Nolan looked at his nape greedily. "Whoa there, my omega. I was just thinking how unfortunate it is that you have that birthmark on your neck. It won't look good underneath my teeth marks."

"Over my dead body," Teru snapped.

"You know as the lead alpha's mate, you'll be protected for life. The other packs can't touch you. Your existence will be discovered, eventually." Nolan's light blue eyes were practically undressing Teru with his gross alpha desire. It made him get goosebumps and not in a good way. His body did NOT like anything about Nolan - his icy blue eyes, dirty blonde hair, and his 5 o'clock shadow that felt scratchy on bare skin. Not only was Nolan not his type in any way, but his pheromone smell was revolting to him. The other alphas said he smelled like fresh-cut grass. There was supposedly a hint of pepper when he entered his rut.

To Teru, he smelled like moldy mushrooms.

Nolan and Lucas met each other's gaze. The leader noticed the two friends touching. When Nolan gave off a low warning rumble from his chest, Teru's best friend moved over a few feet. Lucas looked at Teru with guilt. It was a natural reaction when facing a dominant alpha.

The sleazy guy was blessed with these genes and was the only dominant alpha in our pack. In other words, his pheromones were much stronger than the average alpha. It was easier to make others submit to him. Thanks to this, he easily overpowered the previous alpha leader, Nolan's own father, for the position almost three years ago. That man was banished and hasn't been seen since.

Teru's body had a love-hate relationship with Nolan. While it was revolted by the aroma, it also desired the superior alpha's seed. He concluded it was his instinct to be attracted to the strongest around.

Screw instincts. Screw being an omega.

And thankfully, Nolan has never forced Teru to do anything with his strong pheromones. Yet.

He scooched over to Lucas. "Not interested. Go chase Jackie's tail or something." Jackie was Nolan's girlfriend, an alpha with a violent temper and hated every living thing that approached her boyfriend. If she ever discovered he, the only dominant alpha, wanted to bond with Teru, the only omega, she'd go on a rampage.

"I'm more interested in you," Nolan smiled. That toothy smile would work on anyone else, but not him. Teru wanted to gag.

"As I said, no thanks."

"He said no, Nolan," Lucas cautioned him. Teru went behind Lucas to hide from the leader.

Nolan frowned. "Teru is mine."

"He. Said. No."

The two alphas did a stare-down. Neither was willing to lose.

Then, Nolan smirked. "We'll see about that." He headed towards the large boulder near the cave's mouth. After snarling harshly at some teenage pups hanging out on the rock to get down, he climbed it until he stood above everyone else. His stance demanded their attention. The pack noticed and became quiet.

"Attention, Valley Pack! Some of our scavengers were captured during the previous trip. So, we need a few volunteers to check out a new neighborhood they found last month. It seems the houses have not been touched since from Before, so there should be useful items. If you'd like to volunteer, please tell Josy, the scavenger captain. They leave early tomorrow morning at sunrise. The hunters will find meat as usual to stock up in the case of another lock-in, etc. For the others, you know your duties."

The Before times was a nickname they used to call the period before the war.

"I'd also like to make a formal announcement. Some alphas are clearly forgetting their boundaries. I will officially claim Teru, who has agreed, as my mate when he gets his first heat."

The pack gasped. Having hundreds of members collectively gasp at once was deafening, at least to Teru's ears. He was shocked and forgot how to talk. Some came over to congratulate him, others didn't say anything from jealousy at the last omega being taken from their grasp, and Lucas...

Lucas was angry. A musky odor wafted from him, a smell that every alpha emits when beyond pissed to warn the other party. His hands were white from making a tight fist.

Poor guy was upset at the notion of losing his best friend.

Teru was getting overwhelmed. He'd for sure have a discussion with Nolan later about this. That butthole was at the base of the boulder, fighting with Jackie. He pushed her to the ground when she tried to kiss him. It seemed that relationship was now over, but to be mated with someone like that...

Teru needed to escape. Clear his mind for a bit on how to get out of this.

The omega went over to Josy, the female beta captain of the scavenger team. With her bigger build and sharp tongue, she made a great authoritative figure. Ever since she became captain four years ago, her rate of pack members being captured was slim to none. Thus, Josy was highly respected.

Scavengers had the riskiest job in the pack where they traveled to find items, objects, and equipment from Before. Apparently, they found a neighborhood with lots of houses covered in thick brush and trees. Since vampires were suddenly in the area, they had to abandon the trip early and hide in a bomb shelter.

"I volunteer to go tomorrow."

Josy looked at Teru with a raised eyebrow. She was probably thinking about his position within the pack which was a hunter. Despite Teru's lean physique, he was the best at handling a rifle. He rarely missed his target and usually helped bring half of the food.

"I'd be happy to accept yeh, but don't the hunters need yeh, Teru? You's the best rifleman there is within all of the surrounding packs."

"All the more reason I can help protect any scavengers from predators - animals and vampires. The hunters can last a few days without me."

Josy scratched her chin with uncertainty. "If yeh say so. I hear yeh turned 18, so it's not like yeh need permission anymore."

She thought about it some more. "Alright. I think yeh'll be useful as part of the front with a rifle, which will have silver bullets just in case we run into any bloodsuckers."

"I want to volunteer, too," Lucas said as he approached the duo. He heard the whole conversation.

"Another hunter? They'll be hurtin' if some of their best members are gone."

Just as Teru was talented at shooting, Lucas was handy with knives. He was smooth with skinning and cutting. Sometimes a bear or mountain lion attacked him. Since Lucas was still here, he obviously won the fight with nothing but a rusty dagger.

Lucas faltered, trying to think of a reason for Josy to give the okay for another important hunter to tag along. "I, er, am really good at picking locks with my pocketknife, so I can help open doors without kicking them down."

Teru held in a laugh. What a dumb excuse.

Josy seemed to see through his crap but shrugged. "Fine, yeh can be in the center. I expect great things from both of yeh if we need yur services," she eyed them down. "We leave as soon as the sky turns blue from the sunrise."

"Yes, ma'am," they said in unison. When she left to talk to a few other volunteers, Lucas was worried.

"Your mom will freak out."

Dang. He forgot about his family when making the rash decision to leave the territory.

"I know."

Scavenging was a job that made his mother nervous. His father was the previous scavenger captain until the vampires ambushed them. On that dark day four years ago, half of them were caught and sent somewhere to be blood slaves. According to the few humans who escaped from vampire settlements, the average life span for a normal human was barely a year, maybe two, before their bodies gave out from blood loss, malnutrition, or hard labor.

So yeah, his mother was definitely going to freak out.