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The word equality was an ill-conceived fallacy, a term that did quite the opposite of what it was originally intended for. It's the kind of word that feels progressive and righteous in the mouths of the middle class, tastes like opportunity and optimism for the lower class, and reeks of everything that goes against biology. While not a new concept, it gained traction with the advent of sprawling cities across the country in an effort to bring everyone together in the name of progress and prosperity. Of course, the general population which shared the same Beta designation didn't have a problem with this. In fact, they welcomed the idea of a place where social distancing wasn't a near biological imperative. Betas shared very similar traits among each other and were viewed as the neutral designation between the other two. Herein lies the problem; where did that leave Alphas and Omegas?
For decades, the inhabitants of the concrete jungle were comprised by a majority of Betas led by Alphas, with a rare sprinkling of (mated) Omegas here and there as the minority. Civility was an evolving concept that birthed the creation of suppressants and scent blockers, which in turn opened up the market for scent enhancers, emergency heat/rut stop pills, and all sorts of methods to control what was otherwise natural. With biology controls becoming more mainstream and oftentimes even required by employers, Omegas began to try to carve their own niche in the city. Part of the human condition, however, is mankind's inability to be perfect. Change wasn't easy, nor was it altogether welcomed by everyone.
Slowly, but surely, Omega’s began to make their place in society. Safety rooms had to be included in all future structural developments to protect an Omega going into an unexpected heat. Unmated Alphas and Omegas were required to be on suppressants as a condition of employment, although it was more common for Omegas to get away with not meeting this stipulation on account of it potentially compromising their fertility. In time, there were places designated only for Omegas and Betas; a place where both designations could coexist without the concerns of being around Alphas.
If that wasn’t laughable enough – there was the Government pairings. It was how things worked these days, the Government would pair two people up, based on their genetic compatibility, and arrange them to be married. Once someone had their pair, that was it, any other relationship they may currently be in was void, they were now expected to devote themselves to their paired partner.
What a joke of an idea.
Zayne Waller was fortunate to have been born into a family of influence and wealth, an only child who grew under this new way of life. He made a name for himself and a life in the city. Hell, the city itself was the lifeblood of his careers. He had it all – wealth, influence, power. He had it all – until it all slipped between his fingers in shame.
This new house cost him a small fortune but, at this point in his life, the move was a dire necessity. The specifications he gave for the construction of his new home were rather simple, if not vague; warm tones, spacious enough to not feel cramped, rustic and inconspicuous. The build had to suit a single man in his early thirties, whose only aspirations as of late were the quiet expanse of farmlands in what some in his circle aptly described as bum-fuck nowhere out in the pacific northwest. Some would call such a request an architect's dream; being given all the creative freedoms a generous budget would allow, on a plot of land that was going to be a nightmare for construction crews to navigate. A timeline of a year was set for the project, explained to him that this was a best-case scenario deadline given the difficulty of access to the lands he'd purchased and the additional permit processes required to install subterranean services for the new house (power, water, fiber optic communications, etc). While the waiting period was not ideal for quite personal reasons, Zayne signed the contracts and paid the work in full upfront to ensure no unnecessary delays.
The defamation lawsuit that followed almost a year's worth of court hearings to prove his innocence gave him little comfort. He didn't need the money from it at all and was ready to donate any reparations to non-profit organizations that helped people like his accuser. Unfortunately, just as there were Alphas who preyed on Omegas, there were also Omegas who used their biology to take advantage of an Alpha. Equally unfortunate was the fact that Omegas still carried the upper hand in court proceedings, as if it was impossible for them to commit any wrongdoing against an Alpha. It's the kind of social malady you don't think about until it hits too close to home. The publicity nightmare, both for him and his family, had left him feeling hollow and uninspired, disappointed even that those he considered close friends would disassociate themselves with him regardless of his innocence.
Leaving the city was the change he needed. Early retirement, as his father would say whenever the subject of Zayne's move would come up. His mother, a graceful, loving, and well-respected Omega, suggested he should try and settle down and make a family. The suggestion came from a good place, but Zayne didn't have it in him to disappoint the woman who raised him. These days, the last thing on his mind was finding a mate, let alone approaching the very thing that had ruined it all.
He had waited so long for this moment. The moment he had seen her, he knew she had to be his. But, that fate was not meant to be in the eyes of the Government. So, he took fate into his own hands. It had taken several years to bribe the Government and an immense amount of money to make it happen. Finally, it was done. William reed had her in the palm of his hands – and she would forever be bound to him. To hell with the chump who was supposed to be here today. This was his place, and he would do anything to keep it that way.
