The Human Omega

by J. L. Wilder

  She watched Axe sit beside Sylvia and make her smile with jokes and pokes at her cranky nature. Kiedra smiled right along with Sylvia, thankful for the levity.

  Time flew by with such genial company, but soon, Kiedra could see Sylvia beginning to tire. She was about to say something when Sylvia spoke up for herself.

  “All right, young’uns, you get outta here and let this old lady rest. Axe, you should take Kiki to dinner. Take her to the Rabid Wolf. She hasn’t seen the renovations. “

  “Someone finally sank some money into that dive?” Kiedra asked.

  “If you want to count a few new tables and replacing that nasty carpet with vinyl renovating, then sure.”

  Sylvia laughed until she started coughing. Kiedra’s heart raced while the old woman hacked, her face turning purple before she was finally able to stop. Kiedra handed Sylvia a few tissues while Axe poured some water into a cup from the pitcher on the bedside table. Sylvia sipped the water and wiped her face free of the tears the coughing had brought out.

  She took a slow, deep breath finally and forced a smile for Kiedra. Sylvia patted Kiedra’s hand.

  “I’m all right,” she said. “Sometimes, I get going like that and my body forgets to stop.” Sylvia waved a hand toward Axe.

  “Bring me my purse.”

  Axe hefted the enormous brown leather bag off the dresser and laid it on the bed beside her. Sylvia dug through a side pocket, finally pulling out a set of keys and handing them to Kiedra.

  “I found your keys in your room after you left.”

  Kiedra took the keys, tears burning in her throat.

  “I’m sorry, Mamma,” she whispered.

  “No, no. No need, Kiki.”

  Kiedra leaned down to hug Sylvia. The older woman gave her a one-armed squeeze before pulling back. Axe grabbed Sylvia’s hand, startling an exclamation from Kiedra.

  “What the hell, Axe?”

  Axe held up a cigarette. Sylvia looked away, refusing to meet his eyes.

  “You can’t smoke anymore, Mamma. You know that!”

  “Can’t and won’t are two different things,” Sylvia said.

  “Not in my book,” Axe said. He crushed the cigarette in his fist before kissing Sylvia’s cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “You’re a bad man, Axe Malone. Taking a cigarette from a dying woman like that. If you’re not careful, I’ll come back and haunt you.”

  Axe dropped the shredded cigarette into the garbage can by the bed and grinned at Sylvia. “I’m counting on it, Mamma.”

  Kiedra leaned down to place a kiss on Sylvia’s cheek. As she moved back to stand up, Sylvia curled her arm around Kiedra’s neck to pull her close again.

  “You and Axe, you’re good for each other,” Sylvia whispered. “Don’t forget that.”

  Something twisted in Kiedra’s gut. Sylvia had said the words that Kiedra herself had thought so many times over the years, but the Pack would never allow it. She and Axe both knew that and so they had kept their distance from one another. Had something changed? Why would Sylvia say this now?

  Kiedra gently moved Sylvia’s arm from around her neck. She squeezed the older woman’s hand after settling it on the bed.

  “I won’t forget, Mamma. How could I?”

  “Good.”

  “You rest, now, okay? We’ll come back to see you tomorrow. Don’t give your nurses too much trouble tonight.”

  Sylvia’s mischievous grin brought up many memories for Kiedra. That grin had been the precursor for many of her happiest childhood memories.

  “Calvin likes when I give him trouble. Reminds him I’m still alive,” Sylvia laughed. Suddenly, she was coughing so hard that her body jerked uncontrollably on the narrow bed. Kiedra’s heart skipped a beat when Sylvia turned her face toward her again. A spatter of blood speckled the old woman’s lips.

  Sylvia dabbed her lips with the tissues Kiedra had given her. “It reminds me, too, Kiki.” She waved a hand toward the door. “You kids get outta here and let me sleep.”

  Kiedra tried to cling to Sylvia’s hand, but the old woman twisted her hand from Kiedra’s grasp and slapped at her hand. Kiedra opened her mouth to speak, but Sylvia shook her head.

