"Hey, Mr Sexy Alpha’s here again," Laura nudged Carys in the ribs. "I heard his car parking up round the corner."
"I know, I can smell him from here", Carys said with clenched teeth, "and will you stop calling him that. You’re going to say it to his face one day and then you’ll look silly."
"So what’s he smell like then? Money? Rich, I bet he smells rich, they all do."
"No," Carys said primly, "if you must know, he smells of the sea. Like, if you went to the Caribbean, and you could smell the sea there." She closed her eyes and thought about that, just for a moment. It was easier when Mr Alpha had visited the library just two or three days a week. But for the past two months he had been coming in every day, harrowing up Carys’s nerves.
"Mmmm, nice. Well he can’t be here just for the books," Laura said. "He never takes any out. If he did, he’d have to give us his name and address for the tickets. Hey d’you think he’s madly in love with me? That’s it, isn’t it?"
She put on a goofy expression, and Carys snorted. Laura, a beta and assistant librarian, was short, not more than 5 feet tall, and as round as she was tall, and, she was on the wrong side of 60, and very happily married to another beta lady. Carys, an omega, and assistant to the assistant librarian, was 30, only a few inches taller than Laura, and in Laura’s opinion, far too skinny. Her hair, mid length, mid brown, and boring, she thought, was tied back in a plait that constantly threatened to come undone.
The tiny branch library hid in the shadows between a betting shop on one side, and a shop that sold dubious pharmaceuticals on the other, in a run-down area on the border of the omega enclave and a beta suburb. Alphas were not unwelcome, but they were certainly not expected. They had their own library, a palace of glass and metal gleaming in the sun, in the centre of the city. A few people in the little library came in to read the newspapers, at least two old men spent their days snoozing at the back near the radiators, and only three people occupied the reference tables on any given day.
"So, where’s our glorious leader today?" Carys said as she sorted through a batch of new reader tickets. "I think I’ve seen him twice since I started here."
"Well, who needs the chief librarian when there’s you and me?" Laura laughed. "More biscuits for us. And Mr Alpha to look at when we get bored."
Mr Alpha walked in through the front door as though it belonged to him. Today was a sharp, expensive, and well tailored suit day. Carys preferred the days when he wore patched jeans with faded, frayed shirts. He wasn’t quite so swaggering and his hair was not immaculately brushed back from his face on those days. He looked like a harmless student then, worn down by the latest essay that was already late. On suit days, he wore black and glowered. Everyone avoided him on those days. Whichever day it was, Laura’s Mr. Alpha was was out of place in the shabby library. He was over 6 feet tall, handsome with a gentle face and kindly eyes, and broad shouldered, but slender, not bulky and muscle-bound as most alpha men were. And yes, Carys had to admit, she spent far too much time watching him, thinking about him, and wondering why he visited their small library so often. He spent hours reading, but never taking a book out of the library. Or else he sat, staring into nothing, barely seeming to notice anyone around him. On those days Carys wondered what he would do if she sat beside him, and asked him what had gone wrong with his world.
Mr Alpha stopped at the reception counter. No smile for Laura today, not on a black suit day, but she grinned at him like a fool anyway.
"Do you want that book you were reading last time?" Carys said quietly. He nodded, and she handed over a thick, old book with a faded burgundy canvas cover. As he took the book, he touched her fingers, and she felt a tingle rippling through her, like touching an electricity socket with wet hands. He felt it too, by the startled look on his face. He walked away to the reference tables without a word.
Somewhere in the mid morning, Laura nipped out to the coffee shop round the corner and came back with cups for them both. Carys had thought of asking Mr Alpha to come to the coffee shop with her. But why would an alpha want to sit in a crowded coffee shop with a cardboard cup? It was a silly idea, a wild and crazy idea, thought up in a weak moment.
"He keeps looking up and watching you, you know," Laura said in a stage whisper. A nudge in the ribs from Carys’s elbow made her lower her voice.
"Yes dear, I know," Carys said. "It’s a free country, he can look at whoever he wants to. Besides, I kind of like it. Makes me feel safe, in an odd way."
"You really are a cuckoo. How can being ogled by an alpha make you feel safe?"
"He’s not ogling me, don’t be silly. I can’t explain it. It’s just, nice. He can look at me as much as he likes. If he lets me look at him."
Laura shook her head and muttered something about nutty omegas who needed their heads examined. All through the day, Carys could feel him watching her. But every time she looked at him, he was engrossed in the book.
Late in the afternoon, Carys was fed up with having to step over his feet at least three times on her way to the magazine rack. She was tired now, fighting a rotten cold, and his long legs stuck out into the narrow aisle.
"Shift your feet, lanky" she muttered as she passed him for the fourth time. At the end of the row of shelves, she looked back and he was watching her, a slight smile on his face. His dark brown eyes were distracting, and Carys bumped into the end of the shelf unit. She took herself off to the reference section to give herself a good talking to, and spent the rest of the day in the refuge of the stock room, cataloguing and sorting. But, just before the library was due to close, she slipped a bookmark into the book he had been so absorbed in.
"So you’ll know where you are next time," she said. It was difficult, but she managed to ignore the faint but delightful aroma in the air, of sea breezes.
Once the library was tidied and locked up, and any stragglers had been firmly escorted to the door, Laura and Carys parted with a hug and left. Laura went home to her wife in a beta district at the edge of the city, and Carys returned to her tiny bedsitter in the omega enclave. She despised herself for it, but knew that she was not going to be able to erase him from her thoughts for yet another evening.
Two weeks later everything changed, turning Carys’s world upside down. The day began with sunshine, promising that spring was arriving at last. By the afternoon, the air was full of the scent of burgeoning flowers but all Carys could smell was her own peony pheromones. There were small children playing by the lake, feeding the ducks and swans. She hoped any alphas in the area would be wary of approaching an omega in heat with so many children around. Ten more minutes, she promised herself, and then she would summon a taxi and race home to the safety and comfort of her bedsitter. Just ten small minutes of sunshine and fresh air. Surely that was not too much to ask from the universe? Having lost her battle with the cold, she had been stuck at home all week and it had left her feeling rather frail and wobbly, and masked the fact that her monthly heat had arrived early, a week before her three days of estrous leave was due. She should have been curled up into a nest of blankets and pillows in her little room, a flask of hot tea and a box of ibuprofen at hand to soothe the cramping pain. But like a fool, she had misjudged her own body’s ability to knock her off balance, and had come to the park needing to be outdoors just for a little while, and then was kicked in the stomach by her own body. Oddly, now she noticed the scent in the air, of sea breezes. It put her in mind of a warm, blue, crystal clear sea by golden sands, and how good it would be to dive into the water and swim away from all her worries. Then she saw James.
