Alpha and Omega || IrishRose80 and Collector of Rarities

[IrishRose80]

It was simple anthropology, evolutionary science, biology. Humans were primates, having descended from the great apes. That wasn’t a groundbreaking discovery by any means, it was just science. However, in a small percentage of the population, that wasn’t the case at all.

For 90 percent of the world, things were simple. They were human beings, nothing further. But that last 10 percent, that was where things became a bit… tricky. Alphas and omegas operated on a slightly different genetic code, more closely related to wolves than to the primates that humans were descended from. Humans were by far the dominant species on earth in term of sheer numbers, but in terms of speed, power and durability, alphas had regular humans far outstripped. If there was a hierarchy, it was generally accepted that alphas were at the top of that hierarchy. They were the elite; powerful and strong and domineering, taking command of politics, finance, real estate… If you were an alpha, the world was your oyster.

Omegas, however… omegas were a very different situation entirely.
If alphas were the victors, omegas were the spoils. Beautiful, biddable and needy, they were the ultimate trophy, the prize that anyone, alpha or human, would practically kill to have. Since it wasn’t until puberty that a person’s status was assured, until that point everyone was educated the same. However, once a person’s status presented itself, life became very different depending upon which caste you were in. Alphas found themselves with greater opportunities, as well as greater responsibilities, as was fitting for a person who would be considered among the elite of society. Omegas though, were a valuable commodity. An omega wouldn’t be wasted in the workforce, not when they were so much more desirable as the biddable little fuckpets and broodmares that they inevitably became once they were claimed by an alpha.

The entire concept was anathema to Morgan. Why on earth should the fact that she presented as an omega when she turned twelve make a difference in what she wanted to do with her life? Fuck that noise. She’d been considered one of the smartest children in her school, had skipped two grade levels and had been taking college courses on the side since middle school. Thankfully she’d presented the summer before high school, otherwise the prestigious academy that she was applying to would have turned her down soundly. Her parents were fortunately understanding of her plight and were able to change her documentation to list her as a male student, allowing her to wear the far less revealing male uniform to school (it would have been impossible to hide the white wolf ears and tail that had come with her omega status had she been forced to wear the positively scandalous girl’s uniform!) and to pass as a regular beta human. And thus Morgan Ramsey entered high school at the prestigious Aberthney Academy for the Gifted.
But that was just where her troubles really began.

As if it wasn’t a hard enough life for Morgan to be an omega trying to pass as a beta, school itself seemed destined to thwart her. Ever since she’d had her first heat with the onset of puberty, she’d been hiding, taking suppressants, hiding her omega features under a hat and hoodie that she was never seen without, tucking her tail down into her pants leg and doing her absolute best to not call too much attention to herself. It wasn’t easy, by any stretch; all the physical indicators were there, proudly declaring her to be an omega, and she’d had to work extra hard and become extra crafty to hide her actual status in the hierarchy of the world she lived in. Her uniform being a few sizes too big and baggy on her, chest and hip binders, slouching to hide her height, and the suppressants…God, the suppressants made her sick. But she wasn’t about to be stuck in some prissy little charm school for ‘proper’ omegas. She was going to do something with herself. Be somebody.

Everything would be going fine if she hadn’t been paired up with an alpha for her chemistry partner. For the rest of the fucking semester. She looked down at the smooth black surface of the lab table, doing anything rather than look at the huge, intimidating Alpha making his way towards the table. She could do this. She could manage this. She could handle this. They just had to work on their science project, that was all. No need to do anything more than that. She waited silently, wondering if he was going to address her first. She could feel her heart in her throat and she willed her stomach to stop churning. He wouldn’t find out. No one would find out. She’d hidden it for four years now, she could do it a little longer.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just any alpha. Oh no, the universe couldn’t be that kind to her. No, it had to be the alpha that she had been nursing a tiny crush on ever since she’d started school at the academy. She’d tried to tell herself it was just instinct, just an omega seeking out a compatible alpha, that’s all it was. It didn’t help matters that he was tall, dark and handsome, with thick black fur and bright golden eyes and he made her knees weak every time he walked past her. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair in the least and that more than anything else was the reason behind Morgan’s perpetual sour attitude and disposition. She was smart, as smart as anyone at this school, maybe smarter. She was smart and tough and cunning and just because she happened to have been born with that unlucky genetic combination that doomed her to life as a pampered cockslut didn’t mean that she had to take her fate lying down. Even if that meant only being able to imagine what it would be like to be claimed by the shaggy furred alpha making his way over to her table.

