Like My Father
Part 1: Introductions
Warm and deep brown eyes look at you from the doorway, a pair of arms folded across a chest that was all too familiar to you. You don’t have to turn your head to know who it is, all you would have to do is look at the reflection in the mirror.
He's standing there dressed up in a well cut black suit with a simple button down shirt beneath the jacket. You watch him through the reflection of the mirror, his brown eyes purposefully and ravingly studying you from head to toe.
“You’re going to be late,” his smooth english accent is lilted with a toying nature, a teasing quality that you are far too accustomed to.
“I already got a lecture from my mother, Gaz. I don’t need to hear you droll on and on.” You turn your back to the mirror and stand a distance away from him. As you turn the skirt of your modern ballgown turns with you, and the motion captures his attention.
The dress your mother chose for you is a deep red ballgown that’s fitted around your bodice and waist before billowing into a full tulle skirt. The material is embellished with delicate sequins that make the dress sparkle under the light, with a small amount of lace detail on the sleeves. The dress is beautiful and your mother had chosen a ballgown that was well suited to your figure with a sweetheart neckline and a thigh high split. It maintained it’s femineity while conducting the image that you were grown and ready for a mate—according to your mother’s own words.
“I’m offended, sweetheart. I thought you liked the sound of my voice.” He pushed himself off the doorframe and began walking toward you, the scent of the alpha was enticing yet now overpowering like so many you’d seen met before. “Lying straight to my face, yeah?”
“Come off it,” you rolled your eyes and scoffed at your friend and confidante, knowing that he was only here on behalf of your mother. Because she knew you wouldn’t listen to her and her nagging, not that you would exactly concede to Gaz either, but it was worth a shot. “You cleaned up nice, my mother’s choice?”
“Yeah, you like it?” Gaz’s charming smile had always eased you, ever since you had met him.
“You look great but your tie isn’t straight.” You make the observation, the silk tie slight off centered, not so much that it makes the entire suit look cheapened. “You did that on purpose.”
“Gotta rebel somehow, love.” Gaz winks at you and closes the distance between you two, the sound of his shoes clacking against the marble floors was just one of many senses that you’d attuned to.
Of the others, the lights of the incoming vehicles was another. The shimmering bright lights of imported vehicles and limousines as they approached the front doors of this castle, was nothing more than a reminder.
Of what was going on tonight.
Your father was the alpha and king of a thriving kingdom, mated and married to your mother, dedicated and helplessly in love with her. He was a good alpha, one that was respected by both the people and the royal court. Of course your father had done what most alpha’s were drawn to do, mating and raising a family. Your family was a small yet tight knit unit with your parents, two brothers and yourself, a perfectly balanced homelife that meshed with your father’s royal duties.
Your brothers were older than you by five and six years, and had gone and mated with omega’s of your own—with members of allied kingdom’s. Your sisters-in-law's were inviting and wonderful, and any chance you had to visit them you would take it. They were successful in creating their own packs, loving families and respectful reputations that could have only come from honest and loved parents.
However long and loving your parents were with each other, and how well they were at ruling side by side in the kingdom, you knew your father wanted to retire. He had been the king for many years, earning himself a reputation as a great king that was loved and adored. It was time, in his eyes, for him to enjoy time with his darling mate without the weight of the kingdom upon their shoulders. The decision was made to officially announce his retirement and the advocation of the throne. There had already been rumors, and the royal court was abuzz with which of your brothers would come home to succeed in your father’s place—never once giving the thought that the remaining child of your father’s could have taken over.
But you were an omega, and in the royal court’s eyes, omegas were for marrying and mating, and ruling was something they had anticipated would be too much for an omega. And surely, the council wouldn’t expect your father to hand over the duties of ruling the kingdom to an omega.
That would be too forward thinking for the members of the court that were so obstinate in their views.
“Come on, the sooner you get down there the sooner you can leave.” Kyle’s warm hand upon your lower back is the catalyst that pulled your attention off the approaching guests of tonight’s ball.