James stood, watching the little omega woman from the library. He’d had a rotten day, having to quietly leave the house, to avoid yet another yelling match, with his parents and brothers ranged on one side, and him on the other. What was it his father had shouted? Oh yes, something about how if he had not known for certain, he would swear that James had been the get of a beta. All he could remember was a lifetime of abuse from the short tempered, and brutally aggressive family, alphas all, including himself. Being a tolerant and even-tempered man was most of the problem, as his family mistook tolerance for weakness.
The other part of his problem came from being still unmatched at the age of very nearly 40, leading his parents to insist that they had to find a suitable mate for him. They had introduced him to a number of alphas that they were confident they would be able to control, and who could control him. Some of them had drifted into short affairs with him, for a week or so, but when they eventually left, he was still whole hearted.
James had a dream, a hope that one day he would find his soulmate, that he would know, when he saw them and breathed in their scent. He clung to that dream as a lifeline. Secretly, he was sure he had already found her, especially as he was now being assaulted by the scent of peonies from her, sitting on a bench in his favourite part of the park. Not that he would have minded seeing her, she was usually the one delightful moment in any day. He had to admit, seeing her outside of the library was unexpected and he was not sure how to react. Should he say something, anything? After that particularly vicious run-in with the family, he felt tired and broken.
Carys stood up. Why would he not say something, do something? And why did it have to be Laura’s Mr Alpha? Only an alpha would stare at her, as though she had violated some unknown law simply by existing. What right did he have to object to her breathing in that gods-be-damned heart-stopping scent that was driving her mad? He could just find himself another bench, take those deep brown puppy dog eyes away before she made a quivering, humiliating shambles of herself. Fight or flight? No omega could fight an alpha, so that left flight. Before she could think, she was off, racing down the path by the lake. If she could only make it to the end of the path, there was a gate out of the park. Leap over it, run along the pavement, cross the road while dodging the traffic somehow, and lose herself in the streets. That was the plan, conjured up in a moment, fighting the overwhelming urge to run to him, not away.
James watched her run. He had to admire her nerve. She had to be in heat, with waves of that lovely, sweet scent washing over anyone in her vicinity. What did she think she was doing, wandering around in a public park in the throes of estrous? The scent of her was playing havoc with his head. He had to do something before she got into trouble. He gestured to his driver and the bodyguard, sitting in the black SUV parked by the side of the road. The driver started the engine while James casually stepped over the low fence and climbed in. He could have caught up with her easily, but how dignified would that have looked to the driver, and the bodyguard in the back seat? More to the point, how quickly would it have got back to his father, with repercussions. Chasing an omega in a public park? Letting the family down, boy.
"Pretty girl," the bodyguard, a bulky beta, said. The driver nodded casually. Oh great, now they would think he was following in the oversized footsteps of his crack brained brothers. All he was trying to do was save a silly omega in heat from the consequences of her idiotic behaviour. He almost convinced himself.
The driver swung the SUV around the corner of the park, and stopped by the gate. James got out of the car and sauntered along the tree line. He saw her, half hiding behind a tree. She must have realised that he had not followed her. Her scent was overwhelming, even stronger now, nearly knocking him off his feet and muddling his thoughts.
Carys came to a halt by a large sycamore and stopped to catch her breath. Just for a moment, and only because she had not heard anyone running behind her. But as she gulped down air, she inhaled the scent of the sea, miles from the ocean. It curled around inside her brain, and made her heart beat faster. The pain was unbearable, waves of arousal were driving her insane. She had to go home, curl up into a ball and never go outside again for a hundred years. She turned and walked straight into Mr. Alpha "I smell of the sea". Any thoughts that still lingered inside her head were smothered when his mouth crashed onto hers, kissing her with fierce passion and longing. She clung to him, nothing else could have kept her from falling, but his arms around her, holding her tightly. A small part of her was appalled by how shamelessly she pressed herself against him.
"Will you get in the car?" he said.
"Do I have a choice?" she said.
He smiled. "Of course you have a choice." He gently stroked her face and she leaned into his hand.
"No, I really don’t," she said, deciding that submission was the better part of valour.
The driver and the bodyguard did not even look at her, as James helped her into the SUV. She moved closer to the door, as far away from him as she could. But a glance at him changed her mind. His eyes were sad and unsure. She managed a small, scared smile and reached out her right hand to him. He smiled back at her, and held her hand. She shuffled closer, leaning her head on his shoulder. Maybe it would be all right. Maybe she would be safer with him than in the park full of people. She remembered what she had told Laura, that she felt safe when he watched her. Maybe.
"Where to sir?" the driver said.
"The Winter," James said. The driver barely raised his eyebrows, but James knew what he was thinking. That type of request usually came from one of his older brothers.
"My family owns it," he said quietly to Carys. She looked up at him, but she was unable to speak and thinking was too difficult. All she could do was hold on to his hand as an anchor and hope she could stop trembling at some point in time.
The Winter hotel was not far away. The driver was good at dodging across lanes of traffic, driving just over the speed limit without risking the precious cargo of his employer’s son and whoever it was he had picked up. The Winter was a beautiful building, in the Art Nouveau style, all sinuous vines and leaves, colourful stained glass and curved windows. If ever a building had a gender, the Winter hotel was a gracious lady, and a welcoming, sensuous one. Carys thought they must have looked strange; two beta men and a trembling woman who clung to the arm of an alpha. But she could not have let go of him if she tried. All she could see was his face, all she could hear was his voice, and the scent of the sea filled her head.
James led Carys past reception and the two women at the desk, to the lift marked ‘private’ and unlocked it. The two betas left without a word and headed for the hotel restaurant. He put an arm around her shoulders and held her close, while the lift ascended to the private floor at the top of the hotel. The Wynne-Jones family suite was palatial in the extreme. The lift opened into a reception room full of expensive antique furniture and decorated with paintings by artists that only the very rich could afford. James led her through the room, and into a corridor with bedrooms opening off from it. Lost in the throes of her heat, Carys barely registered that he gently guided her into a bedroom that was so large, her tiny bedsitter and all the others in the tenement could have easily fitted into it, and had room to spare.
James went into the bathroom and began to fill the bath with hot water.
"The cure for everything," he said. "A nice hot bath should help with the pain."
She stared at him as if he had spoken in a foreign language. The bath filled quickly; he had decided against adding a scented oil in case it clashed with her own scent, and his. It was important that they continued to be aware of each other’s scent. She stood still while he undressed her and helped her into the bath. Then she scooted to the end, hunkered in on herself, shivering. For a moment he wondered if this was a normal reaction, then he remembered that he had never really met an omega before. He stripped his own clothes off and got into the bath behind her.
Finding a large sponge, he sluiced her back with hot water, over and over again, until gradually she uncoiled. He wrapped his long legs under hers as she leaned back against him. Compared to the alpha women he had known, she was small and neatly made. He realised that she looking up at him.
"I had no idea," she said.
"About what?"
"That alphas could be kind."
"You can’t have met many of us."
