[Austin]It had been several weeks since Carmen saved me and brought me into her home. Rock had gotten more comfortable with me and I was learning the difference between the harassment I went through in my pack and a troll’s nature. Sometimes he was mean, but he meant it with a good heart. Friendly poking had been difficult for me to deal with when it started, but I realized that he didn’t mean it in a bad way. It took a lot of unlearning to be comfortable. For the most part, though, Rock was polite to me. Today, we were cooking a huge feast. Even Carmen was helping. The shorter side of the kitchen was mostly done. It was enough that we could prep there and even use the ovens. Carmen and I were on side dishes, while Rock worked on the meats. He had gotten snow off of the giant rotisserie outside and the grill. He was also cooking meats in his giant ovens and roaster. It would take a lot to feed everyone who was coming to dinner tonight. This was the first time Carmen’s family would officially meet Rock’s family. I asked them if they wanted me to hide out in my room, but they invited Carmen’s friend Gemma and wanted me to keep her entertained since none of their other friends could make it. We were doing dinner later so she could attend the dinner at her aunt’s house and with us. Carmen said she was inviting Gemma because family holidays always made her sad. She lost her parents when she was little and was always reminded of it around this time of year. This would be the first time I got to have Thanksgiving dinner while it was warm, instead of eating scraps in the kitchen of the packhouse with the other omegas. We would always feed the children and more malnourished omegas first. Sometimes it meant that I didn’t get much, but seeing them eating as much as possible, for what could be the first time in months for some, made me happier. They were always grateful and giving to those who needed it more always made me feel better about my position in the pack. I didn’t get much, but I had more than the other omegas, just because of my position. Regular small meals was better than occasional scraps. Since I moved into Rock and Carmen’s house, I had been plagued by the idea of people back home going hungry. I’d been eating so much here, I wondered how I managed to survive before.Entertaining Carmen’s friend in return for a real feast was an easy enough job. Carmen told me about Gemma being the woman who Timothy assaulted. She told me the entire story and I wanted to meet the woman who put him in his place. Next month, I would start working with Rock at his construction company. He said I would be on cleanup duty. That would mean I would go around the site and remove garbage and excess bits of things. I would sweep up after any sawing and would do a final cleaning once the job was finished. It would be a good start. He had a camera they used to take pictures and he said I could take the pictures after I cleaned. I was excited about that. Sure, it wasn’t art, but it was doing something I enjoyed. “Keep stirring, Austin,” Carmen chided as we were working on the meal. “Sorry, got distracted.” “I still can’t believe none of our troll friends are coming,” she said with a sigh. “It’s better if our families get to know each other without all of our friends here,” Rock replied. “Plus, my house is big, but it’s not as big as my mom’s place. Having twelve trolls here without the outside being an option for them could be dangerous for all you smaller beings.”“Yeah, but I miss our dinners with friends. I don’t feel like I have time to catch up with everyone. Can I invite Pyla, Tana, and Gemma over for lunch or something? We have a lot of girl talk to catch up on.” “Of course. I’ll plan to go out with the guys and you girls can have a girls’ night. We’ll take Austin with us,” Rock said. “I’m fine here with the girls,” I offered. “No, we’re taking you with us. You need to get out of the house and that’ll be safe. We’ll go to the troll village and see if you can handle a night with one of our lovely troll ladies.” He winked at me. “Rock! We just started getting him to a healthy weight. If you do that, he would have to take more time off to heal. You will not hook him up with a troll woman!”Rock laughed and shook his head, but didn’t say he wasn’t going to do that. My stomach dropped. Maybe I could change his mind before that happened. When they were talking about who was coming to the dinner I asked about their fathers, since neither talked about them. That was when I learned that Carmen’s father left the pack and disappeared and Rock’s father died making Rock. “I’m an omega. I don’t think I would survive that. Thank you for the offer, though,” I told him. “Fine, didn’t realize you were such a coward. We’ll find a half-troll. You can survive that. If Carmen can, you can.”I groaned, making them both laugh. I didn’t tell them I’d never been with a woman before. Timothy had his brother order me never to sleep with a woman who wasn’t my mate. It couldn’t entirely stop me if I wanted to, but the threat of what would happen to me if I disobeyed was enough to stop me. The idea of being with a woman was a little daunting to me. I didn’t know what a man should. The closest I had ever been to even seeing it was guarding the room where Timothy was bedding some girl who couldn’t resist him. Some of the omegas lived in a house where they were kept for pleasuring other members of the pack. Both male and female omegas. They only had to be attractive enough and not have a mate in their future. The Gamma picked them out when they came to report if they were rejected or rejected by their mate. That was considered the second-best