by L. C. Davis
A soft knock on the door drew him from his melancholy and he called, "Come in."
Lita stepped into the room, carrying a basket on her arm. "Thought you could use a lunch break," she said brightly. Her smile was usually infectious, and that day was no exception.
"A turkey club on homemade bread?" he asked, peeking into the basket. "Okay, what do you want?"
She rolled her eyes. "I'm your sister. Can't I just make you lunch as a gesture of love and appreciation?"
Benjamin leaned back in his chair and tapped a pen against his desk, feigning deep concentration. "Hm....nope. Out with it, squirt."
She sighed, flopping down in the chair across from his desk. "Okay, well, there is one thing." She paused, chewing her pink thumbnail, which had always been her tell when she was about to say something she knew either their parents or Benjamin himself wouldn't like. "You know Zane Wilmont, from the Red River Pack?"
Here it comes... "The alpha's son," Benjamin affirmed, keeping his face neutral. "I've met him a few times."
Lita's face turned as pink as her nails and she smiled a little behind her hand. "Well, my party was the first time we'd met and...I think it's him."
"Him him?"
She nodded, grinning from one ear to the other.
"Are you sure?" he asked warily. "He's a bit...loud."
"He's bold and charismatic and wonderful," she said with a wistful sigh. "Ben, I've just been dying ever since the party. He has to be the one."
"My, and here I had no idea you were suffering in silence," he said dryly.
Lita threw a potato chip at him. "I'm serious! We're talking true love here, a mate bond. When you know, you just know."
"You thought Kip was the one last year," he reminded her gently. "And Jules before that."
"That was different. This time is different."
"How?"
She hesitated. "I don't know, I just know. There were sparks and fireworks and all the other things I didn't believe in before."
"You, the girl with a rom com collection that takes up an entire bookshelf, didn't believe in sparks?"
She scowled. "Why are you being so pessimistic?"
"I'm not trying to be a pessimist, I'm just trying to look out for you," he said, rubbing his strained eyes. "I don't want you to get hurt, and you have a tendency to get excited about things. A mate bond isn't just a feeling or butterflies in your stomach, it's permanent and if it's real, it's not going to change overnight."
Her fists balled up in her skirt as she asked, "How would you know? It's not like you've ever imprinted on anybody."
Benjamin stared at her for a moment. Her words might have hit their mark months before, but he found himself more surprised that he felt nothing at all. Even as her face fell and turned with guilt, he was apathetic. Maybe it was because it wasn't true. He had experienced a bond with Yuri. It might not have been the sparks and fireworks he had been conditioned to believe in. He might have kept his romanticism under wraps, but as an adult looking back, Benjamin could see that he had been every bit as naive and idealistic as the girl in front of him. Maybe that was why he had taken the real thing for granted. If he hadn't, if he had recognized the gift he had been given in Yuri for what it was, maybe things would have been different. Maybe he would have been more careful, more reverent. Maybe he would have spent more time nurturing that bond rather than taking it for granted, and maybe then Yuri would have stayed.
There were so many mistakes he had made, things he could only see in hindsight. Lita leaned forward, resting her hand on top of his. "I'm so sorry, Ben," she said softly. "I never should have said that. It was mean and awful and...I don't even know why I said it."
"I do," he said, giving her a small smile of reassurance. "You're right, I certainly don't know what you experienced. Maybe Zane is the one."
She watched him like she didn't quite believe him. "Forget about Zane for a minute," she murmured. "What happened with Yuri? Mom would only say he's staying with friends, but he just got here. How could he have any friends at Mountain Ridge, and why isn't he here?"
Benjamin sighed. "Don't worry about it. What is it exactly that you want me to do about Zane?"
"Well, with daddy being so stressed out and all the appointments and everything, I didn't want to go to him right away," she said, her voice still full of shame. "I thought maybe you could meet with him first?"
Benjamin glanced down at the calendar on his desk and crossed out one of the entries. "How's next week?"