"No, just you."
Well, that might be changing in the near future, James thought. But he could not think of that now, thinking was too much effort.
The bath water was cooling. James climbed out and found the family’s towelling robes. He put one on and held another to Carys. She pulled it on, and he had to laugh. Being so small, the robe came down to her ankles. He swooped her up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom. While they had bathed, a maid had been in and left a tray with cups and a teapot.
"Camomile tea," James said. "Another part of the cure. I’ll put a little honey in, hope that’s all right."
He poured the golden tea into the cups and handed one to Carys. She sipped it, he was right, she was no longer shivering and the fog around her brain was lifting, though there was still pain to endure.
"What’s the third part of the cure?" she said, sitting on the end of the bed.
"Third part?"
"Everything comes in threes."
He sat beside her and gently kissed her. "That’s the best part," he said.
He took her empty cup and placed it on the tray, then he picked her up again and laid her on the bed. He was about to undo the belt on her robe, when she pulled it loose herself and took the robe off. He took his own robe off and lay down on the bed beside her. Her eyes were glazed, the pupils completely dilated with a narrow rim of soft green at the edge of her irises. She lay still and silent, staring into his own eyes. It was unnerving, not knowing what she would do. Would she launch herself at him, as some of his alpha partners had? As an alpha himself, he should have appreciated that approach, but he was always left feeling crushed and irrelevant.
Carys raised her right arm and stroked James’ face. She sat up and nestled against his neck, gently rubbing against his scent glands.
"I like your eyes," she whispered.
She kissed his face over and over, in a tender, sweet onslaught, as though she could not get enough of him. She wrapped her arms around him, her skin was soft and warm, and the scent of peonies was not as strong as before, but somehow, still deeper and more intense. James felt dazed, hit over the head with a cosh made of soft down.
"Please," she whispered, so quietly he almost missed it.
There was a few moments of shuffling into a more comfortable position. Carys parted her legs as far as possible. She was shivering, her skin was so hot she was almost glowing. He could almost feel heat rising from inside her body. He reached out a hand to touch her, but she stopped him.
"Goddess," she gasped, "it hurts so much, please". Her last word was drawn out in an agonised moan. The scent of peonies flooded his senses, it was almost too much, he was drowning in the sweet perfume. He kneeled between her legs and kissed her deeply, thrusting his tongue into her mouth. He slid his cock into her, sinking as far as he could. She was incredibly hot and wet inside. For a moment, she wrapped her arms around him and held him, still shaking.
He rubbed his neck against her scent glands, the combination of their scents was overwhelming. He pulled almost all the way out of her, then slowly moved inside her. So tantalisingly slowly she could hardly bear it. She tried to pull him closer, but he was too tall, as tall as a redwood tree she decided. She had the strangest feeling that she was dissolving, falling into him. She moaned his name against his neck and he moved faster. She wrapped her legs around his waist, moving with him, unsure of where she ended and he began. She was laughing and gasping with joy as little flashes of pure pleasure flamed through her. Her back arched as the sparks gathered and surged from deep within her quim, across her body. She clung to him as she shook and trembled, her whole body throbbing. And then she felt him shuddering inside her, and the scent of the sea intensified and broke. He swelled up inside her in the knot that she thought she was supposed to fear, and now it felt glorious to be bound to him.
He took his weight on his elbows as he sank down on top of her. She cradled his head on her breasts, stroking his hair. Somewhere in the depths of her mind, she remembered being told that alphas were at their most vulnerable when they had knotted, and she loved him for that. He moved up, and touched his nose to hers.
"That wasn’t as subtle as I meant," he said, just a little out of breath. "Next time, lovely…" He whispered in her ears, all the things he wanted to do to her, with her, next time.
He held her close and tightly, and in one swift movement, he turned them both, still connected, to the side.
"A bit more comfortable," he said. "I didn’t want to suddenly drop on top of you and crush you. We’ll be here for a while, sorry. Have you got a good book you can be getting on with?"
Carys smiled, too dazed and exhausted to laugh, and helped him pull the bedspread over them.
"I have to admit," he added, "I’ve never done this before. Alphas don’t knot with each other, not if they want to keep all their teeth and most of their bones intact."
Carys stroked her hands up his back, and kissed him gently. She suddenly giggled into his chest.
"What’s so funny?" James said.
"I don’t know your name," she said. "We haven’t been formally introduced."
Every five minutes his cock pulsed inside her, and it flooded her with endorphins that felt so good, she had to kiss him again. Which made the whole situation feel even sillier and made her giggle again.
"I’m a gentleman," he said, "so of course I found out your name. I asked your friend. Works in the library with you?"
"Did you!" Carys said, delighted. "Laura never told me. The sneaky…… You do know what her name for you was?"
He grinned. "Yes, but did you call me?"
She buried her face in his chest. "Never you mind. What is your name?"
"How do you do miss, I’m James Wynne-Jones and it’s a pleasure to meet you."
"I’ll say," she muttered. His body was so warm, she was beginning to feel drowsy. James stroked her hair.
"Go to sleep little flower," he whispered. "I’ve got you."
‘Little flower’, that made her smile. As she slowly went to sleep, she had the strangest sensation that she was sliding inside his skin. She heard his voice speaking in her head. No words, just the sound of his voice, whispering.
Carys woke up and stretched. She was half lying on James while he was sitting up in the bed, tapping at a cellphone. He smiled, and put the phone down.
"Well, you don’t snore," he said, "that’s a bonus."
"Do you snore?" she said. He slid down to face her, and cuddled her close.
"Not if I lie on my side and have someone nice and snugly to hold onto, or so I’ve been told."
She smiled, and kissed him. "Snuggled with many omegas, hmm?"
"No, just you."
She noticed a mark on his right shoulder. A neat circle, where small teeth had dug into his skin. She gasped, horrified.
"Did I bite you?" she said, tracing the shape of the circle.
James grinned. "It’s all right, you didn’t hurt me. If you notice, you didn’t quite bite a chunk out of me. Anyway, you should see the one on your right shoulder."
There was a larger, deeper circle of teeth marks on her.
"You belong to me now," he said. Carys nuzzled into his neck.
"Promise?" she said. "It’s funny, just a few hours ago I wanted to run as far away from you as I could. Now I couldn’t imagine life without you. How did that happen?"
James rolled onto his back and pulled her with him.
"Haven’t you heard of soulmates?" he said.
"Heard of them." She sighed. "Never believed in them though. Wished they were real, but didn’t believe."
"Well, I’ve always believed. And no matter how many potential mates my family threw at my head, I knew my soulmate would come along some day. I knew it would be you the moment I first saw you."
He began to laugh, and kept on laughing, until Carys joined in, not knowing what the joke was.
"Oh it’ll be worth it," he gasped, "just to see the looks on their faces when I walk in with an omega."
