Page 7 of The Feisty Omega
“Heya, Squeak. Happy Christmas!” I swung him around, holding him under the armpits, and he squealed loudly. All of a sudden, I was surrounded by a bunch of sugar-fueled kids jumping up and down wanting their turn. I had to keep my place as favorite uncle, so I made sure they all got their turn.
Ouch! Something – no, someone – pulled on my leg hairs. It might have been the only successful way to get my attention right at that moment, but really? Before I swung anyone else, I looked down to see the hair-pulling culprit. Wide brown eyes way too big for the little elfin face peered up at me, a floppy brown fringe and neat wavy hair curling protectively around a pair of tiny ears.
“Who’s that?” she whispered, pulling a wet finger out of her mouth and pointing it accusingly at Irian, who was standing, back to the wall, watching my cousins attack me.
“That’s my new friend,” I told her, crouching down to her level. “Would you like to meet him?”
The finger went back in her mouth and there were a few slurping noises while she considered her answer. “Did Santa Wolf bring him?” she asked, finally. “I’ve never seen him before.”
I couldn’t help grinning. This small child was smarter than everyone else. I nodded.
“Yes. Yes, he did.”
“Then I’d like to meet him,” she announced, slipping her tiny hand in mine and looking up at me, eyes shining, as though meeting Irian was second best only to meeting Santa Wolf themself. I’d have had it the other way around, but I didn’t need to tell her that.
When Irian’s soft brown eyes found mine, they crinkled around the edges, and a faint smile tweaked the corners of his lips. I crooked a finger at him, and he immediately pushed off from the wall he’d been leaning against, and I led her towards him.
A surge of satisfaction shot through me, seeing him wearing my clothes. They looked good on him. The jeans were a surprisingly tight fit, a-n-d I probably shouldn’t be looking at that, and the oversized t-shirt slid over his hips as he crouched down beside me. The soft gentle scent of an omega washed over me, and I blinked in surprise. I looked around, but he was the only omega nearby that was old enough to scent. I noted with surprise how receptive I was to it, but maybe it was because we’d spent the last few hours together, or maybe it was because I’d recently begun the transition to majority and just hadn’t noticed the changes yet.
“Shanna, this is my friend, Irian,” I said to the little girl, inclining my head towards the omega at my side. Her little hand let go of mine. She glared at me, little eyes narrowed and hands on hips.
“Are you sure Santa brought him?” She asked suspiciously.
“He did,” I assured her. “He brought him to be my friend.”
And because I truly believed that myself, that’s all it took to convince her. Irian smiled shyly at the little four-year old dynamo that was my sister’s daughter and held out a hand.
“Hey, Shanna, it’s nice to meet you. I don’t know anyone here except Tal, would you be my friend too?”
Shanna’s rosy cheeks grew plump as apples, as she grasped Irian’s hand. His eyes widened in surprise when instead of shaking it as he must have expected, she took it firmly in her own, and determinedly dragged him away. He gave me a frantic glance over his shoulder as he was led off. I guess it wasn’t very helpful that I laughed when I saw he was about to be subjected to a tour of the room and a bunch of introductions to people whose names he’d probably forget straight away.
Fifteen minutes later, I was very much the chastened alpha. I’d vastly underestimated my new friend’s abilities. Irian had managed to organize all twenty odd kids, including my younger sister and brother, into their positions around the tree and was talking with my aunt and her partner while we waited for the present giving to start. Leaning against the wall as he conversed, he looked relaxed and very much like he belonged.
Clap-clap-clap.
All the voices fell silent.
Clap-clap-clap.
The children clapped back:clap-clap-clap
Now that he had everyone’s attention, my Alpha dad’s loud, gruff voice rumbled around the room.
“Happy Christmas, everyone. It’s good to see you all gathered here again for this special celebration. I’m glad you could make it. Now before we all break for lunch, is there anything we need to do?”
High pitched voices tumbled over each other as all the children anxiously rushed to correct his apparent oversight.
“Presents! Presents!” High voices chimed.
“Presents!” Slightly lower voices added to the cacophony.
“Oh, my! I nearly forgot, didn’t I? And it looks like we have a lot of presents to distribute. So… who are my little helpers today?” Of course, my dad hadn’t forgotten, this was simply part of the yearly ritual. Although somewhat tiresome to the teenagers lurking sullenly in the corners of the room, the younger kids would be disappointed if he didn’t put on this little charade.
Three little kids jumped up. “We are!” “It’s us!” “Me!”
“Come over here,” he softened his voice as he addressed them directly. Even so, he still sounded very alpha-y and the youngest one looked a bit scared.
“Here, come with Uncle Tal,” I said, taking the little omega’s hand in mine and leading them across to my dad. “There’s no need to be scared. He’s just gonna remind you of the rules. You’ll be fine.”