After having settled down in the den that had been given to them by Cain, Sam and his family decided to explore their temporary home. Whenever the group passed an Alpha, Sam was surprised to see them nod their head in greeting, which he and the other two adults did in returned so as not to seem rude. Some would even offer a verbal greeting of "Sir" to Samuel in particular, more than likely from him being King's Son-in-Law. Needless to say, the Alphas seemed to be quite friendly, possibly because Cain withheld the fact that Sam had chosen to become an Omega. But that reminded Sam of another observation that did not sit right with him.
The Omegas of the pack, as Sam observed, always seemed to bow their heads and cower, tails tucked between their legs as they whimpered whenever he walked close to them. Or rather, when any Alpha walked close to them. And the law that Omegas could not talk back to Alphas gave Samuel a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Looking around, Sam, as well as King and Terra, would often see unsettling sights of Alphas verbally, or even physically, abusing the Omegas of the pack. And thanks to that one specific law, the Omegas could do nothing about it.
Sam was soon pulled from his train of thought as he noticed a small group of pups nearby. Walking over to them, Sam could see that they were gathered around another pup. Only, this one appeared to be quite scrawny, which led Sam, as well as King and Terra, to theorize that she was an Omega. The closer the group got to the pups, the more they could hear of their conversation.
"Look at the Meg quiver," one pup, a green-eyed male with grey fur, jeered as the others laughed. Another pup, a blue-eyed female with brown fur and cream white underbelly, then proceeded to give off a mocking pouty face.
"Whaaat," she cooed at the little Omega, who was actually on the verge of tears, "are you gonna cry?" Before long the entire group of pups were all out laughing. That is until they heard a chorus of menacing growls come from behind them. Looking tot the source of the sound, the Alpha pups froze at the sight of a very annoyed Sam, King, and Terra, who looked at the group of youths with disapproval and contempt. Having the pups attention, Sam spoke first.
"What is going on hear?" The grey furred Alpha pup, who appeared to be the leader of the group, having recovered from the shock, responded smugly to Sam's question.
"We were just showing this MEG who's boss," he said, the female and two other pups, amber and blue-eyed males with cream and black fur, respectively, began nodding in agreement, triumph written on their faces. However, their smug expressions soon vanished as Sam took a menacing step forward, his hackles fully up as he bared his teeth at the quartet of pups who began to fearfully back away from the little Omega. Having them cornered against a large rock, Sam spoke menacingly, which, while gaining the attention of other wolves nearby, actually seemed to worry his mate and father-in-law, as well as young daughter who was hiding behind her mother's legs.
"Listen here, you little monsters," he seethed, his Irish brogue coming out full force, "if I ever hear you use that WORD again, or see you picking on that pup, or any pup for that matter, you will have me to deal with, got it!" After receiving vigorous nods from all four pups, Sam jerked his head to one side, making a clicking noise with his tongue, indicating for the pups to leave, which they did so without hesitation, leaving an empty space where they once stood, a few yellow patches in the snow as an indication of their fear. Looking back to his family, Sam quickly calmed down as he saw their worried expressions. Looking to the small omega pup, a female who possessed ginger colored fur with a cream underbelly and "socks" on all four paws, Samuel's hazel eyes looked into violet ones as he spoke calmly to the quivering pup.
"Sorry you had to see that, little one," he said in a gentle voice, which seemed to intrigue the young wolf, "I just REALLY hate that word." Seeing the pup start to calm down, Sam smiled as he continued to speak to hear. "So what's your name sweetie?" Before the pup could answer, an alarmed voice caught Sam's ear.
"Elise!" Turning to the source of the voice, Samuel made out the running form of a ginger-furred male, about half his size, his blue eyes wide in alarm. As the male approached, he quickly skidded to halt as he finally took in the sight of three Alpha's around the young pup. Lowering his head in submission, and with his tail tucked between his legs, the male began to speak again in a rushed and panicked voice. "Please forgive my sister, Great Alpha's, I can only hope she did not cause you too much trouble." Sam, who was a bit uncomfortable with this strange wolf being so submissive toward him, decided to ease his worry.
"Oh, she wasn't the trouble, my friend, but rather the pups picking on her" he said with a slight smile, a smile which only grew at the wolfs reaction of being called "friend." Terra also smiled at the new comer, who, upon closer inspection, appeared to be well into his teen years. But, upon noticing the wolf still in his submissive pose, laughed as she spoke to him.
"You can stand up," she said with a smile, "we are not like the other Alpha's here. We treat all creatures with respect and dignity." Upon seeing the wolf relax, King spoke next.