Carys sat up. "And what’s wrong with omegas?" she said. James stopped laughing like an idiot and pulled her back down, her head resting in the crook of his neck.
"Nothing’s wrong, little peony," he said. "Just that we have no omegas at all in the family. Not as mates, no Wynne-Jones is born omega either. No idea what’s behind it, but father really does not like omegas."
"So how are they likely to react?"
"No one will hurt you, I promise. You’re mine and that means I will take care of you. We might not stay there with them, but I owe them that much."
"Where you go, I go?" She laughed delightedly, and began covering his face with kisses. James wondered what he had landed himself in for. He had only wanted to help a silly omega in heat and now he had pledged to stay with her for the rest of his life. He suddenly realised that she had stopped kissing him and was staring at him.
"I heard that," she said. "Silly omega, eh?"
"You heard what I was thinking?"
"Did you only think it? I could have sworn you said it."
He groaned. "I’ll never be able to keep a secret from you," he said, laughing as she pummelled his chest. "Come on, time to get up. You were asleep for nearly three hours. We can’t stay here all day and night, much as I’d like to."
"We have a family to scandalise," Carys laughed.
Before she could get out of bed, James rushed to the bedroom door and opened it a little.
"Yes, it’s fine, the elves have been and gone."
Carys fell back on the pillows, laughing.
"You really are ridiculous," she said. Her tiny little bedsitting room came into her mind James turned.
"Is that where you lived?" he said. Obviously this mind-reading went both ways.
"I was just thinking how much my life has changed in a few hours. I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in years."
"Any regrets?" he said, watching her carefully.
"None at all," she said, guessing why he had asked.
Carys drew on a towelling robe and joined James at the door.
"Who are we looking for?" she said.
"Not who, that." He pointed into the suite’s living room. A long rack of clothes was standing in the centre of the room. A low table was covered in plates of sandwiches of various kinds, as well as a large jug of fruit juice. James led Carys to where the rack was standing.
"These are for you," he said.
"For me? But.. how did the elves know my sizes?"
James grinned. "Well, I may have chucked your clothes out here so the elves could pick out the right sizes. And I told them to go with peony colours."
"Was that what you were typing on your phone while I was asleep?"
He nodded.
"But why?"
"Well, like I said, you belong to me. And if, and I’m only saying if now so don’t go off in a spin, if we were to have a child…"
"What?!" she squealed, clamping her hands over her mouth.
James laughed. "You do know about the birds and the bees? You went to school. Even in an omega school they tell you what’s what and whatever."
Carys sat down beside him. "I didn’t think… I never thought… Do you think we might…?"
"I find it easier not to think," he said with a wry smile. "Would it be so terrible?"
Carys smiled back. "Not terrible at all. Just a bit of a shock."
James dressed, then sat back on a sofa, eating sandwiches, and watching Carys pulling out one thing after another from the rack.
"I’ve never had new clothes before," she said excitedly. "Just hand-me-downs from my sister."
She suddenly stopped, a faraway look in her eyes. Nesta. How was she going to tell her sister that her world had spun off its axis? Especially as Nesta had married a beta and moved far away.
"Nesta is five years older than me," she said.
"Hence the hand-me-downs."
"She had great taste though, I never minded wearing her old things."
"Hmm, she didn’t like alphas much though, did she."
"Looks like I won’t be able to keep secrets from you too," she said. "We’re a pair. Your family doesn’t like omegas, and what there is of mine doesn’t like alphas."
"Here I am, stuck in the middle with you," James laughed. You should eat something, come on flower, you must be starving. And then you can pick out something to wear, to meet the family."
While Carys worked her way through a plate of sandwiches, James pulled out dress after skirt and blouse. It was difficult to eat while in fits of laughter as he held up each item against himself to show her how they would look. Eventually she decided to chose a simple dress in lilac with pink flowers embroidered all over, and cap sleeves. It looked elegant, but not too formal, and Carys decided it could not offend the pickiest alpha mother.
Again, she thought of her bedsitter. Strange to think that just that morning, she never realised that she would not return to it.
"Oh you’ll have to go back," James said, "to pick up all those books, and the photos. That photo on the wall, is that your sister?" That was strange, looking at the memory of her room through his eyes. Or was he looking at it through hers? It was too confusing.
As they left the lift at the ground floor, James waved to the two women at reception.
"Thank you for your help," he said. The driver and bodyguard came out of the restaurant and the expressions on all of them made Carys realise how different she must appear, now that she was back in her right mind. Wearing such a pretty dress certainly helped. No attempting to keep her distance in the car this time. James held her left hand and gently stroked the inside of her wrist with his thumb.
This time the beta driver drove more carefully, but in no time at all, it seemed, they were outside the Wynne-Jones mansion. Carys felt small and horribly insignificant in front of the huge, unfeasible evidence of vast wealth. How was she going to fit into there, from her bedsitter and library job to this?
"What they think doesn’t matter," James said quietly, reading her thoughts. "The important thing is what we think of each other. We’re soulbonded, and they’re going to have to accept that we’re together. And if they don’t, then there are other places we can live."
The bodyguard got out of the car first and held the door while James followed. Before the beta man could move, James ran round to the other side and opened the door for Carys. As she walked past the bodyguard, he tapped her on the shoulder.
"No worries miss," he whispered, "he’s always been a good’n, that one. You’ll be all right."
The front door was opened by a woman in a neat dark blue dress with a crisp white collar.
"Thank you Rosa," James said, as he and Carys walked in. "Is the family all here?"
There was nothing subtle about the entrance hallway of the Wynne-Jones house. It looked more like the lobby of a fantastically expensive hotel, all gleaming white tiles, crystal chandeliers, and two marble staircases. There was nothing homely, no warmth either. Nowhere for children to play, no friendly, happy clutter. But James had said there were other possibilities.
"Yes Mr James," the woman said, "they’re all in the lounge."
"Oh well," James said, smiling at Carys, "we might as well get it over with in one go. Are you feeling brave, little flower?"
Carys smiled back. "Of course. We omegas can be tough when we have to be." She tucked a hand into the crook of his arm.
Rosa’s eyes widened and her eyebrows rose alarmingly. That was one person scandalised, and a whole family to go.
Rosa opened the door of the lounge.
"Mister James is here," she said, significantly. The room seemed to be stuffed to the rafters with people, chairs, and sofas and small tables. There were several large, alpha people, all staring. Eventually Carys’s heart stopped hammering in her chest, her vision cleared, and she saw five people: three young alpha men, one older one, and an older woman. Mum, Dad and three brothers, obviously.
The brothers broke out into raucous laughter.
"Good gods Jim, who’s this?" one of them shouted. "Don’t say you’re picking up omegas now."
"I. Will. Not. Have. An. Omega. In. My. House." the older man, Mr. Wynne-Jones senior, shouted, punctuating each word with a slammed fist on the arm of the chair he sat in. Carys winced; the poor chair was in danger of being smashed to pieces.