You had turned your head to look at him, to observe your closest friend and confidante, the alpha that had been there for you through thick and thing. Kyle Garrick, Gaz as he had liked to be called sometimes, had formed an instant connection with you from the start. The day you met, when you were shy of 18 and he was 20, was the first time you had felt so drawn and completely taken by an alpha. He was charming and warm, he was someone who had abstained from treating you like you were glass because you were a princess. Your friendship had formed and beneath the surface, lingering where no one else could see it, you had formed feelings for him. It was impossible to not feel drawn to Gaz, to be so blissfully enamored by his warm brown eyes. His bright smile and the air of sarcastic humor that made you laugh with little effort was undeniable.
“Or we could just stay here...” You had countered his suggestion with one of your own, shirking your responsibilities your father had laid out for you, in favour of staying in your bedroom watching bad eighties movies.
"Avoiding your duties, sweetheart? Not very princess like of you, is it?” Kyle teased you with that husky dulcet voice of his as the two of you stepped outside your bedroom.
You could hear the sounds radiating from the party in one of the grand ballrooms, and the heady mix of scents that were overpowering in their own right was overwhelming. That was your real issue with going to these grand parties and having to mingle with the crowds of invites guests. The scents were too much, they were too stimulating, and they had resulted in your needed regular breaks where you could get clean and fresh air.
Often you would slip out to the garden, choosing to be surrounded by the smell of nature instead of the cacophonous amount of scents binding together. It was enough for you to be an unmarked and unmated omega mixing among a crowd of various designations. However being unmarked and unmated had often left you vulnerable to the whims of alpha’s scents. The alpha’s who were unmated themselves, would make an attempt to lure in other unmated omega’s by intensifying their scents.
Like male peacocks with their bright tails that were meant to attract mates, and steer away predators, their scents would unknowingly or unwittingly become headache inducing.
Regardless of whether you wanted to go or not, you knew that this was one party you couldn’t avoid. It wasn’t just a gala your mother was hosting for no reason, it was about the fate of your kingdom’s future and you couldn’t avoid it.
Your heart races as you start walking down the steps with the material of your dress gathered in one hand, with Gaz walking side by side with you. He was standing to your left, not just acting like your best friend but also as an alpha who was guarding you. It was his tall and strong stature that you had leaned into as you walked down the steps.
The entrance to the ballroom where the party was held had been marked by two waiters holding trays of champagne. Before you had even made it to the entrance, your attention was drifting away from the party toward the newest arrivals. Of course there was security and they were standing guards as they checked the invitations, the slow crowd that had started to pool in were buzzing with conversation. It was exhausting more often than not, to have people whisper about you, to have tabloids and gossip networks talking about your family.
It could be something as simple as the mundane articles about what you had for breakfast when you went out to get fresh air. Or the fashion ridicule you might have faced for not being completely put together when you wanted to relax. It was a part of being a royal and you knew that, you had to accept it, especially in the modern age.
“You look beautiful, Y/N. Don't think about them.” Gaz had leaned into you, his lips brushing against your ear as his hand began slowly brushing up and down your back. It was a soothing gesture, one that you’d appreciated from an alpha like him, and you’d willingly followed him into the party.
Once you had entered the party space, like you expected, the scents were muddles and heady. It was a mix that had already began to hurt your nose, causing the slightest sting in your nostrils as you contended with the assault. You had turned your head when passing a few alpha’s standing near the bar, giving yourself the slightest relief.
Some alpha’s scents were stronger than others, some were so brazen and bold. It gave you the impression that they were attempting to push their scent upon anyone that passed for the sake of trying to stand out.
“There’s your father,” Gaz’s voice was soothing and comforting, his hand was held tightly at your back, as he still acted as your escort and guard. “We should go talk with him.”
Your fingers ran over the bodice and waist of your dress, running your fingers over them. You found the act of touching the sequins sewn into the dress grounding for you. There was so much going on in the ballroom, between the music and chatter, to the mixing pot of scents that would surely give you a headache. It was a lot, it was too much, and you were damn grateful that Gaz’s scent was so soothing.
Upon reaching your father near the head table of the ballroom, you were momentarily confounded by the presence of three alpha’s you’d never seen before. Of course you could have pegged it on not knowing everyone who was in your father’s inner circle. However in the last few months your father had been stressing the importance of you attending the council and court sessions more often than not.
And that had made you far more familiar with your father’s advisors and close staff than not.
Before you could even say a thing, your father had begun introductions, starting with the alpha to your left.
