CHAPTER 4: WELCOME

It feels a little awkward for Gavin who is also a wolf to be riding on the back of a wolf but he kept quiet. They are moving at a steady pace; he can feel the impatience of the other wolves with them but they know they can’t go any faster because of Gavin. He swallows past the discomfort and focused on his surroundings. They’re deep in the forest, tall trees completely surrounding them. They left exactly at sunrise and the sun is at its peak right now. Ainar, the wolf he’s on, eventually stopped along with his pack members. He lowered his body to the ground allowing Gavin to get off him. Gavin looked at them confused. The pack alpha, standing at the very front of their line in front of them, stared at him before he suddenly started shifting. The other wolves followed.

Gavin busied his eyes looking at the trees, to give them some form of privacy. He heard some rustling of fabrics, them wearing their clothes, he looked back when he deemed it long enough for them to be done. Ainar was already walking towards him.

“It’s midday. We need to hunt for food,” he said.

Gavin kept his head hung low. He doesn’t know how to hunt, not able to shift, so he figured he won’t be included to the bunch who will go. He’s not even sure if they would give him food. Wolves who travel usually shift and eat the food they hunt raw. It would be a hassle for them to cook something for him, especially now that they’re hurrying to go back to their pack. He is already slowing them down by not being able to shift, cooking food for him would only make it worse.

He was ushered to sit along with the elders under a huge tree as the other wolves, including Ainar and the pack alpha prepared to hunt. He ignores the dirty looks Delta Emmanuel is giving him. He made sure to sit a safe distance away from the Delta. Gavin thinks he can hear the man rumble some insults under his breath but he decided to ignore it. He has heard far more hurtful and vile words from his own pack, a few words from a Delta who can’t possibly hurt him right now isn’t much.

Gavin entertained himself by looking at the beauty of the forest in front of him. It’s midday, the sun is at its peak but the thick canopy of leaves of the vast forest is shielding them from its harsh rays. His eyes took in the scenery in front of him. He picked on the wild grass in front of him, twisting them in his hands, their smooth texture oddly relaxing for him.

“Pathetic,” Delta Emmanuel sneered. His eyes are throwing daggers at Gavin even from afar. His scent reaches Gavin, a foul smell, mix with bitterness of rage. His dislike must be so strong that his scent is this prominent. Gavin forces himself to breathe through his mouth instead, the scent is suffocating. He kept his head hung low, focusing on the grass in front of him, ignoring the Delta.

“Look at this omega. I do not know what Ainar saw in you.”

Frankly, Gavin has been asking himself that question too. What did the alpha see in him?

“That pup really chose an omega as a mate. Useless! He should have at least picked someone who could rule alongside him, but no! He chose an omega!” the Delta spat out. Gavin does his best to ignore him and his words, but despite it, he can’t help the sting of them. No matter how many insults and bruises he get in his life, he thinks he will never get used to them.

“A breeder. Tsk. What would the future of our pack would be?”

“You better watch your mouth, Emmanuel,” another elder warned after a while. The man is sitting under a tree opposite to the delta.

“You should be careful of your words. Ainar would be galled if he heard you talking ill of an omega.”

“Let him! Let him hear my words. Maybe then he’ll realize how stupid his decision was,” he scoffed.

The elder only shook his head in exasperation. Gavin made himself small, hugging his knees to his chest.

It’s okay, he tells himself, he’ll eventually get tired.

The wind blew in their direction, he smelled his scent even before he saw him coming. Ainar, along with the pack alpha and hunters are back. They are all carrying dead animals in their mouths. Their snouts are bloody from the hunt. They all placed the animals they hunted in a pile under the three with the elders. Gavin watched from afar, only looking away when the elders shifted so they could eat. He continued to play with the grass in front of him, pulling them from the ground. As he looked down and continued to pull the leaves of the plants around him, he failed to see the way Ainar separated his catch from the pile the elders are eating. The alpha shifted back into his human form before once again walking away. The pack alpha produced a deep rumble from his chest, asking him where he’s going—they’re silently communicating. But Ainar only gestured at the forest.

He came back shortly, holding pieces of fallen branches in his arms. He walked to Gavin, the omega unaware of his plans.