  “There’s nothing you can do. I’m just glad you came back. Go, get some food. Spend some time with Axe and maybe some of the others. Rest and come back tomorrow. We’ll talk more, though I think someone else will tell you more before I can.”

  “But−”

  “No, Kiki. Listen to Mamma,” Axe said. “She knows best, right?”

  Axe winked at Sylvia who nodded.

  “Always have, always will.” Sylvia shooed Axe and Kiedra out. “Git! I wanna watch my shows.”

  Sylvia picked up the remote and tuned the television to another court show before turning up the volume to something just a hair’s breadth from ear shattering. Axe pulled Kiedra out of the room and let the door close between them and Sylvia.

  Kiedra stood silent, staring at the closed door.

  “She’s really dying,” she whispered.

  “Yeah. Docs say it could be any day, really.”

  Kiedra’s vision blurred and tears streaked down her cheeks. Axe pulled her into his arms and let her cry until the tears stopped and her breath calmed.

  “I...She was always so strong...so mean. I guess I thought I’d be glad when....”

  “I know that’s not true, Kiki. You just aren’t that kind of person.”

  Kiedra dried her eyes on her sleeve. “I’m glad you think so, but I think you have an inflated vision of who I am.”

  Axe slung an arm around Kiedra’s shoulder. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s go get a beer.”

  MUSIC pumped out the door as two women stepped out of the Rabid Wolf. Above their heads, a neon wolf bayed at a round, glowing moon.

  “I’ve never been treated like that in a bar before,” one of them said as they scurried to their car.

  “I guess we don’t need to come back here,” the other said.

  They got into the car, slammed the doors and drove away, passing Axe and Kiedra on their way out of the parking lot.

  “Looks like Hawk and the boys are in residence tonight,” Axe said with a laugh.

  “Hawk? I thought he left Whiteridge when I did.”

  Axe held the door open for Kiedra and followed her into the loud, dim hallway behind it.

  “He came back when his dad got hurt and couldn’t run the construction company on his own. Been about two years now.”

  The dark hallway leading into the bar opened suddenly into a wide room that felt much smaller than it actually was. Kiedra stopped and Axe ran into her back.

  “Kiki...”

  Kiedra held up her hand, stopping Axe. Every eye turned to her and the music stopped, plunging the room into crushing silence.

  A tall man, dressed head to toe in leather, with dark hair and eyes, disengaged himself from the group at the bar. He crossed the room, stopping in front of Kiedra. He stared her down, maintaining eye contact until she turned away and reached for Axe’s hand.

  “Are you claiming his protection, Kiki?”

  Kiedra’s head swiveled back to meet the man’s gaze. Her chin notched up, fire blazing from her eyes.

  “I don’t need protection from you, Hawk. I kicked your butt when we were five and I can do it again.”

  Hawk threw his head back and let out a laugh that echoed through the room like the howl of a wolf.

  “I think I might have an advantage over you now. I’m a little bigger than I used to be.”

  “I hear the gym will help with that.”

  Hisses erupted among the patrons and several stepped up behind Hawk. He waved them back, but they moved only a few steps away.

  “You haven’t changed, have you, Kiki?”

  “Not much.”

  Hawk held Kiedra’s gaze a moment longer before a broad grin spread across his lips. He opened his arms to her and the tension in the room washed away.

  “Welcome home, brat
!”

  Kiedra allowed Hawk to hug her, but didn’t relax until he gestured for her to join him at a table near the back of the room.

  “I’ll grab us some beers, okay?” Axe said, turning away before Kiedra could object.

  Hawk threw himself into a chair, tipping it back and crossing his arms over his barrel-like chest. Kiedra sat on the edge of the chair opposite Hawk, ready to flee if he made a wrong move.

  “You know, I didn’t really think you’d answer Mamma’s call. You not being one of us, I mean.” Hawk eyed Kiedra’s obvious discomfort and grinned.

  “I made her a promise. Unlike some, I keep my promises.” Kiedra shot Hawk a significant look. Rather than being embarrassed, he leered at her. She shook her head.

  “Besides, when have any of us ever been able to deny Mamma anything she asked of us?”

  She glanced at the bar where Axe waited for the bartender to pass him the beers he ordered. Axe flashed her a look and she shook her head before turning back to Hawk.

