-Flint-
I can't believe I'm here. It'd been about a week since their lessons first began, but this was the first time I was required to be there.
I glanced at the man beside me, Koda. He looked nothing but ecstatic to have to do such a tedious task. I rolled my eyes and wanted to smack him in the head to stop his fidgeting but I resisted the urge.
I was only here because Mingan chewed me out about hunting excessively. She reminded me that my mate couldn't possible eat all of my kills all by herself and I was wasting food. It was Conri who suggested we start serving dinner to all of the rescued GEOs.
"It'll help lesson the burden on all of the other volunteers." He had said.
Koda had eagerly agreed in the meeting, and even offered to bring side dishes for them. So that's where I was now. Waiting to serve behind tables of aluminum pans after a long day of food preparation. Suffice it to say, I was not in a good mood.
"Stop bouncing," I growled lowly.
Koda grinned bashfully, but stopped nonetheless. "Sorry. I'm just excited."
I snorted. That was as clear as day. He was acting like a pup waiting for Christmas. He was at least 30 by now, but the tinge of youth still surrounded his aura.
I ignored him as my eyes studied the stream of Omegas entering the room. They looked less battered than when they first arrived to the pack, but still malnourished. A few Omegas peeked at me as they entered, but like clockwork, their eyes would widen with fear and they'd scurry faster to their seats. There were murmurs of "scary," and I knew they were talking about me.
I wasn't surprised. I wasn't the most cuddly looking man, especially standing next to a Beta like Koda. Where he had closely cropped hair and a leaner frame, I had the customary warrior's dreadlocks with the sides of my head shaved, a neatly trimmed beard, and impressive muscles.
When Dot stepped into the room, my eyes zeroed in on her. It was like my heart wanted to come out of her chest when her curious eyes met mine for just a second before she looked away.
She rushed to her seat a few feet away from me and flopped into it, turning to the two girls beside her. One of them tugged at her sweater and I tuned my ears in to listen, leaning imperceptibly.
"He's scary." One said.
"Why Alpha here?" The other said.
I furrowed my brows. My mate was already afraid of me, probably hated me. I didn't want the others making it worse.
"He's my Daddy."
I nearly choked. There was that word again. My whole face flushed red, and I willed my quickly hardening cock to stay flaccid.
The two girls beside her gasped, but they grinned excitedly. My mate's face tinged pink and she slouched slightly. At least she didn't look scared.
Still, as much of a dirty bastard that I was to like her calling daddy, why the hell was she? And why the hell did the other two look so excited? What kind of sick fucks were the scientists at that facility? I clenched my fists. I needed to pay the man in the holding cells a visit.
"That's my mate!" Koda gasped from beside me.
I glanced in the direction he was looking as he waved his fingers to one of the male Omegas. He had long black hair and a straight nose that leant an elegant air to him. Though he had dark skin, much of it was decorated with amorphous shapes of paleness, like the way a true cat is patterned. He didn't wave back, but merely blushed and tilted his head down to hide his smile.
"He's beautiful," Koda murmured with a dreamy gaze.
"Do you get along?" I tried to hide my hesitancy.
Koda pursed his mouth, but I still saw the pity he sent me. It wasn't a secret how I acted when I first saw my mate, and he clearly knew the story.
He nodded. "I visit him everyday." He turned to continue staring. "I try to take him something new each time." He smiled gently. "He likes sweets."
A pang of jealousy filled my chest. I wished I could see such a sweet side to my mate, but it was my fault for hurting her. Who knew if she'd ever forgive me.
"Hello everyone," Conri greeted from the doorway as the last of the Omegas took their seats. "We have a surprise for you today."
I let my gaze wander back to Dot. She watched Conri with a look of timid curiosity as he continued. "Let's thank Flint and Koda for bringing us all dinner tonight." He paused as if to reconsider his words. "Uh, food from Flint and Koda."
Dots eyes darted in my direction, and when she met my gaze I couldn't help but wink at her. Her face blushed brilliantly again as her eyes bulged and she tucked her chin to her chest, breaking our eye contact.
My heart beat faster in my chest. My mate was the prettiest little Omega I've ever seen. The prettiest creature I've ever seen. A smirk grew on my face. It wasn't a smile that she had, but it wasn't a glare that she looked at me with. That was something I could work with. For now.
Conri and the other teachers then ushered their groups into a line so that we could start serving them. Koda first gave each a serving of sautéed vegetables, and I followed that with slices of venison.
About halfway through, Dot appeared before me with a shy expression. I was about to spoon on the saucy meat, but I noticed she skipped Koda entirely. My nostrils flared as I tried to hide my smile from my cute little carnivore.
I reached over to Koda's tray of food and snatched a forkful of vegetables and added it to her plate. "Eat it." I said in a monotone voice, leaving no room for objections.
She huffed and glared, and I'd be damned if it wasn't the cutest thing I've ever seen. Rolling my eyes and chuckling quietly, I scooped an extra large helping of the meat and slipped it on her plate.
"Don't forget." I tapped the spoon on her plate, clearly indicating I meant her vegetables.
She pursed her lips and gave me an indignant look, but I countered with an arch of my brow. She released another huff before spinning away to sulk back to her table, her tail thrashing restlessly. If I hadn't been watching her the whole way back, I might have missed the subtle glance she shot back at me as she bit her lip. There was nothing sexual about it, but my mind alighted with other thoughts.
I suppressed my groan as I ground my clothed erection into the edge of the table. "I gotta go." I gulped.
Before Koda or anyone else could respond, I sprinted from the conference room in a mad dash. It wasn't until I was well into the surrounding wilderness that I finally sank to the ground against the trunk of a tree with heavy breathing.
And just like every night since I met my little mate, I envisioned her beneath me, bared breasts and pleading with her enormous green eyes, and jacked myself off to a wholly disappointing orgasm.