Amber eyes

When Alpha meets Omega

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Chapter 2:

Gavin is handsome, tall, broad-shouldered, really an ideal mate for any omega. He’s kind, patient, but not over-bearing in the way some alphas can be.

He’s always been nice to Carlos, but lately it’s intensified. In the last several weeks he’s been offering the omega choice cuts of meat at dinner, which is one of the ways wolves can show their interest.

 

“Yeah, I can help,” Carlos hums, managing a smile that he hopes satisfies Gavin.

But of course it does, and the omega grabs a knife and begins slicing.

He’s cut off the fur and skin before, doesn’t really like doing it, but he has no other choice now that Leo pushed him here.

 

Carlos is unsure on how to strike up a decent conversation, but he swallows and thinks of something. “Did you go out hunting today?”

 

“I did.” Gavin is pretty easy to talk to, but he’s always been that way. “Lay and I took down a deer together. A buck. He was a little small but more meat than these little bunnies.”

 

To make his point, Gavin grabs another rabbit, holding out his palm so Carlos can see how it’s almost the same size as his hand. “Felt good to get out, shift properly. Did you?”

 

Carlos hums in acknowledgement at the demonstration as he sets aside the fur of his skinned rabbit. “I didn’t hunt or shift, but Leo wanted to play hide and seek.” He turns his head to find Leo, but he looks away immediately when his friend winks at him suggestively. “So we did that before coming here. Jorge asked for our help.”

 

“Cute,” Gavin comments with another grin, easily making short work of his rabbit. “Jorge likes to boss all of us around.”

 

“He’s good at it,” Carlos laughs, working in the next one and trying to ignore Leo’s eyes boring holes into his skull.

 

Jorge is busy chopping vegetables but he blinks when he hears his name, and both Gavin and Carlos freeze when the head omega stares at them. “I heard my name. You two had better be complimenting me over there—”

 

“Of course,” Gavin quickly calls over, giving Carlos a conspiring wink.

 

Carlos smiles at the playfulness and Jorge returns to his task.

 

He and Gavin engage in small talk as they work on getting dinner ready, though Jorge and another top omega, Jennie, do most of the actual cooking, sending the others out to set the tables and whatnot. It’s too chilly to eat outside around a fire so they resort to the ever-classical long dining hall they’ve eaten in since the first snowfall.

 

When dinner is pretty much ready, they invite the pack inside. Gavin sits away from Carlos this time, only a couple seats down, because Kai is sitting next to Leo in the spot Gavin would usually sit because he has a friend there.

It’s no big deal, he’ll just eat and leave quietly, but Leo is curious about Gavin and asks questions and makes comments when they settle down to eat.

 

“He totally wants you,” Leo says after a thorough interrogation, “you'd be an idiot not to see it, Carlos. Gavin would be good to you. Everyone likes him.”

 

Carlos picks up a potato in the stew and sighs. “I know he’s interested but. . .” he pauses, “I’m just not feeling it. Especially because Adrien really likes him and I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

 

Almost as if to punctuate Jimin’s reasoning, Adrien’s laugh carries over from where he's standing next to Gavin, giggling at something the taller said.

Even Kai watches as Gavin feeds Adrien a piece of rabbit from his bowl.

 

“Well if you don't move on it, you'll miss your chance,” Leo murmurs, settling himself into Kai’s side.

The young alpha wraps an arm around Leo’s waist comfortably, but uses his free hand to finish off his second bowl of stew.

 

“Nah, I’ll let Adrien have him.”

 

Carlos chows down on the rest of the meal and decides to dismiss himself early with Jorge’s permission, since Erik is busy handing out seconds or thirds to the pack.

Alphas usually don’t show this kindness, but Erik is different. And Carlos admires him for it.

 

After bidding Leo a small, “See you later,”

Carlos ducks out of the dining hall and steps into the crisp air outside. It’s a little too cool for his liking, especially because he’s not wearing a thicker coat, but he’s just going to the den anyways.

For some reason he’s tired today, and he wants to wake up early tomorrow so he can visit the meadow, maybe bring a book with him and sit there in peace for a little bit.

 

There are only two or three other omegas in the den when he clambers inside, and they promise to keep it down for Carlos who looks like he just wants to sleep.

He does change into more comfortable clothes before he crawls into bed, drawing his stitched fur blanket up and basking in its warmth.

The cave isn’t very well insulated, which is nice during the hot summer days because it’s so cool inside, but during the winter and early spring it can be unbearable at times.

 

Which is why omegas will sleep in a big pile huddled up to one another with their blankets and body heat, curled up for the night.

Leo crawls into Carlos’s bed almost every night, even if it’s summer, just because Leo likes snuggling and likes to spoon Carlos because he’s “so small.”

 

Carlos doesn’t fall asleep right away, it takes some time, but omegas begin filing in and when he feels warmth slide up against his back, the omega turns his head and wraps his fingers around the blankets.

 

“You smell like Kai.”

 

Leo tucks his head over Carlos’s shoulder and the elder omega can feel his smile. “I know.”

 

Carlos scoffs but gives no reply, though he does wrinkle his nose because the alpha’s odor is so strong. Leo just wraps an arm around Carlos and nuzzles into him.

 

“Goodnight, Leo.”

 

“G’night.”

 <<>>

<<>>

Carlos is up after the sun rises.

