“Kit Kelly.”

Kit stepped forward and received his military ID card, along with his room key from the Omega at the counter in the administration office of the base.

“Check all your information before you go,” the clerk said, smiling winningly.

Kit opened the envelope and slowly, trying to stop his hands from trembling, extracted his brand new ID card. He stared down at it, trying to process his name, picture, date of birth and status as a Beta underneath the symbol of Ares, the god of war, the Dracus military force used.

“Is it correct?” she asked politely. 

Hurriedly, Kit put the ID back in the envelope, “Yeah.”

"You’ll be in Block B with the other new cadets," she said pointing to the right. "Just walk about two minutes in that direction and you'll find it."

"Thanks," Kit nodded and walked away, his hands clutching the envelope tightly. Once he stepped outside, he released a deep breath full of all the tension he'd been feeling for the last year, ever since he decided that this would be the year he’d apply.

Kit was about to open his envelope again and look his full at his new ID card when he saw some Betas staring at him and whispering as they walked by. They were probably the other cadets who got in. 

Wiping all expression from his face, Kit followed the secretary’s instructions until he reached a three story brown brick building with a giant B decaled in black. Kit looked left and saw that the building next to it was four times bigger than with an elegant A in silver at the front. That's probably where the official Hawks went after they finished their training. 

Kit felt that familiar burning in his gut, the one that made him reject all the grooming advice his mom forced on him, and the taunts the Betas at school threw at him, believing he should bow down to them just because he's an Omega. 

A year from now, he’ll be living in that building.

Nodding decisively, Kit walked through the front doors of building B. The walls were plain white, one taken up by mail boxes and the opposite with a notice board, along with a giant white board with people's names on it. Kit noticed his name and room number. He pulled out his key to check that it matched before he saw the front desk and backroom with a male Omega looking at him expectantly and walked over.

"Kit Kelly?" the omega said before Kit could introduce himself.

Kit hid his shock and nodded, "And you're our building manager, I'm guessing."

"Yes. My name is Robert. I'm here in case you need anything like the first aid kit, help mailing anything, and general upkeep of the dorm. If you ever need any help don't hesitate to ask." Robert smiled brightly which grated on Kit’s nerves but he hid it. 

With a muttered thanks Kit made his way to his room. He should have known there would be Omegas in his dorm and in the admin areas. He could handle them as long as they didn't have that vacant and bright look in their eyes, the one that said they accepted their lot in life and didn't see anything wrong with it. His brother Brian always told him he had to accept that other Omegas didn’t feel like rebelling the way he does and he shouldn't force his ideals on others. And he tried, he really did. He just preferred not being around those Omegas is all. 

As the only Omega in an all Beta family in a small all Beta town, he didn't fit and no one knew what to do with him. There was a line that no one wanted to cross. They all assumed he'd want an Alpha, and it was only time until he found a strong Alpha mate to claim him. So none of the Betas saw the point in talking to him or establishing a relationship, lest they receive an Alpha's ire later on down the line. That didn’t stop some of them from harassing him, trying to feel better about themselves, seeing Kit as a symbol of a hierarchy that was determined to make them feel inferior and worthless. Kit understood their anger and frustration, the same that burned through him every day his entire life. But that didn’t mean he was going to accept being anyone’s emotional punching bag. Which he let people know, many many times. 

Kit wasn’t alone in being glad to leave his town. Some of them probably threw a party when they saw him climb into the bus and leave, hoping he never comes back.

The feeling was mutual. 

He finally reached his room, unlocked the door, stepped in and closed it behind him. He locked it for good measure before he finally surveyed his new home. It was small with a big window and desk under it, a bookshelf on one side and a bed on the other. He could cross the room in 5 steps. 

It was his room. His Hawk cadet room. And he loved it. 

Finally, Kit unleashed the smile he’d been suppressing ever since he passed the test two days ago.

“Yes,” he yelled, jumping up and down and pumping his fists in the air. 

He flopped onto the bed and laughed maniacally, staring at the ceiling in wonder. He still couldn’t believe he’d made it. All that training, all that dreaming, all the lying to get here.  He’d had to work part time for years to save up for the pills and buy the forged documents he needed to hide his identity as an Omega. Money he mostly still had squirreled away, and will protect with everything he had because without it, he’d be without the scent suppressant pills and become just…an Omega. 

He’ll have to be extra careful around his heat which comes like clock-work every two months. Still, he had to be extra cautious and start taking them a few days before his heat starts. Because if he ran out, if he was even a day off and there was the tiniest hint of his pre-heat, there was no way he’d be able to hide it surrounded by Alphas and Omegas. The Betas back home with their dulled scent glands couldn’t pick up on the pre- or post- scents of his heat, but he can’t be as lenient here. If even one of them caught a single whiff of his heat, his career as a soldier was done. 

Sobering at the thought, Kit got up and began to unpack his measly bag.

A few hours later, Kit’s alarm went off, reminding him that it was time for dinner. 

Here we go, time to face the wolves. Or Hawks to be more accurate. His lips twitched briefly in amusement and the reminder that he was now one of them. Part of a group, but…not. 

