Chapter IV – K for Kirkland
"Fratello! Are you alright? Fratello!"
"Dammit! That bastard … how dare he … damn!"
"Ve~ Fratello! Don't move! I can't clean your wounds if you move about!"
"I swear … next time, I'll kill the bastard! And you!" Lovino settled his glaring eyes on his brother who shivered under the glare. "Why the fuck did you let this … this … this piece of shit insult you and play you! And more to the point, how could you … how dare you disobey my orders?! My orders?! Feliciano Vargas, you know that I am the heir to Head Alfa of our family! I know you're an Alfa and all but even so … my orders should not be challenged and even more so in favour of a stranger! And a Kirkland at that!"
"Ve … I'm sorry Lovi … I didn't mean to challenge your authority but …"
"There! There it goes again! What buts? Since when do you say but?!" Lovino pointed an accusing finger at his brother.
The two brothers fell into an uncomfortable silence in the empty Infirmary. Somehow the Nurse had to go to a staff meeting so that left them alone in the Infirmary. After the fight, Feliciano had immediately tended to his brother, helping him up and with Antonio's help, they had dragged him to the infirmary. With Antonio guarding outside at the door like a Guard Dog, the twins started arguing. While Feliciano only wanted to nurse his brother's wounds, he could not avoid the accusations and questioning of his fuming brother. He understood his anger … well, he understood why he was angry but not exactly the feeling of anger that Lovino felt. Feliciano knew the shame and frustration an Alfa would feel after losing a fight for dominance. But unlike his Fratello, he himself had never really felt this feeling. He felt shame. He felt frustration. But never in this kind of situation. When he loses fights against Alfas, Feliciano only accepts his defeat with a stabbing guilt and shame in his heart. He gets angry at himself for being a failed Alfa but he never actually felt emotions that other Alfas felt. He was just too … too Omega for that. He just accepted his fate.
Lovino sighed as he noticed the trembling of his brother and the lowered head in submission. Again, his little brother so easily submitted to him. And again, he felt like he was the bad guy for yelling at him. But come on! Feliciano is an Alfa, like it or not! He should have learned by now to be more dominant and more independent of him! Or at the very least, he should not have let this Kirkland treat him so obviously as if he were a mere Omega! How dare the bastard lower Feliciano's status like that!
"Forget it, Stupido! Just promise me you won't see the bastard again!" Lovino mumbled and waited for his brother to agree to his terms like he always does.
Feliciano kept applying bandages on his wounds but never spoke a word. He didn't even make a sign to show that he had heard the older Alfa. Lovino frowned at this and growled threateningly. The kind of growl only a head Alfa would send to another member of his family. Feliciano coward under the growl and lowered his head more but he still didn't utter a word. Was he seriously challenging him? Lovino narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Answer me! I want to hear you swear that you will no longer hold any form of contact whatsoever with Arthur Kirkland. Do I make myself clear?"
"… Why do you hate him, Lovino?" Feliciano finally spoke with an oddly calm voice.
Lovino stared in disbelief at his brother. His younger weak omega-like brother that usually never would dare to contradict him! Was he seriously ignoring his order and challenging him?
"It's none of your business, Stupido. Now promise me."
"… But …"
"Again?! What buts?! What the fuck is there to but about?! How dare you even question my orders?!"
"… I am an Alfa too, aren't I?" Feliciano spoke in a quiet whisper that Lovino almost missed. The older boy sighed heavily. Oh dear … now he made Feliciano's self-esteem break down! It's all that Kirkland bastard's fault!
"Si, si, you're an Alfa! A fucked up Alfa but still an Alfa. And you're my Fratello! A Vargas! You know how important and powerful our family is, don't you?" Lovino patted his brother's head, moving his arm around now that his wounds were all taken care of.
"Si. I know."
"So because you're an Alfa and mi fratello, you should not let bastards like that what's-his-name-Kirkland …"
"Arturo."
