2. Oliver

Chapter two

Oliver

“O liver, come out.”

I wrap myself up in my fuzzy green blanket, becoming the perfect Omega burrito as I shut out the world outside my nest. “No. Go away. I’m not talking to you.”

There goes my bratty Omega attitude again. I get like this.

I have no idea how my poor Alphas cope. Yet they do because they are built to deal with my stroppy Omega hormones.

Gryphon is furious outside the nest. I can smell his angry Alpha pheromones on the other side of the door. His campfire and marshmallows scent now has a hint of brimstone, and it smells as if he has summoned the fires of hell.

Good. He should be pissed. He’s supposed to be my Alpha, yet he yields to the government’s new initiative where every pack must be given a Beta.

The Beta’s role will be to protect the Omega, allegedly. An extra preventive measure in case the Alphas fail to do the job.

They will also be keeping an eye on the Alphas to ensure that their work is up to snuff.

Stupid. I don’t need a Beta to protect me. I have three six-foot-five Alphas who would do anything for me, but the government seems to think that they are not enough.

Apparently, not all Alphas are to be trusted, and that is why Governor Lily caved in the end, letting the Beta government walk all over her.

Some Alpha she is. I heard she doesn’t even have an Omega.

I bet she is lonely…

The Betas are just trying to worm their way in. They are fascinated by us Alphas and Omegas and our way of life, and they are feeling left out.

We form these strong bonds, and they can’t stand it. Now they want a piece of that pie.

“Oliver! This is ridiculous!”

More fist thumping on the door, and I sigh, wrapping myself up further in my blanket burrito.

It truly is. So, why is he caving? He is trained in combat. They all are. Even I’ve had a little training.

I’m not bad with a gun myself, and I’m a smooth fencer.

Once upon a time, we all trained at the Alpha Academy. There, we learned how to be a formidable force of nature.

We were trained to fight and to kill, and how to protect an Omega.

I was always a little smaller than the guys. Yet it soon became apparent that I was never going to be as big as they were, and then during my first year, I perfumed…

That was the day I discovered that I was an Omega. And then I had no choice but to leave the academy and join the Omega School where I learned how to knit booties, cook, and to be pretty, basically.

It's not what I asked for, but it’s what I am now, and I have long accepted that grueling fact.

Besides, it’s not all bad. I get to have a nest.

The guys do make this whole Omega bullshit easier. They shower me with gifts and take care of me when I am sick.

When I am nearing my heat, they go out of their way to ensure I am comfortable. When I cramp, they give me their knots, and when I am hungry, they make me food.

It's obvious by my current mood swing that I am creeping closer to another heat. Perhaps sooner than I realized. Three weeks max. The spikes are unbearable.

My Alpha’s scents surround me. They each give me an item of their clothing when the heat spikes start. Unwashed too.

“That's it. You leave me no choice…”

It looks like he is going to smash the door down. Alphas. So violent.

Unwrapping myself from my blanket burrito, I approach the door, swinging it open just as Gryphon is about to kick his leg out.

His pupils blow out when he sees my state of undress. All I wear are boxers.

My clothes lay in a heap somewhere in the nest. I was getting too hot.

Gryphon's gaze lingers on my refined six-pack, and I give my abs a little flex before I divert his attention to my eyes.

“Eyes up here, Gryphon.”

Finally, he meets my eyes, and it’s reddish brown against sea blue.

“Oliver… if I had any other choice, I would refuse. But the Beta government—”

“I know… I know it’s not your fault. I’m just… sad…”

Sad, and I have no idea why. It’s headache-inducing, and I don’t even know how to keep up with my own Omega body half the time.

This next heat couldn’t come soon enough.

Gryphon peers around the door into my nest. “Can I come in? I can’t stand you being in here alone, Ollie. You know it.”

He cares so much about me, and I fight back the urge to cry. The day I became an Omega, I had to give up my masculinity.

Even as a boy, I always wanted to be an Alpha. I wanted to be a soldier, someone people could depend on.

I wanted to be a hero.

But I only ended up becoming the damsel.

Knots and blankets, knots and blankets… That’s the mantra I have to tell myself.

Being an Omega has its perks.

Finally, I step aside, letting him into the nest. I lay down on the blankets to continue my sulk, and he has the common sense to indulge me.

Damn it. It really is hard to be mad at him when he is so good to me. He doesn’t tell me to stop sulking. He just lays with me while I have my moment.

Everything is changing, and I don’t like it. The past six years have been perfect. Even though I wanted to be an Alpha, at least I managed to get the best Alphas in the country.

Even before I perfumed, I was attracted to them. It’s in our biology.

They are my scent matches. We knew it from the day we met at the Academy.

Gryphon big spoons me, wrapping his leg over my body as we don’t speak. There are many pressing matters on my mind.

Something is on the horizon, and it's not good.

“What’s going to happen to us now?”

Gryphon doesn’t answer. He just keeps his red-brown eyes on the gauzy green curtains that drape around us like a canopy.

Green is my favorite color, and I have no idea why. It was what my Omega was drawn to when I created this nest.

It's a beautiful color. Reminds me of nature.

“We accept the Beta into the pack. Begrudgingly…”

He growls through gritted teeth, and I smirk, lifting my head from the pillow. “You’re going to give them a hard time, aren’t you?”

His mouth crooks up at the corner. “Naturally.”

I shake my head, placing my cheek back on the dark velvet green of my pillow. “Fuck…”

“Fuck indeed.”

Neither one of us has said it. But it’s obvious why the government has implemented this new initiative.

They want to breed more Betas into the Alpha and Omega population. So, they are going to send us a female.

As a male Omega, I can’t produce an heir for my Alphas. And it pains me sometimes.

Not that I have any intention of having children, but it still hurts that I can’t give them heirs. Oftentimes, I can’t tell if it's just me thinking that way or my Omega.

I ball my fists when I think about the female Beta that is about to be forced into our lives. One who will no doubt try to take my Alphas from me.

I won’t let her. They are my Alphas. Mine.

And I will fight tooth and nail just to keep it that way.