William arrived early and followed the waiter to his seat. It was a nice, quaint little coffee shop located right in the middle of town. Which, in a town located in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere, even the phrase, ‘middle of town’ may have very little merit to some. He was led to the open-air porch, where an assortment of tables and chairs were placed under a fancy umbrella for comfort. Several of the tables around her were already occupied by other customers who casually spoke to their companions as they sipped at their beverages.
His gaze drifted to the table, falling upon the manila folder that had started it all, examining the picture pinned to the front for the hundredth time. Marial Dragonmir. The Omega he had put in so much effort to obtain. She was once promised to another. It was laughable how a sum of money could change that, and with one simple drug, the Omega would be his.
The meeting was casual. The two talked mediocre chatter, until her drink arrived. Within minutes of her first sip she was excusing herself. This was it. William escorted her outside and the moment she collapsed; he was there to take what he considered his.
He waited until the drug wore off, leaving her unconscious body sprawled upon his bed. He wanted her to be aware of what was happening – to make sure she knew what was expected of her for now on, and when she began to stir, he wasted no time to make his move. However, things didn’t go as planned – one jab to his groin and he was hunched over in agony, giving the Omega her chance to escape.
***
The first thing that hit Zayne square in the face was the cool brush of wind that carried with it the promise of snow. Even breathing felt different here, where the air wasn't polluted by a ridiculously dense population. In fact, he had to pause a long moment to realize it was really just him and the project manager standing outside his new home. Stillness greeted him and, for the first time, it was as though something inside him could finally let go and rest easy knowing it was just him out there. After the initial walk-through of the house, Zayne was given the keys and left to unpack his SUV on his own. Not that he brought much with him besides clothing and a few personal items he was loathed to part with. Part of the contract for building the house included a budget for interior decorating and, by the looks of it, whomever did the job did their homework well.
For the better part of the first couple of days, Zayne went about getting rid of the staple scent of harsh chemicals and disinfectants used to cleanse rooms and surfaces from the scent of other Alphas or Omegas. He opened the doors and windows each morning, letting the cool breeze filter out the undesirable scent and bring with it the fragrant scent of cedarwood. When he made the drive to a local town in search of groceries, he wasn't sure if he was relieved or surprised about just how far it was from his house. Maybe he was both, pleasantly so. He could do with minimal human contact for a while.
By the time his first month living there came by, Zayne could tell the significant difference between living in the city and out in blessed bum-fuck nowhere. He'd stopped taking suppressants a few days before he left his old apartment. While those didn't have a long life inside one's system, he'd had more than enough of it throughout his lifetime for it to take a bit longer to notice a difference without it. When he did, he swore vehemently he would never go back to the city or anywhere suppressants were required. It felt as though a fog had been lifted from his mind; everything felt, sounded, and tasted sharper than before. There was a peaceful quality to this freedom that he hadn't known he'd been missing for most of his adult life. For the first time in years, he truly felt what he was and not just who he was.
And he liked it, quite a bit in fact, being the Alpha he was born to be.
The first snow surprised him early one morning, the small white clusters of snowflakes flowing uninvited through his open windows and doors. Not that he minded; Alphas usually ran hot and the fireplace was producing a barrier of warmth to keep the cold from becoming an issue. With the setting sun painting his walls with a burnt orange color, Zayne began his evening routine of closing the windows and doors for the night. He'd been about to close the sliding glass door when he felt it. A stirring inside him followed by goosebumps appearing across his sleeveless arms. Before he could even begin to process what was going on, the feeling intensified, now tunneling his vision in one direction. Sweet. The scent of something sweet, marred by the unmistakable copper note of blood. Not something... Someone. There was no way there was someone this deep into his property, at this hour, to where he could scent them this close. Something tugged at the back of his mind, trying to tell him something he already knew but had yet to acknowledge. Zayne pushed it away with some difficulty, grabbing his coat and throwing it on to investigate where the scent of blood... human blood... was coming from.
Zayne stopped just outside the tool shed the architect had designed for extra storage space. Lately, he kept the firewood he would chop down himself stacked neatly in rows that reached just below his knees in height. The scent was strongest here, beckoning and encouraging him to act. Was someone wounded in there? He opened the double doors wide and, when the dying sunlight did nothing for him, he flipped the light switch on the wall.