"Whatever! Chigi! Don't you interrupt me!" Lovino growled again this time more insistently. He was getting irritated and sick of his younger brother's sudden rebellious behaviour towards him.
"Look …" Lovino sighed, forcing his Alfa instinct to settle and calm himself down. "I don't care if you think the bastard is nice and shit, but to let another Alfa treat you like he did … Fratello … you were letting your guard down again and behaving all Omega with him! In fact, worse than usual! I actually almost didn't recognise you because you were acting like a … like a …" Lovino's face blushed bright red under Feliciano's questioning gaze.
"Like a what?" the younger one asked in confusion. He had behaved strangely with Arturo? How so?
"Forget it! I don't want to see you be all chummy with other Alfas! They'll take advantage of you like always! And I want to know why you didn't come to me first for permission to hang out with other Alfas! You know the rules!"
Feliciano instead of cowering under the furious glare of his brother, let out a soft chuckle of amusement that bemused Lovino.
"Fratello! I didn't forget but you misunderstood! Arturo said he was sorry!"
"That bastard dare to insult me! Don't you dare side with him!"
"Ve? But he wasn't insulting you. He really was apologising."
"Like hell he was! Do you even have eyes or are they always closed! You fucking idiot! An Alfa, and more so if he's a Kirkland, would never apologise and take on the shit I threw at him!"
"So you admit you weren't nice to Arturo! Bene! Now we can apologise to him!"
"Excuse me?! You dare to tell me to apologise to him?!"
"But fratelloooo! He already tried to apologise and it was your fault for aggressing my new friend!"
Lovino stared in shock at his pouting stubborn brother. He really wasn't going to let go about this. That was so unlike Feliciano to be so determined like that about someone else. Or anyone for that matters! How come? Why this guy? Why that irritating Alfa?! Was his brother really going to lower himself willingly to the Kirkland? Lovino had heard of how terrifying the aura of dominance the Kirkland clan displayed and their insane strength and savagery that makes them the most terrifying Alfa clan in Europe … if not the World. He never thought to see them move to America. And even less that his brother would go all Omega on one of them! Dammit!
"Are you out of your fucking mind?!" Lovino nearly chocked his brother to death in his furry and was barely able to understand Feliciano's chocked up answer in-between gasps.
"B-but … fratello … y-you c-c-can't … can't b-be s-s-so … a-aggressive …"
"And why fucking not?! Exactly how am I not in full rights to pummel to the ground the bastard of an Alfa that thinks he can toy with my brother and trash him around?! Tell me why not?!"
"B-because … he's n-not …an Alfa …!" Feliciano suddenly felt his brother's grip around his neck loosen and he grasped for air avidly while Lovino simply watched him in confusion and disbelief.
"The hell are you saying Stupido? What is he if not an Alfa? Of course he's an Alfa! He's a Kirkland!"
"Ve? Why are you saying that fratello? Why do you keep repeating Arturo's family name as if it were a curse?"
"Because it almost is one!" Lovino grumbled as he dropped himself on a nearby bed and lay down with a heavy sigh. Dealing with all this shit had exhausted him and he didn't want to involve his brother in those politics and family shit … but from the idiot's eager eyes on him, Lovino knew that he would not get rid of his brother without an explanation.
"You've never been told of this because Nonno … well, you know how he thinks of you, right?" Lovino glanced and felt a pang of pain in his heart at the dejected look on his brother's face. Of course, they both knew how their grandfather's feelings were one sided when it came to his heirs. He was focusing all his attention on grooming Lovino into a strong heir for the Vargas family and had given up on making anything out of Feliciano. Not to say that he didn't love him, but he just could not fathom a future for his abnormal grandson. He assumed Feliciano would just end up as a pretty doll enclosed in a golden cage, like he is now, protected by the name of Vargas but never allowed to betray it.
"Anyway … In the States, the main families in charge of all the businesses and holding power in their hands are us, the Vargas, the Jones in the entertainment industry, the Wangs have their fair share but they mostly handle things in Asia, the Carriedos who are related to us through blood and we have a history of partnership with for many generations, the fucking potato bastards Weildschimdt and a few more but let's leave it at that for now. If I tell you too much in one go, you won't understand anything."