"Well that’s a pity Father," James said mildly. "We’ll just have to live somewhere else then." He smiled at Carys, and sent her the mental image of him trying to fit into her tiny bedsitter.
"You’d have to stack your collection of legs in the corner." she sent back to him.
James laughed.
The older woman jumped up out of her chair.
"Did you just speak to each other telepathically?" she snapped.
James nodded.
"They’re bonded Geoffrey," she said to the older man in the abused chair. She stepped in front of Carys and pulled up the sleeve on her right shoulder. She stared at the bite mark.
"I have one as well Mother," James said mildly. "My little flower has sharp teeth."
Mrs. Wynne-Jones slumped into her chair.
"It’s over," she said dramatically with one hand pressed to her forehead. "All our plans smashed by a pathetic little omega. James, how could you do this to us?" she wailed.
"Mother," James replied, and Carys was amazed at how calm he was when everyone else was flapping around. "I have always said I intended to find my soulmate, and I have. That she is omega is not important. You had your plans, but I always had mine."
Geoffrey Wynne-Jones got out of his chair with difficulty and stood in front of Carys. He was massive. Taller than James and bulky with muscles allowed to run to fat. More of a mountain than a man. He glared down at Carys from the top of Mount Olympus, but Carys stared up at him.
"You’re just a man," she told herself. "Nothing but an overgrown bully and you do not frighten me." She felt James gently squeeze her hand.
The huge man’s scrutiny seemed to go on forever.
"Well?" Carys said. "Scowl at me as much as you like, but I won’t disappear just because you say so."
He snorted, and marched back to the safety of his abused armchair.
"Yes, I thought so," Carys said quietly.
Mrs Wynne-Jones waved her hand, she looked defeated and exhausted. "Someone ring for Rosa," she said.
Someone did, as Rosa discreetly entered the room. "I have called Mr. Marcus madam," she said.
"Thank you Rosa, I was going to ask you to call him."
A man walked into the room behind Rosa. He was not as tall as the alphas, of late middle age with greying hair. A beta, Carys thought.
"Nice to see you James," he said. "So, this is your bondmate? Charming, quite charming." He took Carys’s hand and raised it to his lips. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss, er?"
"Carys Maddox," James said.
"Miss Maddox. Let me introduce myself. I am Marcus, the Wynne-Jones family’s advisor. Now, why don’t you both sit down, and we’ll discuss this, aha, development."
Mrs Wynne-Jones waved her hand again, and the three brothers, so much alike, left the room. Each of them slapped at James’ back, and pummelled at each other as they went.
"They’re just a litter of puppies," Carys thought. James nodded.
James led Carys to an overstuffed sofa, covered in a violently floral pattern.
"I know, I hate it. I swear this room was created just to make me bump into things and smash ornaments. And don’t get me started on the migraine-inducing covers."
Carys smiled and nodded.
"Look, just for now, will you two stop talking to each other in your minds, or whatever it is you’re doing. It’s irritating." Mrs Wynne-Jones said.
"Interesting," Marcus said thoughtfully, "I have heard of such a thing happening, but never in this family."
"No omegas in this family," Mr Wynne-Jones senior blustered.
"Geoffrey, with respect," Marcus said levelly, "you have to get over this irrational hatred of omegas. Here is James now, with his charming omega mate, a very welcome addition to the family. You cannot change what has been done. You do know that the other families are becoming quite intolerant of your inexplicable prejudices."
"He’s quite right Geoff," Mrs Wynne-Jones said.
"Oh of course you’d think he was right," Geoffrey snarled. "Your pet beta can’t put a foot wrong."
"Don’t react, Isabelle," Marcus said, "we’ve heard this every day for decades. Water off a duck’s back my dear."
Marcus turned to Carys. "Now I know it’s unforgivably rude to discuss someone behind their back, but after all, I think it might be better if you were not in the room. If you see what I mean."
Carys nodded. She had begun to think that herself.
"Rosa, would you please show Miss Maddox to, yes, I think James’ room would be the best place."
"No omega is staying in my house," Geoffrey insisted, and Isabelle groaned.
James stood up with Carys. "Fine, I’ll call the car and we’ll go back to the Winter. Mother, try and smack some sense into Father."
"Don’t speak about your father that way," Isabelle said vaguely.
"No one is going anywhere," Marcus said. "Rosa, do as I asked." He patted James’ arm. "Don’t worry my boy, we’ll sort this out."
"Little flower," James said as Carys was leaving the room, "no matter what, you’re mine and no one is going to separate us. I promise."
Again with the enormous rooms, Carys thought, as Rosa ushered her into James’ bedroom. The whole of the branch library could fit into it, three times over. She had a sudden urge to giggle, wondering if the room would echo if she tried yodelling. She "heard" James laughing. It was oddly comforting to know that he could still hear her. It was also odd that she had accepted the fact that they could hear each other telepathically without questioning it.
"Yes," she thought, "I can believe six impossible things before breakfast."
"Well, before dinner anyway," the answer came back.
Rosa was staring at her as she giggled.
"Sorry," Carys said, "it must look strange."
"Can you really hear what Mr James is thinking?" Rosa said.
"I can. Is it true there’s been no omegas here before?"
She wandered around the room which was surprisingly impersonal. For all its size, there was nothing that was essentially James. The pictures on the walls were bland prints, the wooden furniture was plain and uninteresting, perhaps as a counter to Isabelle Wynne-Jones’s overblown tastes. The walls were painted in a neutral shade of pale fawn and the carpet was equally quietly dull. Even his bookcase contained nothing but popular paperbacks.
"You’re not really in here, are you?" Carys thought. She heard him begin to speak, but then he switched to showing her pictures. His younger brothers, destroying his most treasured books, drawing on the pages and tearing them. The day his father, in a tearing rage, had smashed James’ precious seascape painted by an omega artist, the only piece of original art he owned. Then the pictures vanished and were replaced by the memories of ferocious arguments, screaming, violence. It was not too difficult to understand why he had spent so many days in the library, or in the park. When home holds no peace or refuge, it could hardly be worthy of the label "Home".
Carys thought of her bedsitter, and all the evenings spent there, reading her parents’ books, in the quiet tenement. No one raised their voice, everyone was considerate of others.
"If my legs could fit in there, I’d move in with you tomorrow," James said.
Rosa had answered her question and was looking at her oddly.
"Sorry," Carys said again, "I really should try not to do that so much. I didn’t mean to ignore you."
"But you were listening to Mr James," Rosa said. "It’s about time someone did." She looked around, worried that someone might have heard her being indiscrete.
"Please don’t worry," Carys said, "if James hears anything you tell me, he won’t pass it on. I’m sure he wouldn’t."
"I wouldn’t tell my parents the colour of my socks, so tell Rosa to stop fretting."
