CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

«I'm just so sickly worried,» said Rider.

«You can't allow her to stay an Omega for long! She might forget how to live in a pack, and she will be cut from every decision or common event. Teens might forget what it means to be part of something if they're cut out for too long... Even just a day is dangerous.»

«It's late now. I don't get to decide, Mine.»

«But you should talk to your Alpha. You should ask someone you trust to reason with him. You're serving her sentence either way, aren't you?»

«It's late. And I was even relieved the punishment was just that... How stupid of me.»

«Hey, you didn't know about it. You have been a Beta for so long, working close to your Alpha... How could you be aware of the consequences of being an Omega?»

«But you know it,» he said, turning to her. «Are you a born Omega?»

«That's not rare enough for me,» Samantha chuckled. «Am I not the weirdest wolf you've ever met?»

She played with his hair, intending to comfort him a little. She was there for that, after all. Her role was to make him feel better, not worse. Yet, after just a couple of questions, she had ruined his mood.

«Being Omega means being cut off the pack's connections. You live on your own, without being as affected by the changes. For some, it's easier that way. The day I was an Omega, fifteen years ago, was the best and the worst day of my life. On one side, it was difficult to face the others. They were mean, or they ignored me.

I wasn't anyone anymore, just a cast-out. But, at the same time, I felt free. All my emotions were mine alone, and I cried because I was hurt and not because of some collective pack mood. I was so relieved that you can't imagine it.»

«Is that so?»

«Yes. After getting over my day at school, I went out and had a run alone.»

«A run? At ten?»

«I turned early.»

«At ten years old?»

Samantha didn't reply to that question; she simply shrugged. Ten years old was acceptable. Even Nate had turned at nine. It was a couple of years in advance, nothing major.

«Your run...» Rider murmured, returning on topic.

«I felt so alive. It was as if I could do literally anything. I had nothing to lose, either way. My pack had abandoned me, but why despair? The world was there for me.»

«And?»

«And then, I came back and was grounded for a whole week. I couldn't get out of my room for days. My status as an Omega was lifted, and all my friends returned talking to me as if nothing happened. But it wasn't the same thing. Not for me. I would still remember how they treated me that day, and I couldn't forget it.

They had walked over our friendship, and I couldn't forgive as a kid. That's when I started being a loner.»

«That's how wolves work,» Rider explained, pulling her even closer until she sat on his lap. She was there for comfort, and it was way more comfortable to hug her like that.

«I know it, at least rationally. But for me, that day, everything changed. I couldn't accept my role anymore. That's when I learned I was not fit for life in a pack.»

«So, you are a born Omega.»

«I don't know,» Samantha chuckled.

«But... I really can't imagine you staying in Norwich after that. Don't you hate your Alpha now?»

«I don't hate anyone, Rider.»

«I see... Still, they hurt you. It would be your right to feel angry.»

«Things are a little more complicated.»

«But you managed to find your place later.»

«Yes, sure. Now I know my place,» she chuckled. «I'm still difficult to deal with, and rules make me want to break them so badly. But I control it most of the time. It's like... Do you know what kind of feeling it is when someone tells you not to do something, and you start wanting to do it at that very moment?

It's childish, immature. But I can't help it.»

«That's how you feel...»

«Yes, but I deal with it and still do my best to be a good wolf. Someone my pack won't feel ashamed of.»

Rider nodded, hugging her even tighter. He left a peck on her temple and sank his face in the skin of her neck. So, things weren't that simple after all. The reason why Samantha Murphy had changed packs was starting to become clear.

She wouldn't have been able to live in her original one, even as the Alpha's daughter. As such, she had been moved to Norwich. Her mother and Nathaniel Woods's father were siblings. She had grown up in a new pack, and it looked like it was easier than her original home.

«You've told me too much, Mine. This is about your personal life... Weren't you settled on keeping me out of it?»

«I just feel it's the right moment to talk about it so that you know I'm not talking just because. I know what it means to be an Omega, and I also know how to cope with it. If you need help, I'm here. For your sister, too. She'll have it tough, and if the punishment goes on for long, it might be better to help her change packs.»

«Yes? And where can I send her, ah? With you?»

«I would take care of her, believe me. Or I could help you find another pack if you hate Norwich too much.»

«I don't hate you,» he chuckled. «It's just how things are.»

«See? You're already out of it!» Samantha commented. «Out of the connection. So much that you don't hate the people your Alpha hates.»

«Uh? You're right. This Omega thing is so complicated,» he murmured, rolling his eyes in secret. He had stopped feeling the connection before becoming an Omega. Yet, he hadn't talked about it with anyone.

He knew well whose fault it was if he had changed. Yet, he was loyal to his family and pack. Even without feeling them like before... Had he stopped being a Beta way before his Alpha had cast the punishment? Had he been an Omega all along?