position to get. Food was supplied to their house, which was enough to feed all of them comfortably. If an omega was in that position and got too old, they were given a good job in the pack lands and kept very well. A few women had become second-chance mates to men who visited them. It was sick that it was considered one of the best jobs to have in the pack lands. Some tried to avoid it, but being in that house kept you safe. If you were chosen by the Gamma and refused the position, you were still treated like ѕhit and also used however they wanted. I took over the cooking when guests started arriving and Carmen needed to go out to introduce everyone and entertain them. Carmen came in a few times with things people brought with them. I focused on getting everything into dishes for serving. There was a folding table where we were keeping everything. Carmen’s brother came in with a stack of pies. They smelled great. Not just like pie, but there was another scent clinging to them. His mate followed, carrying something else. She didn’t stick around in the kitchen but headed right back out. He came up beside me and looked over what I was doing. I shivered a little. “Don’t worry, Austin. I won’t hurt you. I only wanted to see what you were working on. You have to loosen up. Someday, you’ll be able to be in the same room as me without smelling like you’re afraid. I promise.” “Sorry, Beta.” “My name is Mike. In my sister’s house, there is no rank among werewolves. She told me that the first time I came over and met you. Please, call me Mike,” he told me. “I think it might still take me a while to accept that, but I’ll do my best.” He put a hand on my shoulder in a friendly way. “Good. I’m going to go find my mate. The pies are from Gemma. She made them herself. We were her ride out, so I told her I would carry them in while she got caught up with Carmen.” After that, he went to talk to Rock for a little while and ended up helping Rock get meat carved and put on platters. The air was tranquil and I felt myself relaxing more. The day that I first met him, he hadn’t been anything like any Beta I’d ever met. It was easier for me to relax around him. Within the next hour, he was helping me, too. I never thought I would see a Beta doing omega work. He did it as if it was something he did every day. Rock and Mike started taking platters of meat out to the dining room. I kept on working on getting the sides put in dishes. When I finally got the last of it done, I started helping pull food into the dining room.  We set the table and had the table and sideboard full of food. Rock had extended the table to be a lot longer and it filled the large dining room. With six trolls, we would need the space. Rock told me that full trolls were bigger than he was and he was the only half-troll at the dinner that night. I went into the kitchen to get the rolls. I’d realized I forgot them and wanted to make sure they were out for everyone. Carmen made them and they smelled delicious. While I was getting them, Mike and Rock were announcing the meal. I cleaned up a little more. I didn’t want to get in anybody’s way when I went out there. Once I was sure everyone had probably been seated, I picked up the basket of rolls and went into the dining room. They were not settled. A troll was arguing with Carmen’s brother about the seating. We hadn’t figured on making place markers. Trolls were fairly informal and this wasn’t a formal thing, so the werewolves would be as well. A woman who was an older version of Carmen sat next to a rather large troll who I was pretty sure was a woman, but didn’t look much different from the other trolls. Except for the one who looked like a tree. I remembered Carmen saying Rock’s sister-in-law was a tree troll. The tree woman was standing next to the man who was arguing with Mike. Beth was looking exasperated by the men as they argued. They blocked the entrance from the living room, and I could see another troll behind them, who looked frustrated. I hurriedly put the rolls on the table and stepped back toward the kitchen door.“Carmen should sit at the other end of the table. The ends are seats of honor and we should honor both of our hosts,” Mike insisted. “Trolls sit with their mates, no matter the situation. Carmen should sit with Rock and I should sit at the end of the table as the highest-ranking person in this room,” Rock’s brother replied. “Stop arguing, Mike, Haldor, please,” Carmen said to them. “Where do you want to sit, little wolf? It’s up to you,” Haldor told her. “I’ll sit with Rock. Haldor, you can sit at the end of the table with your mate. Mike, you and Beth can sit between mom and me. Goran and his mate will sit on the other side of Ilana, then Gemma and Austin can sit next to them. There. I settled it,” she stated firmly. Mike seemed slightly crestfallen, but he didn’t push it further. The men moved to their seats and the rest of the guests came in. That’s when I smelled that amazing scent even more than I had before. I looked at the doorway to the living room and saw her. My wolf, Knut, bounced up and sat at attention as I stared at her. She was poetry. Her beauty was nothing I could even begin to describe. Her hair was reddish brown with glimmering streaks of red and her eyes were a gorgeous gray with dark green around her pupils. Even standing there, I could see the grace that surrounded her. Quickly, I turned and went back into the kitchen. My mate was here. She was here and I wasn’t ready for her. I wasn’t as healthy as I wanted to be when I met her. What if she rejected me? How could a Gamma blood werewolf ever want someone like me? I was a worthless omega rogue.