The Making of a Dark Gamma - Book 1

There’s a buzz in the pack, all guessing who is standing in front of the Alpha, all except James who is stood tight-lipped looking at her, disappointed that he hadn’t been in on the secret.

Pulling off the hood, she keeps her head bowed, her hair, which this morning was pinned tightly to her head, to hide that she was female, is now loose, she hadn’t bothered re-pinning it after shifting to wolf form, finding pins on the floor of a dark cave, not going to happen especially as she no longer needed to hide it, but after being crammed under a hood and soaked, it’s a dark brown mess of knots and tangles, but still long enough to belong to a female.

“Dear goddess”

Charlie mutters from behind the Alpha

She can feel the shock coming off Lance, his command aura not fully under control, the three of them have all seen her enough at school and working around the pack to know who it is and he’s pissed that an Omega took them all down.

“Look at me Hunter twenty-three and announce your name to the pack”

The Alpha’s words are firm and clear and while he recognises her, her back is to the pack, they are yet to find out who she is.

Swallowing slowly, she looks up avoiding the Alpha’s eyes out of habit

“Antonia Emma Marshall, Alpha”

She projects with confidence, forgetting she is supposed to keep up the appearance of an Omega wolf

The pack has gone quiet, there's a stunned silence, everyone knows that she’s the orphan of the pack, and ex-rogue made an omega, you can feel the shock that someone so low in rank had managed to take down the Alpha’s son and his team.

“While I’d like to congratulate you pup, unfortunately, you are disqualified as you don’t meet the requirements to enter the competition.

In entering this way, you have disgraced yourself, stopping one of the others, the rightful winner, from taking their true prize.”

Alpha Matthews's words cut into her.

While she understands what he’s saying, she disagrees, once all three of the hunted are ‘killed’, there’s a pack-wide message recalling all contestants bar those with trophies, clearly, she ignored that when the pack link opened as she held trophies.

The Alpha is toning down his anger in front of the Royal Delta, but it’s there, bubbling under the surface, as far as he is concerned, an Omega pup made a mockery of his son, and his son's leadership choices in front of the pack and worse, it was a female.

Dropping her head at his announcement, she can hear the words screaming in her head that she meets the requirements, she forces her body to still, no outward sign of anger or frustration, internally there’s a maelstrom of emotions, running through her.

She even went as far as checking them three times before she entered; her wolf was still being pushed down, but now she was snarling, not wanting to be insulted and denied.

Toni has an inner conflict, if he thinks she’s still an Omega, even after taking down his leadership, then not challenging his claims will mean she can sink, eventually, back into obscurity, but clearly, she can’t be a true Omega, they don’t get wolves until seventeen, occasionally eighteen like most unranked wolves.

Wolves born to the Alpha and sometimes Beta families often get their wolf at sixteen or in their sixteenth year, the stronger the line, the earlier in the year the wolf appears, and the direct line of the Royal family get theirs sometime in the fifteenth year, usually within the first six months, but Toni is barely fourteen, gaining a wolf so early is unheard of.

The Omega ranking was given to her when she joined, after being caught as a ‘rogue pup’, nothing she had said, told them she was an Omega wolf, so that's on them.

The desire to stand up for herself is high, but she bites her tongue, if she gives any indication of being a ranked wolf, then they’d be more likely to search the database and she has to be the harmless pup with no desire to answer back to anyone for a little while longer, well three years longer, until she hits seventeen and becomes an adult.

Cursing silently to herself, this wasn’t supposed to go this way, she was hoping the Alpha would want to sweep it under the rug quickly and award the prize to let this year die quickly, she took a deep breath, steadying herself, trying to work out how to challenge this as an unranked wolf would.

“Under what reasons do you deny this competitor the win?”

Delta Alek’s voice breaks into her internal turmoil.

The Alpha looks surprised at the question, hiding his annoyance, the Delta is after all the final adjudicator of the event; he starts listing off the reasons on his fingers.