 

It takes some work to crawl out from Leo’s long arms and legs, but he succeeds, and he quietly changes into more durable clothes and laces up his boots.

He’s an early bird, has always woken up before most ever since he was a pup, and he tiptoes out of the cave as to not disturb the slumbering omegas.

Some get grumpy when they’re woken up, Leo included.

 

Tongues of orange fire flick across the sky, mingling with soft pink clouds and the gentle blue that peeks through.

There’s still a chill in the air but Carlos’s wrapped himself in another layer, soft breeze ruffling his dark hair when he steps out on the grass and heads in the direction of the kitchen.

 

Jorge is usually up around this time and sure enough, when Carlos opens the door to the kitchen, the brunette omega is there making breakfast for his mate. “Good morning, Carlos,” Jorge sings, reaching across the counter for an apple.

He tosses it to Carlos, who catches it with a smile and approaches his elder.

 

“Are you going to the meadows?”

 

Carlos reaches for some bread and pops a small piece into his mouth, nodding. “Mhm.”

 

“Can you pick up marigolds if they’re blooming? I want to make more salve in case anyone scratches themselves while in the forest. You know that those alphas are never careful when they’re chasing after a deer in the bushes.”

 

Luckily, Carlos’s got his little satchel with him and he tucks the apple inside. He often does the herb runs, since the meadows are so abundant, and it’s typical for Jorge to send him up with a task.

 

“I’ll be back in a little bit,” He says as he walks out, Jorge offering a little wave before the omega hops out and makes the trek to the meadows.

The meadows are in the opposite direction of the main forest and he has to circle back around and cross the stream to reach the mountain valleys of their territory.

 

They’ve crafted a wooden bridge over the stream to make crossing easier, as rocks once provided a way to get to the other side.

But the rocks could become slippery and wolves could easily hurt themselves, so a couple of alphas worked on constructing a bridge and it’s been there ever since.

 

Carlos eats his apple as he wanders over hills dotted with trees to reach the valley, humming and whistling along to the birds flying overhead.

He tucks himself into the neck of his sweater, though the sun is starting to rise in the sky and the breeze dies down.

 

The valley meadows are stuck between the two mountain ranges, one range owned by Carlos’s pack and the other on the far side owned by their more rowdy neighbors, the White Peaks.

Carlos’s pack lays claim to the valley because they were there first and the other pack doesn’t give them trouble. The other wolves actually live in the mountains, not on the ground like his pack, and live with the colder temperatures and less abundant resources.

 

White Peak members are far more stoic and impassive, adhering to stricter rules and systems. They’re hardly ever seen in the valley or on the ground and they’re rather elusive. As long as they don’t cause trouble, Erik says it’s fine to leave them alone; mountain wolves aren’t the best company anyways.

 

The mountains on the other side overlook the valley and Carlos stares at the peak as he carefully steps through grass and fields of flowers.

The flowers are barely blooming, buds just appearing, but he can still snip some marigolds because they’ll just be ground into a sort of paste anyways.

 

He sifts through the flowers, plucking marigolds leniently, only grabbing as much as he knows they’ll need and putting them away in his satchel.

 

It’s when he nears the middle of the meadow does he freeze, little yellow flowers in hand.

 

He can spot something there, just a little ways off from his position, his nose twitching at the smell of an outside wolf.

The flowers are so fragrant that he can barely smell who it is, but they’re not from his pack. He doesn’t know who it is.

 

Carlos puts the flowers away and approaches.

 

He’s cautious, taking it one step at a time with unblinking eyes, his vision filling with silver the closer he gets.

The flowers are crumpled in the area of the body and he gasps both out of awe and panic when he halts in front of a big lump of silver fur.

 

Blood matts the beautiful coat and so does dirt and soil, clumps of both substances mingling with the paleness of the fur. The wolf is barely breathing, flank rising and falling with obvious signs of struggle. There’s a nasty gash across the wolf’s shoulder and back that isn’t healing properly and the wolf’s legs are scratched up, pads of his paws bleeding.

 

Carlos crouches down and reaches out a hand to touch, but he draws back when the wolf stirs and blinks up at Jimin.

 

Amber eyes keep Carlos in place for a few seconds.

 

But then the wolf lurches and tries to stand, anxiety crossing its eyes. The wolf makes it to two legs before it yelps and stumbles back towards the ground, that motion alone compelling Carlos to crawl over and help.

 

“It’s okay, l-let me help you,” Carlos

stumbles over his words out of nervousness, “I-I won’t hurt you. I need. . . I need to get help . . .”

 

The silver wolf snarls as he comes closer, upper lip curled over his teeth defensively.

There’s more pain in his eyes than fear, and all the fur down the back of his spine raises up. He snaps once, when Carlos moves a little too quickly for his liking, but when the omega makes himself as small as possible, it eases a bit of tension out of the injured wolf.

 

There’s no telling how long he’s been out here, but Carlos can guess that it was probably overnight.

The laceration over his back and shoulders has started to clot, but of course now the movement has broken apart whatever parts that were scabbed over and blood wells out of the wound.

 

Carlos has marigold on him, but he needs more ingredients to properly heal that wound. He can’t leave the wolf here; he might bleed out, die right in the middle of this meadow with nobody but a stranger besides him. “Um. . . shit, just. . . just hold on—”

 

“Carlos!”

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TBC