Rosa laughed, seeing Carys obviously listening to James
"Your face goes all funny," she said, "like you were looking inside instead of outside."
"Shush now lanky," Carys said, "you just concentrate on what your parents are saying. I want to talk to Rosa."
"They’re getting a bit tetchy with me listening to you instead of them. All right flower, this won’t take long."
"I told him to be quiet," Carys said, laughing. "So, do tell. If James gets his own way, they’re going to be dragged kicking and screaming into letting this omega into the family. It would help to know more about them. Why do they hate omegas for one thing?" She sat down on the edge of the bed. Rosa sat on a plain wooden chair that did not look very comfortable.
"That would be Mr Geoffrey," Rosa said, "he’s always hated omegas, no one really knows why. There was a rumour that he fell in love with an omega before he met Mrs Isabelle, but they ran away and were never found. Really he hates everyone who isn’t an alpha. But he has to put up with betas, or he wouldn’t get his dinner cooked, or his shoes cleaned." Again, she looked around as though someone was standing by the door, listening.
"Mrs Isabelle and Mr Marcus love each other," she said.
"No!" Carys squealed, delightedly.
"Oh yes," Rosa nodded. "Once she had her sons, she moved into her own room, and she is always with Mr Marcus now."
Rosa got up and moved across the room to sit next to Carys. She leaned in conspiratorially.
"It’s really about the other families," she said. "Mrs Isabelle wanted Mr James to bond with someone in one of the biggest families. She’s very ambitious. None of the others want to have the other three in their families so it has to be Mr James."
"They’re too immature?" Carys said. "Thick as three short planks, just puppies?"
Rosa giggled.
"Oh, I think the inquisition’s over," Carys said, "James is on his way up here."
Rosa jumped up and smoothed the bedspread where she had been sitting, just as James opened the door. She nodded to him, and scuttled; no other word for it; out of the room.
James smiled. "Has she been giving you all the gossip?"
"The edited highlights," Carys said. She patted the bed where Rosa had sat. "Come and sit down. So, what’s the verdict? Do we stay or do we go?"
James sat beside her. "There was a lot of blustering from Dad," he said, "but Mother and Marcus calmed him down. And funny thing, I think he was impressed by you. It looks like we’re staying, at least for a few days, but then we’re moving to the beach house. You’ll like it there, it’s quiet, no neighbours for miles and practically on the beach."
Carys leaned against his shoulder. "Wish we could go there now," she said.
"Sorry flower, I seem to have promised Mother, in a weak moment, she can be very persuasive. She wants us to have a bonding ceremony. Tomorrow afternoon."
"That’s not so bad. Nesta’s bonding was lovely, lots of omegas and betas. Flowers everywhere. It was great."
"Yes, but this will be all alphas. A beta and omega or two might be there. Some of the families have them but I doubt they’ll want to throw them under Dad’s notice in case he objects. And it’s going to be here, in the garden. Dad glowering in a corner, that’s always fun for all the family. My brothers trying to cause trouble and chat up as many younglings as they can. Mother weeping and wailing on Marcus’ shoulder. Oh yes, it will be lovely. I wish we could run away to sea."
He looked around his room as though seeing it for the first time; seeing it through Carys’s eyes.
"Yes, it’s not much," he said. "Just somewhere to sleep, not to live, I won’t miss it. I have to tell you something, flower."
"Oh yes," she said, sitting up.
"I don’t mean to sound like a creep, but I was basically stalking you for six months. I went to that library the first time because I was fed up. I was so angry, frustrated with my brothers, as usual, and sick of the whole damn world. I don’t know how I ended up there. I’d been sitting in the back of the car, being driven all over the city. I wanted to just stop for a moment. I saw the library, and the moment I walked in, there you were, chatting to someone at the counter. I watched you all afternoon. And I could smell you, a faint scent of peonies. I was smitten. Hit between the eyes."
Carys took his face in her hands and kissed him. "I remember. You came up to the counter and asked me where some book was," she said. "I looked out for you every day. When I had to stay at home three days a month, I missed you."
"I missed you too. Laura always told me how long you’d be away, and I didn’t go back until I knew you’d be back at work. I wanted her to tell me where you lived, but she wouldn’t. She said that if I really wanted to know, I should ask you."
"Why didn’t you say something? We’ve been dancing around each other for months."
"I worried that if I did say something I’d lose you. And I loved watching you, you made me smile. What would you have done if I had said something?"
"Run in the opposite direction probably. Which I did, if you remember. If I hadn’t had a rotten cold I wouldn’t have been sitting in the park this afternoon. Just this afternoon?" She smiled. "Time flies when you’re chased by an alpha."
"Exit stage left, chased by an alpha," James laughed. "Only I didn’t chase you."
"No, you just crept up behind me and nearly gave me a heart attack."
James laid his head on Carys’s lap, and she stroked his hair. All that money, a vast house, influential family, and he was still just a lonely boy who needed someone to care for, and to care for him. All those months of watching her and being too afraid to speak to her. An alpha, afraid of an omega. She thought of how he had looked after her. All he wanted was for her to be happy. She bent forward and kissed his brow.
"As long as I’m with you," she thought, "I’ll always be happy."
"I could stay here forever," he thought back.
There was a knock on the door.
"Mr James," Rosa said, "Mrs Isabelle says are you and the lady coming downstairs for dinner?"
James sat up. "And forever lasts for just a minute. I suppose we’d better go down. Sit by me, ignore the puppies (love that name for them), ignore all of them really. It’s just dinner, not too much of an ordeal."
It was an ordeal. An hour in a torture chamber complete with a rack and iron maiden, would have been less unpleasant. The three brothers sat at the table in a row opposite James and Carys, attempting to intimidate her and infuriate him. Geoffrey sat at the head of the table, sullen, and muttering into his plate, but now that Carys knew that was his default setting, she could ignore him. Isabelle sat beside Marcus, alternating between sobbing into a fine lace handkerchief and aggressively staring at Carys through the whole meal. James and Carys spent the time talking telepathically, drowning out the noise and making wild plans for the wonderful day when they could run away to sea together. Rosa remained the one spot of sanity in the whole farcical meal, quietly serving Carys and James, and letting the rest serve themselves.
After that awful dinner, the family stood up and went into the lounge. Isabelle stopped as James and Carys were heading for the stairs.
"We still have a lot to discuss, James," she said.
"Mother, there is nothing more to talk about. I’m finished with talking. We’ll stay for the bonding, then we’re leaving. Marcus’ idea was a good one."
"But James, the families. What are they going to think?"
"I really don’t care Mother," James said wearily. "We’ve been over this time and again, for years. And we don’t get any further because you will not listen to me. I don’t want anything to do with the business, you and Dad do pretty well without having me interfere. We don’t need millions to live on to be happy, do we flower?"
Carys smiled. "Of course not. I’ve got a pretty good job at the library. You could join us, and be the assistant to the assistant to the assistant."
