I wake up early in the morning to the smoke alarms blaring throughout our home. Did my brothers try to cook again? A thick smoke starts choking me. OK, what was it school taught me about house fire safety? I roll off my bed onto my stomach and crawl to my bedroom door. I feel the door, and it's extremely hot to the touch. I crawl the other direction to my window and jump out. Bones will heal, I land on the ground and roll, so I'm sitting up on my knees. I look around and don't see my parents or my brothers. Did they make it out?
"Mom? Dad? Anyone?" I call loudly. No reply sounds.
A few hours later, I'm in the back of a police car. The chief, Jim Hopper, kneels to my height.
"Athena, do you have any other family?" I shake my head. "Listen, I know what you are, kid. Do you guys have a pack?"
"No. Our pack was our little family. My dad did things he shouldn't have, and he was banished." Hopper sighs.
"I was afraid of that. There are two packs in Hawkins. I'll see if one will take you in." I nod my eyes watering. Two days of knowing I'm a wolf and my family gets killed. I have no one to explain what happens when I go into heat, help me through bearing pups, and help me with my imprint. I'm completely screwed. Over the next few hours, I wait patiently to see if either pack would take me in. Sadly, both of them rejected me. However, a lone alpha named Wayne agreed to take me in.
"Athena? I'm Wayne, Wayne Munson." He grumbles, I'm ok living with a man.
"Thank you for taking me in." I lower my head out of respect.
"You're welcome. We're a little pack of three, now. You, me, and my nephew, Edward. He's a little older than you." I nod slightly, no other females. We drive out to a small house.
A week later, I'm feeling anxious in the sunken bed that sits in my bedroom. I go into my closet and find a few large blankets. I line the sides of my bed with the blankets and some extra pillows. It makes me feel a little better, like I'm inside a den, but the scent is off. I follow my nose to the other bedroom, the one Wayne said belongs to his nephew. His nephew doesn't always stay here, but he leaves clothes here, and his scent is like a siren call to me. I find an Iron Maiden shirt with his scent all over it. I take it back into my room and put it under my pillow. I let out a low whine and curl into my den, I feel safe and comfortable here, despite the pain in my lower stomach. A soft knock sounds from my door.
"Can I come in?" I hear Wayne ask from the other side.
"Yes. I'm decent." I answer, sitting up in my bed.
"You ok? I heard a lot of noise in here."
"I'm fine, just I did this." I gesture to the makeshift den, nest thing. Wayne smiles softly.
"It's called nesting. You must have been feeling a bit anxious."
"Yeah, just a bit."
"This must be your first heat." I nod. "It will be ok. You're gonna stay home from school this week. If you need anything, let me know."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, Wayne." He turns and walks out of my room. I fall asleep holding the Iron Maiden shirt close. Without that scent, I feel anxious and scared, at least with it, I just have to deal with my own neediness. The next morning, I hear another knock on my door, a little lighter than Wayne's knock. "Come in?" The door opens to a 15 year old boy with curly brown hair and brown eyes. He smiles softly.
"Did you take my Iron Maiden shirt?" I nod, blushing.
"I'm sorry, I can give it back." He chuckles.
"It's ok, I was just wondering. May I come in?" He's polite. I love that.
"Yeah, of course." I scoot over in the thankfully queen size bed to make room for him. He takes off his sneakers and sits in my bed with me.
"I'm Eddie, you must be Athena."
"Forgive me if I sound like an idiot but why is your scent so calming to me?"
"Probably because I'm an alpha. Or maybe we're mates, I dunno. From what I know, usually mates smell good to each other and are drawn to each other. But we're too young to mate." He shrugs.
"Way too young. I barely understand all this." He smiles sadly.
"I know what you mean, I'm only 15. The youngest Omega to get her mate was like 16, but her mate was 18." I cock my head to one side.
"So it depends on the alphas age?" He nods.
"Yeah. So I'll get my mate in about 3 years."
"This whole thing is still new to me."
"Is this your first one?" I blush.
"That obvious?"