Squaring his shoulders, putting his fight face on, Kit walked downstairs to the mess hall. As soon as he entered, all eyes turned on him. Fighting his usual instinct to hide with so much attention on him, Kit calmly walked to the back of the food line. Conversations resumed, but he could still feel some eyes watching him. Once he got his food, he was about to sit away from everyone when a voice called out to him.

“Yo, Kelly. Come here.”

Kit walked over to the brown haired Beta and sat down. There were three other Betas as well and while the one who spoke to him looked friendly enough and so did the black haired one across from him, he could feel hostility from the other two.

“Isn't it awesome? We all made it,” the Beta enthused. “Oh, I’m Joseph but you can call me Joe. And these are Henry, Kyle, and Steve.”

Henry nodded back and smiled while Kyle and Steve stared stonily back.

“Hey, how’d you get so good at shooting?” Joe asked. “I’ve been around guns most of my life because my dad is a cop and I thought I was good, but you’re just something else.”

“I practiced a lot. And have sharp eyes,” Kit replied as he began to cut up his chicken.

“Well, we’ll all have to get to that level eventually,” Henry said.  “The training is going to be intense. My cousin got in a couple of years back and he only lasted a month before he got sent home.”

“I’ve heard similar stories as well,” Kyle said as he munched thoughtfully on a bite of his food.

“That’s why it’s important that we have each other’s back,” Joe said cheerfully. “It’s going to take a lot of effort and there’s no point doing it alone. Hawks have to be a team, so we should lay the foundation now as cadets so we can be a seamless machine later.”

Kit heard Steve snort before he shoved his fork in his mouth and chewed aggressively. “Sure, like that’ll help with that Alpha on our team.”

“Come on man, we talked about this,” Henry protested. “There have been Alphas before. There’s no reason they can’t join.”

“If he wanted to feel like a big shot he should have just joined the Wolves instead of coming here! What, is he trying to make a statement or something? We don’t need someone like that looking down on us or only out for himself. No way he’ll ever be one of us.”

Joe was about to reply when he noticed the Alpha standing a few feet behind Steve. The whole room went quiet. Steve’s voice hadn’t exactly been low and it had obviously carried across the room. Kit observed the Alpha, taking in his 6’3 frame, wavy dark blonde hair and pale blue eyes. A typical Alpha.  Kit’s eyes narrowed as he noticed the Alpha’s nostrils flare slightly with irritation. There was a mild wave of discontent that he could smell as an Omega but he knew the Betas couldn’t detect. Placing his fork down, Kit leaned back to see how this would all unfold.

“It was never my intention to look down on you,” the Alpha finally said in a soft voice. Kit raised his eyebrow in surprise. He’d thought the Alpha would lash out and use his Alpha voice to subdue the Beta. Clearly, his tone had shocked the other Betas as well as they stared at the lone Alpha in their midst.

“We’re going to be together for the next year, and beyond if we all make it through the training so we might as well get this out of the way,” the Alpha continued. “My name is Michael Andrew. Not ‘that Alpha.’ I didn’t join the Wolf team for several reasons, some of which are personal, but I will tell you that I wanted to be out in the field, actually helping people. Not all Alphas are ambitious and want to sit behind a desk and only focus on their career and reputation. Just like not all Betas want to accept the grunt work and have someone else call the shots as Colt Saunders proved last year when he joined the Wolf team.”

At the sound of Saunders’ name people shifted in their seats. Some nodded with pride while others hung their heads or looked even angrier. There were obviously mixed feelings about the Beta on the base and his desire to become one of the Elite.

“I have no desire to join the Wolf team,” Michael continued passionately. “Ever. I want to be here. With you guys. And if you’re OK with me, then that’s great and we can have each other’s backs the way a real team should. If not, then we’ll just have to bear being around each other because we’re all too frickin stubborn to back down and leave.”

Kit surveyed the room after Andrew’s speech and saw that out of the eighteen people present about seven, like Joe and Henry, nodded and smiled encouragingly, while five were still hostile and the rest were uncertain, their eyes shifting away uncomfortably.

“Get your food and sit here, Andrew,” Joe called out, waving him over. Andrew nodded gratefully and joined them, sitting right next to Kit.

Every muscle in Kit’s body immediately tightened, his nose filled with the Alpha's light scent. It was subtle and not as strong as the only Alpha he'd ever met, a relative of a neighbour who Kit avoided like the plague whenever he visited while everyone tried to play matchmaker. That Alpha had thrown his scent around every time he passed by Kit’s house, as if he was trying to entice him out. Or drive him inside. Kit had hated his noxious scent, and he doubted he’d like Andrew’s any better once he unleashed it. 

 Kit hunched his shoulders subconsciously, willing his body to ignore the natural desire it had to bow it’s head to the superior status beside him. Kit visualized dismantling an old school gun with real bullets, trying to distract himself and eventually was able to calm down enough to join the conversation. He looked up and realized that while he was busy trying to control himself, Kyle and Steve had left, joining the other three Betas who still despised the Alpha’s presence.

Kit knew he shouldn’t reject the Alpha. Like Kit, he was trying to take a stand and live the way he wanted. But that didn’t mean that he had to like the guy, or spend time with him. Especially since he was trying so hard to hide his Omega status and he might slip up being around the Alpha. Yes, distance would be best. 

Which is why he almost howled with despair when he returned to his room and Andrew unlocked the door next to his, smiling politely and saying “Guess we’re neighbours.”