James hugged her. "Oh, so you’d let me be your assistant, would you?"
"Of course. You’d be very useful for reaching the top shelves. I don’t know if you noticed, but the top shelves were mostly empty and all the books were crammed in as high as we could reach."
The two of them walked up the stairs to James’ room, laughing, while Isabelle headed into the lounge to join the rest of her family. And though she would never say so, she shuddered at the thought of yet another evening in the overstuffed room with her husband and sons.
* * * * * *
Carys and Rosa sat on James’ bed, staring in horror at the frothy confection of a bonding dress that had been delivered. The box was eye-wateringly pink, and the dress was swathed in layers of flimsy tissue.
"It must have cost a fortune," Rosa said, in awe.
"But I’ll look like a meringue. It’s horrible."
"Maybe it won’t seem so bad if you try it on." Rosa took the dress out of the box and shook it free of the tissue paper. Carys took off her dressing gown and put the dress on. It was ankle length, made of layer upon layer of silk and lace, with five stiff petticoats underneath.
Rosa laughed. She tried to stop it, but it came bubbling out at the sight of Carys’s disgusted, appalled face.
"Do they want me to look like a complete idiot?" Carys said. "This was deliberate, Mother’s idea I bet. Well, I won’t wear the horrible thing."
"But you have to," Rosa pleaded. "You will offend them."
"It’s more important that I don’t look ridiculous for James. They’re punishing him through me. Well, we’ll see about that."
Her lovely new clothes had been delivered from the Winter and hung up in the wardrobe. She searched through them until she found it; a white cotton 1950’s-style swing dress made of broiderie anglais that came to just below her knees, with an underdress in palest pink. It had a stiffened petticoat underneath to push the skirt out, but nothing as ridiculous as the meringue dress. It was sleeveless and had a little white bow on each shoulder. Carys ran into the bathroom and got into the shower.
"Rosa," she called, "do you know where the shoes are?"
"Yes Miss Carys, I’ve got them, and underwear too, and white stockings."
An hour later and Carys was looking at herself in the wardrobe mirror.
"James is not going to be able to resist me in this," she laughed.
She heard his reply. "I can’t resist you anyway. What am I not resisting?"
"Cover your eyes," Carys replied, "you can’t see me yet."
Carys could hear music in the garden.
"Is everyone there?" she said.
"So many people!" Rosa said. "Nearly all the families have sent someone. I’ve never seen so many people here before. It’s amazing considering Mrs Isabelle called them all just last night."
"Are they all alphas?"
"No miss, a few of them have sent a beta. There’s even two omegas. Poor things, they look so scared. Mr Marcus is keeping the ‘puppies’ away from them."
The music grew louder.
"I think that’s my cue," Carys said.
"Before you go, Mr James said to give you these." She gave Carys a small bouquet of peonies, all in pink.
"He is such a sweetheart," Carys said.
"Hurry up, this sweetheart is getting impatient."
"We’re going to have to have a little chat about boundaries," she said, laughing.
While Carys was conferring with Rosa, James was having an awkward moment. Isabelle grabbed him by the arm as he was about to walk out into the garden.
"I need a word," she hissed, and led him into his father’s inner sanctum, an old fashioned study in dark wood and even darker walls. The boys were rarely allowed in there, and James doubted that his father ever really did anything there but sit and brood.
Isabelle stood at the window, looking out into the garden. James leaned against the massive desk and waited while his mother gathered up her courage.
"You could still keep her you know, your little omega," Isabelle said after a few minutes pause. "Bond to an alpha, which is your duty to this family, and keep her as well. It wouldn’t be the first time one of us have done that. No one would think it strange."
She turned round and James was astonished to see tears running down her cheeks. In all of his life, he had never seen his mother cry. He knew he should feel compassion for her, this was obviously very difficult for her. But now he felt numb. All those years, when she could have given him an alternative to bonding solely to an alpha. But would he have accepted her proposal? He thought not.
"You know how I am placed," she said. "I never wanted to bond to your father. He’s a boor and a bully."
"You won’t get any argument from me," James said quietly.
"Without Marcus, I would have no life worth living. So I understand how important this little omega is to you. I get it, I really do. I dreamed of finding my soulmate when I was younger, but it’s something only children dream of. Isn’t it time you gave it up and bonded to one of the other families? At least three of them have said they would be honoured to have you join them."
James pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "But would I be honoured?" he said. "You say you understand, yet you go on arguing about it. It doesn’t matter how many times I say it, you won’t believe that I am serious. You should know by now that I always keep my word. Carys is my soulbonded mate and I will not accept any other. Now then, everyone is here, and yes, my little flower is ready. Come on mother, smile and pretend everything is well. Just as you have done for years."
Isabelle glared at him, but she quickly repaired her makeup and allowed her oldest son to take her arm. Her oldest and best, and though she would never admit it, her favourite. He was nothing like his father. As Marcus had had the teaching of him, it was no surprise that he was more like a beta than an alpha. But Geoffrey was wrong; James was all alpha. As she walked into the garden, she looked at her husband and three sons, waiting. The boys were merely younger versions of their father. She looked up at her gentle, kind and compassionate son and cursed Geoffrey for all the lost years when she could have been growing closer to James, instead of pushing him further and further away. Now she had the sad feeling that it was all too late.
Carys walked down the stairs, through the lounge and into the garden. No one escorted her, she was quite alone. But in her heart she knew she was never going to be alone again. Not with James paddling about in her mind. As soon as that thought crossed her mind, he sent her a mental picture of large feet in a pair of wellington boots, splashing in a puddle. So the first sight anyone there had of her, was of her laughing as she walked into the garden.
She walked through the crowd of people without fear of all the alphas who towered over her. Strange how all of them were standing. At Nesta’s bonding there had been neat rows of chairs with a central aisle. Here, they all stood, and as she walked, they moved back out of her path. She vaguely heard whispering but ignored it. The Wynne-Jones family were waiting at the front of the crowd. Isabelle’s face was a picture when she saw the dress that Carys was wearing. Yes, Isabelle had definitely sent that sugary, hideous dress to humiliate her.
James waited on a raised platform. He was wearing a black suit, white shirt and black tie with a small peony boutonnière. Carys wondered if anyone had ever seen him look so happy.
"Probably not," he replied. "This family doesn’t do happy."
As she stepped up onto the platform and stood beside James, he kissed her.
"Hey Jim, you’re supposed to wait till the end to kiss her," someone, a puppy-brother probably, shouted.
"Laura would faint if she saw you smile like that," Carys said.
"I might faint. Look at you, all gorgeous and pink, and irresistible."
"You scrub up nicely as well."
The officiant harrumphed politely behind them. Carys blushed and James grinned.
"Sorry," he said, "once she gets chatting there’s no stopping her."
