Alpha, Beta, Omega

Chapter Six

The Alpha made a low sound and stopped forward, causing the Beta to release her and step away, whining faintly as though confused by his Alpha's sudden change of heart. Kali's tail continued to wag as she lifted her head, exposing her throat to her mate on instinct, whimpering quietly as the Alpha's head lower, his nose pressing into the fur of her neck. He sniffed her for a moment before he rumbled loudly, throwing his head back and howling.

She hesitated for a moment, uncertain what to do when he looked down at her, but she slowly rose up a bit, licking at the Alpha, at her mate's, muzzle. He rumbled again and suddenly stepped away. She whined and watched him, trying to understand what he was doing.

Was this some kind of rejection?

If so why had he even scented her?

Why accept her submission?

She whined again just as the Beta stepped into her line of sight.

Instinct had her gaze snapping to his face, trying to gauge what he was planning to do, meeting warm brown eyes without flinching. She made a low sound, something that if she had been human would have been a gasp of surprise, as the warmth that she'd felt when realizing the Alpha was her mate intensified. Her entire body was tingling even stronger than before and she quickly realized why the Alpha had stepped away like he had.

Two mates, she thought as the Beta's tail suddenly began wagging, his eyes lighting up with joy. I've got two mates.

The Beta bounced towards her then, and though she flinched back slightly, the adrenaline and instinct guiding her movements, he didn't seem to notice, he buried his nose into the fur of her neck and inhaled, scenting her deeply all while his tail continued to wag and he made happy little huffing noises. She made a soft sound, lifting her head to scent him back and ended up yelping in surprise when he leapt, tackling her playfully and rolling them through the leaves.

She couldn't help but nip playfully at him as they tumbled.

All her life she'd dreamt of finding her mate.

And now she had.

Her mind was still reeling with the knowledge that she had two and that they were both so accepting of her. She certainly hadn't expected that. Would it change though, when they learned that she wasn't a fierce, wild she-wolf? Would they still want her?

She yelped again when, just as she pinned her Beta mate to the ground, his tongue lolling from one side of his mouth, her Alpha mate was against her side, pushing her, gently, off to the side before he began rubbing along her side. It took a minute for her to realize what he was doing. Scent marking. Declaring her as his before they ever completed the mating. A sudden jolt went through her at the thought of being properly claimed by her mates. And just how would that work? Were they mates with each other as well? Or would they have to share her?

Before she could ponder that train of thought any further her Beta mate leapt forward, pressing against her, scent marking her, all while nipping at the Alpha's ear.

She pushed back against the her Beta, making happy sounds as she scent marked him, before turning her attention to her Alpha, rubbing her face along his shoulder. She heard him rumble, heard the joy in that sound, and she wagged her tail excitedly as she scent marked him, laying claim to him as he and her Beta laid claim to her.

After a few minutes the Alpha rumbled again, stepping away from her and Beta, loping a few steps away, pausing long enough to look back at them and let out a soft bark. Her Beta bumped her shoulder before following the Alpha. She huffed happily and trotted after them. The Alpha gave her muzzle a quick lick before he broke immediately into a run, the Beta barking happily before chasing after him. She watched them for a moment before she let out a huff and ran after them, easily catching up to them before using a sudden burst of speed to overtake them.

She heard the Alpha howl, this time it was a happy sound, a sound that was playful, and suddenly he was at her shoulder, though it was obvious he was pushing himself to keep up with her. The Beta yowled from behind them, clearly not liking that he was being left behind. After a little while she slowed, letting her Alpha take the lead, dropping back to run beside her Beta, who bumped her, nipping gently at her shoulder as they followed the Alpha into a hunt, the clear scent of a deer filling their noses.

Kali scented the air with each step, even though her Alpha was leading them directly to the deer, her Beta huffed as he moved, running easily to the left, planning to flank the deer once they found it. He and the Alpha had clearly hunted before. That left her feeling a bit out of place as she didn't know what she was supposed to do, so she merely followed the Alpha's lead.

A short time later and they came upon the deer, standing amongst a few pine trees, grazing peacefully until its head snapped up, ears twitching as its eyes searched the darkness of the forest. Its nostrils flared and, just as it caught their scents, it bolted, leaping over a fallen tree and heading for the deeper part of the forest.

Her Alpha growled and together they all ran harder, faster, her Beta breaking away and heading for higher ground while she and her Alpha chased the deer towards the creek. The were closing on it within no time but before she could leap, before she could attempt to make the kill, her Beta leapt down from an out jut of rocks, jaws closing firmly around the deer's throat, dragging it down as he dropped, paws finding the ground quickly. The deer struggled but the Alpha quickly leapt up and grabbed the deer by the back of the neck, his fangs sinking deep even as he shook his head, attempting to break the neck even as the Beta used his hold to crush the windpipe.

Kali skidded to a halt, watching her mates bring the deer down with a deep, instinctual sense of pride. It was an old instinct, as old as her species, that she-wolves had developed. It was meant to tell a she-wolf that her mate, or in Kali's case mates, could provide not only for her but for the pups they would one day have.

Even though the instinct was old and basically outdated, Kali couldn't help the swell of pride she felt as she watched her mates release the now dead deer. Her Beta licked his muzzle, smearing the blood through his fur, before he turned to her, tail wagging. She stepped towards him, licking at his muzzle, showing her appreciation for what he'd done. After a moment she turned, intending to do the same to her Alpha but he stepped closer to her, bumping shoulders before he nodded towards the deer.

It took a moment for her to realize just what her Alpha was doing but when it hit her she was shocked enough that if she had been in human form she might very well have fainted.

He was an Alpha and he was offering her the chance to eat first.

Mate or not it spoke of how dedicated he already was to their mating even though they hadn't claimed each other yet.

Alphas, even many who were mated, never let anyone eat before them.

It was as much to do with pack standing as with possessive instincts.

She made a happy sound, licking his muzzle before moving to the deer, eating her fill before she stepped back and went to lay a few feet away, watching as her Alpha and Beta ate together. It was another surprise but perhaps the two were close enough that the Alpha felt comfortable enough to allow his Lead Beta to eat with him. It made her hopeful that their mating wouldn't be as tense as she'd first thought, especially if the two males were not mated to each other as well as her.

Resting her head on her paws she closed her eyes and listened to the soft sounds of the forest, barely twitching when her mates were suddenly laying to either side of her, one licking the blood and bits of meat from her muzzle while the other groomed the fur at the back of her neck.

For the first time in her life she felt content.

She felt accepted.