Gavin startled when something dropped in front of him, he’s surprised to find pieces of woods. He looked up at Ainar for a brief second before quickly lowering his gaze again. The alpha crouched in front of him, arranging the woods in a pile. He also collected some stones. Ainar grabbed two branches, checking them out before he started rubbing them with each other.

Gavin watched him confusedly. What is he doing?

He can feel the gazes of the wolves to their left, but he focused on the alpha. Is he…making fire? What for? He doesn’t have to cook his food if he would just shift.

Gavin cleared his throat, sitting up straight.

“What are you doing?” he bravely asked, but his voice is still quiet.

“I’m making fire,” the alpha simply answered.

“This will take a while sorry.”

He got even more confused. Why is the alpha saying sorry?

“What?”

“I’m cooking our meal,” Ainar supplied. Blowing on the wood when it started to ignite. He quickly brought it to the pile, fixing it with the stones around it. The fire is going after several minutes. The alpha stood up to get the hares he hunted, settling back down in front of Gavin. He grabbed his sack, retrieving a knife from it. He then started skinning the hare.

“My mother and I would go hunting like this in the woods before. She would always cook the hares we got and eat it in the forest.”

He gave the alpha a confused look, eyes darting to the wolves eating raw. Ainar followed his gaze, he must have seen the question in his eyes.

“I don’t feel like eating in my wolf form today,” Ainar said, his scent is soothing and it smells so fucking good to Gavin.

“Don’t worry. I know you’re hungry. I’ll try to work faster.”

Gavin watched the bloody hare in the alpha’s hand before eventually averting his gaze at the unpleasant sight. The rest of the pack watched them, their gazes burning holes at Gavin’s back. Several minutes later, the hare is placed on a stick, the alpha is holding it, hovering on the fire. Gavin wrapped his arm around his waist, his arms pressing on his hungry stomach. It’s rumbling, they haven’t eaten anything at all today, not even water. He’s both thirsty and hungry at the same time. But he doesn’t have the will to voice out his need, he doesn’t want to be any more of an inconvenience than he already is.

When it was done, the alpha put off the fire. He chopped the hare off in several parts and handed some to Gavin.

The alpha did say it was their meal, but he’s still surprised. He hesitantly accepted it, holding out both his hand as he accepted the stick where some parts of the hare are impaled.

Gavin marveled at the delicious smell of it, it looks so good. Honestly, Gavin has only seen meat like this in his pack. They never really let him cook, was just tasked to help preparing ingredients, after that, he was shooed aside. He has never tasted a hare before too. He eats leftovers. So, even if he gets to eat meat, they are of low quality already as they are just leftovers from the pack.

He casted the alpha a look who was silently watching him. Ainar urged him to eat. Gavin carefully took a bite and good lord, he almost moaned at the rich flavor that settled on his tongue. He licked the oil off of his lips, even going as far as licking his hands. He threw his embarrassment away as he proceeded to take bite after bite from it, every bite somehow getting more and more delicious than the last. The alpha looked fond as watched him but Gavin was too busy eating to notice. When he was done eating, he licked his fingers clean, lips smacking as he tries to savor the delicious taste of the meat.

“Good?” the alpha chuckled. Gavin froze, realizing that the alpha must have been watching him this whole time. He ducked his head as he lowered the stick he was holding to the ground. His cheeks colored in embarrassment.

“Are you satisfied with the meal?”

“Yes, Alpha,” Gavin answered quietly. Ainar nodded, a smile playing on his lips.

“That’s good to hear.” The alpha gave him a pouch of water, which he gratefully accepted and drank.

They remained on their spot for a while. Ainar sat quietly beside him, a safe distance away. But he must have sensed Gavin’s discomfort as he eventually stood up to go with the rest of his pack. When they eventually continued moving on their journey, he’s surprised to find the rest of the pack arguing.

“You are out of your mind, pup!” the usual sight of Delta Emmanuel arguing greeted him.

Ainar only sighed.

“It will indeed prolong our journey more,” another alpha replied. Gavin doesn’t know his name, but he assumes he’s the pack’s protector as he’s at the end of the pack trail.

