Energy of the Omega

Part Four

Caly’s POV

Most of today’s spectators were still milling about, patiently waiting for their children to take their selfies, and hug their 300 fake friends goodbye.  Well wishes, mixed in with side-eyed backhanded compliments. Promises to stay in contact FOREVER and that they would ‘of course’ come to their pool parties and keggers all summer long. They ‘deserved’ this summer off after working so hard and graduating.  Some of my fellow Graduates were shrilly squealing ‘Oh my Goddess’ and ‘Aww Sic!’ as their parents couldn’t wait to get home to show off their shiny new trinkets like cars and jewelry. Just a ‘little’ Grad Day gifts.  The real spoiling would begin at home when dinners and parties would be held in their honour.  Every party no doubt would be more extravagant than the last.

Where am I currently sitting on this emotional rollercoaster?  Damn, I think I’m closer to green-eyed jealously than bitter.  Breathe. Be thankful for what ya got.  How many times will I tell myself this today?  Breathe.  Be thankful this part is over.  Breathe.  Be thankful we still have some integrity.  Breathe. Be thankful we still have our integrity. Breathe.  Be thankful we still~

‘Breathe, Babe.  We are still keeping it real. Breathe.’

Alpha Darius notices a little shift in me.  He must have, because suddenly he has a hand holding me by my elbow, and is gently guiding me away from this nightmare. 

We walked back to the parking lot closest to my dorm block.  Former dorm, I remind myself.  I was finally done with school.  Relief finally hits me,  and I can breathe without thinking again.  I notice without a word or mind-link our pack falls quickly into line behind Alpha Darius. This parking lot is a bit of a walk from back from the ceremony, and as such it’s empty except for those of us from Artemis.  When we are about to figure out seating arrangements, Jason’s father, our Gamma takes over. This was the first time I noticed how much security would be with us.  Seeing it sends Athena into a frenzy in my head.

‘This needs more of our attention.’

She projects her senses to the forefront, not trusting me to assess this situation for myself.

‘You can’t do what I can!‘ She snaps at me, baring her teeth. She thoroughly sniffs the air,  sensing pack members and scent neutralizers coming from the two SUVs parked to the side.  I try to keep up with her, tallying numbers in my head.  I add four warriors to the slightly roughed-up black SUV.  That’s where the scent neutralizers are strongest.  It could fit eight people easily, even with the extra bulk of a trained warrior. So at least four warriors, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were more. There’s no way to know, the windows are tinted and the occupant’s scents are hidden for a reason. 

Alpha leads me to a second SUV.  It is a gunmetal gray Suburban, it looks very new and highly modified. Showy enough to be the Alpha’s ride, but clearly made safe for such a valuable person.  Two men emerge from the front seat and open the back doors for us. I notice there are two rows of seating in the back, facing each other.  I sit looking back, Athena is still is working her own form of surveillance. Our little group is composed of 13 cars and trucks, and one u-haul cube van. Gamma assigns a warrior to each vehicle,  even Jason’s.  I can see him looking perturbed as someone hops in on his passenger side.  The only thing worse than him not getting quality alone time with me would be being assigned a babysitter.  He was well-trained to protect his pack and his own self.  One day he would take over as head of security from his dear old Dad. 

Alpha sits on the other plush bench, facing me and looking forward, unfazed.  Stoic is a mastered trait for Alpha Darius. 

Athena and I feel completely different. “Seems like a lot of extra protection today? Was there a threat?” I whisper out.  I know to be conscious of my words, we aren’t alone in this car. I hear the soft whir of something behind me, and I snap my head back to see what it could be.  A tinted glass divider is being raised between the back and front seats. The power locks all snap shut.

‘Real smooth, Babe. You look like a frightened squirrel.’

‘You didn’t know what it was either,' I snap back. ‘Don’t you ‘squirrel’ me either.’

I tap the glass behind me with one knuckle. “Soundproof?” I guess.

“Just some privacy. Nothing for you to worry about,” he responds casually to my attempt to fish for information. “We are travelling with much of our current leadership, and some of our brightest futures. Just protecting the pack.”  

