W: Mentions of psychological abuse.

Alexander was a special child. He was a prince in his pack and everyone around him treated him as such. He was adored as a celebrity and pretty much was given what he wanted without question. The adoration was nice, but it came with a hefty price. Soon the young Alpha felt trapped and he realized that a title could be a curse, a curse that would lead to back breaking responsibility, loneliness, and heartbreak.

Alexander was only ten when he discovered that the kids around him would only befriend him to get closer to the power of knowing the pack Alpha. He had overheard a conversation between his “friends” basically saying that they didn’t really like him but that they needed him in their friend group because he brought a sense of power and protection. It was then that he realized that he would have to keep people at arms length, never letting anyone truly see who he was. It was a defense mechanism, but it also created a lonely space in the young Alpha’s mind.

Furthermore, home life for Alexander was quite difficult and his parents expected a lot out of him. He had to be their idea of perfection at all times or he would be punished by his dominating father. Not many knew this, but there was a small closet in the Alpha’s office. A single light hung from the ceiling, but the orange glow would bounce off of the reflective surfaces that surrounded the walls of the small room. Hundreds of mirrors had been hung to serve a grisly purpose.

“You will be a great leader of this pack one day,” his father would say, “you just have to see it for yourself.” 

His father’s voice would make the small boy shiver. He would always look up at his father from his fetal position in the middle of the room, his blue eyes pleading before his father would continue his short speech.

“Maybe some time in here will remind you who you are and what you are?” He would finish before closing and locking the closet door.

It never helped. The reflection of the shivering boy would always haunt the Alpha. It would cause him to withdraw from the world, becoming a shell of a perfect person. By the time he entered high school, Alexander was indifferent to the world. His only prerogative was becoming the next Alpha.

Alexander only had one person that he would even consider a friend and that was his future Beta, Kyle. Even that relationship was manufactured by his parents. He was expected to be close to the person that would be second in command. Even then, Kyle was different. He was a breath of fresh air for the young Alpha. Kyle was not only friendly, but he wasn’t afraid to put Alexander in his place or say no to the future Alpha. Kyle treated him as a person and not some stepping stone to power. He was the only reason that Alexander stayed humble and grounded.

Kyle also brought with him another surprise that made the young Alpha question his status. Wherever  the young Beta went, a small, quiet Omega was surely close by. It was love at first sight and Kai would make Alexander's heart stop every time he saw him. The small boy was absolute perfection in the Alpha’s eyes. His black hair would flutter in the wind like the wings of a raven. His brown eyes were so dark that they almost looked black, like the strongest stone in the world, obsidian. His pink lips that were almost always curved up in the most honest smile.

Alexander wasn’t old enough to feel the connection of a fated mate, but he always knew that Kai was going to be the one that the Moon Goddess picked for him. She had to, Alexander was so deeply in love with the boy that any other match wouldn’t make sense to him. Of course, the future Alpha couldn’t show his affections towards the Omega. An Alpha-Omega pairing, while not unheard of, was rare and frowned upon. A male-male pairing was even more taboo, especially for an Alpha. Even if he was destined to be with Kai, his parents would never allow the pairing to come to fruition.

Another issue was the relationship that the Omega had with Kyle. They were inseparable and were seen as love birds. While they really didn’t show any outward affection towards each other, it was widely misconstrued that the two were a couple. Why else would a Beta spend his time with such a person as an Omega? This idea made Alexander madly jealous, however he never acted on his impulses. It would be better in the long run if they were together. 

*One month prior to Alexander’s eighteenth birthday and about three weeks prior to Kai’s eighteenth birthday*

Alexander walked into his father’s office wondering what news he had brought back with him while visiting the neighboring packs. His parents had been gone for months visiting all of the surrounding packs trying to form alliances to help support them in the ever looming rogue invasion. He knew that his father must have good news, as a large honest smile was plastered on his face, a foriegn fixture that people rarely saw. Most people witnessed the fake smile that the Alpha would show to keep face. This smile, however, even reached the Alpha’s eyes.

“Alexander, my son, I am so happy to see you! I have fantastic news!” His father said, ending in a rare joyous laugh. 

“Yes, father?” Alexander replied, faking excitement.

“So as you know, your mother and I were visiting the Eastern Meadow pack. The Alpha there has a daughter that just turned eighteen and has yet to be mated. With some convincing, we were able to come to an agreement.” His father said. Alexander’s heart dropped. He knew where this was heading. “The Alpha and I agreed to an engagement! You are to be married to his daughter within the year! In fact, the engagement will be announced at your birthday ball in a month! Isn’t that great?”