The officiant began, but Carys barely heard them. She was too busy listening to James as he told her, telepathically, more stories of what their life together would be like. If everything he said came true, they would be speedily translated to heaven. She found it difficult not to laugh at his wild claims and silly jokes. The officiant droned on and on, while the sun shone and bees enjoyed the garden. She watched them flying around in the flowers.
"I had a patch of my own," James said, "over at the far side."
"What did you grow? And don’t say peonies or I’ll laugh. And then what would your mother say?"
"Oh, she’s already noticed that we can’t stop talking and she’s hiding her face in a handkerchief."
"Is she pretending she’s weeping with joy?"
James snorted, and the officiant stopped for a moment.
"Remind me to show you the dress your mother picked out for me to wear," Carys said.
"Will I faint?"
"Oh yes, you might never recover from the horror."
The officiant suddenly wrapped their right hands in a long piece of silk, dyed red, yellow, and green, the colours of the alpha, beta and omega people.
"In the names of the Three; Loucetios, Ancamna, and Nemetona; you are bound together for eternity."
"Only eternity?" James said. "Oh I want longer than that. Eternity’s just a blink of the eye."
Carys smiled. "Silly boy," she said.
She kissed him; just a nice, gentle, chaste little kiss, suitable for parents and guests to see, she thought. But there was cheering and laughter when James picked her up by her waist and kissed her, deeply and thoroughly. By the time he put back down again her dress was crumpled, but she only laughed.
"You can put a few more crumples in," she said.
"Oh I will little flower, lots more. By tradition I’m supposed to pick you up and carry you to my bedroom." His lascivious expression made her shake with laughter. "But I think we’ll omit that part of the ceremony, or my parents will have fits."
"They’ve been very well behaved so far. Probably best not to provoke them."
Geoffrey had stalked off to the table that was serving as a bar. The beta bartender gave him the double whiskey he asked for, then was kept busy for the rest of the afternoon filling and refilling the big alpha’s glass. No matter how much he drank, his sombre mood never lifted. Isabelle wafted around the garden, greeting the women of the other families and attempting to avoid any awkward questions as to why her eldest son had bonded to an omega. Everyone and their dog knew about Geoffrey’s moratorium on omegas in the family and they were agog with curiosity. James’ younger brothers had a great time, coming up with one outrageous explanation after another.
The objects of all this attention were oblivious. They sat in a quiet part of the garden and ate cake, while alternating between giggling and sometimes looking serious enough to cry. But as their conversation was conducted entirely telepathically, no one knew what they were talking about. Carys leaned her head on James’ shoulder.
"Tired?" James said.
"Just a bit overwhelmed. So many people."
"We’re just a nine days wonder. There’ll be something else for them to get excited about tomorrow."
"Being able to talk like this is fun. I can talk and eat cake at the same time."
James laughed. "See? There’s an advantage to being bonded to me."
Carys scooped up a small piece of the orange cake on her plate and fed it to him.
"I can think of another advantage. I think people are leaving," she said, "Do you think they’d notice if we just slip away quietly?"
"Why madam, are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?"
"It’s traditional."
James picked her up and slung her over his shoulder.
"No," she squealed, "you are not actually going to carry me all the way. James, put me down you maniac!"
He carried her past the members of one family who were saying their goodbyes. As James and Carys passed by, they all laughed.
"Nice to see the young keeping to the old traditions," one elderly man said, grinning. "Reminds me of my own bonding, so many years ago. I had to carry my mate up two flights of stairs and I was good for nothing when we got there." His embarrassed granddaughter tried to shush him, but he went out laughing and chuckling.
Isabelle fluttered around. Honestly, that dreadful boy, what would he do next to rattle the family? She stopped suddenly. No, he couldn’t have, they couldn’t have. Oh dear, what will Geoffrey say to having to call an omega’s cub his grandchild. She buried her face in her handkerchief again and ran into the garden in search of Marcus.
If you’ve read this far, you will have noticed that my version of the omegaverse is not exactly the same as the one you know, and I hope, love. Yes, I’ve tinkered with the conventions a tad. So I thought it would be a good idea to explain myself. You can read this at the end or at the beginning. (If you’re reading at all, thank you!)
The people of my AU Earth are born into their identity as Alpha, Beta, or Omega. I’ve decided to separate gender from identity. Some may be born one gender and then present as another as well, many others do not. To be honest, I was confused by all the explanations on Fanlore, so I decided to simplify it as I am a bear of very little brain.) However, they do all follow some basic rules.
In my world, alphas can procreate with other alphas, but omegas are the preferred option, Geoffrey Wayland notwithstanding. There are some families who have eradicated omegas, and even betas, from their blood line. Silly, short-sighted noodles that they are, risking inbreeding and all kinds of horrors. But most alphas do not discriminate against the beta and omegas members of their families. Betas tend to stick to other betas, though some do mate omegas. Omegas can procreate with other omegas, but preferably with alphas. (Some omega-beta combinations do occur, but are not usual.)
Are you still with me? Good! In every country, the alphas rule. Business, politics, even religion, are subject to the laws of the alphas, the richest and most powerful humans on the planet. However, they are not in the majority. For every alpha that is born, ten betas are also born. They do the actual organisation without which, no alpha could rule anything at all. They are the teachers, the medics, the administrators of the will of the alphas.
The omegas, are gentle, vulnerable, fragile people, usually smaller in size to the alphas. Most live in enclaves within the cities. They are protected in law though. Harming an omega is severely punished. Killing an omega leads to an instant death sentence. Once upon a time, alphas were only able to procreate with omegas, which is why they are protected. But, y’know, times change and time marches on, and not always for the better.
The people of this AU Earth do not marry. If they are really lucky, they find their soulmate and bond for life. Lesser bonds do occur. The wealthiest alpha families are more pragmatic. They bond with members of other families for the purposes of alliances. If an alpha then finds their omega soulmate after bonding with someone else, they are allowed to keep that mate as well as the alpha person they were bonded to. It’s complicated, but basically poly bonds are accepted.
In James and Carys’s bonding, the officiant bound their right hands with a long piece of silk, with the totem colours of the three groups. Alphas are red, betas are yellow, and omegas are green. They also invoked the names of the Three: Loucetios, Ancamna, and Nemetona. These are the three deities which are worshipped all over AU Earth. For the deities, I used the names of Celtic Deities. Loucetios was worshipped by the Roman-Gaulic people, and was their equivalent of Mars. So, He’s a warrior God, and His name means “lightening”. Nemetona was Loucetios’s mate. “She of the sacred grove” is, I thought, perfect for the omegas. And for the betas, there is Ancamna, a water Goddess who was often linked with Loucetios and Nemetona.
About the names: I chose Carys as it is a Welsh name that means “love”. It is my little fantasy that Wales is the dominant country in my AU Earth, and Welsh culture has spread to every corner. Cymru am byth!
I hope that helps.