“Well,

One - Females do not enter warrior training, which precludes her from entering the competition

Two – No one has seen her wolf or felt its presence and at fourteen, it’s too early to appear.

Three – She failed to get permission to enter the competition

Four – She lied to the Elders about who she was on the sign-up sheet

Five – Omega’s are not allowed to enter as they’ve had no weapon training

Oh, and finally, Six - she broke her nightly curfew in attending the competition.”

He stands back crossing his arms.

“For that much rule-breaking, she will need to be formally punished, although it brings me no joy to do so.”

When he mentioned formal punishment, she let a small whimper leave her throat, she was already an Omega and therefore the punishments were a bigger stain on her record and a ‘formal’ punishment usually meant cell time for an Omega, at least in this pack, the whip was rarely used, and never on a minor.

The Deadfalls pack is gentle in nature, it would be cell time or more likely extra work, neither worried her to be honest, but she had to act as if it did.

“I understand”

Delta Alek’s voice may have carried to Toni’s ears, but it feels like it’s about to break her heart.

“How old are you pup?” he turns his attention to Toni.

“Fourteen Delta.”

Her voice cracks as she speaks, her dad would have been proud of her acting skills if he was still alive, but her head remains bowed.

“And why are you an Omega?”

“Alpha Matthews kindly granted me a place in his pack when I was found, as an orphan, living alone.

I believe he gave me the rank to give me focus on understanding how a pack runs and to teach me how they work as a team, promising to review it when I hit adulthood, and for that, I am grateful to him.

The pack and leadership have been good to me, always treating me fairly and providing me with a safe place to live, clothes, food, a good education, kindness and gentle guidance when I needed it.”

Yes, it sounds like she’s a suck-up, but it’s true, the pack had been fair and kind to her and bad reports to the Royals would bring problems for the pack and they didn’t deserve that.

Delta Alek nods

“Alpha, has she caused any issues for you recently?” he turns his questions away from her

“She was doing well, apart from today’s stunt, she had one incident early on, but nothing out of the norm for pups her age.

I would be worried if there had been no high jinks at all, she works hard, is respectful, causes no real trouble and has done exceptionally well in school for someone of her background.

I’d planned to remove her Omega status at seventeen once she gained her wolf if she carried on that way.

This little stunt will be marked on her record now”

There’s the slightest hint of a growl to his words, Delta Alek turns back to Toni

“Why do you hide your wolf?”

Her wolf is well hidden, no one has even noticed that she has it before and she can see the Alpha staring at her, shock written over his face at the Delta’s words, trying to feel her wolf.

Usually, you can tell when someone’s got their wolf, you feel their presence in the pack link, it’s an instinct that the inner wolf reaches out to make connections, wolves are pack animals after all, Tyra, her wolf, decided not to do that.

But unlike everyone else he’s not assuming she doesn’t have a wolf; he’s asking why she’s hidden; but it was a pact Tyra and Toni made together when she came on the night of her fourteenth birthday, not wanting to bring attention to herself.

She licks her lips, staring at the ground, not sure how to answer him, briefly glancing around her, she can see the shock on several faces in the pack leadership, unlike him, they had assumed she had no wolf

“Well?”

He asks, gently lifting her head so she has to look at him, his green eyes are boring into hers bringing her wolf to the front, she can feel his wolf reaching out to try and make a connection with hers, and her wolf is ready to make people realise they aren’t an Omega, she’s way too proud, so Toni needs to come up with something quickly before she loses the battle with Tyra.

“Omegas aren’t supposed to gain their wolf so early.

I was embarrassed, I didn’t want to continue to be different, an odd rogue orphan,

I just wanted to fit in and be like the others for once.”

Toni’s voice is quiet and mouse like hoping to appease people, it’s the best response she can muster, she’s yet to persuade her wolf to not act pompously, but the truth is she didn’t want to be viewed as different, so that isn’t, technically, a lie, Delta Alek nods at her words.

“As far as I can see she meets the criteria for the competition.

