Page 4

TAL

My wolf’s hearing detected the change in background noise long before my conscious brain.

“Oh.”

We were lying on the bed beside each other, looking at the ceiling and talking like best mates who hadn’t seen each other for a while and had a lot to catch up on. Of course, that wasn’t what this was, because we were learning about each other for the first time, but it seemed that was the way we rolled. Like two pieces of a puzzle. It was strange to have this easy connection with a total stranger, and an omega at that (no offence to omegas anywhere but while I did have a couple of omega friends, I didn’t habitually hang out with any of them. Alphas tended to hang out together, and after our recent conversation, I wondered if maybe that was because the omegas didn’t want to hang out with us). I didn’t really want to move yet, so I just lay there a little longer, pretending we didn’t have to go. But something must have shown on my face.

“So… What’s up?” Irian broke the silence. Damn it! It had been a companionable silence and I didn’t want it to end.

“We need to go downstairs.” I reluctantly pushed myself upright with a grunt. “They’re about to give out the presents. Family tradition, they won’t start until everyone’s there.”

“Oh, okay. I should probably get going then.” The mattress shook as Irian wriggled to the edge and he was standing before I could say “No! You don’t need to go. No-one will mind if you join us.”

As he slowly turned to face me, a couple of small snowy white teeth worried at his lower lip. Fine lines appeared around his eyes and across his brow. It looked cute on his youthful face. He reminded me of a worried pup.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Unless your family expects you. What do you usually do on Christmas morning?”

“Nothing really. There’s only the three of us and we don’t make a big deal out of Christmas. We usually have a special meal, and each person gives and receives a gift, and that’s all we do. Not even sure what’s happening this year since we’re guests here.”

“Oh, well that’s easy. We always have a massive pack lunch for Christmas. Alpha and his family will be there. Everyone goes to it. There’s a large shed that we turn into a huge dining hall for celebrations. That won’t be for a few hours though. Everyone does their Christmas morning rituals in their own houses and we come together for lunch.”

Irian shivered. Maybe he found the prospect of all those unknown shifters a bit intimidating.

“You can sit with me at lunch if you like, I can introduce you to a few people.”

Irian’s smile was sweet and gentle like the early dawn on a cloudless day. It slid slowly across his face, and two dimples rose with it. It was very distracting.

“I’d like that,” he admitted, softly. “You’re the only person I know here. I was supposed to sleep in one of the dorms with the young wolves last night, but I skipped out…” he shrugged.

“So I saw… and your parents won’t be looking for you?”

“Nah. They’ll expect me to hang out with all the young ones.”

“Then you can stay!” I said, unable to keep the excitement from my voice.

“If you’re sure it’s gonna be okay…?”

“It’s fine. Honestly, there’ll be so much going on, no-one’s going to have time to worry about one extra person. It’ll be fun to have a friend of my own there for a change.”

Silence hung heavy in the room. Irian was gnawing on that bottom lip again and I decided it was up to me to save it, so I made the decision for him.

“You coming?” I got up from the bed and headed towards the door. It wasn’t really a question. Once again, I’d stopped short of using compulsion on him, but there was an implied command. I wasn’t sure if he’d go along with it, seeing as, despite being clearly submissive, he had a definite spark of feisty independence, which honestly, I found quite appealing.

Irian nodded his head and followed me to the door. I felt a kind of pride and no small amount of satisfaction that he was following my lead.

Voices excitedly talking over each other and the thud of bodies moving around on the wooden floor grew louder as we approached the stairs. I was acutely conscious of Irian following me half a pace behind and beside me. It felt right. Not because he needed to walk behind because he was an omega or because he was weak, but because I felt a strong impulse to walk in front, to be between him and any potential danger. Not that there was any danger here, of course, not in my home. It was simply instinct.

We arrived at the bottom of the steps and the true chaos of Christmas morning was unveiled before us. I shook my head and glanced at Irian, but he just smiled sweetly as he watched the kids scrambling and jockeying for position around the tree, climbing over each other and nudging in between others that had taken their places. Already there were furrowed brows and flushed, tense faces as the adults fussed over the kids, trying to get them settled in one place for five minutes.

As soon as we stepped into the room, one of the kids spotted me.

“Hi Uncle Tal,” he shrieked, and a bundle of wriggling squirming excitement wrapped itself around my legs.

“Heya, Squeak. Happy Christmas!” I swung him around, holding him under the armpits, and he squealed loudly. All of a sudden, I was surrounded by a bunch of sugar-fueled kids jumping up and down wanting their turn. I had to keep my place as favorite uncle, so I made sure they all got their turn.

Ouch! Something – no, someone – pulled on my leg hairs. It might have been the only successful way to get my attention right at that moment, but really? Before I swung anyone else, I looked down to see the hair-pulling culprit. Wide brown eyes way too big for the little elfin face peered up at me, a floppy brown fringe and neat wavy hair curling protectively around a pair of tiny ears.

“Who’s that?” she whispered, pulling a wet finger out of her mouth and pointing it accusingly at Irian, who was standing, back to the wall, watching my cousins attack me.

“That’s my new friend,” I told her, crouching down to her level. “Would you like to meet him?”

The finger went back in her mouth and there were a few slurping noises while she considered her answer. “Did Santa Wolf bring him?” she asked, finally. “I’ve never seen him before.”

I couldn’t help grinning. This small child was smarter than everyone else. I nodded.

“Yes. Yes, he did.”

