2. Archer
Archer
I hate these sorts of parties.
Technically, they’re supposed to be fancy “gallery balls” where alphas mix with omegas outside of the official Omega Center hosted events, but they always seem to devolve into nothing more than a party quickly.
Based on the looks some of my packmates are shooting me across the room, we’re all on the same page.
“Archer, you aren’t paying attention to me!” The omega in front of me pouts.
“Sorry, Brandy, but I think I have to go.”
I look over her head and see Madden practically carrying Chase over to me. It’s obvious Chase is drunk out of his mind. I almost shoot a prayer over the open bar in the corner, thanking them for giving me an excuse to get away from this omega.
The moment Brandy sees Madden, her entire expression changes. She whips her head back around to me, her eyes intense with disgust. “Why do you even have a Southsider like him in your pack? Especially when the rest of you are so accomplished?”
I can’t help but roll my eyes. “Just because Madden is a Southsider doesn’t mean he’s not accomplished. Why would you even talk with me for the entire night if you have issues with my pack?”
“Well, I imagined if we explored our connection you’d, you know…”
“Ditch a member of my pack for you?” I scoff, pushing away from the wall I’ve been leaning on. “Not happening. Any omega the Ward Pack takes in will accept us all.”
“But we’d be perfect together!” She reaches out, her scarlet-tipped nails filed so sharply they look like claws. “Our families?—”
“Our families have nothing to do with my decision.”
“My father is the chief of police! Your father is the head of the Omega Center! Think of the good we can do.”
“You’re asking to join my pack, not my family. My pack will not change. If you’re so interested in my father, go talk to him.” I take her wrist as gently as I can, given how irritated I am, and remove her hold on me.
“You okay?” Kane, my second in command, asks, appearing by my side as I head to the exit.
“Fine,” I say, my jaw clenched. “I just hate these fucking things. Sometimes I just want to say screw public perception of our pack and never go to one of these ever again.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Kane sighs, scrubbing a hand through his five-o’clock shadow. “At least it’s just a party and not an actual event for the Omega Center.”
“Not much of a difference,” I say, glancing over my shoulder warily, making sure that omega, Brandy, isn’t chasing us. The tension eases from my shoulders when I don’t spot her anywhere. “How are Madden and Chase doing?”
“Chase is hammered and Madden’s happy to have an excuse to get out of here. They’re probably waiting by the car by now.”
“Perfect. I’m sick of this party.”
Chase is throwing up beside the pack’s Escalade.
“I fucking told you to slow down, god dammit,” Madden sighs, scrubbing a hand down his face .
“Shut up,” Chase groans, wiping the back of his mouth with his hand.
“Hey,” Madden nods to me and Kane, crossing his tattooed arms over his chest. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah,” I nod. “Whenever Chase is ready.”
“You shut up too,” Chase says, his forehead pressed against the hood of the Escalade.
Madden digs around in the car and pulls out a plastic water bottle, tossing it to Chase, who drinks it like it’s the first drop of water he’s had in his life.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Chase says, jumping up to his feet. “Onwards and upwards!”
I don’t know how that fucker manages to not fall on his face before he gets into the backseat. Knowing him, he probably made the hosts of that ball regret having an open bar. Kane joins him with a resigned sigh. Madden slides into the driver’s seat and I join him up front.
“How’re you hanging in there?” I ask him as he gets us out of the parking structure.
“Fine,” he shrugs. “You know how I feel about those sorts of things.”
As much as I hate going to these sorts of parties because of how stupid the people who talk to us are, Madden has it ten times worse.
Our pack is pretty powerful, all things considered, especially according to their standards.
Chase’s father used to be the mayor of the city and my father runs the omega center.
Plus, we all run the biggest security company in the city.
That attracts the kind of people that are only interested in status and power.
And what do people only interested in status and power hate? People that’re different.