  “He can’t protect you, you know. No more than he could when we were kids. He might be bigger, but that soft heart of his will be the death of him. Sooner rather than later if he’s not careful.”

  “Do you have a point, Hawk? I didn’t come here to trade insults with you.”

  “Then what did you come for?”

  Kiedra opened her mouth but snapped it shut. Why had she dropped everything, abandoned her life in Seattle and come back to this tiny town in the middle of nowhere? There had to be something more than the promise she’d made when she was a teenager. It wasn’t love for Sylvia, she was sure. Sylvia had seen that she’d had a roof over her head, food in her belly, and clothing on her back, but the crusty woman everyone called Mamma hadn’t been a loving parent. She’d barely been civil to the orphan she’d taken in after the fire that had killed Kiedra’s parents.

  Kiedra shook her head. From the moment she’d heard Roland’s voice on the phone, she’d been unable to think of anything but getting back to Whiteridge as fast as she could. She couldn’t remember any other thought she’d had during her flight or while she’d sat with Sylvia in the hospital. Only when she’d seen Axe had another thought really struck her. She’d come to see the Pack.

  As long as she’d been away from Whiteridge, it had been easy for Kiedra to forget the Pack entirely. She hadn’t even thought of Axe or Hawk, or even Mamma, until the phone call from Roland. She’d put her entire life before college entirely out of her mind. It was a difficult realization for Kiedra, to know she’d managed five years without a single thought for the people she’d once believed to be her family.

  “Hawk, quit messing around with the mongrel and have a drink with me.” Leslie Ross draped her ample bosom over the back of Hawk’s neck and glared at Kiedra.

  Hawk slapped Leslie’s roaming hand away from his chest.

  “Sit your ass down, Leslie.” Hawk growled low in his throat. “If you’re the Omega, we’re going to have a hard life if you can’t get a handle on yourself. There’s not enough alcohol in the world for me to want to spend my life with you the way you are now.”

  Hawk shook his shoulders and disengaged Leslie’s hold on him. Leslie turned a burning gaze to Kiedra and pointed a long-nailed finger at the younger woman.

  “Don’t think you’re going to worm your way back into the inner circle just because you came back during the transition. I’m still top bitch here.”

  “You’ve got the bitch part right,” Hawk snarled. “Get the fuck away from me, until you can keep a civil tongue in your head. Kiki’s here because Mamma’s dying. Have a little compassion.”

  Leslie’s mouth fell open before snapping shut with a click. She glared at Kiedra before stalking across the bar to a table where several older women sat, heads together, lips moving quickly.

  Kiedra shook her head.

  “You always were a bastard, Hawk,” Kiedra said. “Glad to see some things don’t change.”

  “Some things change more than you know,” Hawk said.

  “Yeah, like what?”

  Hawk reached across the table to where Kiedra’s hand lay. Kiedra snatched her hand back, leaving Hawk’s arm stretched across the table. He frowned, grinding his teeth.

  “Why do you have to be so damn difficult?”

  Kiedra shrugged.

  “I don’t like to be touched. You know that, you just choose to ignore it.”

  Kiedra glanced at her watch.

  “Look, I would like to have a beer and maybe order something from the kitchen before it closes. I’m sure Mamma didn’t stock the fridge with anything other than bologna and cheese doodles. If you have a point, I wish you’d get to it.”

  Hawk leaned back in his chair again, arms crossed, face hard.

  “You never make anything easy.” He waved a hand, dismissing his own words. “The old Alpha, my dad, is stepping down. He’s tired and his body just won’t take the strain of leading the Pack anymore. The Contest will be the night of the next full moon. I want you there—with me.”

  The bottom fell out of Kiedra’s world. Her stomach rolled and she gripped the edge of the table to keep herself upright in her chair.

  “Who,” she cleared her throat, “who else will fight?”

  “Bronson, Damien, Thorn, Decker ,and Axe.”

  Kiedra recoiled, nearly tipping her chair over backward. She scrambled and grasped the edge of the table, teetering on the spindly legs of the chair. Axe’s large hand grasped her wrist and pulled her forward, away from disaster.

