understandable, considering how public hospitals are and how easy it is for abusive family members to gain access.

Diego’s mind is overcome by medical training as he thinks about his next steps with his patient. There is a basic blood machine in the treatment room downstairs and he needs to check the beta’s electrolytes to hook her up to the right sort of fluids. She likely needs a blood transfusion but he doesn’t know her blood type and he doesn’t store plasma bags anyway. He needs to flush and debride the wound and ensure that there are no foreign bodies that could cause problems later on and he should probably start her on methadone and a short course of antibiotics-

A deep snarl snaps him back to the present and he looks down at the lead alpha, only just realising that he has begun to lift the beta off the floor. Lifting such a large wolf is clearly not a task he can accomplish on his own despite what his subconscious seems to believe, and he isn’t certain what possessed him to try when she is a member of an enemy pack – an enemy pack that has him surrounded.

The lead alpha bares his teeth, hackles raised as he glares at Diego and with them both in different forms, they cannot communicate. Diego gently releases Indi, wondering how he should proceed if the wild pack won’t allow him to touch his patient. The other alpha seems to recognise this and falls quiet for a moment before shifting into his human form.

He is of similar height to Diego, with sun-kissed skin and thick, wavy, dark hair that drifts past his broad shoulders. His body is covered in old scars but they do nothing to lessen his attractiveness – if anything, they serve to increase it; like stories of his history woven into his skin – of victories and losses and mistakes that he has learned from.

He is also entirely naked.

Diego tries not to stare, he really does, but alas, he is a simple man. It isn’t that he has the sudden urge to swing for the other team, it has more to do with the fact that there is an enemy head alpha in his house – an enemy who has fought him and is now standing buck naked in his lounge, mere feet away from his wife. His wife whom is most certainly staring.

Diego lets his eyes drift south. He tries to guess how big the other alpha’s sausage is compared to his own and decides that for the sake of his pride, his own little guy is more impressive. He returns his gaze to the other alpha’s face, unsurprised to find that his wild enemy doesn’t seem to care that all of his parts are flapping in the breeze.

Wild shifters aren’t exactly known for their modesty, after all.

Diego himself may have not been quite as disturbed by the scene had he been alone. As it is, there are seven omegas behind him – each of them currently finding the floor or ceiling particularly interesting. And then there is his wife, who can’t seem to decide whether she wants to look or not.

Little Rosie would be traumatised if he didn’t say something soon.

“What’s your diagnosis?” growls the naked alpha as Diego tries to formulate a way to convince his enemy to wear a towel.

“Hypovolemic shock,” Diego murmurs before glancing at his enemy’s carrot stick. “Look, do you think you can... cover that so you don’t traumatise my omegas?”

The alpha glances down at himself and raises a condescending eyebrow at Diego. “Your pack is traumatised by me having a penis?”

Diego fights the urge to close his eyes. “You can’t just... stand in the middle of the floor with everything hanging out. There are minors here.”

The other alpha slides his gaze to Rosie and Madison before slowly covering his nether regions with his hands. He looks annoyed.

“Happy?” he asks sarcastically.

“I can get you something to wear,” Diego begins but the other alpha glowers at him and he falls quiet.

“Hypovolemic shock?” asks the alpha irritably and Diego recovers quickly.

“From the blood loss. She needs fluid replacement ASAP. Wound debridement and antibiotics. Surgery.”

The alpha’s mouth draws into a thin line and for a moment, he looks exhausted. “A hospital. You’re saying that she needs a hospital.”

Diego hesitates. He could say yes. Call an ambulance and let this pack be someone else’s problem. He would never have to see them again and his omegas would be safe.

He flicks his gaze to Indi and the corners of his mouth tug downwards. He knows that the hospital will turn them away the moment they figure out that Indi is from the wild. Healthcare is free to everyone who pays taxes and civilised shifters don’t like wild shifters at the best of times. The hospital can legally refuse treatment since all wild shifters have been branded dangerous and high risk.

Not that Diego is inclined to disagree, mind you.