“But if Alpha Ainar wants to stay with his mate, let us let him.”

Stay with his mate…what? What are they even arguing about?

Gavin continued to watch from the side.

“I’ll walk with Omega Gavin,” Ainar said firmly.

“If you wish to go faster so you could reach the pack sooner, you can do as you please. Leave us behind if it helps. But I’m walking with Omega Gavin.”

“What? We can’t—”

Before Delta Emmanuel could even finish his words, Pack Alpha is already cutting him off.

“If that is what you want then go on, son. But we cannot leave you behind,” he calmly stated before turning to the rest of the pack. Delta Emmanuel gave him a glare but did not contradict.

“We shall continue our journey now.”

Ainar approached Gavin, who is still confused with the whole situation.

“It is time to leave,” he softly told him. Gavin looked past him, to the rest of the pack who are already shifted.

“You are not going to shift, Alpha?”

“No,” Ainar answered as he picked up his sack and wore it in front of his chest.

“I would like to walk with you, if that’s okay?”

He can’t meet the alpha’s eyes but he can see him freezing, eyes wide as he looked at Gavin.

“If that’s okay, of course! I did not consider your comfort, I’m sorry. If you’d rather have me shifted, that would be fine too,” he rambled. Gavin doesn’t want to admit it, but the alpha looked so cute, panicking like that. He blushed at his thoughts. What is he even thinking?

“Anything is fine with me, Alpha,” he replied.

“But wouldn’t that make our journey slower?”

“If you are fine with me not shifting, then the pace of our journey is the least of my concern.”

So, that’s how they continued their journey. The wolves surrounded them in a form of a protective formation at first, but sensing Gavin’s discomfort with it, Ainar insisted that they walk behind the pack. Gavin doesn’t say it but he appreciates it, he feels less anxious this way.

Shifted, it would have taken them only three days, running. But since Gavin cannot shift and they cannot surely run with him on Ainar’s back, it has taken them longer already. But now that Ainar is walking with him, no doubt that the journey would take even longer. He understands Delta Emmanuel’s anger.

They take breaks in between, hunting for food and resting for the night. Ainar has been trying to talk to him in between, attempting to start a conversation but Gavin remained quiet. He’s too anxious to reply.

They arrive at the pack eight days later, in the early morning. Gavin’s heart is pounding like crazy in his chest. His scent must be going wild from too much anxiousness, as the pack he traveled with looked at him empathetically. They have already shifted to their human form, dressed in their dirty tunics. Their noses twitch at his anxious scent.

They stood at the border of the pack territory. Gavin flinched, swallowing down a yelp when a heavy hand suddenly settled on his shoulders. He looked up to find that it’s the Pack Alpha, he was quick to avoid his gaze, staring right ahead.

“You’ll be fine, pup,” the Pack Alpha said. Gavin knows it must have been meant to comfort him, but it did nothing but to amplify his growing anxiety.

They slowly walk, entering the territory. Gavin tries to calm himself down by taking in the beauty of the forest in their pack. The atmosphere is already different from his old pack. It feels much lighter here, more alive.

When they reach the main land, Gavin sees two wolves standing, guarding the entrance. They’re holding spears, the shiny tip reflecting under the sun.

The two wolves, Gavin assumes are betas since he can’t pick up their scents, perked up. They stand straight, straighter than they already were. They tap the bottom of their spears hard on the ground twice, before shouting.

“The pack alpha has arrived!”

The two run inside, likely to call the rest of the pack to announce the return of their leader. Gavin’s heart just pounded harder in his chest.

This is it; he thinks.

The pack alpha, who was standing in front of him suddenly turned to face him. Gavin averted his eyes, focusing on the man’s chest. He watched as the alpha raised his hand, fisted it and brought it to his chest. His left knee bent as his right knee came in contact with the ground. It’s a tradition, Gavin knows, but he can’t help but be in awe as he watched it happen before his eyes. The pack alpha is kneeling in front of him, and for some reason, he thinks he doesn’t deserve it.

The pack alpha knocked his fist onto his chest twice, his head is hung low as he spoke.

“Welcome to the Moon Valley Pack, Omega Gavin.”