Chapter 3: Home

Alex walked along the streets until he made it to his home, The Warren Orphanage. The place was not like the traditional orphanages portrayed in novels.

It had a decent amount of funds, was in a middle-class area of the city where it was not too poor and not too fancy, and was full of kids. This was because the government and organizations had poured funds into orphanages to get support.

Not support from most of the kids but support from the rare kids who ended up awakening their Alpha genes. In order to ensure that the kids did not become villains who hated the system or that the children would have feelings of positivity toward certain organizations and be willing to work for them.

The same can be said for Samantha, Alex's friend. She was adopted by the major shareholder and founder of Cryo Inc. as well as the supporter of the Warren Orphanage, the Warrentine family.

They were able to get first dibs on her due to the girl's positive feelings for them as well as their connection to the orphanage before any other power could poach her. Even if she joined another organization or team later, since she had been adopted by the family, she would always be a part of them.

Alex arrived as the sun was setting and dinner was just about to be done but before he even entered the door, he saw the worried face of Ms. Lily standing on the front porch waiting for him.

Even though she was in her 40s, she still looked like she was in her 20s. A perk of the Alpha gene that most Alphas enjoyed was longer lifespans. As long as they did not get killed in battle.

Alex let out a bitter smile seeing the woman he had a crush on for the past few years waiting and worried about him. While he tried to hide his injuries, he knew that she was already aware of them due to how late he was and he could not bear to lie to her.

Just as he walked up the steps and before he could say a word, Ms. Lily interrupted him.

"Don't have to say anything. As long as you are home, safe and sound, it is alright. Just tell me if there is anything I can do."

Alex froze before having a small and grateful smile on his face when he heard Ms. Lily's words. She always knew just what to say to the children.

"Thanks. I'll be fine. No need to worry about me."

Ms. Lily showed a small smile to Alex but in her mind, she had a bitter smile on. She knew Alex would never tell her in order to ease her worries but he did not understand that the lack of knowledge only made her worry more.

The pair entered the house and went their separate ways. Alex had to drop off his stuff and dress his wounds while Ms. Lily needed to finish dinner.

As Alex made his way up the stairs, he could hear the front door open and the laughter of two young men. Hearing this, he paused in his steps before looking down the stairs.

The pair who entered were Norman and Tyler. The two bullies who lived with him.

Norman and Tyler were 15 but already 6 feet tall and was muscular to boot. They were identical twins and the only way to differentiate them was by their moles. Norman had his mole under his left eye while Tyler had his mole under his right.

Alex sent a quick glare at both of them before running off to his room. They did not notice Alex at all and even if they did, it would only result in bullying him more some other time.

Alex was able to make it back to his room and did as was becoming a routine, he took off his clothes before pulling out his first aid kit and wrapping up his wounds.

After making sure nothing was bleeding anymore or would get infected, Alex stayed in his room until he heard Ms. Lily call him down for dinner. When he arrived at the table, the 8 other residents were already there.

The orphanage had 8 children living in it along with Ms. Lily. The orphanage had a maximum number of 8 children at all times for the past few years. Even if someone got adopted, within the next few days, there would be a new arrival.

Besides Alex, Normen, and Tyler, the only other teenager was Richard who was 17 and in his final year of high school. He was also the oldest of all the children,

All the other children were 12 and under. There was Annabelle who was the oldest of the younger kids and was already 12. She was their leader when they wanted to have specific meals or wanted their turn on the TV or for similar acts or topics.

Next in line was the newest member of the house, Abe. He arrived the previous month to be Samantha's replacement and was 10 years old.

There was also Nico and Ally. Nico was 7 while Ally was 5. These were the youngest pair and the ones that Ms. Lily doted on the most due to their young age and cute antics.

As Alex entered the room, he smiled at, most, of his small family. Even though he had not had a normal family growing up and none of the group were his 'friends', he loved them all and considered all the children as his little siblings.

Donner went along smoothly except for when Ms/ Lily found out about Nico failing his last math test, but that was not Alex's problem. As soon as dinner was over, he returned to his room to finish his homework before heading off to bed.

Seth observed this all with cold and judgmental eyes. He had grown up living on streets and without family so he did not understand the environment. Even though he was start and understood it logically and psychologically, he still could not truly 'understand' Alex's emotions and actions with his family.

And with Alex finally asleep and nothing for Seth to do, he decided to visit the bookshelf on the other side of the room.