Chapter Text
Shane would always be grateful to his omegin for two things--for giving him life and for giving him hockey. If only his omegin could have made the choice to mate with a better alpha, an alpha who would have been kinder to both of them. Shane grew up hearing over and over from his alphahole sire how his omegin had failed to give birth to an alpha heir or even a serviceable beta. The fact that the only one of the babies that his omegin had "shit out" that had survived birth was a useless omega had been an unending source of anger for Shane's sire, and he rarely failed to take out that anger on his mate and child.
When a ice skating rink was built on a formerly vacant lot near the run down apartment complex where Shane grew up, his omegin had taken him to the rink for a free introductory hockey lesson just to see if six year-old Shane would like it. Shane had in fact loved it more than anything before in his short life and had begged to be able to continue with lessons. It wasn't until much later that Shane understood that his omegin had paid for the lessons with his own money, the credits that the provincial government had deposited into his account before he mated. That was the only money that an omegin legally had control over and the only monetary resource available if an abused omegin wanted to try to escape from his alpha. He had used his own potential for freedom to pay for Shane's hockey lessons, and then he had lost his life in one last, ill-advised, later in life attempt to have an alpha child.
That loss had left Shane alone with his sire's bitter anger, and Shane had chaneled all of his own grief and anger and fear into practicing hockey for as many hours a day as he was allowed to be on the ice. He practiced skating until his legs ached all the way from his ankles to his butt and stick handling until his hands were sore and becoming raw. And then, when Shane was 16, his father had turned to the street drug flax to try to escape from his unfulfilled life and subsequently died in a car crash, driving under the influence of flax and alcohol. A family injured in the accident sued the estate, taking what little Shane would have inherited. All Shane walked away with was the meager credits that the government had been depositing in his own account since he had turned 12.
Those credits were not nearly enough for Shane to continue to pay for hockey or even to take care of himself at all while he tried to finish school, not that he would be allowed the opportunity to even try to stand on his own two feet. Omegas, by law, were required to have an alpha on record as responsible for their care and well being, which was a joke in the case of Shane's late sire. Even if he had been an adult, Shane would have been kept in a halfway house home until he was claimed by an alpha. Shane understood that the halfway houses were much better regulated than they had been decades before, when omegas in government care had ended up sold or given to eager alphas or simply disappeared,but that didn't mean he was glad to be there in such a dismally sad place with other omegas who had lost their families and/or mates, where he had to entertain attentions from single alphas seeking mates.
It was useless anyway, as far as Shane was concerned, because he wasn't the kind of omega that any of the alphas wanted. He was too big, too muscular, not lithe and delicate and pretty the way omegas were expected to be by most alphas. Also, he hadn't even had his first heat yet, so his scent was minimal, not very enticing, and he was of no immediate use to any alpha seeking to mate and sire babies. True mating, which would alter the alpha and omega's scents and could lead to pregnancy, could only happen during a heat. Sex outside of heat was possible, though unpleasant without artificial slick, but there could be no mating, no knotting, no resulting pregnancy. The thought of pregnancy was horrifying to Shane, as all he was interested in was hockey, and babies would not help with that in any way.
Shane understood that a generation before, he wouldn't have even been allowed to continue playing at all past age 14, and he wouldn't have even been able to dream of playing professionally and earning mountains of credits that could help him live with as much freedom as was possible for an omega. Some notable omegas of Shane's omegin's generation had fought hard for more rights and protections for their gender, and Shane knew he was the beneficiary of that. After Shane earned a reputation for being vicious on the ice, some guys started calling him "Kelly," in reference to Kell Iverson, who had been charged with the murder of his abusive alpha decades ago in another province somewhere south of Quetario Province where Shane lived. Kell had been the first omega to be charged with murder in modern memory, and Shane didn't mind the nickname. It was better than Holly or Shaney, and from what Shane had read Kell had been a real badass omega, even going into provincial politics once he had been cleared of the murder charge. He had mated with a kind new alpha, as well.
If only Shane's father had gotten into the flax while his omegin had still been alive. Maybe his omegin would have been able to find a kinder alpha to re-mate with, and then their lives could have been so much better. Unfortunately, that's not what had happened, not at all. Before his sire had died, Shane had been recruited to the local major juniors hockey team, his next logical step toward a professional career in the sport, but he hadn't been able to attend practices or games since he'd been orphaned since he was stuck in the halfway house.
The team captain had been Jean "Jonny" Theriault. His family was a legacy in Quetario Province hockey, and he was destined to play for the Montreal Metros, coached by his father Senior Theriault, as soon as he was old enough, which would be very soon. When Senior Theriault showed up at the halfway house, not with a batch of hopeful alphas in the evening but on his own one afternoon, Shane's blood had run cold. Jonny was the kind of alpha boy who often liked to sniff around Shane, declaring himself "hot to knot," even though Shane hadn't heated yet. Shane wasn't sure if he wanted his body to hurry up and go into its first heat or not. On one hand, he was already so late for his first heat that he was starting to feel defective, but on the other hand it sounded like heats would be nothing but a hassle and a risk and an excuse for alphas to harass him even more than they already did.