  “Whoa. You all right?” Axe smiled down at Kiedra and she was struck once more by how much bigger he was now than he’d been when she left for college.

  “I’m fine,” she snapped. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  Axe stepped back. “What are you talking about?”

  Kiedra stood and held up a finger to halt Axe’s words.

  “I’ll deal with you in a second.”

  She turned on Hawk, slamming her hands down on the table.

  “And you! First, why the hell would I go to the Contest with you?”

  “You’re not a wolf and you’re not Pack, but you’ve been part of our world your whole life. You’re strong and like you said, you keep your word. Even if you did leave us, you came back when you were called. That’s enough for me. I need a female in my camp, and I want it to be you.”

  Axe growled, a low menacing sound that raised the hairs on Kiedra’s arms. She glanced at him and saw a light in his eyes that she’d never seen before.

  Hawk’s head swiveled to face Axe.

  “Keep it to yourself, pup. Wouldn’t want to get hurt before the Contest.”

  The growl grew louder and the light in Axe’s eyes showed how they changed from the cornflower blue Kiedra remembered from their childhood to a deep gold she’d never seen before.

  “Axe?”

  He scowled at her, lips lifting to show teeth that lengthened as she watched.

  “Enough!”

  The voice roiled through the room, shaking the floor and walls with its timbre. All heads turned to the bar where Roland Lane stood, arms akimbo, feet spaced and braced for a fight.

  Axe’s shoulders drooped and the light in his eyes died. He took a step back and to the side, giving Roland a clear view of Hawk and Kiedra.

  “Dad, I had it−”

  “You had nothing, boy. Someday that mouth of yours will be the death of you.”

  Roland crossed the bar to the table where Kiedra still leaned toward Hawk. She straightened as he approached.

  Kiedra smiled to herself as Roland enveloped her in a hug that made her ribs creak. She breathed in the warm scent she always associated with Pack.

  “Did you get to the hospital already?” Roland asked.

  “I did. She looked....” She sighed and Roland patted her shoulder.

  “I know. We all feel the same.” Roland looked at Hawk. “I heard you tell her about the Contest.”

  Hawk had the good grace to look abashed.
He ducked his head in an abbreviated bow.

  “Apologies, Alpha. I didn’t realize you wanted to speak to her yourself.”

  Roland snorted. “Right.” He turned to Kiedra. “You know the contest is on the next full moon?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. You’ll be there with the Pack, then.”

  Roland’s tone brooked no argument. Kiedra didn’t want anything to do with what she was certain would be a testosterone overloaded dick-measuring contest, but she knew she’d be there because Roland asked. She took a deep breath.

  “I will, sir. It’s my duty.” Hawk’s self-satisfied smile rankled and Kiedra continued. “But I cannot take sides.”

  Roland nodded. “Nor should you feel obligated to do so.” He glared at Hawk. “You heard her, boy. She’s choosing not to take sides at this time.”

  Roland leaned close to Hawk. “Don’t pressure her.”

  “Yes, sir,” Hawk grumbled. He shot Kiedra a look that sent chills down her spine. Given his choice, she knew Hawk would defy his father on this.

  Roland’s eyes narrowed. He’d seen his son’s look as well. “I mean it, boy. No pressure.”

  He turned to address the rest of the Pack members, including those who were trying to pretend they weren’t paying attention sat up when Roland spoke now. “That goes for the rest of you, too. Kiki has done her duty. She’s here. She’s made her choice. She’s not taking sides. That’s the final word on it.”

  The bar patrons shifted in their seats and nodded. A few, “yes, sirs” and “sure, bosses” wafted on the air and Roland nodded.

  “Good. Now let this old man buy you a beer.”

  Roland offered Kiedra his arm. She took it and followed him to the bar, throwing Axe a look that said they’d talk later as she passed him.

  “Tell me all about Seattle, Kiki. I’ve always wanted to go there.

  Chapter Two

  Leslie threw herself into a chair beside Axe.

  “Where does she get off acting all high and mighty?”

  Axe scowled across the table. “Nobody asked your opinion Leslie. Give it a rest.”