The minimum warrior age is fourteen, granted it’s an archaic law and pups of that age aren’t accepted into full training as they need to grow and mature, but on a technicality, she meets the criteria.

The competition doesn’t require they have their wolf, although it’s recommended and those without need their Alpha’s permission in case they hit trouble, but she has her wolf.

She’s been a member of the pack in good standing as confirmed by you Alpha.

And she’s not under any form of active punishment.”

Alek’s words bathe Toni in a soothing calm, he’s standing up for her.

Alpha Matthews's eyes flash with annoyance, but while the man questioning him is a Delta, he’s here as an official representative of the Royal Pack, to oversee and adjudicate on the competition if needed.

As far as the competition is concerned, Delta Alek’s word is the law.

“The reason the rules state that the entrant must have met the minimum warrior age for training, rather than entered training, is that not all packs allow females or youngsters to train, so she cannot be excluded for that reason.

And while she’s hiding her wolf, it’s there, I can feel it, but it’s a simple thing to prove.”

He turns to face Toni

“Bring out your wolf, pup.”

Luckily, he didn’t make it a command, giving her a little time to think about this.

“Here Delta?” she swallows nervously “In front of everyone?”

She asks, hugging herself a little as if she’s concerned, she’s not a prude, but she has things to hide.

“Someone get her a blanket; it seems this pup is a shy one.”

Delta Alek’s voice is filled with humour, his lips turned up slightly and there’s a general light laughter from the pack, each person remembering their first few shifts and their initial embarrassment.

Her old pack used to mark their members, and while some here may not understand them, Delta Alek would, so she’s taking no chances.

Honestly, she doesn’t know how it was missed when she was originally ‘found’, but they’d thrown a large shirt at her quickly as she was all but naked, not bothering to check.

Once she has the blanket, she strips quickly under it and shifts.

In wolf form, her coat is a deep shiny chocolate brown, much like her hair, although around her neck her coat is more golden brown as if it had gone lighter on the ends, she has amber eyes and the extremities, the tips of her ears, tail and paws are black, with the fur under her belly, the same lighter golden shade of brown.

As wolves go, she’s neither ugly, nor striking in a way that stands out from the pack, pretty much the same as her human form, she’s run-of-the-mill ordinary to look at, within a pack, you wouldn’t look twice if you saw her in a town or the forest and that works really well, being average, not overly large, nor small she blends in, pulling no attention.

What she excels at, where she would pull attention, is being speedy, she’d give most wolves a run for their money, Charlie is the one she knows could beat her before she got her wolf, but with time, that’s likely to change, but like the human form, her wolf will continue to grow as she does for another four or five years, and if she is given a rank, well that gives any wolf a little extra size and power.

Since most people only get their wolves at seventeen, they see little size difference as they’ve had their main growth spurt already, those who get them earlier, grow compared to their human form, but people should overlook that, as she’s ranked as an Omega.

“Well, I think we can safely say she has a wolf, as witnessed by the pack.” Delta Alek states

“you can shift back now”

Looking at the blanket on the floor, she grabs it in her teeth, then drops and rolls before shifting back, not the most graceful action, but it covers her and allows her to shift safely, adjusting the blanket slightly in human form she hastily got dressed.

The Delta shakes his head at her actions.

“As an aside, I think it’s clear she’s not a real Omega wolf, she’s got an average-sized wolf already, and it will grow as she does.

Unless she lied about her age, but I felt no lie there.”

Her stomach drops, why did he have to vocalise that information?

He turns to her again

“What name did you use on the sign-up sheet?”

“Toni”

Yes, she spelt it with a y on the sheet, to make it seem masculine, but she’s hoping that won’t be brought up

“It’s the name I am called by in school and by my friends, Delta” she adds respectfully

Where did she get the idiot idea to come out with the rest of that statement, she wonders, it was far too bold for an Omega, and answering only the question asked had been drilled into her from a young age.