"Oh, Ben," she cried, jumping out of her chair to hug him tightly. "Thank you so much. You'll love Zane once you get to know him a little, I promise."
Chapter 15
YURI
As one of the few omegas in his wing of the dormitories who didn't have pups, Yuri found himself on babysitting duty more often than not. He had never taken quite as easily to the nurturing role as most omegas did, but he found himself grateful for the distraction. There had always been something to do in the Ice Canyon Pack, and when there hadn't been, there was always a beta who could be relied upon to come around the corner and bark orders, filling the gap. Yuri had more free time on his hands than he knew what to do with between art class and the group therapy sessions Angel had convinced him to try out. He didn't like feeling idle, or useless, so if chasing around a bunch of rowdy pups was what it took to chase those feelings away, it was worth it.
"Gimme that!" Bella, a short but fierce child, shrieked from across the playroom. Yuri had been abandoned by the beta guard who had been assigned daycare duty as a replacement for the omega who usually took that shift, since she had come down with a cold. The guard had all but leaped to her feet, eager to escape the screaming toddlers by volunteering to take another to the infirmary. The young pup had decided to dive headfirst off the couch while Yuri and the guard were preoccupied with deescalating a power struggle brewing between two others.
At the moment, Bella had become the defacto leader of the group and she was nothing short of a tyrant, attempting to wrest a stuffed bear from the hands of a shy young omega in the corner of the room. Their designations weren't set in stone at that age and surprises did happen, but in most cases, it was obvious enough what societal roles they would play as adults. In some cases, it was downright inevitable.
"Bella, that's enough," Yuri scolded lightly, reaching for the bear. "Hannah had that first."
"She chew on his nose!" Bella cried in indignation, clutching the bear protectively.
Yuri sighed. Apparently, the protective drive started early. "Hannah, can we agree not to chew on the bear if Leah gives it back?"
Hannah nodded, wide-eyed as she chewed on her hand. Yuri turned back to Bella, starting to feel like he was more of a hostage negotiator than a caregiver. "Bella, will you please give the bear back and tell Hannah you're sorry?"
Bella's mouth sent into a straight line, but she finally mumbled, "Sorry," and dropped the bear before marching off to police a group of young betas who were arguing over the TV remote. At least she did help keep the peace.
"Well, this is...pretty much how I envision the seventh circle of Hell, actually."
Yuri looked up from gathering an armful of blocks that were bound to trip someone if they stayed where they were on the floor and recognized the omega standing at the door immediately. At least, Mel was technically an omega. His energy was unlike the others in a way Yuri couldn't quite pinpoint, and he certainly didn't have a pack role typical of an omega. He was a member of the Tribunal, the judicial body that settled matters of dispute between packs in the Federation. Yuri had met him only once before, when he had stopped by to talk with Angel during one of his classes, but Mel didn't live in the dorms. From what Yuri understood, he lived with Mitchell's chief beta, when he wasn't away on Tribunal business, which seemed to be the case more often than not.
"If you're looking for Cindy, I think she's still in the infirmary," Yuri said, dumping the blocks into the toy chest.
"I can see that," Mel said, surve
ying the chaos of the room. "She always abandoned me, too, when I got stuck with rugrat duty. You're Yuri, right?" he asked, offering a hand.
Yuri blinked in surprise. It was strange for omegas to greet one another so formally, but he returned the handshake, surprised by its firmness and the warmth in Mel's smile. "Yeah. I don't think we officially met last time, but you're Mel, right?" As if he didn't know. Mel was something of a celebrity in the Central Unit, and the gossip surrounding him was equal parts flattering and salacious. As progressive as the Mountain Ridge Pack had become, there were still plenty of wolves who didn't approve of the idea of an omega taking on such an untraditional role, never mind being mated to a beta. A surprising number of his detractors were omegas themselves.