“John Price, an alpha who will be an advisor for you when you take my place.” Your father spoke his name and you looked over him quickly. His blue eyes were studying you just as you studied him, his eyes rakish as they took in the image of you.
John Price was an alpha with a complex scent, the notes of cigar smoke from a habit he clearly had, had blended well with the faint aroma of some kind of aged wood. He had a muttonchop style beard that would have looked disingenuous on anyone else but it looked good on him. He was a broad alpha, tall with a solid and well built muscular frame, the kind of alpha that most omega’s would immediately cower to.
However his size was nothing compared to the alpha on the left of John price, the one with his arms crossed over his chest. This second alpha had made John Price seem small in both broad width and size, and that was obviously no easy feat. Though you couldn’t detect the features of his face due to the black balaclava he wore, you could make out the colour of his eyes—brown and deep, yet not nearly as warm in tone as Gaz’s.
“Simon Riley, known as Ghost, will be one half of your personal guard.” Your father spoke to you, addressing Simon with a wave of his hand in the direction of the beastly alpha.
If John Price’s scent was complex, then Simon’s was rather simple in no less of an enticing way. Leather, cigarette smoke, bourbon and a glimmer of citrus, rich and consuming, had clung to the dark eyed alpha.
“Johnny Mactavish, the other half of your guard.” Your father had introduced them all, all of them staring at you with an intensity that made your heart race.
And the final alpha that you had never yet met was one that was just as broad as Simon Riley, just as tall as John Price, however he seemed to be far more relaxed than both. On his face was a cocky grin that reflected the lightness of his blue eyes, the playfulness that was just as natural as breathing. Unlike Simon Riley, you could see him clearly and you made out his features with curiosity—light eyes, a mohawk with close cropped hair on the sides, a slightly crooked nose, a scar above his lips on the right side, and a tattoo partially hidden on his bicep.
This third alpha’s scent reminded you of the sea after a storm, the mix of freshness with the saltiness of the ocean was both addictive and relaxing. It was well meshed with the other alpha’s, even Gaz’s, and you were pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t nauseating as others.
“Y/N,” your father redirected your attention to him as he pulled you into a hug, a familial and tender hug that you’d loved since you were a child, “you are such a beautiful woman. Your mother and I are so proud of you.”
You had relayed your father’s hug with one of your own, preening under your father’s loving gesture. Once you had pulled away from your father and had stood amongst the three unknown alpha's, your mother was quick to join your father, beaming at him. The way your mother’s gaze had been focused on your father was endearing, it was a true sign of her devotion and absolute adoration. They were mates who were perfect for each other, an alpha and omega who were so closely bound and hopelessly in love, it was what you wanted to strive for.
“Have you told her yet?” Your mother had leaned against your father’s side, her gown glittering in its own right, and the fabric designed to match your father’s eyes.
“If you’re talking about the upcoming retirement announcement, I know.” You clasped your hands together, the knot in your stomach tightening. You got the sense that it was so much more than you had anticipated that there was more than just a retirement announcement coming.
“Y/N,” your father had grabbed your hands, loosening one from the other, and slowly turned your body to face the alpha’s standing nearby, the ones that were so unfamiliar, “your mother and I love you. We want the best for you and the royal court will try everything in their power to undermine the rule of an omega.”
Your father smiled at you, crow's feet by his eyes and the graying hairs were a sign of his age, of his tiredness and the willingness to just be with your mother.
“An omega, even the future ruler, needs to be protected by mates.” Your father spoke softly, encouragingly and with all the love heralded for you. “They will be your guards, your advisors and friends, but also your alpha’s.”
Your eyes immediately locked with Gaz’s, his brown eyes still brimming with warmth and the endearing charm that you loved about him. But now there was more, pride and a sense of unwavering dedication.
It was clear now what your father was planning on doing, the announcement that was to be made was not just about the future of the kingdom. It was an announcement about you as well, the decision being made was meant for the betterment of your kingdom and yourself.
You would rule the kingdom as an omega, and these 4 alphas would be mates to keep you safe, guarded and grounded.
John, Johnny, Simon and Gaz...
Your Gaz, with three other alpha’s, aiding you in taking on this role.
You understand why it was necessary, once the council and the court had heard your father’s announcement, it would be an uphill battle for you.
Without support, without the strongholds mates could provide, you would have no chance of success.