Those superficial bitches and douchebags can’t get over the fact that Madden was raised in the Southside of Riverwell. They completely ignore the fact that Madden played an integral part in building the company that keeps their homes safe and only sees where he was born.
“Issok Madden,” Chase slurs, slumped over against the window. “We love you, man.”
Madden lets out a little huff, looking at Chase through the rearview mirror. “Can’t help but feel like I’m holding you guys back when we go to those things.” He shoots a look at me. “Especially when it comes to omegas.”
“You’re not holding us back from anything,” I scoff. “You’re protecting us from shallow, vapid bitches who only care about their status.”
“Or I’m scaring away perfectly sweet omegas who would make you guys happy,” Madden growls.
It’s a fact that Madden is intimidating.
Even for an alpha, he’s one of the biggest people I’ve met in real life at six and a half feet tall and two hundred and seventy-five pounds.
He’s covered in tattoos from the neck down, which isn’t something you see very often in our circles.
Some guys will have the occasional sleeve or half sleeve, but those are the kinds of things you can hide in suits.
Madden really can’t hide much of anything about himself.
So he’s not exactly wrong that he can be a scary motherfucker, but I’d rather cut off my own arm than make him think that the issues we’re facing as a pack are his fault. He’s been through too much shit for him to feel like that.
“You’re a part of our pack. You’re the one we care about, not them. Nothing’s going to change that,” I say, squeezing his shoulder.
“But we’re going to need an omega soon,” Madden says, his knuckles going white with how hard he’s holding the steering wheel.
“We’ll figure it out,” Kane adds. “We haven’t really even tried the interview process.”
“I thought the goal was to find someone without having to go through that system,” Madden sighs. “That way if an omega wants to run away from me she can.”
“The system is in place for a reason,” I add. “And going through the system doesn’t mean we’re forcing anyone to do anything.”
The interview system is where omegas find and get matched to packs with the Omega Center’s help. My father was the one who came up with the system after the big riot.
Fifteen years ago, a lot of people were upset that they didn’t have any chances to even try to court an omega. They decided to storm through the Northside of town where a lot of omegas lived and try to kidnap them and take them for their own.
It was a horrifying night for everyone. Families were torn apart. People were killed and raped in the street. It was insanity. By the time the police force got a handle on everything, it was obvious there had to be major changes.
Now, omegas are registered and all packs go through an interview process so these omegas get to meet different people to find the best fit. This gives as many alphas and betas as possible a chance to at the very least be with an omega for one of their heats.
It also led to the development of the pack system. There were packs before the big riot, but they weren’t the norm. Now, unless an omega is a bit older, it’s rare to find them with just one alpha partner.
“It could be fun!” Chase jumps in, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Who doesn’t like talking to a bunch of gorgeous, delicious-smelling omegas?”
“Me,” Madden says.
“Come onnn, you’re hot, man, don’t sell yourself short. I bet some wild omega would totally want to take you for a ride.”
Madden grits his teeth again.
“Shut up, Chase,” I growl.
Chase is too drunk to remember the last thing Madden wants is to just be taken for a ride. You wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at him, but the big guy’s a hopeless romantic.
Kane pulls Chase back into his seat and rolls his eyes.
“If we’re going to go through that system we wouldn’t be just applying for one heat,” I say, trying to reassure Madden.
“I’m down to do whatever is best for the pack. If that means going to apply for a heat to take the edge off of things,” Madden says, eyeing Chase in the back seat. “Then that’s what it means.”
“Nah, it’s okay, buddy,” Chase says, closing his eyes, oblivious to the tension in the car. “If I need to take the edge off I can always find someone for that.”
“You fucking idiot,” Kane sighs, “Stop making me babysit you and shut up. Everyone knows you’re a fucking man-whore.”
Madden and I burst out laughing.
I’m usually a pessimist, but I have a feeling everything will work out for our pack. Because we have each other. Regardless of what life throws at us, we’re going to figure things out, together.