"Veeee … why did you name your friends?"
"To make it easier for you to understand in that tiny head of yours! Now listen closely, all of these families breed powerful and genius Alfas and Betas. You also would expect their Omegas to be well educated in the world we live in which is rare. Agreed?"
"Si, that's why everyone tries to get Matteo."
"Right, because he's a political importance and an asset for the family. Omegas can be used as bargains into an arranged marriages to link businesses and families. It's shit but that's how it works for people like us. And our Alfas are strong and particularly dominant, which explains why our families reached the top of society. Do you follow so far?"
"Si but I don't understand how this has to do with Arturo."
"I'm getting there! There is one family … actually, it's not exactly a family. They call themselves a Clan. They originated from Britain … somewhere in the North of England or Scotland, I don't know! They are called the Kirkland Clan."
"Ve! Arturo's …?"
Lovino frowned at the sudden interest and the sparks in his brother's amber eyes. It irritated him to see his brother act like a puppy dog towards that bastard!
"Tch! Yeah. He most probably comes from that clan. The particularity of the Kirklands and why they are feared by others is simple. It's a clan that only breeds Alfas. Exclusively Alfas. Only Alfas. Nothing else. Occasionally they might get a Beta or two but those are rare."
"Ve? But how is that possible? I thought you always get 1/3 chance of being Alfa, Beta or Omega since we all hold those genes in our family trees." Feliciano frowned in confusion.
"Si, that's what should happen. But for some odd reason that nobody can explain, and the Kirkland clan itself has long forgotten the how or why, they only seem to get Alfas. And not any Alfas … the kind of Alfas that can dominate other Alfas. It's expected from such a family that their Alfas would be powerful but … you saw that bastard earlier, right? He's not normal! His family is not normal!"
"Ve … how do you know so much about them fratello?"
"It's because I have to learn this shit to become the heir. I need to know influential families and the politics and relations of them with each other. And believe me, if anyone could get into a close relationship with the Kirklands, they would. Although they originate from Britain, their influence spread out across Europe and even abroad. I heard they have strong holds in India and Australia, and their members have scattered across the globe. I knew they had big businesses in America but I never actually got to see anyone from their clan in all of the fucking balls and parties I attended with Nonno. But if they came here, I bet you all the Omegas will be swooning over that shit-head and our families will try and use us to become friends with the bastard so that we can enter a partnership with the Kirklands."
"… …"
"Do you get it now? He's a dangerous guy! He's not like other Alfas you met before and I can't guaranty your safety if …" Lovino was suddenly cut off by the low confused whisper of his brother.
"But Fratello … you said there are only Alfa Kirklands, si?"
"Si. The only Omegas and Betas in their clan are from marriage and they usually come from poor backgrounds for some weird reason. They're not really into arranged political marriages. They're weird like that and they act so superior, it pisses me off!"
"But …" Feliciano lifted wide confused chocolate eyes and met the equally confused ones of his brother. "But Arthur is an Omega."
Several minutes ticked as Lovino processed the information. Once he finally did, all he could do was laugh out loud at the absurdity his brother had spouted. Arthur Kirkland! An Omega?! A Kirkland claiming to be an Omega?! Now that is just … priceless!
"Who the fuck told you that?! You shouldn't believe what people tell you, Stupido! You're so naïve! There's no way this guy is an Omega!"
"Ve? But he is. Arthur told me himself. And he told our whole class during the presentations. You can ask Alfred. He even flipped Alfred over and beat him to the ground before class and after he told everyone that he was an Omega."
Lovino silenced instantly and continued to stare in disbelief but this time he was realising that his brother was seriously telling the truth.
"You're kidding …"
"Ve? I'm not! I know you can easily mistake Arturo for an Alfa, I thought so too the first time! But actually he's … uh … kind of like me! He's an Omega but he behaves like an Alfa. Didn't you smell his scent while you were fighting? It's very sweet, you know! And he apologised. You know Alfas don't apologise, si?" Feliciano grinned widely, not realising in his ramble the frozen state of his brother.
