Prologue and chapter 1

Prologue

Before the world was alive with animals, when the only intelligent beings were the creators, they fought over what species they would craft as the true dominant life forms. Every moment they were together, there was constant lightning streaking through the sky with their arguments.

“Animals will fill the world with beauty and fill every biome.”

“Insects will create little colonies, true working family structures.”

“Man can speak and build and create nearly as well as we can!”

Back and forth they went, their quarrels filling the world with flashes of their anger, making the ground tremble with their thunderous blows.

One day, they finally got tired of the constant conflict and silence surrounded them while they glared at each other, waiting for one to break.

“What if we combine the traits about our conceptions that we like best? We can create a super species; one that pleases us all.”

“I am partial to the families that insects move in. Close knit communities that share connections on a deeper level than conversations can facilitate. Something intrinsic and intimate.”

“I like the different sounds an animal makes, again not needing words. A growl says I’m angry and gives a warning. A purr is comfort and safety. A bark is a command that cannot be refused. To watch them move with sounds instead of filling the world with verbal pollution.”

“Those are both rather large aspects. If everyone lives in a large community and they all growl and bark at each other, it’s going to be chaos. Constant fights and subsequent deaths.”

“Then we split them into smaller homes. More intimate packs.”

“And how do we do that?”

There was some trial and error in the creators’ design where the first set of humans with animal and insect traits were a disastrous mess. They learned that there needed to be a clear way to choose their packs. There needed to be more than grunts and growls.

“Some things about a person are pleasing to a small few and less pleasant to others.”

“Such as lavender.”

“Then we let them develop scents. Those who enjoy the way another smells will innately find a home with them and create this smaller pack.”

“We must do something about all the growling. It’s simply harassing and gives me a headache.”

“Not everyone needs to growl, I suppose. Only the strongest. Those who know how to protect and defend.”

“They should also get the bark, to bring order when it's needed.”

“And a purr to soften out their harder edges.”

“I think it will be that strength that makes a pack. The ability to bring everyone together and keep them whole. They will be at the helm, these alphas who can be the most volatile of beasts in a man’s body.”

“And to answer their rough corners, we will make a softer breed. An omega who pulls an alpha back on track when they get too caught up in the world by their scent alone. With a whine to topple the strongest of alphas. A call to their most basic urges. A promise of heat in a way no one else can deliver.”

“And the rest of the population? What of them?”

“They will be most important. The betas, the plentiful, they will be who bring balance to the hard lines of an alpha and the sweet, soft touch of an omega. They will provide order and fill homes with their logic, their ability to not be so deeply caught up in their animal instincts.”

And so, time passed. The creators’ new species filled the world, developing traits of their own as they evolved. But in doing so, the divide between the designations becomes steeper. The betas were the stronger designation but without the unique qualities of an omega or an alpha, they were often left unwanted, seen as ordinary and undervalued.

And thus, the perfect world that the creators made was tainted with jealousy and becomes darker as time moves on. Where around every corner lies a threat that grows as the animosity between betas and the other two designations rise.

Chapter 1

Talya

I enjoyed being an omega. It had never occurred to me growing up that it was something that should bother me. Yet, I’d met other omegas who hated their designation. I didn’t understand why.

We were special. Cherished. Protected. Everyone wanted an omega or wanted to be an omega.

Me? I just wanted to be me.

I grew up in a small town where kids tended to stay when they grew up. Generations have lived in the same neighborhood, growing up with the same families, for ages. In my house, my pack has had an ancestor there for the past four generations. To me, that was pretty awesome. There were pictures in my attic of my great-great-grandmother and her pack of big alphas.

As far as I was concerned, there was nothing better. I wanted the same thing. To find my pack of alphas and live right in this house with them where we would raise our own family. That was my dream. That’s what I fantasized about since I was a child every night as I fell asleep.

I was a fifth-generation omega. That doesn’t mean that all siblings were omegas. Omegas were too rare for that to happen. But the likelihood of an omega that comes from a long line of omegas having an omega is higher than your average chances.

That was really cool to me. That meant I was basically guaranteed to have an omega child. Probably a girl but to have a boy omega!

All omegas have the same dream. It’s rather simple. Survive in the world until you find your pack. We always find a pack. There’s always one out there that we’ll be interested in. I just needed to bide my time.

We grow up listening to fairy tales about how the perfect little omega finds their alphas. How they move into a great house with a warm, cozy nest, and live happily ever after. Because an alpha means protection. Means safety and love and knots. And a whole pack of them means happily ever after.

