The Alphas And The Orphan

Wednesday 24th January

Ashton’s POV

Waking this morning with my fiancé in my arms is one of those moments I will never forget. I look down at my angel lying on my chest.

What she said last night plays over and over in my mind. Is she right? Am I really that important to her?

My brothers both know exactly who they are and what their role is, but I have always felt like the odd one out. Hunter and I are fierce warriors and leaders. Dad has trained us all to be strong alphas.

But I always defer to my brothers, let them make choices for the pack, but is that my role? To be the calm beneath the storm?

Ace, our fearless leader, is the one that makes the hard decisions and bares the weight of those decisions.

Alexei, the warrior, the one to head straight into battle without thought, the shield that we stand behind.

And then there is me. I am the one who makes dinner and is sent home with the girls, while my brothers fight for their lives.

I slide out from under Star, careful not to wake her. She screws her face up in protest, then grabs my pillow and sighs as she slips back into a deep sleep. Ace instantly snuggles deeper into her back.

Lex must already be up, so I pull on jeans, sweatshirt and boots and open the tent flap, both fire pits just outside the awning are lit, and the sides are down making the porch warm and toasty, Lex has been busy this morning, putting out beanbags and blankets and a folding table. But there is no sign of the man anywhere.

I sit down and wait.

My mind wanders again to the star’s words. I just don’t see myself the way she does. Is she telling the truth? I don’t mean she is lying to me, just that Star always sees the best in people.

I mean take her a*****e cousin, Sebastian she took years of beatings because of him, but she has given him a clean slate, a safe place to lay his head, she has even been to visit him to see if he needs help, and when he admitted he was struggling with money, she found him a part-time job and help him set a budget.

I asked her how she could forgive him for everything. She said he had never been taught another way, that he is a living being, he needs the opportunities to change.

Sensing my brother, I look up and see him walking towards the tent. He is loaded up with bags and baskets. I jog to him and take some of the load.

“Morning baby brother, are you the only one up?”

“yeah the other two are passed out, I think. The barley stirred when I got up.”

There are two thermal bags, a basket with fruits and yogurt, and one with flasks of coffee, crockery and cutlery. “I raided the pack kitchen. The omegas were cooking breakfast and when I said I wanted to get breakfast for you guys, they went crazy. There is enough food for ten of us.”

plonking himself down next to me, he pours us both coffee.

“We’re getting married, dude, goddess. Imagine us three months ago. The thought of getting hitched would have freaked me the f**k out.”

Chuckling, I look over at him.

“not me. I couldn’t wait to find our mate, get married, have pups. If I hadn’t been a triplet, I would have proposed and had her down the aisle the first day.”

I grin at him, but stop when I see the look on his face.

“Ash, do we make you feel you aren’t good enough? That we are better than you?”

I shake my head at him, “no Lex, you and Ace do nothing wrong, I just don’t know what my role is, Ace is the brains, you’re the brawn, what am I?”

“Thank the goddess for Star. She sees us in a way on one else ever has, and she is right. Yes, Ace is all about plans and decisions, and all the crappy stuff in the office that makes my skin crawl.”

He grins at me.

“And yes, I am the one that runs into a burning building, or takes on fifty guys on my own, because I don’t think about anything but the next fight.”

“But you little brother, are our glue. You are the one that we trust the most. Whenever I am about to do something stupid, I think about what you would say to me.”

“The other day, we didn’t send you with the girls because we are better fighters, we sent you to be with Star, we trusted that of all of us, you are the one that if s**t went south would put her safety above anyone else, that every decision you make will ensure that she will be ok.”

I stare at him. I can feel a stray tear run down my cheek. He stands and pulls me up and wraps me in a tight hug. And whispers in my ear.

“Don’t tell her but she is wrong about something, you have a part of all of us in you, if Ace and I died tomorrow, you have everything you need to be an amazing Alpha, but if either Ace or I were left alone we would fail, that’s another reason we send you with the girls, it’s protecting the pack from us.”

Crying into my brother’s shoulder, gripping his shirt. For the first time, I fully understand my role.

“love you little bro, more than you know.”