For a few more minutes I wait quietly for everything to sort itself out. Since we were travelling through human lands and two other pack's territories we all travelled in a loose convoy home from the University.  We are positioned second in line, right behind the security detail.  I notice Jase is right behind us.  Typical of him, I’m not ever truly out of his sight.

‘What, no comments from the peanut gallery?’ I poke at my wolf.

‘Why bother?  It’s not like you see him for what he is. I only hope that one day you let me take out that toxic bastard squirrel... ‘   

‘Why do I do this to myself?’ It was a rhetorical question, but being Athena, she answered me anyway.

‘Because you have a misguided sense of self-worth.  Because you don’t see how freaking awesome we are, you just let everyone walk all over us and take us for granted.  You had more balls way back when you were five!  Clearly, I have coddled you too damn much.’

‘You are my wolf, not my mother. And just so you know, you’re supposed to be on my side!’

‘Time for one of us to grow the f**k up. What’s the new term for that?  Ah yes ‘Adulting’, we should try that.’

‘Sarcastic Bitch.’ I grumble.

‘Right back at ya, BABE.’

It’s complete silence for the first half-hour of driving.  Fighting with my inner wolf rarely ends well for me. It really is time to get working on sorting myself out. I need to think about how to set up my new life. I have to become my own person.  It’s just me and Athena now.

I should really start with my living arrangements. The sooner I get that part settled the less likely I’ll end up talked into something I don’t want. Right now I’m still in the little apartment Mama and I shared in the packhouse. Alpha had kept it for me while I had been away to school.  He wanted me to have something to come home to.  I still have to sort through all my mother's things.  Perhaps downsizing would help me let go of some of the past.  In reality, all I need is a bed, a bath, and maybe a desk. That's what an unmated Omega would normally be assigned within the packhouse. I’ll have to convince him that a new space would help me transition into my new life.  

Alpha has never treated me as an Omega. No one would question him about me, but I know there were some people who didn't approve.  It was never the Omega's who complained, either.  At Artemis, we were all treated kindly, and truly harboured no resentment if someone got something different than someone else.  As Alpha, Darius believed whole-heartedly that being fair wasn't giving everyone exactly the same, it was giving individuals what they needed so we would come together as a pack and give our very best.  

The only people who cared about any favouritism were the higher-ranked wolves.  I had been battling that since the day I was expelled from kindergarten.  Instead of being punished for breaking some little girl's nose, I was sent off to see the Elders Council.  From then on privately tutored with the ranked kids. Some of the old farts were livid when I was sent to Wolfgard U., especially since it was to be a "working scholarship".  The pack would be subsidizing this pricey education, and then I would be working for the pack after.

But mostly I was an unsure, sheltered little girl.  Alpha Darius or Jason were always around to protect me.  Now would really be the best time for a fresh start.

“What have you decided, Calypso? I’ve been watching you wrestle with yourself for nearly an hour now.”  That man is damn perceptive.

“I was thinking about some of the changes I want to make, where I’m going to live and such.”

“Oh?  What were your thoughts?”  He leans slightly forward and stares.  It’s like he can read my mind

.

“Well,” I start with a sharp inhale, “I think it’s time to downsize. Let go of a few things. I don’t really need a whole apartment anyway, it would be better used for a young couple.” 

‘Sit up! How’s he going to take us seriously if we are cowering like a little pup!’  I realize she’s right, I’m sitting slumped to the side with my eyes down in submission.  I peek up from under my thick bangs, and I’m faced with a look of concern from the Alpha. I sit up straight and raise my eyes, reminding myself this is what I want.

“Well, at least you don’t want to move in with someone else.”  We both know who that someone else is.  Jase is presently tailgating us. If we were to slam on the breaks right now, he would probably sail through our back windshield and end up in my lap.

“That will not be happening by the way.”  He breaks out his best ‘Concerned Dad’ look to make sure I know what he means.  “You are more than welcome to keep an apartment.  But Katherine and I think you should move up a few floors, closer to the private offices.”

Well, crap. How the hell am I going to talk my way out of being in the middle of all the ranked members?  Is he trying to keep me away from Jason, or just to keep a careful eye on me?  I can feel my thoughts all rush together, matching the speed of my pulse pounding in my ears.  Panic is setting in, “I should really stay below, with the Omegas…”

“No.”  Using his Alpha tone, it’s not negotiable. “Calypso. We’ve been through this before. You know that the Luna and I feel you are far more precious than you are willing to accept right now.”

