Chapter Text
“You all ready to go?” Miriam asked her daughter as the girl walked out of her bedroom in the pack house.
“Yes, Mom. Where’s Mum?” the redheaded young woman asked as she put her satchel around her neck.
“Outside. She wants to walk you to the border. Make sure you eat and sleep enough and don’t get into pissing contests with any of the other Alphas. Don’t rise to their bait either. And write to us.” The head omega said and hugged Nicole tightly before they walked outside to see the rest of the pack in both wolf and human forms, barking or cheering their future Alpha as Nicole made her way towards the giant red wolf waiting for her near the path down the mountain.
The young Alpha turned and hugged her dame one last time. If all went well she wouldn’t see either of her parents for close to a year.
“Good luck, Sweetheart, I know you will make us proud.” The blond omega said as she let her only pup go. The girl gave her a smile and turned to the red wolf before she shifted into her own wolf, also giant and red but was a darker shade of red. She joined her sire, the Pack Alpha.
Elka Haught’s wolf smiled at her heir.
‘Ready?’ Nicole heard in her mind and gave her Mum a nod.
‘As I’ll ever be.’
With one last look at their pack the two red wolves trotted out of their mountain village and down the rocky path into their forest.
‘Nervous?’ Elka asked when they got under the trees
‘Yes. What if I’m not chosen?’ the 21 year old asked and her sire smiled with understanding.
‘Then you come home and find a beta to have a family with. The pack will still survive without a head omega but you shouldn’t think like that. You are a Haught Alpha, strong and brave, you just need to show that and an omega is bound to notice you. Just keep a level head like I know you can and don’t do anything stupid.’ The older wolf told her as they strode along the trail.
‘How tough is this going to be?’ Nicole asked her sire and the older wolf chuckled.
‘Is a nightmare but it’s nothing you can’t handle and it’ll be worth it if an omega chooses you. And don’t be afraid to make some friends, it makes it more bearable.’ Elka said before she gently bumped her pups shoulder with her own. ‘You will do great and even if you don’t get an omega, your Mom and I are proud of you.’
The pup nodded and once the pair got to the boundary of the Pack lands they stopped and shifted to human so they could share a tight embrace.
“Do not forget to write or your Mom will worry.” The older Alpha said. Her pup nodded and gave her a nervous smile. “Love you, Nic.”
“Love you too, Mum.” Nicole said before she shifted back to wolf and stepped over the boundary as her Sire watched her proudly.
Elka knew her daughter would succeed. Nicole was a fine, young Fenrir and a strong Alpha, like her. Nicole wasn’t as rough and ready as most Alpha’s, she was a quiet and gentle, she didn’t throw her weight around. But that wasn’t a bad thing. She had more of her Dame’s personality than her own but she certainly wasn’t weak. Elka knew Nicole would do well in the challenges ahead.
Nicole headed north, trotting through the pack lands of their neighbours. Under normal circumstances she would have to seek permission to be on their land but this June, as a future Pack Alpha, she could pass through other pack lands freely on her way to Purgatory. To the Citadel.
She had a long way to go and would be on the road for weeks so she kept a steady pace, ignoring her overly excited inner wolf, Rua.
‘We are going to meet omegas!’ The beast crowed and Nicole snorted.
‘Can you calm down please? We aren’t going to be there for a while and we have some pretty rough terrain to pass through so can you keep your wits about you?’ the human side asked.
‘Come on, Nic...’ the animal whined. ‘We will finally meet an omega and we are going to win the affections of at least one.’
Nicole rolled her eyes and huffed. She knew Rua was excited but she also knew the odds were stacked against them.
Over the next year, she would complete against every other Pack Alpha heir and mateless Pack Alpha in the country, about 100 in all, for the chance to win one of the rarest treasures, an omega.
Alpha’s could mate with Betas, most did, but for Pack Alphas an omega was necessary to lead a Pack effectively and increase their chance of having Alpha pups and thus, heirs. Omega’s were designed to take an Alpha’s knot and able to control their more primal side, especially when the Alpha was in rut.
Omega’s accounted for less than 5 percent of the population and most of them were surrendered to the Citadel upon their birth for their own protection. The more omega pups born in a Pack, the better the Pack’s standing would be.
Unprotected Omegas outside of the Citadel’s protection were at risk of being abducted by bandits who would sell the omega to the highest bidding, unscrupulous, Pack Alpha as a breeder. Only the strongest packs could protect the Omegas that stay but even then it was no guarantee they would be totally safe.
The ones who were sent to the Citadel were given the best of everything. They were highly educated. The Citadel omegas would go on to be their new Pack’s Priestess and lead alongside their new Alpha and the packs they came from sponsored them until they were mated.
Every omega in the Citadel between 18 and 23 would be competed for and every 5 years the trials happened. A series of dangerous, downright deadly challenges would have to be passed and the omegas themselves would judge them until only the best of the best Alphas were left and the Gods blessed them and their pack with a head omega. Any pack Alpha who had been victorious would be recognised for their achievement amongst the Council of Alphas who made the rules all Fenrir had to live by.
Nicole would do everything she could to be chosen but she knew there was going to be tough. She was a powerful wolf but she was sure others would be too, or more so. There would be older Alpha’s who would be desperate if they had failed before.
Growing up, she had heard all the stories of her Sire’s time in the Citadel, the challenges that she had faced, the friends she had made and the rivals she had.
Her Dame had told her about her own life within the walls of the Citadel. The Omegas were tested continually and ranked based on the results. Miriam had been in 3rd place amongst her group and had chosen Elka from the top ranked Alphas who had made it to the final. The Omegas, based on rank, would take turns choosing the Alpha from the small number that made it to the finishing line.