Alexander faked a smile, “yes father, that is great news!” 

After having a detailed conversation about the engagement, Alexander was mentally exhausted. It was moments like these where he knew his life was predetermined and he had little to no control of what happened to him. He felt lost. He needed to talk to someone and he knew who would listen to his rant.

Alexander knocked on Kyle’s door, knowing that the Beta would be able to help him come to terms with this horrible situation. The door swung open, but it wasn’t Kyle who answered. Standing where Kyle should have been, was Kai.

“Oh, hi Alexander!” Kai almost whispered, not being able to look up at the Alpha and instead looking down at the floor. “Come in, Kyle is in the bathroom.”

A pang of jealousy was pitted in Alexander’s stomach. Why was Kai in Kyle’s room? Were they actually dating? How long have they been dating? Why didn’t Alexander know? All these thoughts swarmed Alexander's head, making him slightly dizzy. He was so distracted that he didn’t even realize that he had basically ignored the Omega while walking into the room and sitting down on the couch. In fact, it wasn’t until Kyle entered the room and addressed him that Alexander came back to his senses. It really wasn’t any of his business what the two were doing, plus he would be engaged in a month anyways so it didn’t really matter.

“Oh, Alex! How are you doing bro?” Kyle asked. He was the only person to ever call Alexander by a nickname. It was one of the reasons why Alexander liked the Beta so much. He wasn’t afraid of offending the future Alpha with his informal speech.

“Not much… I just came over to talk to you about some pack business, but if you are busy it can wait until tomorrow,” Alexander responded.

Before Kyle could respond, Kai quietly bowed and responded, “It’s okay Alexander, I should be getting home anyways.”

“But, I thought you were…” Kyle started before the Omega turned and slapped him on the arm and gave him a pointed look. “Oh yeah, Kai was just about to leave… Um, let me walk him home real quick and I will come to your room to talk!” 

Kai let out a little chuckle, sending another pang of jealousy into the pit of Alexander’s stomach. He wished Kai laughed because of him… not Kyle.

“Kyle, don’t be ridiculous! The future Alpha needs you, plus you know I can take care of myself.” Kai responded while leaning into Kyle, giving him a strong embrace. “I will see you tomorrow! Bye Alexander!” He said, while walking to the door and leaving.

“Sorry for umm… getting in the way?” Alexander questioned. Kyle looked at him with a strange expression before realization hit him and he started laughing.

“Oh my god, dude, sometimes you are so dense… smart but dense. Anyways, what did you need to talk about?” Kyle said, coming to sit next to him on the couch. It was Alexander's turn to give him a questioning look, but ultimately he decided to let the topic die.

“So my parents finally came back from their mission,” Alexander started sadly, “and it seems like I am engaged.”

“You know, when people get engaged they typically are happy,” Kyle responded.

“I know but I don’t even know her, Kyle! How am I supposed to marry and mark someone I don’t even know? It’s like everything is being decided for me and I don’t know what to do.”

“I know, it’s hard being the Alpha. You don’t get the freedom that you deserve. Life is hard Alex, but sometimes you have to bear with it in order to have the best outcome for everyone. We are going to be pack leaders and we have to make hard decisions.”

“I know”

“Now I am not saying that you should automatically agree to this engagement. In fact, I think that you should really think about what you want and make a decision that best suits your needs. But, you also have to keep in mind the needs of the pack and what this engagement means for all of us. I am sure that your parents have the best interest of everyone by doing this.”

Alexander was kind of taken back by this answer. Kyle was usually the one to tell him outright that he should follow his own path, not the one that was “destined” for him. Now it seemed like Kyle was also pushing him towards something that Alexander didn’t really want.

“I know that I usually tell you to follow your own path, but I am scared Alex. This rogue issue is not going away and we are close to war. I know it's not fair to you, but this engagement might be the only tipping point we have in our favor before things get really bad.”

“I know… I have to think of the pack’s safety.” Alexander said, getting up from the couch and headed towards the door. “Thank you Kyle, you have given me a lot to think about. I am going to go to bed now. I will see you tomorrow.”

Alexander left Kyle’s room and walked down the corridors of the pack house. He couldn't help but be solemn. His friend was scared. His pack was scared. He was scared, and while he didn’t like the outcome of his conversation with the future Beta, he knew the answer to his dilemma. He had to protect his pack.