"Yeah, I haven't been around too much lately," Mel said, running a hand through his hair. "Looks like the breeding program is thriving," he added in a dry tone.
"Pardon?" As far as Yuri knew, the program had been shut down long before he had entered the pack.
"Ignore me. My sarcasm rarely hits its mark," Mel said, turning to look down at the tiny omega Yuri hadn't even noticed. Lucida was old enough to talk, but she rarely did. Her big brown eyes were nearly all black as she stared up at Mel in such a way that Yuri could hardly tell if she was starstruck or terrified. When she held her hands up and reached for Mel to pick her up, Yuri had his answer.
"Hey, Tater Tot," Mel cooed, his entire demeanor shifting as he fawned over the girl in his arms. "You being good for Yuri?"
Lucida nodded, offering him the small cat figurine she had tucked into the pocket of her overalls. He took it and examined it with great fascination. "Wow, you kept this all this time?"
"You two know each other?" Yuri asked.
"Sure do." Mel grinned. "I found Lucida here while I was traveling for work and brought her back with me." He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "She's my favorite little nightmare monster, but don't tell anyone," he said, poking the girl's nose.
Lucida erupted into a fit of giggles, marking the first time Yuri had seen her so much as smile since he had been there. Mel put her down and sent her off to play with the others.
"Where are her parents?" Yuri asked, wary of the answer. There were a few pups who remained long after the other mothers and fathers had come to claim most of the group, and Lucida was one of them. Yuri had seen her with one of the other omegas, but there wasn't enough resemblance between them for him to assume she was her mother.
"They're gone," Mel said, his tone growing somber as he watched the girl linger on the outskirts of a small group of omegas who were having a quiet tea party at a table while the chaos raged around them. "She wasn't being looked after properly in the pack we took her from, so I brought her with me."
"Oh," Yuri murmured. He knew what it was like to be taken from a pack by wolves who thought they knew better, so he decided to reserve judgment on where Lucida had come from. Even so, Lucida's demeanor, especially timid even for an omega, supported Mel's claim of mistreatment. "That must be a hard job."
"It is," Mel admitted, sighing. "Worth it, though. Kind of like being a social worker and a cop and a jury... How's she doing?" he asked, nodding in Lucida's direction.
"I haven't really been working here for that long," said Yuri. "She seems healthy, but a little shy, I guess."
Mel sighed. "Yeah. I keep hoping she'll come out of her shell."
"How long has she been here?"
"Six months," Mel murmured.
"Oh. Well, if you like, I'll try to keep a closer watch on her when I'm here."
Mel smiled. "Thanks, I appreciate that. Say, how'd you end up here, anyway?"
"I, um, ran away."
Mel didn't seem fazed by that in the least. "Well, I'm sorry for whatever happened. Angel will take care of you, you just let him know if the others give you a hard time."
"Nothing happened, really," Yuri said, feeling his cheeks grow warm. If there was one thing he had learned in group therapy, it was that the trauma he had experienced before being transferred to the Ice Canyon Pack was far from an isolated case. He still wasn't comfortable enough to speak up, but hearing the other omegas share their stories had been healing in its own way. It had put his own upbringing into a different context, and made him see the pack he had so recently left behind for the sanctuary it was. "I just didn't feel like I belonged in the Cold Water Pack."
"Cold Water?" Mel arched an eyebrow in recognition. There were few souls in Mountain Ridge territory who didn't know that name, it seemed. "You know Heinrich?"
"His son mostly," Yuri admitted. "I was...supposed to be his omega."
Mel frowned. "What did he do?"
"Nothing," Yuri said quickly. "Nothing at all. We just weren't a good match. It's better for everyone if I stay here."
Mel relaxed and the murder faded from his eyes. "Well, that's a relief. I've known Heinrich for a while, and Benjamin by proxy. They're good alphas, as far as I can tell, but you never know," he murmured. "If there's one thing I've learned in my line of work, it's that."
