Chapter Text
Rolling his neck, Anthony sighed heavily, head falling back against the headrest of the driver’s seat. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the short moment of peace until he had to go inside his house.
For a few years, he was the only Alpha in his pack—his family. Benedict—his only true littermate considering the small age gap of two years—was an Omega which was pleasant. His younger brother perfectly balanced him out especially after their father had passed away.
Only for Colin to start showing signs of presenting a year after. Now there was a baby Alpha in the house again.
“Time’s up,” Anthony muttered to himself, grabbing his school bag and making his way up the path to the Bridgeton house.
As soon as he entered, he slowly set his backpack down. He warily toed his shoes off, listening for any noise. The house was suspiciously quiet. At that time of day when he returned from his lectures, the younger pups should be in the nursery with the nanny, Mrs. Wilson, and Eloise and Francesca would be completing any assignments for their fifth and fourth grade classes. The twins, Colin and Daphne, who were just beginning to show signs of their Alpha and Omega designations were supposed to also be doing their homework before they were taken to their extracurricular activities.
It was a normal occurrence for Daphne, the more docile of the twins, to take a break from her work to visit the nursery or to build a nest to cuddle with her sisters. She had started nesting a few weeks ago and she would get restless if she didn’t see to the comfort of her siblings. Benedict had been similar as a teenager and could be seen around the house carrying at least one of the pups in his arms—usually Colin or Eloise who needed his calming pheromones the most.
A sure sign that Eloise was likely to be an Alpha as well. God help them all.
Colin had become even more hyperactive as he entered puberty and began displaying more obvious signs of his designation. If it wasn’t the teething it was the need to roughhouse. Anthony couldn’t turn any corners without—
There! It was as Anthony walked through the foyer and under the parallel set of stairs that led to the upper floor that a spike of smooth amber, oakwood, bergamot, and ocean spray flooded his nose.
A battle cry rang out as something heavy dropped on Anthony’s back. Gangly limbs wrapped around his neck and torso, their hold tightening as Anthony struggled to fling his attacker off of him.
“Colin!” Anthony grunted, falling forward a bit under Colin’s weight. For a twelve year old he was awfully strong.
A bad sign for the future if this behavior continued as Colin got older and larger. He had already shot up half a foot in the last two years and was no longer smaller than Daphne or Eloise who had been tall for a seven year old.
It was typical for young Alphas to exert energy by wrestling with other Alphas in their pack. Anthony used to play in the same fashion with their Alpha father when he was a child, but Anthony was positive that he had never turned so aggressive and violent with his father the way Colin was with him.
Benedict had explained that their father was a mated Alpha and their pack leader. That and there was no territory to claim as they were all a pack of blood relatives and no potential mates.
Which wasn’t true with Anthony and Colin.
Anthony still didn’t have a mate and he was in no rush to make such a commitment. That and to him the Featherington brood were just pups.
Born to a Beta father and an Omega mother, the Featherington girls were playmates of his younger siblings. The eldest, Prudence, was already well into puberty with no signs of any designation. The second eldest, ditzy Philippa, was an Omega and could usually be seen socializing with Daphne. Felicity was Hyacinth’s age, only a toddler. The third daughter, Penelope, was the problem.
Not often, but not unusual, some children were early bloomers. Penelope Featherington had begun to display signs of an Omega designation a few weeks back around the same time that Eloise had gone into a panic because of a blood stain on the seat of her friend’s dress.
Her floral and citrus notes were negligible to Anthony, lost in the scents of his family and pack. The already protective feelings he had for her and her sisters who had no alpha in their pack only increased a fraction.
The same could not be said for Colin.
Anthony was in the habit of ruffling the hair of all of his siblings and caressing them with the gland in his inner wrist to scent mark them. Benedict and their mother often did the same. He had always done the same with Penelope Featherington whenever she was over to play with the four middle siblings.
The last time he had attempted to do so, Colin had growled at him from across the room, his body tensing at the action. Anthony had pulled his hand away immediately and watched as Colin rubbed his cheek and neck on the top of Penelope’s head right where Anthony’s fingers had been. The little menace had glared at him the entire time, even as he started purring at Penelope’s proximity.
Anthony had rolled up his newspaper and whacked Colin on the back of his head instinctively. To say their mother was not happy was putting it mildly.
“Goddamn spider monkey,” Anthony growled, stumbling into the family room. He bumped hard into the back of the three-seater and the momentum flipped Colin off of his back and safely onto the cushions of the couch.
Colin growled, baring his alpha canine teeth at him. If Anthony weren’t so irritated the sight could have been adorable. He remembered when they started growing in after Colin lost his milk teeth and they all waited to see if they would be as large as an Alpha’s or an Omega’s sharpened canine teeth.
“I will get the hose,” Anthony threatened him, narrowing his eyes and bracing himself.
Colin didn’t heed the warning and launched his body at his older brother, wrapping his legs around Anthony's waist and his arms around his neck, tackling him to the floor.
“Benedict!” Anthony cried out as he fell backwards.
It was going to be a long afternoon.
Anthony held his head up by propping his cheek against his fist, elbow on the dining room table. He groaned under his breath as his head pounded, throbbing harder when one of his relatives spoke a little more loudly in their excitement.
Violet shot him a sympathetic smile from the other end of the long table before she turned to Hyacinth who sat on a booster seat next to her and she asked her how she liked her food. Gregory, on their mother’s other side started babbling as if he was the one spoken to.
Because it was a Friday, Penelope Featherington had come to sleepover with the girls, although Eloise did monopolize her attention. The girls giggled as Daphne imitated the nanny for their and Francesca’s amusement. Each squeal was a stab to his head.
The girls were not to blame for his predicament. Anthony should have known not to attempt to use alpha commands on Colin earlier. In a normal situation, alpha commands were draining, using up far too much energy for them to be worthwhile. To use an alpha command on a baby Alpha? Pointless and ineffective. There was a period of time when Alphas were awakening that not even their pack leader could control a youngling. The first time Anthony had attempted an alpha command on an eleven year old Colin, who had been acting up more than usual and destroying his bedroom, it had left him bedridden with a debilitating migraine for a full day.
And Colin’s room remained a mess until Benedict had made him a nest to soothe him, settling Colin in the center and letting him scratch at his scent glands and chew on a teething block in peace. It had been humiliating to be one upped by an Alpha brat that was almost half his size.
Anthony reached out to grab a potato roll that remained on a serving plate in front of his dish. Quicker, smaller hands snatched the plate away. Colin glared at him with a small snarl. Instantly the snarl vanished as if it had only been a figment of Anthony’s imagination as Colin turned towards Penelope and offered her the last roll which she accepted with a sweet smile. Colin beamed at her, cheeks rosy as he began purring lightly.
Anthony massaged his temples with his index and middle fingers, muttering reassurances under his breath.
This would only last a few short years. Right?