JACOB

You have got to be kidding me!

I am here, worried sick about Skylar, and he decided to pull a prank on me?

Son a bitch!

He was lucky I couldn't get my hands on him, that fucker!

This is not the time to be playing with my feelings, not when I thought I would lose you to a freaking avalanche of all things! That is NOT okay, not in the slightest!

He is lucky, I am feeling too relieved about him being alive to be truly mad at him.

That was horrible to go through, I can not lie. If I never have to visit the love of my life in a hospital again, it will be too soon. What a whirlwind of emotions over a completely avoidable accident. I cannot believe a 30-year-old institution was caught off guard by an avalanche in Colorado.

I am sorry, but I don't buy that these types of things were not taken into account when they built this place right at the edge of The Rocky Mountains. I am too much of a native to swallow this bullshit. Even my old school had protocols for avalanches, why wouldn't this place have them?

Anyway, all the students caught by the snow were successfully rescued and are well now.

Skylar is recuperating well and soon he will be discharged from the hospital. Frederick decided that since he is already in Colorado and the annual parents' day is going to be next Saturday, he will stay here for the rest of the week and make a holiday with his wife.

He said he and Dahlia never went to Boulder or Denver before, so he is going to take his wife sightseeing after Skylar is discharged. For now, they are keeping a watchful eye on their son's recuperation.

Seth is breathing a sigh of relief for his twin's health. He was tense as hell, worrying about Skylar. We all were, but I would never compare my feelings to their familial bond. I don't have any siblings - Shawn's kids don't count - so I would have loved to share that kind of bond with someone.

Angela Lockwood has all the necessary reports from the incident and has now issued an official Memorandum to the parents and students, apologizing for the mistake on behalf of the school's administration.

The truth of the matter is that it was an oversight by the Security Guards, who were supposed to have locked the castle down, but failed to do so. And Professor Roberts isn't used to being in charge, so he did not know that he was supposed to check if they did that or not.

Even so, as soon as the students left the first tower, he should have called them back immediately, instead of letting them play in the snow. Had he taken a firm stand, maybe the students could have escaped the secondary avalanche and this whole debacle could have been avoided.

Besides Roberts, half of the security guards were dismissed and Mr. Kirchner was given a formal warning. It was his job to make sure that his employees were doing what they were supposed to do. In fact, he was only spared because he was never given the lockdown order by Roberts, though that should have been 'pro form' and not incidental for the measures to be taken.

In all honesty, this was a clusterfuck of mistakes that never should have happened in the first place and I am positive it would never have happened under Headmaster Lockwood (Senior).

While her father is recuperating in the hospital, Angela has been taking charge of the school and keeping the ball rolling until we break for the upcoming Winter. The students were overjoyed to hear that Skylar will make a full recovery.

Out of all the students caught in the avalanche, he was the one who suffered the most by taking the longest to be rescued from the snow. Seth and I were back taking our exams by Wednesday morning. We had a lot to make up for, as were the students in general.

Fortunately, we still have a week of school to make up for it.

When Skylar returned to Ravenwood, late in the afternoon, all the students were there to give him a round of applause for surviving. He was hugged and cheered by the entire Alpha House, not to mention some staff members as well. It was a festive occasion.

The Alpha couple came with him, so the students collectively bowed their heads in deference. Frederick left his son to talk to his friends while he and Dahlia went ahead to talk to Angela. We assembled in the common area of the first tower, where we were happy to see the blonde Alpha safe and sound. Especially me.

"I heard Jayden's mom is the new Headmaster. What is that like?" He asked around with a mischievous grin. Jayden was not pleased by his tone.

"Dude, Jayden's mom is kinda hot." One of the students replied and Jayden glared daggers at him.

"She's married!" He snarled at him, not amused by seeing his mother being objectified like this.

"Wow. So our new Headmaster is a MILF. How about that?" Skylar said, provocatively.

"How about I put you back in the hospital? Would you like that?" Jayden glared daggers at him and all was well in the world. They really cannot seem to stop bickering.

"Is the guy walking with your parents, your personal assistant? I thought he'd be older." Roberto commented, surprised by the fact that Santos cannot be older than 30, at most.

"Yes, that is Jorge Santos, the man who always comes through for us. Poor guy, he has been away from his son since Monday. I hope my parents let him go back to Texas soon." Skylar acknowledged, feeling bad for the single father who has been away from his son for two days, since it's already Wednesday.

"He has a kid already? Wow! I hope his wife is taking care of him then." Kyle noted, perplexed by the surprise information.

"He doesn't have a wife, he is a single parent." Skylar spoke, feeling bad about him.

"Why? Did his wife die?" Kyle asked him, curiously.

"No, it's kind of a sad story, actually." He replied, dreading telling his story.

Skylar took a breath, feeling sorrowful about Santos' life story. So did Seth, not far from him. All of us looked at the twins apprehensive but eager to learn the harrowing tale.

"When Santos was in High School, he was excellent at basketball. His coach said he was a lock for a college scholarship. One day, he was playing around with his friends after school, no big deal." Seth began telling us the story with a saddened tone.

"It would have been just like any other day, but unfortunately, he was struck by heat that afternoon." Seth continued, feeling sorry for him.

"Wait, he is an Omega?" I gasped in shock to have missed this fact about him.

It's not like anyone can tell who is an Omega by scent alone. There are some indicators, but nothing definitive. Unless that person is in heat, then it's obvious.