"Shane?" The older beta home attendant who was currently on staff called to him as he tried to disappear up to his bedroom. "Shane, you can go out into the back yard with Senior Theriault for a while. It's a nice day outside."
"Sure, okay." Shane reversed course and headed toward the back door, trying not to meet Senior Theriault's eyes as he did so.
"Wow, Omega," Theriault said from too close behind Shane, "I'd think you'd be eager to get out of this place, with it stale smell and its worn furniture."
"Sure, I guess I am."
"Good. Then I have a proposal for you."
Shane cringed, terrified that Theriault wanted to secure Shane for his son, take Shane home and lock him up until he heated and became capable of producing the next generation of Theriaults. The idea was nauseating. "A proposal?" Shane asked.
"Yes. Your team hasn't won a game since you stopped playing, so they want you back. Since the coach is a beta, he's not in a position to take custody of you. He asked me to intervene, and since I've had my eye on you as my top prospect from your future draft year, I decided to do him a favor. You won't do the Metros any good two years from now if you've been rotting away in a halfway house, forgetting how to play and losing your strength."
"Th-the Metros?"
"Yes, kid.I think we're going to need you once you're old enough if we're going to get our shit together to finally go back to beating the Raiders from Nwengland Province. It's been too long already."
The two teams had been rivals since long before Shane had been born. Shane had learned in school that Nwengland Province had long ago been part of a whole separate country from Quetario Province. The teachers said that North America used to be made of more than one country and then further broken down into many, many smaller governmental entities. Now, of course, it was all one country, organized into several large provincial territorieswith some lawless areas around the borders. Most territories had one or more professional hockey teams, and the nationwide league, the MLH, organized the schedule of games and championships as well as the yearly draft of newly eligible players. Shane had been looking forward to his draft year as the time when he could perhaps finally be as free as possible for an omega.
"So, omega, what do you say? Will you agree to leave here in my custody?"
Shane was surprised, not aware that anybody would think to ask him for his opinion on the matter. "Where, um, where will I live? WIth you?"
"No, I have no use for an immature omega in my household. I've found a beta couple who has agreed to house you and be your guardians until you're of an age to find an alpha and move on with your adult life. They had hoped for many years to be chosen to adopt a child from an overly-fertile alpha-omega pair, but that has never happened for them. They have room in their home for you, and with me and the Metros organization footing the bills they'll be happy to take care of you. They live very near the practice facility, so that will be very convenient. We may even be able to get you a job at the facility to offset some of your expenses and get some credits into your account.
"Really? A job?"
"Nothing interesting. Don't get your hopes up,kid. Maybe selling cups of hot chocolate when the rink is open for family skating. Something like that."
"Okay. That would be okay. I wouldn't mind." The large practice facility was owned by the Metros organization, but the major juniors team was allowed to practice there as well, and during off times for both teams the rink sold admission to members of the public who wanted to use the ice for recreational purposes. It was much, much nicer than the community rink that Shane had trained at when he was a child.
Theriault snorted. "Of course you wouldn't mind, omega. You'll do whatever your betters tell you to do, won't you?"
"U-um."
Theriault waved Shane off. "Of course you will. I don't even need you to agree with that. It's just the truth and the way things are. Alphas make decisions, and Omegas deal with it. Especially when we're talking about well-off alphas and poor omegas, yes? Okay, do you have things here you need to pack?"
"Not much," Shane admitted quietly. "Most of my things were left in the apartment, though I'm sure they'll be thrown away soon if not already."
"Okay, well, pack what you have here and get ready to go. I'll see what we can get from your old apartment before the end of the month."
"Th-thank you, sir."
"Yes, that's the correct attitude. You're welcome. Now, let's get moving. I have other things I need to do today, after all."
Shane nodded and headed back inside the halfway house. The beta attendant met him and gave him a plastic bag to use for his things. The police hadn't even allowed Shane to properly pack a bag at home when they came to get him after his sire was declared dead. He missed his few books as well as the little radio he'd used to play music when the provincial station would broadcast in the evenings. His hockey gear should be mostly in a bag by the front door, where he'd dropped it after coming home from the last practice he'd been able to attend. The stink inside the bag would be terrible after weeks of being in there unwashed. If Shane had been making proper mature omega pheromones, dumping those clothes out on the lawn would probably have drawn unmated alphas from blocks away. As it was, they were simply gross and in need of washing.
Back outside, with his bag clutched in his hand, Shane waited to be allowed into the back seat of Senior Theriault's expensive car. Expecting to sit in the front passenger seat would have been presumptuous and inappropriate, so Shane didn't even ask. When the door clicked unlocked, Shane put his bag inside and got in next to it, ready to leave the halfway house behind, even if he didn't exactly know what was waiting for him next.
"Okay," Theriault said as he pulled the car away from the curb to drive away. "I'm going to take you to the beta couple who are going to be your guardians until you can join the Metros officially. Do you want to hear about them? Well, of course you do."
Yes, of course Shane wanted to know who he'd be living with for the foreseeable future, who would be responsible for his safety. He just shrugged.
