I Got Issues

Chapter 7 - Stressed Out

Kirstin listened to her instinct, scrambling up off of where she'd fallen asleep on the beta and standing in front of her alpha. Before Kevin could say anything to the already shaking Omega, Avi stepped up to make a barrier between the two.

"You'd left for over an hour, I thought it was okay to give her a break." He spoke up.

"Why would you do that? You're not the alpha." The slightly taller man growled at the beta. He wouldn't  be undermined by this man, especially when he was below his rank and shouldn't be giving the omega commands. It wasn't Kirstie's fault, as she was just told she had to listen to all higher-ups, but Kevin always treated her like it was.

"Come on, man. All you've done to her, to anyone, is use your rank to get what you want. No one cares that your the lead when you're being a jerk." The beta spoke angrily, motioning for Kirstin towards him. "Why don't you go upstairs and sit with Mitch for a bit, Kirst?" He suggested, and she he nodded to listen, until Kevin grabbed her arm to keep her from passing. That upset her, as she wasn't the biggest fan of unexpected touches, and his hands were rough and bumpy, a texture she didn't like. She squeaked, tapping her foot to try to keep calm in the high stress situation.

"Dude, let her go." Avi snapped, angry that this Alpha would act like this, when the Omega in question was clearly a bit different and very sensitive.

"I can't have you encouraging disobeying. How am I supposed to make a strong omega if you're undermining me every step of the way?" He spoke sternly.

"I'm not undermining you Kevin." Avi said, emphasising his name, making Kevin's eyes flash red, and consequently Kirstie's flash blue.

"Back down, beta. Now." He growled, taking the girls hand. His eyes never leaving the beta.

"Alpha Mitch!" Avi shouted, knowing that that would bug Kevin more. Mitch ran down the stairs, almost straight into Avi, and instantly knew that Kevin was doing 'it' again.

"What now?" he asked, Scott following, having been talking to Mitch.

"She was at the table for half an hour and now he's upset I told her she could get up. She's clearly upset, there's no way she could handle anything else right now, right?" He prompted the Alpha, as Kevin couldn't tell a fellow Alpha to stand down.

"C'mon, Kevin, give her a break." Mitch spoke up with a sigh, moving over to gently lead the Omega away. He could see the look on her face, if she wasn't out of there soon it would happen again, and that wouldn't be a pretty sight.

"Why does no one listen to me!" Kevin roared, his eyes staying red this time. One by one, the rest of the pack's eyes came out, even Mitch's, as Kevin is the Lead. "See I'm your lead! Why are you all such bad ranks, especially the Omega!" he shouted, having had enough of this 'misbehaviour'

That was what clicked in her head. He was being so loud, and she ripped her hand out of his grasp to cover her ears and back up. She was rocking slightly on her feet and though everyone was so focused on the flaming Alpha, that it took Scott a moment to notice.

"Mitch, I think Kirst isn't feeling well." He told the man discreetly, so he quickly ditched the Alpha to focus on trying to calm her. They would have to sort out Kevin's odd behavior after.

"Hey, Kirst, you're okay." He spoke softly.

"What is she doing?" Kevin asked. He grabbed her waist, trying to get her to stand still. That didn't work and she ended up punching him to get out of his grasp, as he was holding her so tight it felt like he was crushing her.

"Give her space." Mitch snapped, and motioned for Avi to step in between the two. Avi had the best chance to get the Alpha to stand down, and let the girl work through it. That seemed to be the only thing they'd found that worked.

"Please, Kevin, just give her ten minutes. She's not okay right now." The beta asked seriously, trying to keep himself from lashing out. For once, the man nodded to see if they could handle this, but was ready to swoop in any moment they thought they were handling her behavior incorrectly.

"Just give her some space." Mitch reminded the others, as the girl sunk into the floor, shaking. She was humming an incoherent tune, as she'd been taught humming could help her feel calm before, but was too distracted to think of a melody. They mostly knew she could usually work through it herself, but that could take up to an hour at times.

Mitch sank to his knees, sitting back to not look threatening, to let the girl know that he was there to keep her safe from Kevin, if she opened her eyes that is. He could see that she was trembling, pretty much hyperventilating and decided to assert his Alpha for once. "Everyone out." he said, flashing his eyes at Kevin when he went to talk back, and ended up laying on the floor as his knees got sore.

Reluctantly the lead Alpha listened, turning to the two betas.

"What the hell was that?" He voices his concerns.

"That's what happens when you overwhelm her like that." Avi snapped, upset, and Scott swooped in to give the calmer definition.

"I think it may be a panic attack, or version of one. I'm not quite sure yet." He added, sending Avi a look to tell him to cool it. Kirstin was important in that moment, not having a fight between the two strongest pack members.

"I did that?" The Alpha asked, a bit shocked. There was no way just gripping onto her did that, was there.

"Yeah, you did." The bearded beta snapped, deciding to go upstairs before he completely lost his temper. As Mitch was lying with the Omega in front of him, having to watch her unravel, the Alpha was left to think.

It was about thirty minutes later that Kirstin felt like she could open her eyes, spotting Mitch. Good old Mitch, that had never once scared her intentionally. She wanted to smile, but felt too exhausted to try.

"Hi, Kirst. Are you feeling a little better?" He asked, his voice soft, and she managed a small noise of confirmation. "Sleepy." She murmured, her brain feeling totally wiped out from all the stress and her body from her constant swaying and movements.

"Okay, why don't I get you up to your room for a nap?" Mitch offered, and this time she didn't make any confirmation, but stood when he pulled her to her feet and walked with him. She had crashed pretty much the second she slid into her bed, so Mitch didn't bother helping her get into comfy clothes like she usually needed to sleep. Instead, he just kissed the top of her head and let her be.

It had been about an hour when Kevin quietly slipped into her room, being discreet so the others wouldn't just try to kick him out, though he knew pulling rank may work in that situation. At first he just sat next to her, trying to think of the right thing to say, before her eyes fluttered open to look at him.

"Hi, Omega." He spoke, trying to keep his voice soft. "I- are you feeling better?" He asked, attempting to find the best way to say this without losing his authoritative status.

She shrugged, and he forced himself not to reprimand her non-verbal response. "Listen, Kirst, I'm sorry." He spoke, a bit unsure of the phrasing. Apologizing wasn't a very well-taught skill in Alpha school. "I was angry earlier and it got you hurt." He explained.

Kirstin, being young and naive, along with not fully understanding what he had done like the others did, just nodded. She hated when people were angry with her, and wasn't sure what he meant.

"still mad?" She asked, not feeling like finishing the sentence.

"No, Kirst. I was being mean. I'll try to work on being less angry." He assured her.

She reached up and wrapped her arms around him, making him sit down on her bed, and she gave him a hug. Kevin was too shocked to hug back at first, until he smiled at her forgiveness and hugged her back.

"You're a very sweet girl, you know that, Kirst?" He offered, feeling like he had to give her some praise as he'd told her something awful earlier. It was much easier to be soft with her in private, as he needed to maintain his Alpha status around the others, who had already disrespected him. She squealed a bit at the compliment, feeling as though that meant he finally liked her. She liked cuddling with him, as he was bigger and warmer than the others, and it was nice to know she could and he wouldn't be upset with her. None of them were going to expect the bubbly girl they saw at dinner time, as she was so excited that her Alpha finally wanted her around.

So, Kevin's beginning to be a bit softer with the new Omega, but will it last?