You deserve more

Despite his several efforts Ashton could not keep worry off his expression. Why did he have to comfort the wolf? He knew that it was omega by its scent, and the way its intensity was increasing he could tell it was near its heat.

He always felt bad when his mother or his sisters had to suffer through the same. But, even being an Alpha himself, he had learnt to control his urges and help them. They say the scent of an omega drives an Alpha crazy, to which he was no exception. But After being with Omega's for almost his entire life, he knew how to comfort them without losing his mind. He took care of his sisters whenever they needed him.

Maybe that's why he felt the need to step up. To comfort a wolf in need. He was not the kind person to deny anyone help, if and when they needed it. He just hoped this tiny mistake won't expose him and his family. He was trying his best to be cautious; he still can't believe he almost blew his cover on the very first day.

"You okay"? His mother caught him in his deep thought.

Ashton nodded reluctantly but his mother was not buying it. "Come here". 

He was brought to their dining table and was surprised when he found a bowl of noodles. He looked up at his mother and raised his eyebrows, while his mother just smiled.

"I know that you have eaten nothing the whole day. Now sit down and eat". He opened his mouth to say no, that he was fine but his mother shushed him before that. "No excuses! I made this for you, and you will eat it".

He sat on the table without any further argument and started eating. Apart from that wolf, his stomach was the one growled at him today.

"Tell me, how was your first day?" She asked him.

"It was alright". He did not want to say much. 

"You know I am your mother right. I might not have given birth to you, but I have raised you since you were a kid. You think you can get away with lying" she raised one of her eyebrows.

Ashton chuckled and told her the interaction he had with the wolves. "I'm so sorry, I should have been more careful". 

"No, you did the right thing. I know you wanted to help the poor wolf. I know how much you hate seeing them in pain. I have seen you with Ariel and Ava". 

"But they are my sisters. I am bound to be protective. That wolf meant nothing to me". He stated. "If it knew what I was, it probably would have run miles away from me."

"You never know. People or even wolves can surprise you". She said in such a sweet tone.

He did not say anything to her regarding that and finished his lunch. He tried to keep himself busy but could not stop wondering about that wolf. He knew that getting stuck in the wolf form is painful. He just wished whoever that wolf was managed to transform into its human form.

The next day on the school Matt approached him with pure anger in his face. Ashton did not want to deal with him again, but he stayed there to hear him out nevertheless. "Congratulations, you made the team. Practice at five, be there". He said and left.

One would think that news like this will be joyous one, but Ashton was looking forward to returning home early. He wanted to blend in as a human so he was going to check out the job in the nearby cafe, for which he saw an ad. He agreed to go to the practice reluctantly. 

Apparently the guy who was their striker was absent from the match, so they needed a replacement striker. Due to their upcoming tournament they needed to practice a lot. For almost a week he had to fill in and by the time he was done he was usually exhausted. He was happy when he was chosen as a standby, but it was turning out to be more exhausting than he thought. If he knew this would be his fate, he would have preferred goalie instead.

One day, on his way to the practice in the evening when most of the school was empty he heard soft whimpering noise, coming from near the storage room, which was followed by a huge bang.

"You birdie, you should not have stayed back all by yourself". He heard a male voice say. He made his way to the source of the voice. On his way a strong scent of a Sub-Alpha hit him. When he reached near the storage room he saw a few guys trying to scare a freshman girl. She was an omega.

Ashton balled his fist with rage. He hated when someone strong tried to take advantage of their strength to bully the weak. If you have so much strength, why not use it for helping the weak instead.

"Hey"! He shouted at the Alpha.

They turned around and looked at him.

"Oh, what do we have here? A nerd is trying to be brave." The Alpha commented.

"Stay away from her". He told him with a steady voice. 

"Or else what?" He and his friends laughed boisterously.

Ashton balled his fists and and was about to throw a hard punch when he heard footsteps, behind him. Before he turned around he could sniff the same scent that he has smelt a while ago. It was familiar to him, but he could not recognize it properly. All he could say for sure that it was an Alpha's scent.

The Alpha who was threatening earlier tensed visibly and looked like he was about to make excuses. 

"Caleb, I thought you were out of town". 

"I was. But it looks like I shouldn't have left in the first place. You are back to harassing the students again. That to a girl this time".

"No, I was just…." He stumbles "... trying to talk to her. It's not my fault she finds me scary". He lied through his teeth.

"Really"? Caleb asked him sarcastically. He folded his hands as he took a step closer. "Then try not talking to her ever again". It sounded like a simple advice but it still had a hint of warning in it. 

Ashton could tell this Alpha was fuming with anger, but he held back out of either respect or fear, or maybe both. Caleb turned around to leave. As if something came over the Alpha, he threw his fist at Caleb.

"Look out!" Ashton shouted at him to warn him, but Caleb was fast enough. Not only he stopped the punch with his palm, he took his hand and twisted his arm like it's no big deal. 

"Aahhh.." He shouted in pain. "Let go of me… Ahhh"

Caleb lowered his face near the left ear of that Alpha and whispered. "You should have been careful. This is nothing; you deserve more, way more severe punishment for violating the pack rules". He said in a low voice which to a normal ear won't be audible. But Ashton was not a normal human being which is why he heard it clearly. He wondered which was the rule this Alpha a broke this time. Was it harassing an omega? He never heard that being a rule ever before. Regardless, even he secretly wished he will be punished properly. 

Caleb released him and let him go for the time being before he turned to Ashton. "You okay?" He asked him genuinely. 

Ashton simply nodded before turning around to see the girl still shaking from fear. "Beth, your brother is still on second floor. Stay with him until his practice is over, okay?" Caleb told the girl named Beth, kindly. She nodded before she left.

"Thanks to you, by the way" Caleb told Ashton. The latter raised his eyebrows before asking "Why?"

What Caleb wanted to reply was that for calming him down the other day. If he was a little late then he would have been stuck in his wolf form. But that is a secret not even his close friends are aware of, so he simply said. "For covering my position in the game. I heard you are my standby." 

"Oh" Ashton said simply.

"You don't have to stay back today. I am here so I will go to the practice." He tapped his shoulder before he left.

Ashton stood there for a moment, wondering whether or not should he have asked him about his health. The dark circles around his eyes made him look like he hasn't slept for days. For a wolf getting tired needs way more than for a human. But then again he wants to avoid the wolves as much as possible, especially if it happens to be the wolf who will be the next leader of the pack.