(Chapter 2 continued)

THE music vibrated the ground as the pack members, young and old, danced under the stars in the decorated backyard. The weather was crisp and unseasonably warm for a late-January night, probably due to global warming. The pack children had long gone to sleep, and those that chose not to indulge in the dancing sat on the side, munching on Hors d'oeuvres and drinking the specially brewed alcohol which allowed Werewolves to get drunk. 

Some had obviously drank way too much, as they danced sloppily in the crowd.

However, as amusing as I'd find usually find the drunk behavior of my pack members, the hole that was practically burning into the back of my head had me preoccupied. 

If Corey thought he was being inconspicuous, he wasn't.

I turned around to see his stiff figure with piercing brown eyes staring straight at me. He stood on the outskirts of the gathering area with a group of his warriors, supposedly watching for a threat on the pack territory, but apparently his eyes got distracted and wandered off to me. 

Showing him exactly how I felt about is watchful, overprotective actions, I lifted my middle finger in his direction before stomping off out of the crowd and outside of his viewpoint, only to see Berlin's parents a few meters away. 

Danny sat in-between his husband's legs on the lounge chair, leaning against the larger man's chest with his black neck pillow resting against his stomach. They were whispering back-and-forth to one another with smiles on their faces, but as they saw me approaching, the hushed conversation quickly ceased and their attention settled on me. I could've sworn I saw Ray's hand inconspicuously slip from underneath Danny's gigantic sweater as well.

"Oh, hi hi Ortiz!" Danny smiled sweetly up at me, using the informal greeting that he'd adapted after finding out that my supposed 'mate' was his son. "Not drinking yet?" He asked with pursed lips as he looked down at my empty hands, obviously surprised by the lack of alcoholic beverages in my system. 

I suppose I had a reputation of drinking a lot at these parties, but you couldn't blame me. Being the Beta of a pack with a volatile best friend of an Alpha can be tiring. 

"Nah, haven't really gotten around to it yet." I replied, rubbing the back of my neck with a chuckle. "What about you? Don't you usually drink and pass out by this time already?" I inquired, also slightly surprised by the fact that Danny was not fast asleep from the few drops of alcohol he usually ingests. I'd never met someone with such a low tolerance.

Danny shook his head with a slight blush on his cheeks, squeezing his neck pillow tighter to his abdomen and cuddling back into his husband's broad chest. 

"No, I've decided to abstain from alcohol for the next couple of months, it makes me feel especially woozy now at days." he giggled sheepishly, as if he wasn't completely sure of his answer. However, I brushed it off. Berlin's family has always been kinda weird.

"As a matter of fact, you can take this drink. The waiter brought it to me even though I'm not drinking at the moment." Danny reached down to pick up a tall glass of a dark green, specially distilled absinthe. "Go ahead and drink it, you deserve to unwind."

I took the glass from the man's small hand, offering him a smile of appreciation. "Thank you. I hope you enjoy the rest of the mixer." 

Danny nodded back before once again settling against his husband, whispering something in his ear that caused the larger man to suddenly scoop him up and make a beeline for the pack house, the smaller man giggling with glee the entire way. 

So much for 'enjoying the rest of the mixer.'

"I hate this shit. Berlin is fucking torturing me." Osias' voice suddenly appeared behind me and I smirked, bringing the glass to my lips to take a swig. The alcohol burned a path down my throat as I swallowed, and I almost sighed aloud from the feeling of relief that accompanied it.

"That boy is the only one that you've ever taken orders from. What happened to the takes-no-shit-from-anybody Osias I knew?" I teased my best friend, taking a longer sip from the cup of burning liquid. The good thing about special Werewolf alcohol is that it hit fast and hard, and I already felt a tipsy spin coming into the world. 

"Shut the fuck up." He growled out. I'd obviously hit a soft spot, especially with his emotions heightened due to his worry over his mate and pups. "You'd understand what I was going through if your mate was pregnant. Oh, wait, I forgot. Your mate is a dominant guy." His facial expression read disdain and malice, and I knew that his words were intended to hurt, not tease as mine had been. 

Typically, my rational brain would understand that his Alpha nerves were just ultra-sensitive right now as he was worred sick about being separated from his pregnant mate, who could pop any second now. 

But unfortunately absinthe isnt exactly the best thing to drink if you plan on utilizing logic. 

I heard my glass of alcohol hit the ground, and I knew that I threw the first punch. However, past that point I couldn't tell you what happened. Osias and I were a mess of limbs on the ground as I attempted to pummel the shit out of him for what he'd said. The alcohol that I'd ingested fueled me to keep going even though Osaias was beating the crap out of me, obviously because he was infinitely stronger than me as the Alpha. 

By that point, the music had stopped and the rest of the pack were staring at us in disbelief as we battled it out on the cold ground.

It took seconds for the warriors to pull us apart, arms pinned behind our bodies as we snarled at one another. 

"Fuck you!" I screamed from hoarse vocal cords, fighting against the arms that held me back. "I will never love another man like the faggot you are! You're an abomination to this entire fucking world!" 

The silence was palpable, the only sound being my angry, heavy breaths as I glared daggers at Osias. To my horror, the man only yanked his arms away from the warrior who once held him back and smirked my way as if he knew the funniest secret in the world.

"Oh yeah? You really feel that way? Say that to the faggot that's right behind you then." 

I froze. 

My eyes widened in paralyzing terror as I realized what he meant, and I slowly turned my head to look at the warrior who held my arms in a firm grip. My stomach nearly dropped through the floor when Corey's ever-emotionless face stared straight ahead into nothingness with a jaw clenched so tight I thought it would never open again, as if he was attempting to keep himself from displaying how he truly felt with all of his might. 

"Corey... Corey... No... I- I didn't mean..." I faltered, trying desperately to find the right words to say. Even if I didn't want to be with him romantically, I didn't want it to get this far. 

I never meant to truly hurt him.

But it was too late. 

I called him a faggot.

I called him an abomination.

Corey's hands fell from my wrists as quickly as he grabbed them, and he walked past me - towards Osias - as if I didn't even exist. As if I didn't mean anything to him.

Wasn't this what I wished for? 

If so... why does it hurt so much?

"Alpha, are you alright? Do you require first aid?" Corey inquired, kneeling down on one knee to survey the deep scratches that I caused on Osias' abdomen, even though I was infinitely more in need of aid. 

"Nah, they're already healing. I'll be fine." Osias waved him away, running a hand through his hair as he turned to the rest of the pack bystanders. "Go about your business. Nothing to see here." He stated firmly, causing the members to begin to disperse. However, the partying spirit was long dead, and not long after Osaias' order, a sudden, squeaky voice called from the back of the pack house.

"Alpha!" The pink-haired pack medic stood in the doorway to the backyard, eyes wide and a frazzled expression on his face as he screamed for Osias' attention. The Alpha immediately perked up, attention focused on the small man that appeared.

"What is it Benji?" Osias asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"The Luna! He's is in labor!"

I never knew a man could run so fast. 

❦

The relationship between Ortiz and Corey is thickening, eh?

The next chapter might features a special return to Osias' POV for the birth scene! 

Please like and comment! You all motivate me so much!

Xoxo, Alexander