Ortiz 

The newborn Alpha twins were cute and I tried my best to feel happiness for Berlin and Osias, but as I sat dejectedly in the dusty corner of the hospital room on the floor, my mind was in a completely different universe. Even as Berlin's brother Tyrus had the most awkward interaction with the puny Fae kid, which under different circumstances I would have laughed my ass off about, all I could focus on was this deeply unfamiliar, gut-wrenching emptiness that was slowly colonizing every crevice of my mind.

When Tyrus ran out of the room in search of the kid with the yellow hair I made my exit shortly after, which bright me to where I am now - laying underneath my black comforter feeling like complete and utter shit. 

Although my wounds from the fight with Osias were rapidly healing, my brain kept taunting me by replaying every second of me screaming at Corey, and his face that lacked any semblance of emotion after those harsh words slipped from my mouth. While sitting in my corner in the hospital after Berlin gave birth, I kept subconsciously stealing glances at him with the hope of catching his eye and seeing any hint of an emotion towards me at all, even if it was anger.

Somehow, it made me feel even shittier that he didn't even acknowledge that I was there. I'd rather he get angry and scream and yell at me rather than act like I didn't even exist.

The thing that confused me the most was that I didn't understand why I cared so damn much about him acknowledging me in the first place. I fought for months to get the annoying bastard to leave me the fuck alone, but now that he actually was, I felt an odd sensation that I'd never felt before.

Did I feel... lonely?

The thought made me sit straight up in bed, shaking my head so hard and fast I thought my freckles might fly off. I hadn't felt this level of loneliness since I was a kid... since before...  

"No, no, no..."

I shook my head hard again, forcing my brain to halt my train of thought in its tracks before it even started. With a deep sigh, I looked around my messy room, glancing at the clock on my bedside table which read 6:42 PM on the bold, digital display. Although it was painfully early, I flopped back down on my bed and decided to get some sleep in an effort to calm down my highly overactive mind that seemed to betray me more and more every day. 

I closed my eyes and groaned loudly, trying to clear my mind and get comfortable in my large bed. However, a few minutes later, I found myself curling up into a ball when it occurred to me that it felt so, overwhelmingly... cold and empty. 

"What the fuck are you talking about Ortiz, get a damn grip and stop acting like Berlin's needy ass." I grumbled angrily to myself, closing my eyes once again and forcing myself to sleep.

+

I tossed and turned for around 3 hours until I just couldn't stand it anymore. 

I kept waking up every 10 to 15 minutes, feeling weirdly foreign and uncomfortable in my bed which - before Corey's arrival - had been a safe place for me to come and relax. But right now, it was one of my biggest enemies. 

"Fuck him." I grumbled under my breath again, going to slide off of my bed, but winced a moment later as I felt a sharp pain in my chest following the words. 

What the fuck was that? I thought to myself as I rubbed my chest, promptly standing and walking to the door, deciding to go down to the kitchen to get some water in hopes of making this chest pain go away. However, as soon as my hand touched the doorknob, a wave of anxiety hit me again which sent my brain right back into a spiral of overthinking.

What if he was out there? How do I react if I see him? Would he react if I said something to him? Why would I even want to say something to him? I got what I wanted, right?

... Right?

"FUCK, get yourself together dude, you're a fucking Beta!" I scolded myself, smacking myself in the face gently before flinging the door open with a scowl. I stormed down the large, winding stairs of the pack house. Luckily, it was after dinner so I didn't have to worry about talking to the pack members that usually formed large crowds and milled around after meals. However, as I walked past the large, tastefully decorated living room, I couldn't help but stop for a moment and stare at the ridiculous sight before me.

Berlin's big brother Tyrus was sitting on the floor with tons of little flowers in his lap that looked as if he'd foraged them from the woods around the pack house. The puny Fae from earlier sat in front of him as they faced one another, his abnormally large, blue eyes (which I honestly thought were creepy as hell) trained on the much larger man across from him. Tyrus grinned stupidly as he stuck flower after flower into the Fae's long, yellow hair. With each flower Tyrus added, the Fae's eyes got bigger and bigger, reaching a size I didn't even know was possible. His eyes quite literally took up a bit more than one-third of his face, causing his features to look distinctly doll-like and alien, as they tugged down at the inner corner.