Even if you made it to the end, there was no guarantee one of the Omega’s would choose you. You just had to hope you had something they were looking for.
Nicole shifted to human when she found a good spot to nap in the early hours of the morning. She dug around her in satchel and smiled as she pulled out what she had been looking forward to eating.
Her mother had packed a small apple pie in a tin box. This was the Alpha’s favourite, the smell and taste of apple and cinnamon was irresistible. The little dessert was only made by Miriam on the most special of occasions due to the rarity of spices given how remote their pack was.
Nicole savoured every bite before she shifted back to wolf and slept for a couple of hours before she continued on.
The first few days of her journey were uneventful as she travelled through forests and the country side, rarely meeting anyone and those she did left her be, knowing where the huge, rugged beast was heading. She really did cut a striking figure as she held her head high as she passed.
Nicole was about half way through her journey and was walking through a valley when she heard a terrified scream. She sniffed the air as she large ears swivelled, trying to pin point the sound before she took off in a run in the direction the scream had come from.
Another anguished sound came from ahead of her and as the Alpha crested over a hill, she saw something that made her stomach drop.
Nicole shifted as she skidded to a stop and fell to her knees before a screaming woman covered in blood as a man lay beside her, dead.
“Hey. What happened?” Nicole asked the woman who clutched her.
“My pup! They took her. Killed my Mate.” The woman screamed at her, completely distraught.
“Hey! Let go of her!” Nicole heard and saw a man and woman pointing at her.
“Which way did they go?” the redhead asked the woman, ignoring the newcomers as they ran towards her. The Injured beta woman pointed in the direction and Nicole jumped to her feet.
“Bandits took her pup! One of you stay with her, the other come with me.” She ordered them and saw the pairs demeanour change instantly. Nicole and the blond Alpha woman shifted and made a beeline for the trees, smelling the air as they went.
Because this was a stranger Nicole couldn’t communicate with the white wolf other than with body language but they were on the same side and determined to track down the bandits. The blood on the woman was older than an hour so they had to hurry.
Eventually the scent they were tracking became stronger and they could hear laughter from two different sources. Nicole looked at the other wolf and Nicole signalled with her head to indicate they split up and cover both sides. The white wolf nodded and they stalked off, staying down wind.
Looking through the trees Nicole saw 3 scruffy, stinking Beta males walking through the trees, laughing and joking while the tallest man had a bag slung over his shoulder. An infant’s muffled wailing could be heard coming from the burlap sack and Nicole began to speed up until she could leap out in front of them, snarling.
The men all startled and turned to run but when the turned they were faced with the white Alpha wolf. The tall, bearded man dropped his bag as the men shifted into 3 mangy looking wolves.
Nicole and her comrade made short work of the betas before the red wolf shifted and ran to the bag, begging the Gods that the baby would be ok. She opened the bag and lifted out the child who was winded and letting out choked cries as its face was beet red.
Nicole soothed the pup, stroking it’s back and swaying as she cooed to it.
“Are they OK?” the blonde woman asked, kneeling beside Nicole who nodded.
“I think so, pretty shaken up I imagine. Sorry I ordered you around back there but time was of the essence.” Nicole said and the woman shrugged.
“That was the only reason I didn’t kick your ass.” The blond smirked. “Eliza Shapiro, from the Dragon Pack, my cousin Xavier Dolls from the Black Badge Pack was the guy back there.” She introduced herself as she watched the redhead continue to sooth the baby.
“Nicole Haught from Haught Pack.”
Packs who had the same family ruling them for many generations had the name of the ruling family but other packs might have had changing leadership regularly due to challengers or lack of heirs usually came up with some other moniker to avoid confusion.
Nicole stood and smiled as the pup began to calm before she froze.
“This is an omega pup.” Nicole said in shock and the blond woman gasped before sniffing the child.
“Oh my Gods!” Eliza said before Nicole opened her satchel, pulling out a blanket to bundle the child up before she gently tucked her into her pack.
“Lets get her back to her mother and get them some help.” She said and Eliza nodded before they shifted and Nicole carefully carried the bag in her mouth to keep it from swinging around as they travelled.
When they got back , the Dark skinned man was holding the woman who was sobbing weakly in his arms. He let out a relieves sigh when he saw the pair of females and when they shifted, Nicole hurried to the woman and handed her the now sleeping child.
“She’s OK.” Nicole swore and the woman grasped her hand.
“Thank…you…” the woman said weakly before she looked at her child. “Please… take…take… to…the… cit…cit…adel.” She struggled to say. Her skin was deathly pale and her lips were blue from her blood loss. She tried to hand the pup back to Nicole but the Alpha rested a hand on the woman’s. Her heart was breaking for the poor beta.
“Of course. I swear I’ll get her there safely.”
“We all will.” Xavier added and the woman gave them a weak smile.
“Ra…chel Va…ld…ez.” The woman whispered.
“That’s her name? What’s yours?” Nicole asked, wanted to keep her talking even though she knew it was hopeless.
“Glo…ria. No… no…pack.”
“Rogue.” Eliza said sadly and the woman nodded. With the last of her strength the beta pulled the pup closer to her face and kissed her forehead lovingly before she died.
Nicole felt a lump form in her throat, Eliza sniffled and Xavier sighed sadly before the redhead lifted the pup from her mother’s arms.
“What now?” Eliza asked the others and Nicole cleared her throat as used one hand to wipe her eyes.
“I guess we should Bury them then find a wet-nurse?” she suggested thickly and the others agreed.
Dolls and Eliza dug the grave while Nicole emptied her satchel, splitting her belongings up between her two new companions bags so she could carry the pup as comfortably as possible.
Once they had paid their respects to the dead couple, they moved on in silence.