Paired With Fate

Chapter Thirty Three

Ichiro opened his eyes to the start of a new day, the sun rising in the east and through his bedroom window, but he didn't feel like joining it. He simply turned over and buried deeper into the blanket. This was not because the bed was more comfortable than the lumpy mattress he'd had before, nor because the duvet was that much more plush, the cotton cover that higher a quality. He just didn't feel like facing the day was all.

The room that he had been given in Keith's house was a bit larger than his old room; there was space for a wardrobe and chest of drawers as well as the double bed and side cabinet. The walls were of neutral colours, but there were no signs of cracks or peeling paint. There was also no black mould lining the white pvc window frames. It was far nicer than his room in the rundown apartment block flat and yet, he couldn't call it home.

Sometime later, could have been five minutes, could have been an hour, a tentative knock sounded upon the outside of the bedroom door.

"Jason, breakfast is ready."

Ichiro snorted in response and felt even more resolved to stay in bed. He didn't feel like playing house with Keith nor did he want to hear the older man's lectures about him finding a new job. And because he had detoured to the shops on the way home from the prison to buy beer, he'd been lectured on taking it easy with the alcohol and the out of the blue question; did he happen to meet someone that caught his eye? Like he would bother 'trawling for chicks' in a supermarket where most of the women were harried mothers, older women buying their weeks' shop or career women buying a calorie controlled meal and a bottle of wine to wash it down with.

No, he was better off staying in bed than dealing with that kind of thing again.

The knock came again along with a sigh.  He could almost imagine the man who'd been his father's best friend for almost thirty years, placing his hand on his hip in exasperation.

Keith had never married, never had his own children.  That was because he'd fallen in love with said best friend, but didn't have the courage to say.  Ichiro's grandparents had been both betas and managed to produce this Alpha son, their pride had been as high as the sky as had been their expectations.  And as they had rather traditional views on the responsibilities alphas bore; setting good examples, taking roles in management, or becoming lawyers, doctors, politicians and taking on an Alpha bride and bringing forth a plethora of small Alpha children, there had been much pressure on the man's shoulders.  Keith knew this and stepped aside to allow his to walk this path 'to greatness'.

Only the social divides between genders were more illusionary when compared to social divides of bloodlines; there were far more Alphas within the wealthy, influential and elite than in middle class or common folk, like his parents, living from month to month on their earnings.  And while Alpha girls could easily marry up (and most often chose to do so) no matter their social background, few would marry down and to an Alpha with less prospects due to his family circumstances.  Many would find this sort of thing superficial, but the majority to argue such would be Betas without similar opportunities and backgrounds.

At the end of the day, Alphas generally married to have children, while Betas, with their weak fertility, were more likely to marry for love.

So Ichiro's father could not find that perfect bride, but he did find a pretty, young Omega with oriental roots and a sunny and kind disposition.  The man was charmed and decided to woo her, after all, Omega women had better fertility than Beta women and had a good chance of bearing Alphas.  He neglected to think that they also had a good chance of bearing Omegas.

There was another knock on the door, plus the rattling of the handle.  Just the door was locked.  "Big brother...?"  It was Saburo.  He sounded worried.  Ordinarily, Ichiro might have felt more, after all, he'd always adored his two young brothers and helped his mum love and care for them in the way their father refused to.