"Yeah," Yuri said softly. "He's pretty rare." When Mel gave him a strange look, he added, "They are, I mean. Benjamin and his father."
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Yuri. I should probably get going. I still haven't touched base with Mitchell since I've been back."
Yuri nodded. "It was good to meet you, too. Do you want me to tell Cindy you stopped by?"
"Nah, just came to check on Lucida," he admitted, pausing in the doorway. "Whatever it is you ran from, I certainly hope you find something worth running to while you're here."
Yuri forced a smile and tried to shove down the feeling of dread rising in his stomach. "Thanks," he said hoarsely, unable to escape the fear that he had done exactly the opposite.
Chapter 16
BENJAMIN
"No." The word was distant, an echo through the ringing in Benjamin's ears as he sat across from his father at the kitchen table. His mother had already gone upstairs and from the look on the woman's face, Benjamin had known that the doctor hadn't given them any good news, but he still wasn't prepared for his world to turn on its head. His father was strong. Resilient. Healthy. He had been for Benjamin's entire life and the word cancer just wasn't something that his mind would accept as being related to the stalwart Alpha. "Tell me you're joking."
Heinrich's face was impassive. He took a sip of the tea Sue had left for him, still steaming from the cup. "That's what I told the doctor. Turns out, he doesn't have a sense of humor."
"This... but how... this isn't possible," Benjamin said, struggling to retain control of his voice. It was wavering and dangerously close to cracking.
"It's not common for a wolf, but it's possible," Heinrich said with a sigh.
"How can you be so calm about this?"
The older wolf shrugged. "I knew it wasn't going to be good news when the doctor said he wanted to see me in the office. From there, it was just a matter of accepting the brand of bad news it was."
"What are we going to do?" Benjamin pressed, immediately shifting gears. Once denial was no longer an option, formulating a plan was the only logical thing to do. He needed something to do and there was always a plan.
"There are treatments," Heinrich said in a hesitant tone.
"So take them. When can you start?"
Heinrich gave his son a look. "It's not that simple, Ben."
"Bullshit. You're sick and they have medicine, surgeries, things that can make you better. You'll do what they say and get better," he said with a shrug. "Simple."
"Regular health screenings aren't something a wolf from my generation is accustomed to, Ben," he said slowly. "If we'd caught it early, that might be one thing, but we didn't. That's my choice and my consequence to deal with. Unfortunately, it's limited my other choices."
"What are you saying?" Benjamin asked, shaking his head as anger flared in his gut. "You're not going to fight this?"
"Of course I am. You know me better than that," he scoffed
. "It's just a matter of which strategy I can live with. Making sure I can enjoy whatever time I do have left."
"Please don't say that." Benjamin wasn't above begging, and life seemed intent on giving him the opportunity to prove it at every turn lately.
Heinrich reached across the table and patted his hand. "I have every intention of sticking around long enough to see my grandkids. Don't go picking out my burial plot yet."
"The grandkids might happen sooner rather than later," Benjamin muttered. He had intended to wait until after he had met Zane to bring the situation up to their father, but given the circumstances, he figured it would be welcome news. "Lita has her eyes set on the son of the Alpha from the Red River Pack."
"Zane?" he cocked an eyebrow. "The loud one?"
"Mhm."
"That girl is gonna be the thing that kills me," he muttered.
"I'm meeting with him next week, so don't worry about that."
"Of course you are," Heinrich said with a warm laugh. "I can always count on you, can't I?"
"Always," Benjamin said, holding his father's gaze.
Heinrich's smile turned somber. "There's something that needs to be settled, now that we've got the answers, like them or not. The matter of Alpha."
"What's to be settled?" Benjamin asked warily.
"I'm sick, Ben, and it gets harder every day to do the things that used to take no effort at all. Now, your mother and the doctor are tag teaming me on resting and focusing on recovery as much as I can."
"I'll step into the ring, too," said Benjamin. "Consider yourself relieved of duty until you get better. I can handle everything."