Yes, I knew about knots though I didn’t know about knots until I was older. But anyway, an alpha meant forever. It meant pack. It meant a bond that would complete everything in me.

That’s all I wanted. I wanted the dream.

The town I live in is called Stony Creek. It’s a small, clean town with a population of 6,000. It’s an idyllic place because of the picturesque rural neighborhoods with kids playing in the streets and parents drinking tea on their front porch.

I was the only omega in my grade. I was one of three in my entire elementary school. There were seven alphas in my grade, twenty-nine in the school. The only reason my grade had so many was because the Jenkins triplets were my age. Three alphas.

And all seven alphas were always close to me.

They were there before I knew what a growl was supposed to do to me, though they growled plenty. They didn’t have a bark, but their confidence and strength made their words commands. And of course, they didn’t have a bite. Which was fortunate since Daple Jenkins bit me when we were seven.

I was so furious, I kicked him in the crotch. I made it known to every asshole alpha that they were fine to bring their big attitudes and whatever, but they were not to touch my body without my permission. And that sure as fuck included a goddam bite.

No one tried to bite me again.

The days were long and fun. I wasn’t in a hurry to grow up, even with the promise of a happily ever after on the horizon. I was going to get it no matter what. That’s just what it meant to be an omega. So, I wasn’t in a hurry to get there.

I enjoyed learning about my biology, even when the idea of it became a little daunting and frightening. I also enjoyed learning about alpha and beta biology.

There were plenty of betas around. Of course, there were. It didn’t take long for their jealous animosity toward me to become apparent. I think I was ten the first time a beta outright ignored me. And when I called him out on it, he spun around and called me a spoiled princess because I expected him to fall at my feet.

I just wanted the courtesy of a reply when I asked if he’d pass me the green marker.

It was then that I realized that the resentment by betas was a real thing. Real and potent. I almost cried when he yelled at me because it wasn’t fair. I just wanted the green marker. No one was even using it!

But crying would call attention to me. It would turn the two alphas in the room in our direction and then the betas would really hate me. For simply existing how I was meant to.

Instead of reacting, I stood and reached across him. Holding the marker in his face, I said, “It’s not hard to pass a marker. Maybe you’d attract an alpha if you weren’t mean for no reason.”

That didn’t get me any brownie points with the other betas at the table. Although I was convinced that I had a very valid point, their glares were chilling.

I didn’t try to make friends with betas after that. I made sure I was always kind and approachable to everyone, especially betas. That way, if they wanted to talk to me, they could.

It wasn’t until three years later when that tactic paid off. In hindsight, the isolation from my beta peers and I grew from the time we were ten. That green marker incident really kicked it into overdrive so that by the time I was a new teenager, the only people who spoke to me (kindly) were the alphas.

Although, ‘kindly’ was a little bit of an overstatement. They were already vying for me. Already trying to show me that they’d make a good alpha. A good mate. And that they could provide me with a good pack.

Their hormones were exhausting. Seriously, I was still a kid. I’d barely started puberty. I didn’t need an alpha yet!

Fenton and Basil were siblings from a mock pack – a household of betas living as a pack. Society doesn’t refer to them as an actual pack because there’s no alpha bond involved. No bonds mean no true pack ties.

Anyway, their family was new to Stony Creek ten years ago. The siblings had grown up with me, though they’d never been in my class. Basil was my age, but she was like all the other betas. Didn’t like me because of my designation.

Fenton was a year younger, so we didn’t have any interaction in school. But my thirteenth year changed that. One of my favorite things to do has always been to watch the school sports teams. Omega don’t play sports. I wasn’t sure if I was truly interested in the opportunity, but I liked to watch them and cheer them on.

Basil played soccer and she was pretty good. She was better than the alphas on the team, which I secretly loved to see. Alphas tended to think they were the best just because they were alphas. They thought their only real competition was other alphas. I loved to see when a beta could beat one of them. And to see how irate they got.

There was a skirmish going on right now. I was watching when Basil made a really spectacular goal against one of the alphas. I cheered with the rest of the bleachers, which weren’t full since we were young, and it was just practice. But the cheer was loud, all the same.

“Why are you so happy?” one of Basil’s friends asked from the seats in front of me. “She just beat your precious alpha.”

Her tone was snarky and nasty. I was sure that mean girls took lessons on how to get that tone just cutting enough.

“They’re not my alphas. None of them. Besides, Basil was amazing! Why wouldn’t I cheer for her?”

“Sucking up isn’t going to make us friends with you,” another girl answered.

I rolled my eyes. “Believe me. I have no interest in being your friend. You’ve been nothing but a jerk since we were kids. Not the kind of people I want to talk to.”