"What's your name, son?" he inquired with genuine curiosity. With a bit of stutter, the wolf responded.
"D-Daniel, sir," he responded. With a smile, Sam spoke to Daniel.
"Well Daniel," he began, "I am Samuel, this is my mate, Terra, her father, King, and our daughter, Anna. We were just providing aid to your sister who was well at the receiving end of some very harsh insults." Daniel took on a look of shock.
"But," he began with a bit of hesitance, "Alpha's don't do that. They say that Omega's are to take whatever insult or criticism is said to us, saying it keeps us in line." Upon hearing this, Sam turned to King and Terra, both sharing the same unnerved expression as he was. Turning back to Daniel, Sam responded to the young Omega's statement.
"Well, as my mate said Daniel," Sam began, " we are not like those other Alphas." This seemed to put Daniel at ease. Looking around, Sam could see that it was getting dark out, and that the other wolves of the pack were returning to their dens for the night. "You should take your sister and get home, Daniel," he said with a smile, which was greatly returned as the teenage wolf gestured for his sister to follow him. Before she did, however, she turned back to Sam.
"Goodnight, Mr. Samuel," she called sweetly, earning a wide smile from Samuel.
"Goodnight, Elise," he responded, "sleep well." After the Omega siblings had left, Sam noticed that Anna appeared to be very droopy-eyed herself. Looking to King and Tera, all nodded in agreement that it was time to get to their temporary residence. While walking to their den, Sam brought up something that had been eating at him all day.
"Did you two also notice the behavior of the Omegas around here?" He inquired, earning nods from both wolves walking by his side, Anna now sleeping on her grandfather's back as the three adults walked.
"And what Daniel said about 'keeping Omegas in line,' it doesn't sit well with me," King responded. Terra was next to offer her input.
"And I can't help but feel that Cain is up to something." Nodding in agreement, Sam suddenly began to slow his pace until he stopped walking all together. Confused, King and Terra looked back, only to meet the smile of their son-in-law and mate, who nodded for them to continue.
"I need a minute to think, so you just go on without me. "I'll be along along shortly." Returning the smile with a nod, King and Terra, along with Anna still asleep on the former's back, continued to their den, leaving Sam alone. Walking toward a ledge that overlooked the pack, Sam looked up to the night sky, which showed no moon, offering a clear view of the twinkling stars above. Looking at the millions of shining objects, Sam began speaking to the night wind.
"I know Cain is up to something," he whispered, only for a determined expression to form on his face a moment later, "but if he thinks he can hurt my family...
he's got another thing coming."
With that said, Samuel walked away from the ledge to join his family, unaware that he was being watched from the shadows.
"You have a good heart, Samuel," Rex whispered, "guard your family well, and all will go well for you."
Meanwhile, back with Terra and the rest of the family, the trio had just arrived at their den, ready to turn in for a good night's rest. Unfortunately, just as Terra was about to follow behind King and Anna, she heard a all to familiar, and quite frankly, very unwelcome voice call to her.
"My, my Terra," Cain growled lustfully as he approached the startled female, "the moonlight certainly does make you look quite beautiful."
Terra, upon hearing this, shook of her shock as she cast an uninterested glare toward Cain.
"What do you want, Cain?" she all but growled, which to her shock only seemed to make the lustful smile on Cain grow even more as he began to circle around her, not so subtly eye her appearance, from her auburn fur, to her slender frame, to her excellent child-bearing hips.
"I just want to keep you company," he darkly chuckled, pressing his side up to Terra as he leaned his head toward her face, making the female recoil in disgust at the action. But, fortunately for Terra, the moment was interrupted by a brown furred wolf, his cream underbelly a stark contrast from the rest of his body. Through the darkness, Terra could make out a pair of amber eyes staring back at her. As the figure approached the group, Terra could also make out an old scar on the left side of his face, which went from his temple down to the middle of his cheek.
"Excuse me, Sir," the male Alpha addressed Cain, who cast his subordinate a cold glare.
"What is it Cody?" he snarled, the other male cowering a little from the outburst.
"My apologies for interrupting," Cody continued with hesitance, "but some of our scouts have reported a sighting of...HIM near our western border."
Upon hearing this, Cain quickly forgot about being angry as he bolted bast Cody, sheer determination on his face. With Cain gone, Terra turned to Cody, only to receive another shock as he gave her a friendly smile.
"There's no one at the western border," he said warmly, "just thought you could use a paw. Rest well Ms. Terra."
With that, Cody turned and walked away, leaving Terra alone outside of the den. But after few moments, the shocked female allowed a small smile to grace her lips as she turned to enter the den, happy that not all Alpha's in Cain's pack were like him.