“Then I’d like to meet him,” she announced, slipping her tiny hand in mine and looking up at me, eyes shining, as though meeting Irian was second best only to meeting Santa Wolf themself. I’d have had it the other way around, but I didn’t need to tell her that.

When Irian’s soft brown eyes found mine, they crinkled around the edges, and a faint smile tweaked the corners of his lips. I crooked a finger at him, and he immediately pushed off from the wall he’d been leaning against, and I led her towards him.

A surge of satisfaction shot through me, seeing him wearing my clothes. They looked good on him. The jeans were a surprisingly tight fit, a-n-d I probably shouldn’t be looking at that, and the oversized t-shirt slid over his hips as he crouched down beside me. The soft gentle scent of an omega washed over me, and I blinked in surprise. I looked around, but he was the only omega nearby that was old enough to scent. I noted with surprise how receptive I was to it, but maybe it was because we’d spent the last few hours together, or maybe it was because I’d recently begun the transition to majority and just hadn’t noticed the changes yet.

“Shanna, this is my friend, Irian,” I said to the little girl, inclining my head towards the omega at my side. Her little hand let go of mine. She glared at me, little eyes narrowed and hands on hips.

“Are you sure Santa brought him?” She asked suspiciously.

“He did,” I assured her. “He brought him to be my friend.”

And because I truly believed that myself, that’s all it took to convince her. Irian smiled shyly at the little four-year old dynamo that was my sister’s daughter and held out a hand.

“Hey, Shanna, it’s nice to meet you. I don’t know anyone here except Tal, would you be my friend too?”

Shanna’s rosy cheeks grew plump as apples, as she grasped Irian’s hand. His eyes widened in surprise when instead of shaking it as he must have expected, she took it firmly in her own, and determinedly dragged him away. He gave me a frantic glance over his shoulder as he was led off. I guess it wasn’t very helpful that I laughed when I saw he was about to be subjected to a tour of the room and a bunch of introductions to people whose names he’d probably forget straight away.

Fifteen minutes later, I was very much the chastened alpha. I’d vastly underestimated my new friend’s abilities. Irian had managed to organize all twenty odd kids, including my younger sister and brother, into their positions around the tree and was talking with my aunt and her partner while we waited for the present giving to start. Leaning against the wall as he conversed, he looked relaxed and very much like he belonged.

Clap-clap-clap .

All the voices fell silent.

Clap-clap-clap .

The children clapped back: clap-clap-clap

Now that he had everyone’s attention, my Alpha dad’s loud, gruff voice rumbled around the room.

“Happy Christmas, everyone. It’s good to see you all gathered here again for this special celebration. I’m glad you could make it. Now before we all break for lunch, is there anything we need to do?”

High pitched voices tumbled over each other as all the children anxiously rushed to correct his apparent oversight.

“Presents! Presents!” High voices chimed.

“Presents!” Slightly lower voices added to the cacophony.

“Oh, my! I nearly forgot, didn’t I? And it looks like we have a lot of presents to distribute. So… who are my little helpers today?” Of course, my dad hadn’t forgotten, this was simply part of the yearly ritual. Although somewhat tiresome to the teenagers lurking sullenly in the corners of the room, the younger kids would be disappointed if he didn’t put on this little charade.

Three little kids jumped up. “We are!” “It’s us!” “Me!”

“Come over here,” he softened his voice as he addressed them directly. Even so, he still sounded very alpha-y and the youngest one looked a bit scared.

“Here, come with Uncle Tal,” I said, taking the little omega’s hand in mine and leading them across to my dad. “There’s no need to be scared. He’s just gonna remind you of the rules. You’ll be fine.”

The little omega clung to my hand.

“Okay,” said my dad. “Who remembers what the rules are?”

“I remember!” chirped the little alpha at my dad’s knee. “Only one present at one time for anyone. Make sure everyone has one, before taking one for ourselves.”

“Very good,” he nodded in agreement.

“And keep going until there are none left,” added the little omega on the end of my hand, finding her courage at the thought of a present being left out.

“Very good,” my dad smiled approvingly. “So… what are you all waiting for?”

All three darted away, my hand left hanging, no longer required, as they scurried to begin. It was almost a sacred task, and the youngest of the tribe always felt immensely important as they carried out this responsibility. I knew because I’d been that kid entrusted with the sacred task a few times, though it was many seasons ago now.

As the kids grabbed presents from under the tree, peering intently at the labels trying to decipher the handwriting, and handing the present to its intended recipient before rushing back to the tree to pick up another, I stepped around the increasing chaos of torn paper and excited children, to find Irian.

His eyes met mine, brown depths flashing with amusement, the sunlight streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows catching the golden highlights of his hair. His cheeks were plump with smiles, and his perfect white teeth flashed as he grinned.

“This is amazing,” he murmured. “I can’t believe how much fun those kids are having.”

“It’s pretty good, I guess.”

Irian’s eyebrows arched.

“I mean, we do this every year, so the novelty wears off,” I said, then shamefacedly I backtracked. “Between you and me? I still like it, it’s just not cool to admit it once you get to a certain age, okay?”

Irian’s laugh was like having a bucket of sunbeams emptied over me. His Adam’s apple bobbed and he wrapped his arms around himself, rocking back and forth as if desperately trying to hold his mirth in.

I shot him a reproachful look, but couldn’t help joining in. Before long the two of us were giggling and sniffling so hard, we were attracting strange looks from the adults around us, but as everyone was busy receiving and unwrapping presents, nobody questioned us.

“Here, Uncle Tal,” the little beta shoved a parcel in my hands and raced off back to the tree.