"Yes, he is." Seth replied, sorrowful. His expression was of pain, as was Skylar's.

"Oh, my Goddess! What happened to him?" Roberto gaped at him in shock.

Seth burst into tears, being consoled by Jayden right away. He was too distraught to continue telling the tale that seemed to be hitting him the hardest. As an Omega, I can already predict where this is going... O.o

"He was taken advantage of by his teammates. By the time he was found, it looked like the set of a porn film going on in the basketball court. It was horrible for him." Skylar told us the harrowing tale, feeling incredibly sorry for him. Seth was weeping in Jayden's arms.

This story rings much more deep for us Omegas than the rest of the students.

"When his parents heard about what happened, they blamed him. It was so awful. He had to quit the team because there was no climate for him to continue playing with those guys anymore. No one wanted to take responsibility for what happened to him." Skylar told us, disturbed.

"When he fell pregnant, his parents disowned him for, quote 'being a whore', and kicked him out of the house. He was abandoned by everyone, it was horrible." Skylar sounded profoundly distraught by the story. His brother was still crying as he heard that.

"The school guidance counselor called my mom to report the situation to her and see if there was anything she could do for him. Immediately, she got him a bed in the pack house while she booked a visit to talk to his parents. But they wouldn't be moved from their decision." Skylar shed a tear, feeling terrible for him.

All of us were hearing this story with saddened expressions, completely taken aback by it.

"My father had his Beta investigate what happened that day, but no charges were ever brought against his teammates for what happened. They all claimed that Jorge's heat made them behave like that, and none of them were even quote 'into men'." Skylar continued, angrily.

"Since none of them were going to take responsibility for Santos' pregnancy, my dad decided to take matters into his own hands. He visited the first boy who took Santos that day and told him, in front of his parents, that whether he wanted to be a father or not, he was going to be one and he would have to pay child support to Jorge." He stated, firmly.

"The boy's parents claimed that they would need concrete proof before any payment would be made; of course, dad agreed to it. But he told them that after the DNA test proved it was his son, either they pay child support or he would ban the boy from the pack and put his lawyers on the case." He said, feeling vindicated.

"Meanwhile, mom got Santos a part-time job in one of her charities while he was still at school to support himself. The room and board at the pack house is cheap, so he did not have any difficulties." He reported, proud of his mother for having done that for him.

If you ask any werewolf, they will tell you that pack is just another word for family. Wolves thrive in pack for a reason. An Alpha is more than just a leader, he is the father of the entire pack, so to speak. He has a civic duty to correct what is wrong, punish who breaks the law, and help those in need. That is the core value of a leader, what he can do for those who require him the most.

"His friends at school threw him a baby shower to get him settled before the baby came. When Santos gave birth to his little boy, he had already graduated from High School. My mother placed him in a one-bedroom apartment in one of the Stronghold's buildings. Since the other dad refused to acknowledge his fatherhood, once he had to take care of the baby alone, my parents hired him as our personal assistant to work from home. This way, Santos — and his baby — would have access to the full set of benefits as an employee of the corporation." Skylar said, emotionally.

"From that day on, he became our assistant and has remained so until this day. That was eleven years ago." He concluded the harrowing tale.

Oh, my Goddess! That was not the idea I had of Santos' story. I am gobsmacked.

"Wow, dude. It's a terrible story, but your parents were great to him." Roberto told him, feeling happy that the Strongholds took charge of the situation and were instrumental for him to become the successful man that he is today.

"They really were. I don't want to brag, but my mom is the best Luna our pack has ever had." Skylar spoke, feeling proud of her.

"Jorge has been with our family for so long, that now I think of him as a part of us. It will be weird if he ever decides to work on something else. Or if he gets promoted." Seth opined, tearing up.

"Yeah." His brother agreed, breathing out a sigh.

"And the boy's father never acknowledged that he had a son?" Roberto asked him, curiously.

"Sadly, no. But his parents are completely in love with Matt, their grandchild. He is like the sweetest child you'll ever meet." Skylar replied, saddened.

Wow. This day has taken such a turn for the unexpected. I am gobsmacked at Santos' story. So sad and so relatable in a sense. Why do some men refuse to acknowledge paternity like it was optional?

I mean, come on...

The daddy issues are triggering me after hearing that disturbing story. This is everything my mother has ever wanted to protect me from. Seth is in shambles after reliving that cautionary tale for us Omegas.

"That guy is the one missing out on being part of the kid's life." Kyle commented, feeling bad about the situation.

"You can say that again." I breathed out a sigh, relating to the situation.

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking and reminiscing before dinner was served. It was nice to have my beloved Alpha back at Ravenwood like he was supposed to be. He enjoyed being the man of the hour, and my heart was completely broken after hearing Santos's story. That was not alright, but the point is that he succeeded despite everything that was thrown at him.

You shouldn't underestimate us Omegas, we are a resilient bunch.

https://youtu.be/6J538b-OLRU

A|N: BOOM!

I bet you did not see this coming.

'Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you are completely unaware of.'

OFF: What an icon! One of her greatest hits.

We are counting down to 100 and the most shocking twist I have ever written!

If I were you, I'd sign up for my Patreon account right now to read the next 10 (TEN) chapters of this book. The twists and turns are waiting for you.

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Next is "Es Por Ti" (It's For You).

Love,

Léo.