Chapter 1

Vivian Hendrix was now 22 and a med school student. She was elated to have been lucky enough to have time on her actual birthday to celebrate it with her family. As she blew out the candles on the cake her Grandpa Elijah made, she glanced just once at her cousins, Leon and Noel Bartley.

They were twins, yet as soon as they graduated from high school, Noel packed up her bags and rushed off to the rival college in their state, leaving her younger brother home with their three younger siblings and parents. That was three years ago now. They were both 17 and would be 18 in the coming April.

Leon attended the local university, so she saw him on occasion, but other than him being chased by various girls and the occasional male omega, she didn't want to talk to him. Leon, like his dad, her uncle Lionel, was a dominant alpha and was just as handsome as he was when he had been younger. On her 18th birthday, Leon had confessed to her that he liked her. She ignored it and ruffled his hair, thinking of it as no more than a cute, childish crush. On her 20th birthday, he had tried again, but she again brushed him off. She had just gotten into med school and was dead tired from all the studying she had to do. Her 21st birthday had flown by without any time to celebrate, so it had been Christmas by the time that she saw her whole family again that year.

Now here she was blowing out 22 candles and sneaking a glance at her cousins. Well, cousins were a loose term for them. She wasn't even related to them, in any way; but their families had been close ever since she was little. She wasn't even sure why she wanted to sneak a peek at them, but there was a nagging feeling that she was being watched. But it was not in the loving manner that her family was doing as they sang to her. It honestly sent a shiver down her spine but every time she caught who she thought was Leon, looking at her; he averted his eyes.

'Well good! At least he has some shame!' she thought, blowing out the last candle with her single breath. Just last month, He had asked to meet with her on her next free day, so she had made time for him. Only he again didn't make it. She had been irritated and eventually sought him out the next time she was free, only to see him tangling himself in the arms of another omega in a full on lip-lock. She didn't know why that hurt, but something in her heart fluttered and stung. She had hurriedly turned away and ignored his near desperate plea for her to come back, for him to explain.

Ever since she witnessed that, she hadn't bothered to respond to any of his requests to see her. She didn't have much free time anyway since she was now in her final year of med school and was working on her thesis as well. If her thesis was accepted, she would be the youngest med school graduate in the history of their school and state. She was determined to prove to her mentor that she was absolutely ready to tackle her practical exams coming up as well.

"Earth to Vivi! Come on! Let Uncle Darrol cut the cake already!" Jeannette, her bestest friend in the whole world, broke her out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, Mom. Here you go…" Vivi said as she moved away from her cake.

"Sissy? What did you wish for?" A small tug at her shirt hem and the quiet voice of her baby sister Emma.

Emma was so adorable. She was only 11, but she was so tiny for her age, making her seem younger than she really was. She was an omega, like her, but she wasn't a full sigma. Furthermore, she was just a recessive and a carrier for it.

"Emma, you shouldn't ask Big Sis to tell you her wish…" Atreus, at his wise age of 16, stated.

"Otherwise, it won't come true!" Artemis, also 16, finished his brother's thought.

Like Leon and Noel, her brothers were twins. They were fully identical for all but their secondary genders. Artemis was surprisingly an omega and Atreus was an alpha. It had stunned their parents, who were sure that the opposite would be true, considering their personalities. They were sophomores in high school, right alongside their younger cousins, Sylvianna and Evelina Bartley. Although they were a year older than them, they had maintained the same grade all throughout school as her brothers.

"Big Sis, Vi? Is it really bad to ask about a wish?" Cian, her youngest cousin, asked. He was the youngest of her Uncle Lionel and Kaito's kids, the same age as Emma was, right down to the day. They were born merely minutes apart, but both their moms had gone into labor on the same day and delivered them minutes apart. He was the youngest of the fondly called triplets, even though none of the three youngest family members between her mom, Uncle Kaito, and Aunt Ra-Ra were blood related.

Well, that wasn't really true since her cousin Yui, was technically blood related to her Uncle Kaito, since her dad, her Uncle Shane, was her Uncle Kaito's second cousin, once removed. Their common ancestor, her greatly missed and very much loved, great-great-granduncle, Uncle Sylvester, was her Uncle Shane's great-grandfather. He had lived to see Yui and her baby sister born, but had sadly passed away before he could meet his youngest great-great-grandchild.

Aunt Ra-Ra and Uncle Shane had named their last baby after him. Although she suspected but couldn't confirm without further examination that her aunt was expecting baby number four, even though she hadn't said anything to the family yet.

Later that evening, Vivi was getting ready for bed when a movement caught her eye, and she just barely noticed it, but it startled her until she realized that her kitten was nudging the door to her room open. She laughed and scooped up the orange tabby kitten. Kat and Kit were old and didn't climb the stairs very often. She had adopted Marmalade a few weeks ago when she found him on campus, wandering around, pitifully looking scraggly and living off of student's scraps.

After asking around about the kitten, she found that he was the only survivor of his litter. After taking it upon herself, she took him to the vet and had him treated for all that was needed, and then took him home. Kit and Kat adored the kitten and his transition to his new home life was rather smooth. He was typically found curled up between the two on the cat tree when she wasn't home, according to her brothers.

After her brothers were born, Kit and Kat had become more like their kitties, as they preferred their company over hers. With Marmalade, it was different, this little kitten was her shadow from the time she got home to the time she left in the morning. After giving him cuddles, she closed her door the rest of the way, after remembering that her cousins were staying over tonight to give their parents a bit of a much-needed kid free night.

She understood that need a lot better now that she was an adult. Although she had tried to date, she didn't like anyone enough to bring home to meet her parents. The one boy who she had a very minor and girlish crush on was now mated to her best friend Jeanie, and they had just gotten engaged not that long ago. They were waiting until Jeanie graduated from med-school to get married, which was just a year away now.

Leon had been playing with Vivi's new kitten out in the hall, and loving on it when it came up to him for attention. But after a moment it grew tired of his affection and wandered down the hall. After tracking the kitten with his eyes, he saw that it nudged Vivi's door open, and he could see about an inch or so of light coming from her room. Part of him wanted to turn away and give her privacy, but the part of him that absolutely loved her with his whole being, wouldn't let him look away.