Another rule of her fathers

’Rule number five – Less is more

The less information you give someone the more control you retain because information can be used against you, it also worked with threats, the less detail you go into, the more their mind will fill in the details, based on their own worse fears’

However, she knows her attempt at justification failed, the oppressive aura from the Alpha has her baring her neck to him like a good little pack wolf.

“What time is your curfew?” he’s addressing Toni again.

“Eight pm Delta” He nods at her reply

“When she entered the competition, it would have ended before her curfew, at seven-thirty pm, I amended the timings, by extending it for an hour, so if anyone is at fault for breaking her curfew it’s me.

The taking of names is used to track the competitors in and out, and she used a name which is known and therefore she cannot be punished for it, the marshal is at fault if you wanted the full name, they should have insisted.

And to land two fast shots like that, she’s weapon trained, even if not by you, so she meets that criterion.

The only item that remains outstanding is permission wasn’t granted, which is a pack matter as it’s not within the rules of the competition, but for that, she cannot be denied the win.

Therefore, as the adjudicator, I deem she met the requirements and won the competition.”

Delta Alek crosses his arms as he looks at Alpha Matthews, who gives a small sigh and an even smaller nod of his head.

“Antonia Emma Marshall, as the competition adjudicator I name you the winner of the Deadfalls pack hunter competition.

Additionally, I extended the competition parameters of the challenge, you exceeded that by not only placing an arrow at the feet of both of us but also by breaking through the ring of warriors and taking the shot from within the protected area, without being challenged.

The Royal Pack accept females into training, so for the extended prize, recognising that you are an orphan and have no familial ties to this pack, I am offering you a place in the Royal Pack permanently, or you can choose to make your request to your Alpha for one of the standard awards.

It’s late for you and I understand that this new prize offer may be something you need to think about, therefore you have until ten am tomorrow to consider your choice of rewards, after which time, the offers to join the Royal Pack permanently, or temporarily, will be revoked as I will have left.

Do you understand?”

“Yes Delta, but I know the prize I would like to take if possible?” she asks trying to sound meek

No way in hell does she want to go to the Royal Pack, even temporarily, but if she announces her decision now, the Delta can leave and she can get on with trying to calm the situation down and staying out of further trouble.

He looks at her quizzically, then at the Alpha

“Do you have any issues with her declaring now Alpha Matthews?”

“None” his response is polite but curt.

“Go ahead, Toni”

She can tell he’s annoyed but thinks it’s better to get it over with now, it may calm him slightly, so like a good little Omega, she keeps her head bowed as she speaks.

“Alpha, if it’s possible, I’d like to take the year of extra tutoring as my prize.

You have been kind enough to provide me with a great education, so I hope that maybe I can, alongside my pack duties, work towards becoming a lawyer to help the pack in the future.”

‘Kiss ass one-oh-one complete! Dang, I’m good’ She hides her smile well as she thinks that comment.

The Alpha’s posture has softened, she honestly thinks he feared her asking for warrior training, and in this pack, warriors and trackers are males only, it’s the only bias the Alpha has, any other role is open to she-wolves, just not those he believes puts them directly in the path of danger.

It’s the Delta that is now looking at her oddly, as if she’d done something that surprised him, in truth, with her skills to take down all three of the hunted, he also probably expected her to ask for tracker or warrior training at a minimum.

“Granted Toni, I know you have worked hard to achieve results in school, and I’m glad to see you recognise you still have pack duties.

Therefore, in awarding this prize I remove the rank of Omega from you.”

Toni didn’t think she was totally out of the woods, but he’s relaxed a little, maybe the path to absolution would be a quicker one than she feared, as she’d gone under the guise that forgiveness can be easier to ask for than permission.

“You may go, I will discuss with you the reprimand for not asking permission tomorrow morning, nine am in my office” Alpha Matthews states blandly

“Yes Alpha, thank you”

Toni bowed her head deeply and started to make her way directly to the pack house, she wouldn’t be celebrating with the pack tonight that’s for sure, but as she left, she glanced at the Delta and honestly didn’t like how he was looking at her.