I Got Issues

Chapter one - Arrivals

This week had been stressful enough for the alpha-beta pair. They'd just gotten word from the council last week that they'd be taking in three new pack members last week, which they were not prepared for in the slightest. It was hard enough to scramble to accommodate three different people, especially with almost no information about who they were letting into their home, but the first two arrivals had been disappointing to say the least.

The first to arrive was an alpha. He was small for an Alpha, physically at least, but seemed to make up for it in direction and leadership. He and Kevin already didn't like one another.  He prefered to be in charge of himself, knowing what he liked and what would set him off. He liked everything a particular way, and he couldn't get that if someone else was in charge.

"What are you doing?" Kevin asked, eyes narrowed as he watched him move things around in their living room. 

"It's better like this. More organized." Mitch assured, and Kevin wanted to disagree, to remind them all he was the lead Alpha and he got to pick how communal spaces looked, but ever-accepting Scott stopped him. 

"Kev, just let him." He advised. "Pick your battles, man. He's probably just as uncomfortable, new space and all." Kevin sighed. Scott had always been like that, the one to always see where others were coming from. 

"Okay, fine. But make sure he doesn't touch anything important." The Alpha relented. Just the one new arrival seemed like enough of a pain. 

The next arrival was a beta. A broad shouldered, bearded man that had arrived two days after Mitch. It was much sooner that they'd thought, as the council didn't warn them of the dates the other two would arrive. Kevin didn't seem to be thrilled with him, either.  

His name was Avriel, which was quickly shortened to Avi by Scott, in an effort to make him feel more at home.  The Alpha of the duo had always thought that was what kept Scott at an 8/10 rating, he was too emotional. He cared too much about others' feelings, and as a beta, his job was to be strictly logical and practical to keep the others safe. 

Unfortunately for Kevin, there was something off about Avi as well. His moods seemed to constantly be changing. When he first entered the home, he was a calm, mild-mannered beta, and that quickly flipped into a snappy, sarcastic jerk. Kevin had to get in his face a bit for that one, but it seemed to snap him out of his mood, though he'd seen small fluctuations in mood since then. 

"Hey, Avi, why don't you go up to our room? Maybe you can take some time to chill?" Scott offered. One of his mood swings had caused an altercation between himself and Mitch, thus causing an argument with Kevin. As per usual, Scott had to be the one to play damage control. Once the beta agreed, Mitch had gone off to unpack the groceries they'd gotten from a big shop to accommodate the new large size of their household.   

"C'mon, Kev. They're not too bad, probably settling in." Scott reminded the Alpha, a hand placed on his shoulder. Scott Hoying, Kevin's best friend since Kindergarten. They didn't seperate based on rank until third grade, and in those three years, they'd become inseparable. So much so, that when they graduated, Kevin asked Scott to join his pack, even though as a perfectly scored Alpha he was expected to ask a perfectly scored beta that recently graduated as well.

As usual, Scott was being his overly-optomistic self. Kevin scowled at that, being the first to spot the negitaves as usual.

"No, Scott, they're useless. We've got an Alpha that's unpacking the groceries, taking too long so he can perfectly stack the cans, and a beta who can't decide whether he hates us or not." He snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose. This was bad. How did such a highly regarded, powerful Alpha like himself end up with those two? More importantly, how was he supposed to accomplish anything with them around? 

"Hey, we've got one more, maybe she'll do better." Scott encouraged. Kevin sighed. He wasn't getting it. 

"Scott, the last one is marked in the file as an Omega. We've never had to protect and Omega before. Even if she's perfect, which from the looks of our group so far she won't be, it just means getting the other two under control is even more of a priority." He explained, his Alpha red eyes flickering for a moment due to all the stress. "I just don't get it, how did we end up with them?" He growled slightly.

"Hey, man. The council's never wrong." He reminded him, quoting an old video they'd been shown when they were kids to better understand the government. The council was made up of five members, two Alpha's, two betas, and an Omega, that had a special way of seeing the world. Their commands were supposed to 'always hold up in the long run.' Kevin had been doubting that since he was ten, though. 

"Yeah, she'll probably be here soon. All we can do is wait it out." He sighed, giving in to Scott's bright demeanor.

Luckily, Scott was right. It was early the next morning, early enough that even Kevin wasn't awake yet when there was a knock at the door. Scott was the first one to rise groggily, it being the fourth of fifth knock. He was secretly hoping Avi would get it, as they shared a room to accommodate the last arrival, but he had yet to learn of just how heavy of a sleeper Avi was.  

He'd sighed, pulling the door open, frowning slightly when he saw who was standing there. "Uh, can I help you?" He asked softly, but she didn't respond. 

She wasn't paying attention to him, eyes lazily darting between the space at his feet with her head angled down. Her fingers were contracting and relaxing in quick movements, small little tics creating the effect of jazz fingers. He'd assumed that was due to nervousness, and then it suddenly clicked. 

"Oh, you must be Kirstin!" He smiled, speaking loudly, frowning when she recoiled a small bit. He was known to be a bit too welcoming and entergetic, maybe that wasn't the best thing to put out for their newest member. Afterall, she was the lowest ranked, and only woman, getting placed in a home with four adult men. That may have not been the best call on part of the council. 

"Come on in. Everyone else is still asleep, but I'll get Kevin up to help you settle in. You can get to know the others tomorrow." He nodded, speaking quickly, before he slowed down a bit, yet another fact slipping back into the front of his mind. "Oh, where's the beta they said was coming to drop you off and explain some things?" He asked. Kirstin barely shrugged, not quite engaging with him. Her mind was already preoccupied. He watched her face, completely still as she stared off into the distance, except for small movements in the corners of her lips. Truthfully, the beta had left early on purpose. She'd known from the last three times the council had tried to place Kirstin that explaining what they wanted her to do would only get the girl rejected again. Usually, a beta would never go against the council, but they could see this poor girl deserved the exception more than anyone else.  

"Well, that's okay. Probably just a miscommunication." He quickly dismissed it. "Please, sit down, make yourself comfortable in here, I'll go get Kevin, he's the lead." He explained, sitting her on the couch as he quickly went upstairs to wake up the lead Alpha. He had identified what he assumed must have been depression, a bit odd to see in an Omega. He'd remembered it was more common in Alpha's and Beta's due to their high-stress tasks. 

He sighed when he went to go shake the Alpha away, frowning. "She's here." He told him, letting the man quickly bounce up. "Try to be nicer to her, okay, man? I think she's seriously upset." He told the Alpha, and Kevin sighed. 

When he got downstairs, he frowned at the way she was staring off to space, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder to get her attention, but she was far too preoccupied to pay any attention to his touch at that moment. She couldn't decide if she, and more importantly her brain, liked it there. 

It then became crystal clear to Kevin that their long week was going to turn into a long several weeks