Oscar Wilson's life was just falling into place. He had a new life and was putting his past behind him. His art was taking off and he was helping so many kids with his group therapy, everything was perfect. That was until his life got turned upside...
It didn't take long for me to invite Duncan back- barely four days. I didn't know why but there was something inside me that just wanted to be near him. Maybe it was a mate thing. All I knew was that I wanted to be near him. So I called him and not even an hour later we were in my bed cuddling while watching a movie on my laptop.
"I know it was only a few days but I missed you," I said as I nuzzled my head into his chest. He tightened his hold around me and hummed in agreement. "So if we are going to do this, I think I need to learn more about you and your kind," I said as I lifted my head off of his chest. "Could you teach me?"
"Of course! Let's start with the basics, What is a werewolf." He sat up, crossed his legs, and turned to face me. "To put it into its simplest term. A werewolf is a human with a spirit of a wolf inside them. That is the key element that helps us shift, if one doesn't have a wolf, it is extremely hard and painful for them to shift. Of course, that isn't the only thing to make a werewolf a werewolf. Genes come into play as well, you have to be born to at least one werewolf parent to be a werewolf. There is no way for a human to be turned into a werewolf. How do you feel so far?"
"Pretty good, you haven't lost me yet. What's the next topic?"
"Ranks. Each pack has ranks that determine who does what. Most are passed down from parents but some can be changed. The Alpha is the leader of the pack, that's me. The Beta is the Alpha's second in command, that is Luke-"
"Wait, Luke as in Sam's boyfriend Luke? He's a werewolf too?!" I cut him off with the question, shocked. Duncan froze and smiled like he fucked up.
"I actually wasn't supposed to say anything because Luke needs to tell Sam. Please don't say anything. Anyway, next is Gamma, they are the head fighter. They are in charge of training and making sure that the fighters of the pack stay in shape and keep up with their training. Last but not least, are the Omegas, this is the only rank that has multiple in one pack. They are the caregivers, they make sure that the pack is happy and healthy. Their tasks could be anything from cooking dinner to managing the pack gardens to daycare.
"Alphas and Omegas are the only ranks in the pack that are almost strictly handed down from parents, but it is possible for non-ranking pack members to birth an Omega." Duncan continued, with all the new information, I was beginning to think that I should've taken notes. I nodded for him to continue. "I should say that not all packs are like this, this is just how mine is. A lot of packs treat their Omegas like slaves, and some have the Gamma under a different occupation."
"Right, different Alphas run their packs in different ways," I said causing Duncan to nod.
"Exactly. It's important for you to know that because after we mate we may have to travel to other packs for meetings. If we are on another alpha's land we need to follow their rules, if we don't it could be seen as a challenge to the alpha. A challenge to an Alpha is implying that they aren't doing a good job running their pack and you could do better."
Duncan stopped talking for a minute and rubbed his hands on his pants.
"That brings us to the last and probably most important topic. Mates," he began. "As I said when I first told you, we are mates. A mate to a werewolf is the most important thing in our lives. Without one, most don't survive."
"What do you mean without one? Doesn't everyone get a mate?" I asked.
"Well yes, everyone is supposed to have a mate. But there are cases where one's mate dies before meeting them or rejection. There is a choice in this, and while most frown upon it, one can reject their mate. But that cost is the life of the rejectee, something the rejecter would have to live with for the rest of their life." Duncan paused again and took another breath. "Now opposite of that, acceptance. When mates accept each other, as we have, there are a few things that need to happen to make them an officially mated couple. An announcement needs to be made to the pack to spread the word that a mate was found, I already did that. If the mate isn't a part of the pack, like you, they need to be introduced to them, so that's another step."
"Is that it? Seems easy enough," I smiled at him but it fell when he shook his head.
"There's one more thing," he began as his face grew red. He paused, shook his head, and looked at me with a sense of confidence. "The couple needs to have sex and they need to claim each other."
"Claim?"
"There's a sensitive part of your neck around here," He said as he put a hand over his own neck, where the shoulder and neck meet. "To claim you I would need to bite there. That would give you my mark, it's something permanent that tells every other werewolf that you are taken. Think of it like a wedding ring for humans. The only difference is if someone hits on an obviously mated person, their mate might actually kill the person."
I laughed at his joke but stopped when he didn't smile. "Oh, you're serious."
"I don't want any of this to scare you away, I just want to be honest with you. Werewolves are extremely territorial and possessive."
"When does mating normally happen?"
"W-well, really it depends on the couple and we shouldn't base our relationship on how others do things. I just think tha-" He stopped when I took his hand in mine. I smiled at him and squeezed his hand calmingly, he sighed and looked down at his lap. "Most mate days within meeting. But that's mostly when both are werewolves!"
"Do you want to?" he froze at the question.
"What?"
I got onto my knees and put my hands on his shoulders. My head was slightly above his as I asked. "Do you want to claim me?"
I watched as Duncan's pupils dilated.
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