"Do you like them? I skipped dinner and picked them for you in the woods because I think you look like a flower." Tyrus beamed as he spoke to the little Fae, staring at him intently as he waited for a reply. 

Daffodil blinked his huge eyes twice, as if he was trying to understand what Tyrus was saying to him before something in his puny little brain suddenly clicked and his entire face turned beet red. He looked down at his lap, and seemed to wheeze with embarrassment and nervousness as he tried to figure out how to reply to the man who had suddenly taken such a deep liking to him. I'm sure he was not at all accustomed to receiving attention from anyone.

"TyTy... so nice! Thank!" Daffodil cried out softly, tentatively reaching for the larger man's hand and rubbing his cheek against it, a universal gesture in which Faes express their gratitude. The entire Fae race was extremely childlike, loving, and honestly pretty simple-minded. But even I had to admit that the pair seemed to work together nicely since they both shared that last trait.

"When I saw you, I thought you were really, really cute and I don't know why but... I want to be around you more. Can we be friends?" Tyrus asked the Fae tentatively, and I could see the equally abnormally large tears welling up in the Fae's eyes as he pulled back and nodded, some of the flowers falling softly out of his hair and onto the floor between the two of them.

"Daffi don't have friend... After I leave Faery home with brother I sad because doggies no want to be friend with me..." The giant tears silently streamed down the Fae's face, but at the same time, he smiled widely through them and looked up at Tyrus. It never failed to surprise me how Faes could display multiple, contradictory feelings at once while also feeling them so deeply.

"But Daffi want friends with TyTy and play games and have fun and eat lime!" He bounced up and down in his spot, smiling even wider and giggling out an ethereal, tinkling sort of sound from this mouth that didn't sound anything close to human or werewolf.

"Can I hug you?" Tyrus asked, holding out his arms to the smaller man. The Fae wasted no time at all and practically flew over and tackled Tyrus, causing them to both fall over onto the floor with the Fae on top of his chest. I was glad they were already sitting on the floor, because they were the last two people who could afford to lose brain cells if they fell backwards and hit their heads any harder. 

"Daffi have friend! Have friend!” The Fae repeated over and over as Tyrus tentatively wrapped his arms around him as if he would break, both of their faces a bright red. When Tyrus very, very softly and slowly nuzzled the Fae's hair and the Fae instinctually purred in reaction, I took it as my cue to leave. 

I wasn't sure if they fully understood the fact that they were mates - I knew it would take some time for them to fully come to that realization - but I didn't want to stick around to see if one of their brain cells happened to pop together and they suddenly decided to bang all over the living room. 

I blanched at the thought, but for some reason, watching their interaction also filled me with anger as I stomped my way towards the kitchen. 

Why do they get to be happy?

Why don't I deserve that?

Why is everyone in this pack so damn gay? 

I grumbled as I passed through the arch that led to the large chef's kitchen which was equipped to feed the large amount of wolves in the pack, and sighed as I saw who was sitting at the large island in the middle of the room. 

Great, just what I need, more chaos.

"Sweetheart, you have been eating since dinner, please just come to bed already, you know I can't sleep without you." said the larger of the two. Danny narrowed his eyes and looked up at his husband as he held a large pickle in his hand, the other preoccupied with the ever-present black neck pillow. The pair were always acting as if they jumped straight out of a dramatic novel, and I would be lying if I didn't say I found it entertaining every now and then, but right now all I wanted was a little peace and quiet. 

"I have cravings okay! I want to eat everything I see! I can't help it, you're the one that couldn't pull ou- Oh hi Beta Ortiz!" Danny looked outright startled as I walked past them towards the cupboards to grab a glass before heading to the fridge to fill it up.

"Hi." I rasped dryly, willing the cup to fill faster from the tiny spout on the front of the fridge.

"Are you okay? I noticed you seemed a bit... hostile the other day. Is there anything you want to talk about? I'm a really good listener." Danny smiled sweetly at me, and I could tell by his soft tone that he genuinely meant those words. However, at that moment I felt a hot flash of anger take over me, and I narrowed my eyes at the man whose son I couldn't seem to get out of my head.

Part 2 in next episode