Officially, it was assumed Killer was a beta. By 16 he smelled exactly the same as at 14 and hadn't seemed to presented any secondary gender markers and their little pack had put it out of mind. He was almost 18 now after all, and nothing had changed on that front.
Unofficially, there was an undercurrent of whispers that he still might be an alpha - he was named Killer for good reason and unapologetically defended their territory and Kidd with a violence-first mentality that left outsiders on edge. He was grumbling, snarly. He tolerated no alphas at all, even the ones on suppressants, to the point where he'd gone after a shopkeeper who'd been watching Kidd in case he got sticky fingers - which he did- and nearly gotten them both arrested.
And that didn't even broach the sour smell to him that was his general unpleasant mood - scent markers far too strong for a beta no matter the way it was looked at.
For the most part, the crew - a loosely formed pack of mostly unbound omegas and two other betas - let it be. Even if he hadn't presented, Killer was a reliable member of their group and even if on the younger side, they turned to him as pack leader more often then not. And Kidd too - but no one wanted to admit that a feral 13 year old was co-leader of their little group.
Regardless, where Killer went, so did Kidd - the two living out of the other's pockets since time in memoriam. The rest of them had gravitated to them over the years - none of them had packs of their own anymore, either rejected for being found lacking or fleeing from unhappy families.
The only exception had been the first omega adopted in - Papas - who'd they'd stumbled across themselves as little more than children, by some mix of gut instinct and accident. The smell of distress and heat had been a sirens call, drawing the young duo in to find him crying for help even in the throes of his heat, being forced into a bond by an unknown pushy alpha. A barely 13 year old Killer stopped that in the act , an alpha too engrossed in Papas to watch his back, and found a knife in it a couple dozen times for his audacity. Kidd had crawled into Papas' ruined and trespassed nest - maybe only nine at the time - and the smell of pup had soothed over the worse of things until Papas was clear headed again enough to be moved somewhere safer. Killer had stalked the area, oozing malice and the promise of death, puffed up and growling as they went, escorted him to their own nest for the end of his heat.
Other omega would join over time - some unbonded and rejected, like Compo and UK. Hip had her partner Hop - who was a beta, their bond symbolic but no less important to both girls - and the two had been kicked out of each of their family packs because they refused to denounce the other. Bubblegum was actually bonded to an alpha - but unwillingly, and it was bad enough with the alpha that he'd run away first chance he got, following Killer back from the market one day after the younger teen pretended to be his pack when the alpha publicly tracked Bubblegum down and tried to humiliate him to come 'home' in front of the large gathering crowd. Killer had drawn a knife of the overbearing alpha and threatened to gut them back until they backed off. And then there was Quincy - a free spirit who rather liked being an omega, but didn't want to be bond to any one alpha. She flitted in and out of their lives on a whim, coming and going with a shower of kisses, and every time she went to wander off, Killer assured her that they were always her pack when she was ready to come back. Orains was the final beta of their little pack - he'd been charmed by Kidd in the market one day and followed him home. Said he didn't' have anywhere else to be.
Killer had been the most wary of him - what grown man followed a child home? Killer knew too well what kind of man - but he was really just that mellow and never gave Killer any reason to run him off. He was a huge help during heats too, giving Hop a change to spend more of it with Hip and playing nursemaid himself while Kidd got his cuddles in and Killer stalked the parameter on edge and in a generally standoffish mood.
And so, for the last five years or so, Kidd and Killer collected their people. A pack of six omegas, three betas, and a pup running wild and feral on the outskirts of the city. The number of omegas in their pack over-road any hunger for an alpha, the ferociously and desperation of heats reduced to lazy orgies, and having a pup around kept heats short and mellow. Even if he wasn't /their/ pup, his child scent was so strong in their collective nest, having him there dulled the desire to breed into non-existence, leading to a lot of snuggling of omega and older beta alike. And when he eventually got bored of basking in their adoration, and wandered off, there were plenty of others to help scratch the itch.
Twice a year, at the height of fall and spring, pack Eustass hunkered down at its most vulnerable. Orains and Hop on the inside, keeping them safe and fed, hydrated and tended to. Killer, and Kidd by the last few days, on the outside, body or two of trespassers caught sniffing around piled for disposal once the week was said and done.
paroled the nest each time, taking the safety of their crew far more seriously than most of their age should, but that's why he was leader after all.
he'd be overtly tactile with them as they wandered out
scenting and rubbing cheeks before either UK or Bubblegum would roll their eyes and - being the most tactile of the group - would haul their tiny teenage boss up and aggressively rub their heads together, leaving Killer's already messy greasy hair up in an absurd cowlick
kidd would take their rubbing much more gracefully, short red hair already spiked up from a lifetime of treatment of Killer doing much the same on a daily basis
even letting Orains prop him up in what might of been a hug, studying the young man's face and frowning at whatever he found there.
And if their youngest beta ends up being an alpha too stuck in fight or flight to present properly, well, they'd deal with that when the time came too. Last year, Bubblegum had already volunteered to be Killer's first rut partner - going as far as to tell a horrified Killer to his face one drunken night that he'd be okay if they bonded too. In an attempt to distract everyone from Killer's growing mortification, Quincy had reminded Bubblegum that he couldn't be bonded to two alpha's.
"Watch me," Bubblegum had doubled down, drawing a red faced Killer into his lap and clung to him possessively, giggling at Killer's attempt at a rumbling growl back at him, "Imma gonna have so many bond bites from this man my first alpha's not even gonna be able to /find/ their mark."