In his mind Lovino was recalling his incident with Arthur Kirkland. All the odd details that had bothered him were suddenly making sense. But an Omega? A Kirkland Omega? Was that even possible? But Feliciano was right. During the fight, Lovino had detected a faint sweetness in Arthur's scent. Almost as if his Alfa scent was masking the sweeter delicious Omega scent. Could he really be an Omega? Wait … did he just get a beating and humiliation from an Omega?! A freaking Omega?! This is even worse! And Alfred too?!
Lovino suddenly felt depression and shame tumble on him like a 10 tons weight while Feliciano kept babbling about Arturo this and Arturo that. Really, the idiot could not get a clue, could he? No, hold on, more urgent matters are what to do now?! He had assaulted another family's Omega. And not any family! He had attacked and harmed a Kirkland Omega. Payback would definitely fall on him.
It is commonly known that harming an Omega of another family is inviting the said family to a fight. Now, usually, in those modern times, people don't bother with these tribal traditions of vendetta. But in big, old, influential families like the Vargas, where reputation was everything, an offense was never unpunished. And the Kirkland clan was known to be extremely traditional in everything. There is no way that they would let one of their Omegas, especially a blood Omega, be harmed or challenged and not react accordingly. Lovino suddenly felt like his whole world was about to crash around him.
"So that's why you should apologise to Arturo!" he heard Feliciano's voice brightly speak.
"Uh?" Lovino looked up at his pouting brother.
"Ve! You weren't listening again! Lovino! I'm not good at being an Alfa like you but I do know the rules and traditions! You will get into trouble and the family will get trouble if Arturo reports to his head Alfa about today! But because Arturo is nice and my friend, I'm sure if you apologise, he will not tell anyone about this!"
"… You … want me to … apologise?" Lovino spat the word as if it were a disease, glaring down at his brother in disgust.
Feliciano looked down in sudden submission as he squeaked shyly. Why were Alfas so stubborn and immature all the time? It's not that hard to apologise! Especially when you are in the wrong!
"Si …?"
Lovino only wished to beat his brother till he dropped unconscious but he didn't. As much as he hated to admit it, Feliciano's suggestion was his only (positive) way out of this mess. After all, he was already terrified by the potential vendetta of the Kirklands and his guts were telling him to run and hide at the other end of the world … and that still probably wouldn't be enough to escape their wrath. They are known to show no mercy to their enemies and Lovino did not want to die just yet.
"I must be crazy for listening to the likes of you." He sighed and was suddenly dragged out of the infirmary by a cheerful Feliciano.
"Bene! Let's go look for Arturo! Ah, we should go without your friends or he might think that you want to fight again, si?"
"Si, si, I know, Stupido." Lovino mumbled as they opened the infirmary door and got face to face with a concerned Antonio.
"Lovi! How are your wounds? Do you want me to call the guys and we'll go get revenge on the English bastardo?"
"No. Just stay out of it, Tomato Bastard. I'll sort this out on my own. Let's go, Feli."
"Eh? S-si …" Feliciano shot a curious look at his brother. It had been a long time since he had last called him "Feli". Nowadays, Lovino always called him Stupido or Feliciano. Not the nicknames they used when they were kids. Not anymore.
The Italian smiled happily as he followed his grumpy brother, leaving a confused Spaniard behind.
Arthur leaned against the trunk of a tree, sitting down on the soft grass and staring up at the sky with a sigh. His one chance of making a real friend and he just had to blow it. Again. Why could he just not stop to act so … so … so fucking Alfa! He really needed to get his temper under control … why could he not have been born as an Alfa? Things would have been so much simpler.
"I saw you cause a scene again. You do know that the reason you got sent here was to avoid raising suspicions, right?" a condescending voice coldly spoke next to him.