"Their names are Dayv and Yun. Dayv has an office job working for the province. Yun is more or less the omega of the pair, but he does take care of some bookkeeping for the practice facility along with caring for their home. You will spend most of your time in the house with Yun, so I recommend getting on his good side. They are very nice people by all reports. They have a perfectly adequate bedroom available for your use, and they will be paid to provide you with a nutritious diet. I don't imagine that there will be any problems with the arrangement."
"Sure, it sounds fine." At least, Shane reasoned, as betas they wouldn't expect anything untoward from Shane. Shane wished that he could be a beta instead of an omega. To be free from the expectations to submit to an alpha and to make babies would be a dream, but Shane knew it wasn't a dream he could ever accomplish.
"Of course it does. What more could an omega like you want?"
Freedom. His own money. The ability to choose his own path. Shane knew he might as well want wings for all the good it would do him. "Right. Oh, is this their house?"
Theriault parked the car in the short driveway in front of a small,single-story house. It was painted a pleasant sage green color which made Shane like it right away. A small man walked out through the front door, and from that distance the man reminded Shane so much of his omegin that his stomach ached from the grief. He only hoped that the other beta wouldn't remind him too much of his sire.
When the door unlocked, Shane got out of the car, dragging his plastic bag with him, and took a breath of fresh air. He hoped that his new guardians, unlike the betas at the halfway house, would allow him to go outside whenever he wanted. They didn't have a large property, but it looked like there would be at least a small back yard behind the house, closed in by a low fence. It wouldn't exactly be secure, but the neighborhood seemed quiet, so Shane felt like it would be safe enough as long as he wasn't actually in heat or anything.
The beta approached Shane, hoding his hand out to shake. "Hi, Shane?" the man said, his voice kind. "I'm Yun. My partner Dayv is still at work so I'm sorry he's not here yet to greet you."
"It's okay," Shane said, and then Yun pulled him closer by their joined hands. The man was stronger than he looked, and Shane found himself wrapped up in warm arms for the first time since his omegin went into labor that last time. Shane breathed in steadily through his nose to try to keep his eyes dry. He did not want to be emotional and vulnerable in front of Theriault if he could avoid it.
Yun patted Shane's arm as he pulled away. "Okay, baby, let's get you inside. I'm so glad you're here."
"Good, yes, you two go on inside," Theriault said. "Shane, please get yourself to the rink for 8 am practice tomorrow. Your coach will discuss your schedule further with you then. If I can get more of your things, I will have Jonny bring them here for you. Okay?"
"Yes. Sure. Thank you."
Theriault nodded and got in his car to drive away, and Shane followed Yun inside the modest home. The furniture and decorations were somewhat worn but not broken or ugly. They looked ordinary, like teammates' houses Shane had been allowed to visit briefly at various times in the past. Yun led Shane down a narrow hallway and then in through the last door on the left.
It was a bedroom with all the basic furnishings and few decorations, but it looked like a comfortable enough place to sleep. "Ah," Yun said, sighing. "This room has been empty and waiting for so long. I'm so glad you;re here to take it."
"Really? Why?"
"Well, Dayv and I have been together for 15 years now, and we've been hoping to be able to adopt for most of that time. Of course, some alpha-omega couples make so many babies that they can't afford to take care of them all, and we signed up to express our interest in adopting one of those babies. We bought this house with the expectation of raising a child here, but that has never happened. Now, of course you are not a child in need of raising, but we will take you into our family as much as you will allow. We were very happy when your coach approached us about this arrangement, and I especially will very glad to have somebody here with me sometimes during the day when it can be very quiet all alone."
"Will I be allowed to be out of the house?"
"Yes, certainly. You're not a captive here. If you leave at times other than your scheduled practices and such, please so let us know so that we don't worry about you. Generally, you'll be walking to the practice facility, as it's just over a mile away and a safe enough walk. Tomorrow morning, Dayv will drive you there on his way to work, but after that, we will expect you to get yourself there on time for practice. If the weather is terrible, we will work something out to get you there and back."
"Okay. That sounds fine. Thank you. What about going other places?"
"The busses don't come quite this far, but you will be able to walk to the nearest bus stop and get places from there. Have you taken the bus on your own before?"
"Yes, definitely. My omegin taught me, since he didn't drive."
"Very good. I am very sorry for the loss of your parents, Shane."
"Thank you. I wish my omegin were still here so I could still be living with him, but I do appreciate you allowing me to live here."
"That's not a problem at all. Now, how about we take a walk to the practice facility so you can start to learn the way? We can stop and get a snack at a cafe before we come home. Go ahead and change if you'd like and meet me in the kitchen when you're ready."
Shane nodded his agreement. He was wearing somewhat ratty sweats, since it hadn't been worthwhile to dress any more nicely while just biding time in the halfway house with other sad omegas. Shane changed into jeans and a button-down shirt worn open over a t-shirt plus comfortable shoes for walking. He hoped that Theriault would be able to get his winter coat and boots from the apartment so that he'd be able to stay warm on his walks to the practice facility once cooler weather arrived.