She stuck out from the plain wall of wood behind her cowering form. If he thought the smell of blood was strong outside, it was damn near overwhelming in here. His first instinct was to reach out for her but he stopped himself quickly enough, picking up the distinct scent of fear tainting the natural sweetness of hers. "Hey, it's alright. I won't hurt you," he heard himself saying, slowly taking his jacket off to offer it to her. "Here, put this on. You're probably freezing..." And injured... and...
"You're an Omega," he stated quietly, caught completely off guard.
For decades, the inhabitants of the concrete jungle were comprised by a majority of Betas led by Alphas, with a rare sprinkling of (mated) Omegas here and there as the minority. Civility was an evolving concept that birthed the creation of suppressants and scent blockers, which in turn opened up the market for scent enhancers, emergency heat/rut stop pills, and all sorts of methods to control what was otherwise natural. With biology controls becoming more mainstream and oftentimes even required by employers, Omegas began to try to carve their own niche in the city. Part of the human condition, however, is mankind's inability to be perfect. Change wasn't easy, nor was it altogether welcomed by everyone.
Slowly, but surely, Omega’s began to make their place in society. Safety rooms had to be included in all future structural developments to protect an Omega going into an unexpected heat. Unmated Alphas and Omegas were required to be on suppressants as a condition of employment, although it was more common for Omegas to get away with not meeting this stipulation on account of it potentially compromising their fertility. In time, there were places designated only for Omegas and Betas; a place where both designations could coexist without the concerns of being around Alphas.
If that wasn’t laughable enough – there was the Government pairings. It was how things worked these days, the Government would pair two people up, based on their genetic compatibility, and arrange them to be married. Once someone had their pair, that was it, any other relationship they may currently be in was void, they were now expected to devote themselves to their paired partner.
What a joke of an idea.
Zayne Waller was fortunate to have been born into a family of influence and wealth, an only child who grew under this new way of life. He made a name for himself and a life in the city. Hell, the city itself was the lifeblood of his careers. He had it all – wealth, influence, power. He had it all – until it all slipped between his fingers in shame.
This new house cost him a small fortune but, at this point in his life, the move was a dire necessity. The specifications he gave for the construction of his new home were rather simple, if not vague; warm tones, spacious enough to not feel cramped, rustic and inconspicuous. The build had to suit a single man in his early thirties, whose only aspirations as of late were the quiet expanse of farmlands in what some in his circle aptly described as bum-fuck nowhere out in the pacific northwest. Some would call such a request an architect's dream; being given all the creative freedoms a generous budget would allow, on a plot of land that was going to be a nightmare for construction crews to navigate. A timeline of a year was set for the project, explained to him that this was a best-case scenario deadline given the difficulty of access to the lands he'd purchased and the additional permit processes required to install subterranean services for the new house (power, water, fiber optic communications, etc). While the waiting period was not ideal for quite personal reasons, Zayne signed the contracts and paid the work in full upfront to ensure no unnecessary delays.
The defamation lawsuit that followed almost a year's worth of court hearings to prove his innocence gave him little comfort. He didn't need the money from it at all and was ready to donate any reparations to non-profit organizations that helped people like his accuser. Unfortunately, just as there were Alphas who preyed on Omegas, there were also Omegas who used their biology to take advantage of an Alpha. Equally unfortunate was the fact that Omegas still carried the upper hand in court proceedings, as if it was impossible for them to commit any wrongdoing against an Alpha. It's the kind of social malady you don't think about until it hits too close to home. The publicity nightmare, both for him and his family, had left him feeling hollow and uninspired, disappointed even that those he considered close friends would disassociate themselves with him regardless of his innocence.
Leaving the city was the change he needed. Early retirement, as his father would say whenever the subject of Zayne's move would come up. His mother, a graceful, loving, and well-respected Omega, suggested he should try and settle down and make a family. The suggestion came from a good place, but Zayne didn't have it in him to disappoint the woman who raised him. These days, the last thing on his mind was finding a mate, let alone approaching the very thing that had ruined it all.
Earlier that afternoon
He had waited so long for this moment. The moment he had seen her, he knew she had to be his. But, that fate was not meant to be in the eyes of the Government. So, he took fate into his own hands. It had taken several years to bribe the Government and an immense amount of money to make it happen. Finally, it was done. William reed had her in the palm of his hands – and she would forever be bound to him. To hell with the chump who was supposed to be here today. This was his place, and he would do anything to keep it that way.
William arrived early and followed the waiter to his seat. It was a nice, quaint little coffee shop located right in the middle of town. Which, in a town located in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere, even the phrase, ‘middle of town’ may have very little merit to some. He was led to the open-air porch, where an assortment of tables and chairs were placed under a fancy umbrella for comfort. Several of the tables around her were already occupied by other customers who casually spoke to their companions as they sipped at their beverages.
