I don't know when i fell asleep, i just remember feeling so warm and cosy, Hamish's soft growls like a lullaby.
Afternoon sun streamed in through the window, probably what woke me up.
Hamish was still and quiet on top of me, his face buried in my shirt and pressed against my chest.
My fingers were still tangled in his hair and when i gently removed them he stirred, lifting his head and staring up at me with bleary and unfocused eyes, his face a little red from where it had been mushed to my chest.
A soft sound left his throat, a sleepy moan i think and i chuckled when he flopped back down, clearly not willing to move just yet.
I yawned and stretched, groaning as joints clicked and muscles ached, relaxing under Hamish again, who snuggled deeper with a quiet huff now i was still.
I smiled to myself, once again finding Hamish adorable. Why was someone so sweet forced to endure so much at such a young age?
I sighed, the world could really suck sometimes.
"Mika?" He mumbled sleepily, his low voice muffled against my shirt.
I hummed to tell him i had heard him and was listening.
"I'm... i'm glad... that we... i-like-this."
My hands went to rest on his back and i rubbed it in lazy circles, glad that the nervous tension that had seeped into body slowly abated until he was relaxed once again.
"I like this too Hamish."
I'd only ever cuddled with my parents, and never like this. It was nice, i liked that we could just be, you know? This wasn't what i imagined bonding with a season partner would be like at all, and i was happy i'd been wrong.
The other omega's in this pack made it seem like a race, a rush to get intimate in the name of becoming comfortable with their chosen partner.
Becoming comfortable with someone was so much more than merely getting naked with them. Sure, it played a part, and doing so would bring you closer, baring yourself physically would do that.
Some of them claimed it was the best way to become familiar with their partners, to wear their scent all over, in our most intimate places so there would be no confusion in the disorientation caused by heat or rut.
I wasn't sure if it was the alphas in this pack who'd convinced them of this fact or their own libidos.
"I'm not squishing you am i?" He asked hesitantly after i sighed again due to my own thoughts.
"No Hamish." I assured, brushing my fingers through his hair in the way i know he liked.
He let out an exhale of relief. "Good, because i don't want to get up." He mumbled and nuzzled against my chest with a content, purring growl.
"Is my teddy-bear comfy?" I asked slightly teasingly and he snorted a little in amusement.
"I am happy to be your teddy-bear if i get cuddles like this."
I cooed silently, Hamish was just so stinking cute!
To my dismay my phone rang. It wasn't a sound i heard often so for a moment i didn't recognise what it was, causing me to fumble around to fish it out of my pocket before it stopped ringing.
I mumbled a quick sorry to Hamish before accepting the call, holding my phone to my ear to hear who was on the other side.
"Hello Mika, i have some good news." It was my boss.
Although schooling finished at eighteen for most, extra learning was often required once a vocation had been chosen. Usually the pack operated a apprenticeship program, allowing the young adults to work and learn at the same time whilst getting a feel of the job.
"Hi Tord, what news?"
I had recently finished my apprenticeship with Tord. He specialised in osteopathy, and despite my slight struggle with science during school it was a profession i had always been very interested in and passion about.
I suppose i partly had my father to thank for that. He worked hard, manual labour everyday. He often came home sore and in pain, Tord had worked his magic many times and made my father feel much better.
Werewolves were stronger and healed faster but we weren't infallible, our bodies could take more strain, but that only meant we felt it all the more.
"Since you have the correct training and sufficient experience, i would like to offer you a full time job in my practice, once the season has run it's course that is."
I had been expecting such a call but part of me hadn't believed i would get the job. I was the only apprentice Tord had but i always feared my school grades would hold me back.
Tord always told me that i excelled at osteopathy, but i thought he was just being kind. He was a kind man but apparently his praise had been more than just nice words of encouragement.
I was happy, extremely so, barely holding back the urge to squeal.
The smile i was wearing split my cheeks and i stared up at the ceiling, life was being good to me right now, first Hamish and now the job offer. If Hamish wasn't pinning me down i'd be dancing around my room.
"Thank you Tord, I... i'm really looking forward to it." I finally managed to say.
I heard him chuckle softly and could imagine the gentle beta sitting in his office behind his desk, his signature smile on his lips that always calmed patients and put them at ease.
"I'm glad Mika... I here you'll be participating in the season this year?" He broached carefully but i could still hear the smile in his voice.
That gossip had really travelled fast hadn't it? Was my rejection of Jacob and acceptance of Hamish really such big news? Or was it that there was nothing else to currently occupy the gossip mill of the pack?
"I am, yes." I confirmed but said no more, if he wanted me to elaborate he'd have to ask, i wanted to know exactly how much he'd heard and how accurate the gossip was.
I heard him sigh loudly. "Secretive as always."
A small snort of laughter left me. "I just want to know what you've heard, and well..." i glanced down at Hamish, the young alpha still and quiet once more, his beautiful eyes closed but i was unsure if he was asleep or merely resting his eyes.
I ran my fingers through his hair, raking the silken strands away from his face, a sleepy groan and a nuzzle told me he was lightly dozing.
"Ah..." Tord realised. "Your with your season partner now aren't you?"
I hummed in confirmation, continuing to run my fingers through Hamish's hair, loving how his slow and even breaths huffed out of his nose when my fingers reached one of the good spots.
"I haven't heard much, merely that you've taken a partner this year and severely upset the leading family in the process." He said with a tutting tone and i rolled my eyes.
"I don't know why they've got their knickers in such a twist, i've rejected Jacob every year and it's not like i'm the only option. Our partnership had already been arranged by the time Jacob practically knocked our door down.
The head Alpha and Luna make it seem like i've commited some heinous act by choosing another alpha over their son and our familes are being treated like they've commited treason, the Luna even implied it." I huffed, remembering there unannounced visits the other morning.
"They only backed off when i threatened to send a strongly worded letter to the council about their meddling."
He was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "You know, that's a compliment if anything. They obviously think you'd be a good match for their son and have good potential for the next Luna."
I snorted loudly at the notion, Jacob and i were not a good match, and besides, they barely knew me, it wasn't like i'd spent any time with the leading family or even Jacob, it was only just before the season that they showed any interest, the former not even doing that.
"They certainly didn't word it like that, the Luna made it seem that there was already an agreement between Jacob and I, that we'd maliciously planned our confirmation behind their back."
"They expected you to accept Jacob this time with their interference, yet you had the gall to say no to their face." He sounded a little amused at the fact.
Just because i was an omega didn't mean i lacked a backbone. I had always been stubborn, my mother had said more than once that i was as stubborn as a mule.
Anyone would struggle to get me to do something i truly didn't want to do. Even if i already intended to do it, being told to do it would put me off.
If i was sorting out my laundry to bring down and my mother called up the stairs to bring it down i would start to do something else like clean my bathroom just to have an excuse not to do it until enough time had passed that i considered i was doing it of my own volition.
"I'm stubborn, you know that, and besides, i keep my promises. I already said i would be another's season partner."
That and i lothed Jacob, i'm sure i would have concocted some sort of excuse even if i hadn't met Hamish.
He hummed. "I do get the feeling that there is more to it than that, i'm sure your father will tell me his side of things at his appointment this evening."
Oh... i forgot about that.
I groaned silently, i was sure my father would tell Tord gleefully about my obvious infatuation with Hamish, and yes, that would be the wording my father used.
Speaking of appointments and the alpha currently asleep on top of me, i had been thinking that Hamish would benefit from a session himself. I had noticed his neck and shoulders were quite tense, and his slouching certainly didn't help.
I made a mental note to mention it to Hamish when he awoke.