Arthur didn't need to look to know who that voice belonged to. He only smirked and answered with a snarl.
"You're not helping Lukas."
"I'm not trying to help." The Norwegian Beta sat down next to his childhood friend.
To say Arthur had no friends would a lie. But his only friends were the heirs of the Kohler clan originally from Denmark and Sweden. The oldest son Matthias and his three brothers Berwald, Lukas and Emil were all in this school, as well as their cousin Tino. Out of them all, Arthur got along with Lukas who was the same age as him and was from Norway as he lived with his mother with Emil while Matthias was brought up by their father in Denmark. Berwald had been staying with their cousin Tino in Sweden. Their parents weren't divorced or anything. It's just the Kohler clan had a weird family concept that separated the future heir to the clan from the rest of his family once he reaches the age of 10. Although Arthur gets along with most of them (relatively) he only considers Lukas as a true friend … and possibly his only friend. It helps that they both hold the special gift of The Sight.
Magic was real. As real as fairies. Ok, so Santa Claus is not real, no matter what Tino thinks! But everything else is! And if the Kirkland clan is known for anything, it's for their involvement in the forbidden arts. After all, it's no coincidence that Arthur's family only gives birth to Alfas and no other types of people. Sure a few rare betas here and there but overall, it was all Alfas. Partly because the Kirkland blood is strongly dominant naturally and it explains the powerful influence of their Alfas. But mostly this anomaly comes from an old ancient curse that was cast to condemn the Kirkland clan to die off. If they could not give Omegas, it was expected for their clan to die. Obviously, a family that can only produce one type of people can only die out eventually. Oh, but they didn't know the Kirklands! The idiot that cast his spell on Arthur's ancestors had only brought around the determination and the rapid increase of his family. They struggled harder to reach the top and finding mates. That's why the clan remains set in old traditions and holds a strong unusual respect towards Omegas. That's why finding a mate (something so banal) is a big deal for them. And that's why … Arthur is so extremely precious since he is actually a pure blood Kirkland Omega … and from the main family branch too since his brother was to be the next Head Alfa (in theory, that is if his stubborn grandfather ever bothers dying).
If the gift of magic is common to the Kirklands, it is not elsewhere. Among the changes into Betas, Omegas and Alfas, there were other few anomalies from the War and the radiations, and that includes the abnormal gift of Magic and the Sight. Lukas is the only one in his family to hold that gift and it made Arthur glad to have a friend to share his experience with. The young Norwegian Beta was quiet and always good at reading the atmosphere … he actually could also read people's minds (though not Arthur's since the Briton knew how to seal away his thoughts). He had platinum blond hair with a cross hairpin holding up one side, deep mysterious indigo eyes and a constant emotionless poker face on his pale complexion.
"I saw you publicly beat up Lovino Vargas at the cafeteria." Lukas spoke quietly like he was just pointing out a statement. The Briton nodded with a sigh.
"Couldn't help it. His brother probably hates me now …"
"His brother? What's he got to do with it all?"
"He's the reason we got into this fight."
"Hm … I heard he was odd. The youngest of the Vargas … to be honest I never really paid attention to rumours but I heard he was abnormal … he's an Omega?"
"An Alfa. But yeah, he's abnormal." Arthur smiled softly as he spoke those last words, leaving his friend to stare at him in a dazed wonder.
"I see. Is that him over there rushing towards us like a crazed man out of an asylum?" The Nordic pointed towards the running Italians approaching them fast. Arthur looked up in surprise and felt himself freeze in anxiety.
"He's here to apologise." Lukas again pointed out like a fact the information and received a warning glare form his friend.
"You really need to drop that habit of peeking into people's minds!"
"The mind I want to peek into is yours actually." The Norwegian allowed a rare smile to corner his lips while Arthur rolled his eyes and ignore the glint of malice in his friend's blue eyes.
Dear god … what would he have to do to get a normal life?!
AN: It gets a pass! I'll continue that story! I actually had that chapter ready already but I wasn't sure and wanted to see how the test-run went.