Annie Nicholas: The Omegas

“I found the solution to our problem!” Eric strode into Sugar’s living room holding an envelope. He handed it to her and joined the rest of his werewolf pack lounging on her mismatched furniture.

Sugar examined the front, then the back of it. “Pal Robi Incorporated. What’s this?”

“It’s our salvation.” Eric shifted in his seat to lean forward. “Read it to everyone.”

She slid her fingernail in a corner, tearing it open. The letter was printed on good quality paper with a huge golden company emblem stamped at the top. An errant blond curl slid in front of her eyes, she shoved it back behind her ear.

To the Omega pack:

I have reviewed the details of your plight. Pal Robi Incorporated deals mostly in security issues, but I find your problem worthy of my personal attention. Enclosed you will find a non-negotiable contract. Please review it closely, and have your signature notarized. The return fax number is listed on the contract so proceedings can begin. Mail the original to my office. Thank you for your business.

Sincerely,

Daedalus Pal Robi

As Sugar scanned the contract a cold surge of intuition clenched her stomach. Shocked confusion exploded inside her mind, robbing her of any coherent thought. “You hired a vampire?” Her shout shattered the silence around them.

The pack responded to her outburst with low growls directed at Eric.

On days like this she wondered what she’d gotten herself tangled in. She wasn’t pack, just a plain vanilla human. The Omegas were her neighbors. They were also her best friends.

Every full moon they became werewolves, each of them outcasts from their old packs. Driven by loneliness, Eric had solicited Sugar to help him search for others like himself. Werewolves with no attitude. Geeks of the underworld. Pansies of the paranormal.

Their friendship spanned years, since high school, when he’d rescued her from a home of drug abuse. Eric had treated her like a little sister, advising her on life in general. When he survived his werewolf attack, both their worlds shattered and their roles reversed.

Eric found four others to join him: Sam, Tyler, Katrina and Robert. No alphas ruled in this pack. They needed each other, so they became a family. All five lived in the apartment next to her.

Eyes wide, Eric held his hands out in front of him. “Mr. Pal Robi is offering to teach us how to fight.”

Sugar tilted her head as she surveyed her friend. “Yeah, for a substantial fee. How can you guys afford this?” He always thought with his heart.

Eric looked at his pack, pleading. “Before you make any judgments, let’s have Sugar read the contract out loud.”

She held it in front of her.

This is an agreement between Pal Robi Incorporated and Eric, Sam, Katrina, Tyler, and Robert, from here forward to be known as the Omegas.

Scope:

1. Pal Robi Inc. will provide to the Omegas, training in defense, hand-to-hand combat and small weapons use.

2. Training will take place for the duration of the period beginning with the trainer’s arrival until the challenge date.

3. Combat training is inherently dangerous. Pal Robi Inc. is not responsible for injury or death sustained during such training.

4. Trainer will not intentionally hurt and-or kill any Omega during the period of this agreement.

Responsibilities of the Omegas:

1. Omegas will provide trainer from Pal Robi with appropriate lodgings.

2. Omegas will provide daylight security of said trainer.

3. Omegas will submit to the direction of the trainer without question for the duration of the training.

Fees:

1. Omegas agree to pay Pal Robi Inc. $8,000 in cash prior to the beginning of training.

2. In addition, Omegas will provide the trainer with fresh, consumable blood upon request.

Penalties:

1. Failure to provide payment renders this agreement null and void.

2. Failure to abide by the terms specified represents a breach of contract which renders the agreement null and void.

3. Breach of contract will result in an immediate investigation. Vengeance will be swift and unmerciful.

Sugar placed the contract on her lap while waiting for their reactions.

Robert held up his hand to speak, like a kid in a classroom.

She sighed. How could this pack of puppies fight a pack of wolves? “Robert, speak up. You don’t need to ask permission to talk anymore, remember?”

He grinned sheepishly. “What do they mean ‘vengeance will be swift and unmerciful?’”

They turned to Eric, but it was Tyler who answered. “It means if anything happens to the vamp, we can kiss our asses goodbye.”

Eric stood to face his pack mates, staring at each one in turn. “How can we not hire him? The Ayumu pack officially challenged us. One of us has to fight and beat one of their alphas in a month. There’s no other way.”

“We be absorbed again,” Katrina whispered in her exotic oriental accent, as she hugged her knees tight against her chest. Being a submissive female in a pack equated to being anyone’s meat. Sugar tried to help Katrina open up and come to terms with those old wounds, but they kept her captive, stuck in this phase for life.

Tyler shuffled closer to Katrina, petting her long, black, silken tresses. She shrank from him, fear etched on her delicate features.

He looked at Sugar and shrugged. It made her furious to watch Katrina cringe. Nothing would make her happier than to get some kind of revenge on the pack mates that did this to her dainty friend. How did preying on weaker members equate to strength? She just couldn’t understand werewolves.

“Couldn’t you run away?” The weight of Sugar’s words hung in the air.

Eric crossed his arms. “There will always be another Ayumu pack wherever we go. We’re finally happy. We have jobs, friends, and a home. It’s all worth fighting for, right guys?”

Sugar looked around her disorganized living room at her stray werewolf friends. They nodded to each other, sealing their fates.

There went her quiet life.

A vampire would be moving in next door.

Two nights later Sugar heard struggling outside her apartment door. The book in her hand didn’t grab her attention like the racket in the hall did. Standing, she left the book behind and tiptoed to the door. She cracked it open to peek outside. Eric, Tyler and Robert were carrying a large, black, shiny coffin past her apartment.

Sugar sighed and rubbed her chin. She’d like to hide in here for a month, not wanting to meet the trainer. It was silly to worry about this stranger, but he meant change.

Vampires had announced their existence years ago, becoming legal citizens. This one apparently ran his own business, which would help her friends. It wasn’t like he’d be something from the horror movies that had kept her awake with nightmares when she was a kid. She squared her shoulders. Time she faced her own demons and met this new neighbor.

She padded down the carpeted hall barefoot, to where the boys were trying to wedge the coffin through their doorway.

The thin Weres battled with the box, and she smiled at the sight. “I think you need to turn it sideways and slide it at an angle.” The coffin shone like glass. Temptation got the best of her, and she ran a finger along the surface. It felt cool. “Is he in there?”

“No, he’s not.” A rich, masculine voice drifted over her shoulder.

Sugar spun around, sucked in a hard breath, and stepped back against the coffin. Magazines ran pictures of mainstream vampires. TV even showed a few interviews with them, but nothing prepared her for this particular one.