Still... he took an oath to prevent needless suffering and he is no stranger to treating enemy soldiers.

He sighs. He cannot, in good conscience, leave Indi to suffer when there is a significant risk that the hospital will refuse treatment.

“I have a treatment room in the basement,” Diego says, half-hoping that the pack will scoff and reject his offer. “It isn’t perfect and I don’t exactly have the most sterile of operating theatres... but it’s useful for emergencies.”

The other alpha scrunches his nose and opens his mouth to reject the absurd offer, but then he pauses and casts his worried gaze to Indi. The big wolf – the brother – is nuzzling Indi, whining softly as he licks her wound.

“Save her,” says the head alpha softly, refusing to meet Diego’s gaze. “In return, I’ll do anything you ask.”

Diego raises his eyebrows in surprise at the defeated tone. “Help me carry her downstairs,” he says eventually before a scowl sweeps over his features. “And keep your pack away from my omegas.”

The other alpha gives him a withering glare as he moves towards Indi. “We have no interest in your omegas. We were seeking shelter from the storm – that’s all.”

Diego slips his arms under Indi’s chest and head as the other alpha supports her back end. “So that means you can break into my house and assault my pack?” Diego snarks as he braces himself to lift.

The other alpha bares his teeth and it is just as intimidating in this form as his other. “We were desperate!” he hisses exasperatedly. “We’re wounded!”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t go around picking fights and getting your pack all banged up,” drawls Diego and before he can lift Indi, the alpha is on him; punching and clawing and snarling at him in all his naked glory.

“You don’t know anything!” the alpha roars and Diego throws his hands over his face to protect himself before kneeing his enemy where it hurts most.

The alpha grunts in pain and Diego rolls him onto his back and pins him there with narrowed eyes. The other alpha’s chest heaves and his gaze is filled with hot rage as he glares up at Diego. There is a long moment where Diego studies his enemy and he notes every bruise, every gash, every drop of dried blood.

The alpha is highly reactive to every movement, every word – he allows his emotions to get the better of him at the most illogical moments and this close, Diego can smell fear and pain in his scent. Anguish and despair are hidden there too and Diego frowns because the scents are unexpected.

He tightens his grip on his enemy’s wrists when the alpha struggles beneath him and once the wild alpha realises that he’s trapped, he bares his teeth at Diego.

“Let me go,” he growls and Diego sees the exhaustion creeping behind his eyes; feels the strength beginning to drain from his overly tense muscles. Diego holds him down and waits.

Finally, the other alpha’s breaths even out and Diego is shocked when a thin layer of water shines in his enemy’s eyes.

“Please,” whispers the alpha. “Don’t let me lose another one.”

Diego’s eyes widen. He has seen this same look in officer’s expressions – has heard that same breathy plea countless times.

He releases the other alpha and wordlessly takes to Indi’s side. The wild alpha lowers his head in defeat as he joins Diego and they carry the beta downstairs and place her on the bed.

“Tell your pack to come see me when I’m finished with her,” Diego mutters, back turned to his enemy as he fixes Indi on the bed. “Help yourself to food but stay away from my omegas. They don’t do well around alphas.” He begins to lose focus of everything that isn’t his patient and the task at hand. “There is seating in the dining room. You may rest there.”

The other alpha is silent for a long while as he watches Diego. Finally, his exhaustion overcomes his instinct to observe his enemy and he drops his gaze.

“...Thank you, alpha,” he mumbles and Diego arches a brow at the title. He knows how difficult it is for wild head alphas to defer to other pack leaders. They find the very thought humiliating; demeaning.

Some civilised alphas won’t defer to other alphas either – soldiers and officers were some of the worst offenders back when he served and it was literally their jobs to take orders from those higher than them.

Diego shakes his head at the countless scraps he had been witness to. He had treated so many prideful morons.

He doesn’t respond to the other alpha, even when his enemy lingers in the doorway.

“Ty,” offers the alpha after a tense silence. “Ty Steele.”

“Diego Cortez,” he grunts back as he gathers flush and antiseptic for his patient.

Ty nods and ascends the stairs.