Holy Ground [Ian]
1309 Words
“Where is your Alpha? Where are your Elders?” Ian asked again. “He knows I'm supposed to be here. You... they're expecting me.”
“They're not — ” one of the omegas began saying, but was cut off by the collective shushing of the rest. “I'm sorry,” he mumbled.
They all directed their gazes at the omega standing close to Ian who was visibly the eldest among them.
“What's your name?” Ian asked him.
The omega hesitated, shifting his weight from one foot to another. “Kai. Kai West.”
Kai West. Ian pursed his lips. “Good. Nice to meet you, Kai. You know why I'm here. I'm certain for a fact that you were at least informed about the arrangement?”
“I was, Sir.”
“Well, I wouldn't want to take you back to me without speaking to someone at least. It's against protocol. At least there must be one of your Elders around, no?”
The omegas at the corner shifted uncomfortably.
He'd finally had it up to his neck. “Will you stop shuffling about and talk,” Ian barked. The growl that followed startled the omegas even more. “I don't like being held in suspense like this. This isn't the way things are done.”
“We're incredibly sorry, Sir. We don't mean to, we swear,” Kai moved to stand at the table where Ian sat, shaking like a leaf now. “We just... We were instructed by our Alpha not to talk to you until he gets back home.”
Ian's face maintained it's neutral expression, but his upper lip curled up into a terse snarl. “Then where the hell did he go, and when did he say he was going to be back?”
Kai swallowed hard before nodding to a door at the other end of the room. “He's actually home, Sir. But he's drunk.”
“He's home? Drunk?” Ian released the tension on his shoulders with an exaggerated roll. He didn't like the way this was headed. “How drunk are we talking about here?”
A giggle escaped from one of the younger omegas, but he was quickly shushed.
“It's pretty bad. He'll most likely stay out till after eight,” Kai shrugged.
Gracious Lord, Ian had no intention of staying in this dreary place longer than he had to. Everything about this place rubbed off on his the wrong way. He consulted his watch with a sigh. “So, this is routine for him? How long has this been going on?”
“A few weeks, Sir,” Kai nodded. “It's kind of... it's kind of my doing. It's my fault.”
Odd. Really odd. Ian tilted his head to the side to indicate for Kai to continue.
“I do get him drunk. On purpose.”
Ian rubbed his temples now, confused even more. This situation unsettled him more than I should. Judging by the behavior of the omegas, and how frightened Kai looked, he came to a conclusion. “He's an abusive Alpha, isn't he?”
The silence that followed told him the answer to that. “Where are your Elders? Are they close? I want to speak to at least one of them. Go get them.”
The nervous shuffling worsened now. The thin strand of patience Ian was holding on to snapped. He placed his hands on the table and rose up, slowly, to his full height, bringing his own weight as an Alpha to bear on the omegas. “Have you all gone deaf? I said go get an Elder here now and fast!”
“We can't do that, Sir.” Kai stepped back from Ian, his eyes wide.
Ian immediately regretted resorting to intimidation. It wasn't his style, and this was exactly why. No matter what Pharrell or anyone else said, he hated it whenever others cowered before him. Respect wasn't forced, but earned, and that was his motto. He preferred to encourage others to follow his lead than force them to.
Then it hit him. Worse than a train wreck. The strong smell of fresh death outside. “They're dead, aren't they? All of them?”
“All of them,” Kai reiterated.
“And your Alpha was the one who killed them. Got it now.”
There was a thick silence again.
“He can't be your true Alpha, can he? He's not.” It could be considered a reach, kind of, but giving how the omegas were behaving, it only made sense.
Kai shook his head.
Ian exhaled, scrubbing at his face calmly. “Well, this changes everything. Everyone start packing. We're leaving this place. Now.”
The omegas stared at him, unblinking for a moment before the dam burst. They surged forward, surrounding him, all more eager to engage now than they were a few moments ago.
“But now, Sir? There's a terrible storm coming.”
“We'll never be lucky to make it out off the mountain. The roads are always slippery when it rains and we could get into a pretty bad accident.”
Ian let out an aggravated sigh. “This is why I live in the city. It's late, but I'm still willing to risk it nonetheless,” he said with a deep breath. “Everyone outside. The Porsche will be more than enough to take us all.”
Suddenly, a loud bang came from the other room, startling the omegas. They all jumped to scurry behind Ian, rocking him from side to side. “s**t, Kai! He's woken up.”
Kai shook his head wildly, letting out a frustrated grunt. “This is bad. He's not supposed to regain consciousness till another two hours. He's probably still drunk and is only going to take a pee.”
“Calm down,” Ian said, placing a steadying hand on Kai's shoulder. The omega was shaking violently. They were all terrified of this Alpha. Too terrified. “Nothing is going to happen to you. It'll be fine, I promise.”
“N-no, S-sir it... it won't.” A brunette-haired omega stepped forward. Tears made his face glisten. “You don't understand. He warned us not to talk to you.”
“He's going to kill is,” another omega shouted.
The naked fear on their faces rattled Ian to the core. While he wasn't exactly old-fashioned, Ian did believe that one of an Alpha's chief responsibilities was to care for those under him, whether pack related or simply by status. Omegas were still considered the lowest in the social structures of werewolf society, but in the cities at least, more liberal minded treatment of them was highly encouraged.
No Alpha worth his status ever abused omegas. That was what was going on here.
Ian felt a direct responsibility to get the omegas out of here and to safety.
“He spoke about killing you, Sir. Especially if you tried to take me with you.” Kai gripped Ian's jacket sleeve tightly. “You need to leave. He's a monster, I swear. He'll make good on his words.”
Despite how serious the situation was, Ian, at that moment had the urge to laugh at Kai's words. There was no f*****g way he was going to leave without them. No. f*****g. Way.
The bedroom door smashed open. Ian had dealt with a drunk Alpha enough to know that the man was still reeling from alcohol. The stink of stale sweat and booze oozed out of every pore. Hung strongly on the air. In his hands, he was clutching a shotgun.
“Can someone explain what the f**k is going on here?” he roared.
This was going to be a very long night, Ian could tell.
- Writer
