Chapter 7

Toklo

After lunch, the alpha sent me back to work. Although when I stood to leave, I had aches and pains already on my aches and pains and hours left to go. But I wanted to prove my worth to the pack, so back to it I went. The afternoon passed quickly, and once I got going, the pains eased up. I’d gotten plenty of exercise at home, and split my share of wood, but usually didn’t do it for a whole day.

Still, from what I could see, most of the others in the pack were doing very little to pull their weight, and while I didn’t want to judge them since I had little experience with their group, I could darn well do a good day’s work.

I couldn’t take responsibility for anyone but me. That joy belonged to the alphas and betas in our world. As an omega, I just had to make my own good choices and try to keep them in line with the rules—now that I’d finally paid enough attention to them to know what they were—of the pack I was associated with. Not a member, not yet at least. And that was another reason to work extra hard. I could be turned out at any time to try to make my way elsewhere.

In fact, I could make my way elsewhere, in terms of earning a living, since I had skills in various areas of construction, game and fishing guiding, and a few others, but the difficulty would be finding another pack to admit me. Packs were notoriously unwelcoming to outsiders, especially where different species came into play. Since the few polar bear groupings were interconnected, they were out.

My best bet was to stay here, if the alpha allowed.

As the afternoon waned, a bell rang from the back of the house, and those “working” nearby dropped their tools and started in that direction. Unwilling to leave things in a mess, I took a few moments to straighten my area before following them, and as a result when I found the dining hall, the others were already seated and digging in. Plates were piled high, and servers moved between tables, refilling water glasses and serving dishes as they emptied. Iced tea and coffee were also available, but no alcohol, which I found encouraging. Packs liked to party together, but those who drank every day had big problems. Whatever was causing the lackadaisical attitude around here, it wasn’t booze.

I found a seat at the back of the room, noting those of higher status, including the alpha, were toward the front. Most of those had partners with them, omegas they were talking and joking with, but although the alpha was surrounded by his men, he looked alone. He ate quickly and left, and my heart ached for him.

Leadership was difficult at the best of times, as in when the alpha had a mate, but this one seemed determined to go it alone. I’d come a long way to make sure that was not the case, willing to give it a try based on the Male-Order app’s word that we were compatible, but he’d made it crystal clear he did not have the slightest interest in me.

He’d actually taken quite an interest in me as a newcomer to the pack, established his authority, told me his expectations, and gone over pack regulations. Did he spend so much one-on-one time with everyone who joined the pack?

I ate almost without paying attention, seated at a table with other laborers, and not really paying attention to the conversation until the grizzly on my right elbowed me. “Hey, new guy, we’re headed to the roadhouse to shoot a little pool. You in?”

I was shocked. I hadn’t even been talking with them, but they were including me?

“Well?” the guy on my right asked. “If you want to come, finish up because we’re out of here in about ten.”

“I’m Toklo, and thank you. Sounds like fun.”

By the time we all piled in an SUV and drove down the highway to the roadhouse, they’d all told me their names, but there were about six of them, and I was having trouble putting names to faces.

It had been a really long day, and I probably should have just gone to the bunk house, but the chance to bond with the pack members, or at least get to know them, couldn’t be passed up.

The moment we poured through the door into the low-roofed wooden building, I knew I’d been wrong about alcohol not being a factor in the pack’s issues. The others ordered a pitcher and had it refilled often. I didn’t mind beer, but after I had a couple of glasses, and my companions many more than that, I settled on a stool at the bar to watch them pretend to play pool. Mostly, they were laughing and bragging about ridiculous things and not taking many shots.

I would have left if I’d had a car, or if it were okay for a single omega to run alone in the forest, but since they were my ride, all I could do was sit here. A tall rangy man took my empty and wiped the bar. “Can I get you anything?”

“No, yes. Soda water?”

“Sure.” He turned, filled a glass from the soda hose, and set it in front of me. “I’m Jagger, the owner here. I saw you come in with the local pack. You aren’t a grizzly or brown bear…”

“Polar.” I shrugged, recognizing his eyes as mountain lion without even asking. They tended to hold a certain look even in human form. “But they’re pretty welcoming.”

“Yeah, that’s why they are making all the noise while you sit here alone at the bar. If they get too out of hand, I’ll call Sheppard. I’ve about had it with them bothering the other patrons.” Someone at the other end beckoned to him, and he drifted away, leaving me feeling just as alone as he’d said. I sipped my water and tried not to look pathetic.

“Noisy bunch over there, isn’t it?” A deep voice came from my left, and I glanced over to see someone had taken the empty stool. “You know them?”

“Yeah. More or less.” I focused again on my glass, but the guy kept going. “Doesn’t look like they are paying much attention to you.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know them all that well, but they’re my ride, so I’m just killing time for now.”

“Well, if you want to get out of here, I can take you wherever you want to go.”

“Thanks, no.” I could feel his gaze on me. “I’m just going to wait here.” But he wouldn’t let up, and after another ten minutes, when the pack members still showed no sign of wanting to leave and the irritating guy’s leg was pressed to mine, I got up and went to the bathroom. Maybe if I stayed out of sight for a while, he’d hit on someone else. It would have been nice if I could have gone over to the guys I came with, but they were verging on out of control, and I had no desire to have Jagger report to Sheppard that I was getting in more trouble.

On my first day.