I press my luck and interrupt, “I know, the energy...But Alpha.”  I sound weak and pleading, I turn my eyes downward.

“My dear, think of all you have accomplished.  All your schooling in just three years, while being away from home and grieving. Coming home for holidays only to work yourself to exhaustion.  If you can’t, or won’t, see what it is that you bring to our world I will continue to push you.  One day you will believe in what you are capable of.”

I’m sure this is supposed to be one of those positive, truly motivating speeches, but inside I feel my emotions sinking further and further away from my control.  The waterworks are going to start any moment, the tears already blurring my vision.

“So this is what you will do. Tonight we have a special dinner planned in honour of everyone’s big day.  Tomorrow you can start moving in the right direction.  Take a few days to sort your apartment.  When you are ready, you should report to Luna Katherine. I know we talked a little about you working for me, but my wife insists I need to learn to share you. We are preparing for the next wolf summit, and she needs help coordinating the formal event.  It would be an excellent experience for you. We both know you can hide behind a desk and put your nose to the grindstone,  but managing the social side of a pack is just as important.”  He looks at me pointedly, waiting for me to agree.

“Yes, Alpha.”  No point trying to argue.

He gives me a mischievous wink before adding, “Besides my Kitty Kat’s new thing is that you’ll be whisked away from Artemis any moment by your mate.” Even using his pet name for our Luna makes you feel his love for her every time he speaks about her. “So please humour her when she starts your Luna training.”

I snort.  Not very ladylike, but it just came out of me.  “Like I’m ever going to be a Luna!”

“You don’t think so?”  He’s egging me on now, “You know my Kat’s ‘Luna intuition’ has never been wrong.”

*****

The rest of the drive had been uneventful.  We had only been stopped at one of the pack’s borders, and only for a brief moment.  They just took some paperwork from the lead driver, most likely an e-mail confirming permission and a photocopy of everyone’s pack identification.  Alpha Darius absolutely had ensured to gain permission for through passage.  He was incredibly respectful to other Alphas and took security very seriously.  In the past five years, coordinated attacks by rogues were on the rise. 

Nearly four years ago, the compound had been invaded, they had nearly reached the bunker of the packhouse. We believed they were making a direct attempt to harm the Luna. When a wolf pledges their loyalty to a pack, they also promise to protect that pack’s Luna.  We use the expression ‘The King is weak without his Queen.’  We of course no longer have ties to royalty, but everyone knows of the strong bonds Alpha’s have to their mates.  Alpha Darius absolutely adored his Kat, and we adored them both   

There was inside security of course, but not enough to stop the waves of rogue fighters.  The decision was made to let anyone out of the bunker who was physically able to fight, including Omegas and Mothers.  Luna Katherine and the children under the age of shifting were the only ones left inside that bunker. If the door was ever breached, she would do her best to save the young ones. People willingly formed a hard line between the invaders and our Luna.

So many people were injured.  Warriors of course had stronger bodies and healthy wolves to help aid in their healing.  The most serious injuries and loss of life occurred inside the packhouse, in our very home. Too many young families had shattered with the loss of a parent, too many orphans left without hope.

I became an orphan that day, albeit an older one. Jase also lost his mother.  Neither of us had any idea when we had left for University that fall we would face tragedy before heading home for our Winter’s Solstice Break. There was no celebration that year.  There was nothing to celebrate. I worked helping mend the pack, Jase worked hard training the young fighters.  After New Years when it was time to return to school, Jase had wanted to stay back for a month or two.  I did not.  I hadn’t touched a single thing of my mother's in that apartment. I wanted desperately to avoid such a daunting task.  In the end, I went back to school, and Jase couldn’t bear me going alone, so he came too.

That is why I am sitting in my kitchen today looking at an apartment filled with my Mama’s things.  I have a coffee, a head full of memories and zero motivation.

‘Perhaps if the squirrel had stayed here you could have taken the month to properly  grieve, instead of caring for him.’

‘He was grieving, too.’ I reminded my wolf, ’We all were.’

‘He is not my concern.’ 

‘I know.’

‘Alright, enough dawdling, time to get Adulting.’