Quietly, the day arrived for the boys to go. Owen and Simon were being paid to protect them. It was their first international trip. Anna and Molly were going. Because of all the danger inherent to the country, the national guard sent a squad of commandos and investigators to protect them. From the very second that the plane touched down on the tarmac, the security took the lead. Anna and the others let them do their thing. It was their job to keep them all safe. It was a rare instance where Charles was going on the trip. He wanted to see it. Kevin would lose his job if he took off any more time off. They were not messing around. It was strict and pretty crazy. Anna then remembered what had happened at the border. Those alphas are insane. This country was meant to be just as crazy or even worse in some aspects. Staying safe was the priority. Evan was not strong like the brothers. Putting him at risk would be wrong. They were brought to the hotel with a convoy of armored cars. You would think they were high level diplomats with the level of protection. Very stressful.
Tons of people wanted to protest the team oaf "uppity" omegas. It was a mob of people that hated the boys for being some of the best players Breaca had to offer. Evan's uncle was with him this time. He was the prodigal beta fail son that got overlooked and discouraged because nothing they could do ever met the bar set by an alpha relative. Evan and his uncle were really concerned about the vitriol people were sending their way. They could not be convinced that they were anything less than their enemies. It actually was the case in a certain respect. The Burke Cup was an international competition. Their nations were going head to head to see which nation had a right to brag about having the best players. On a deeper lever, it was even more true. Evan, Reid, Reilly, Ronan and Rhys were all omega males. This country had utter contempt for omegas. Especially for the male omegas. In no way could an alpha male lose to anyone else fair and square. There was no way an omega male could win against anyone else fair and square. Here they were. Semifinalists.
Losing here was not just about losing face to a small, no-name country a continent away. It would sting, but they would have next year. Losing here would shake the very foundations of their culture and society. Alphas were, on a genetic level, superior to other genders. That was just a given fact of the setting. Science was not the same as morality. All science could do was describe the world. It was in the realm of philosophy and ethics to take those facts and determine what people should do. A country that castrates omega males and sees them as little more than chattel to have children with could not have their alphas lose to an omega sports team. If betas and omegas saw them lose, people would start to question all the things they let alphas get away with due to not bothering to challenge the invincible. If an omega could beat an alpha, why the fuck should an alpha be allowed to cut their dick and balls off? People who saw this coming were protesting. The guards were there to keep those haters away. One even had to discharge a weapon to get them to back off.