His gaze drifted to the table, falling upon the manila folder that had started it all, examining the picture pinned to the front for the hundredth time. Marial Dragonmir. The Omega he had put in so much effort to obtain. She was once promised to another. It was laughable how a sum of money could change that, and with one simple drug, the Omega would be his.
The meeting was casual. The two talked mediocre chatter, until her drink arrived. Within minutes of her first sip she was excusing herself. This was it. William escorted her outside and the moment she collapsed; he was there to take what he considered his.
He waited until the drug wore off, leaving her unconscious body sprawled upon his bed. He wanted her to be aware of what was happening – to make sure she knew what was expected of her for now on, and when she began to stir, he wasted no time to make his move. However, things didn’t go as planned – one jab to his groin and he was hunched over in agony, giving the Omega her chance to escape.
***
The first thing that hit Zayne square in the face was the cool brush of wind that carried with it the promise of snow. Even breathing felt different here, where the air wasn't polluted by a ridiculously dense population. In fact, he had to pause a long moment to realize it was really just him and the project manager standing outside his new home. Stillness greeted him and, for the first time, it was as though something inside him could finally let go and rest easy knowing it was just him out there. After the initial walk-through of the house, Zayne was given the keys and left to unpack his SUV on his own. Not that he brought much with him besides clothing and a few personal items he was loathed to part with. Part of the contract for building the house included a budget for interior decorating and, by the looks of it, whomever did the job did their homework well.
For the better part of the first couple of days, Zayne went about getting rid of the staple scent of harsh chemicals and disinfectants used to cleanse rooms and surfaces from the scent of other Alphas or Omegas. He opened the doors and windows each morning, letting the cool breeze filter out the undesirable scent and bring with it the fragrant scent of cedarwood. When he made the drive to a local town in search of groceries, he wasn't sure if he was relieved or surprised about just how far it was from his house. Maybe he was both, pleasantly so. He could do with minimal human contact for a while.
By the time his first month living there came by, Zayne could tell the significant difference between living in the city and out in blessed bum-fuck nowhere. He'd stopped taking suppressants a few days before he left his old apartment. While those didn't have a long life inside one's system, he'd had more than enough of it throughout his lifetime for it to take a bit longer to notice a difference without it. When he did, he swore vehemently he would never go back to the city or anywhere suppressants were required. It felt as though a fog had been lifted from his mind; everything felt, sounded, and tasted sharper than before. There was a peaceful quality to this freedom that he hadn't known he'd been missing for most of his adult life. For the first time in years, he truly felt what he was and not just who he was.
And he liked it, quite a bit in fact, being the Alpha he was born to be.
The first snow surprised him early one morning, the small white clusters of snowflakes flowing uninvited through his open windows and doors. Not that he minded; Alphas usually ran hot and the fireplace was producing a barrier of warmth to keep the cold from becoming an issue. With the setting sun painting his walls with a burnt orange color, Zayne began his evening routine of closing the windows and doors for the night. He'd been about to close the sliding glass door when he felt it. A stirring inside him followed by goosebumps appearing across his sleeveless arms. Before he could even begin to process what was going on, the feeling intensified, now tunneling his vision in one direction. Sweet. The scent of something sweet, marred by the unmistakable copper note of blood. Not something... Someone. There was no way there was someone this deep into his property, at this hour, to where he could scent them this close. Something tugged at the back of his mind, trying to tell him something he already knew but had yet to acknowledge. Zayne pushed it away with some difficulty, grabbing his coat and throwing it on to investigate where the scent of blood... human blood... was coming from.
Zayne stopped just outside the tool shed the architect had designed for extra storage space. Lately, he kept the firewood he would chop down himself stacked neatly in rows that reached just below his knees in height. The scent was strongest here, beckoning and encouraging him to act. Was someone wounded in there? He opened the double doors wide and, when the dying sunlight did nothing for him, he flipped the light switch on the wall.
She stuck out from the plain wall of wood behind her cowering form. If he thought the smell of blood was strong outside, it was damn near overwhelming in here. His first instinct was to reach out for her but he stopped himself quickly enough, picking up the distinct scent of fear tainting the natural sweetness of hers. "Hey, it's alright. I won't hurt you," he heard himself saying, slowly taking his jacket off to offer it to her. "Here, put this on. You're probably freezing..." And injured... and...
"You're an Omega," he stated quietly, caught completely off guard.