“You’re talking to us now,” the first one said. Dumb girl had the nerve to sound offended that I’d choose not to talk to them.

“No,” I said. “I’m talking at you. Not to you. Do you know the difference?”

I was surprised when someone close by burst out laughing. Startled, I turned in my seat to look at him. Fenton. Basil’s brother. I raised a brow as he looked at the mean girls with laughter.

“Well?” he asked them. “Do you know the difference?”

They did not. Instead of answering, they turned away, giving us both their backs. I grinned at the back of their heads before eying Fenton suspiciously. But he smiled at me.

After that day, we became friends. In some cases, his friendship helped warm our peers to me. Fenton was quick to laugh and treat me like he would everyone else. He was a breath of fresh air.

The alphas didn’t like him around. He wasn’t looked at as competition and yet he was a threat to their circle around me. Their glares and growls grew more every day. And their scents were starting to pick up, too. To get stronger and adjust based on their emotions. I kind of loved it. Both their growls and their possessive jealousy? It made me hunger all the more for my alphas.

The next two years, I watched as the alphas grew into their barks. Into their growls and purrs. And me? I was learning what it was like to react to them. To feel the tingles, the want to obey their commands, even when they weren’t directed at me. How their purrs comforted, and their growls thrilled. And their scents, even though I didn’t particularly like them, how they made everything in me stir. 

They were starting to get a little pushier now, too.

Let me take you out.

Want to go to the movies this weekend?

My mom is making spaghetti.

We’re having an exclusive party.

I tried to be kind every time I rejected their invites. Accepting one would give the wrong impression. Instead, I spent my evenings and weekends hanging about with Fenton.

I’ll never forget the day I met my alpha. It was the end of the school day, and I was heading to the track to watch track practice. The alpha triplets stopped me with one of their guys. A pack in the making. I could already see the ties as if they were visible things. By far, they were the group that was hell bent on getting and keeping my attention.

Fenton stood next to me, trying to fend them off with laughter and jokes while I attempted to kindly, but firmly, tell them – again – that I wasn’t interested. Not just in them but in anyone.

And then I spotted him in the distance as he walked towards us. My denial of their advances drifted from my lips as I stared. Hair the color of a sandy beach and eyes a bright blue. He was tall and lean, a hard body in the making visible under his fitted t-shirt.

The alphas hadn’t seen him as they continued to convince me, ask me, and tell Fenton off. But my gaze was locked. My breath shallow and barely there. My heart pattering into a race. The closer he got, the more the world around me faded away.

The voices were drowned out by the pulse in my ear. My vision blurred until all I saw was this guy. And then his scent hit me. Something spicy over a base of cedarwood. I could almost taste it, my mouth watering in anticipation.

The world around me came back into focus as the new guy walked through the alphas surrounding me. I heard their indignation, their aggression and challenge.

“You don’t get to come in here and just take our omega,” Brody Jenkins growled.

But the guy, he paid them no attention until one of them grabbed his arm. My heart leapt as this alpha – my alpha – turned around and laid Brody on his back in a move so quick and efficient that I didn’t even see it.

“My omega,” the guy said and everything in me turned to fire as my life shifted so that he was at the center. “Mine. And don’t fucking forget it.”

I heard his bark, my spine going straight immediately as I held my books to my chest. Beside me, Fenton had done the same thing, though unlike the alphas, he was grinning.

“Now, that’s an alpha,” Fenton murmured.

Growls answered him but my alpha, he was clearly older, and his alpha traits were more pronounced. His growl drowned them all and I was his.

He turned around, giving the other alphas his back. They weren’t a threat. Four alphas and they weren’t a threat. I swayed on my feet, swooning from the way his scent had turned dark and earthy.

And then he was staring at me, those blue, blue eyes trapping me in their depths. He held his hand out, offering himself to me. I didn’t think as I reached for him. He took my books under his arm and gently pulled me to his side, his gaze never leaving mine.

“My beautiful omega,” he murmured.

And that was the moment I found my whimper. It snuck out of my mouth, causing all the alphas around me to growl, including mine. But mine also smiled, beautiful and pleased. He released my hand and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to his side.

“It’s alright,” he told me. “I’m right here. And I’ll never leave your side.”

He never did. As soon as his bite developed at seventeen, before most everything else, Colby bit me, claiming me for his own. Showing the entire world that I was his. And for me, I knew I was the luckiest girl in all of Stony Creek. I didn’t just find my alpha. I found him when we still had our entire lives ahead of us.