 

[Collector of Rarities]

To the general public, being an alpha was glamorous. You were tall, powerful, fearsome and had the endurance of a wolf on the hunt: just the way the alphas wanted the public to view them. The general public never got to learn about what it was like to go from being 5'6" one year to 7'4" the next. They would never know what it was like to suddenly be overwhelmed by scents and sounds that they hadn't had years of growth to acclimate to, to suddenly be forced to walk on digitigrade feet when previously their heels had always touched the ground. And certainly no one ever had to experience long, painful nights, whimpering in pain as their skeleton continued to grow and shift into a form that was almost entirely alien from the one they had been born with. Remus Bianchi had even spent the first two years of high school eating alone in his room because it had taken him a while to get used to eating with a snout instead of human lips and feared being a laughing stock in the cafeteria (though none of the betas would have dared tease him unless another alpha did so first). So much was foreign to him, but he had to act like he was proficient in his new body, even as he was learning to use it, so as to keep up appearances and never give any of the betas cause to doubt his superiority. And, of course, there was the separation from his family: just like every omega was shipped off to charm school when they displayed, every alpha was forced to leave home so that their raging hormones didn't drive them to clash with their father for dominance of the household. True, Remus had more than enough money to last him through college, including any luxuries he could want - alphas were expected to keep up a certain lifestyle, after all - but it did little to quell the loneliness he felt.

Perhaps this was what had drawn him to the track and field team. Many of the older alphas preferred more direct physical contests in their sports: wrestling, football or the martial arts. Remus, on the other hand, preferred the simple thrill of charging down the track, leaping during the various jumping events or hurling javelins, discuses and shot puts. Not only were such simple, almost primal displays of power exhilarating to him, but he also found that these simpler sports helped him become more coordinated in his new body. He'd managed to play off his initial clumsiness as over-eagerness or simple aggression, but with countless hours of extra practice Remus had become the rising star of the varsity track and field team at Wolfram Academy. Well... there was one other thing that helped him get through his early years of high school.

Soon after he began taking classes at Wolfram Academy, Remus would find little notes addressed to him throughout the day. They would show up in his locker, on his desk or slipped under the door to his dorm. He was frustrated by the letters at first - each one seemed to pick up on all of the flaws he tried so desperately to hide - and he even tore some of the earliest ones to shreds out of anger, but he always found himself picking up all of the pieces and reassembling them back in his dorm. Whoever was writing the notes seemed to understand not only his awkwardness and insecurities, but also the profound loneliness he felt. He never learned who was writing the letters, but he always found himself searching for them throughout the day. He'd become quite good at discreetly picking the notes up, and his admirer had become adept at hiding them where only he would find them, as the other alphas would often tease him if they saw him reading one of the notes in public: after all, looking forward to the companionship of someone he might never meet was just another item on the list of how Remus failed as an alpha. He didn't play a contact sport, he'd failed to develop much of a following from his fellow students and to top it all off, he didn't even show interest in fields of leadership. No, Remus's academic interests lay in building computers and writing software, not government or military leadership or even running a company.

Finally, in his senior year, Remus had learned to accept his place in the world. He'd learned how to ignore the other alphas, who had quickly grown tired of teasing him when he simply didn't respond, he'd excelled in all of his classes, though Morgan was without a doubt a far better student than he would ever be, and he'd managed to find a measure of companionship in the school's computer club, as well as taking on a leadership role as captain of the track team. He still found the letters on an almost daily basis, and they still managed to boost his confidence, but more and more he was finding that he could hold his head up on his own. The letters were becoming less a crutch and more a pleasant reminder of the person he had grown and continued to grow into. Still, this didn't prevent him from having the occasional bad day, and the first day of his senior year was no exception to this rule. Regardless of how much confidence Remus had managed to build, conversations with his father never failed to put him in a foul mood. The Bianchi family was a proud lineage of alphas who had all accomplished great things, his father would always remind him. His older brothers were all studying business or climbing the ranks of the corporate, government and military ladders. A Bianchi man needed to lead! Not tinker away under someone else's supervision! It had been such a conversation that lit the angry fire in Remus's eyes as he stalked towards Morgan's table.

Like all alphas, Remus was much taller than the humans around him. He was covered head to toe in thick, black fur and compact, toned muscles. Other alphas might have been built for bulk, but Remus's frame was all lean, hard muscle. His golden eyes, usually keen and analytical, glared at everyone and everything around him, seeking any excuse to take his frustration out on anything that happened to offend him. Even the teachers knew better than to provoke one of their alpha students: even one of the milder ones such as Remus. He'd found a note inside of his desk that morning, but hadn't deigned to open it: at the moment, he just wanted to brood. Remus had heard of Morgan - how could anyone not know the young man who beat out even the exceptional students of Wolfram Academy? - and might have even been pleased to work with him as a lab partner on a better day, but today was not a better day, so he spared his partner only a sparing glare before slouching into a seat and turning his attention toward the board.

 

[IrishRose80]

One of the worst parts of her masquerade was just how necessary it was, and how easy it was to slip up. It was one of the reasons that she tended to stay out of sight of the alphas of the school; with the right covering, she could fool regular people easily. But alphas… alphas were a different story. If her medication mixture wasn’t perfect, if she made the wrong movement, the wrong expression, if her hat got knocked off or she got seen in the restroom or something, she was done for. The suppressants kept her from giving off the usual scent of an omega, but the slightest change in body chemistry, an illness, or even other medication, could cause something to go wrong, and then not only did she have to contend with how sick the suppressants made her anyway, they might not actually have the right effect on her.

She had always had a thing for Remus; he seemed more approachable than others because he wasn’t as arrogantly sure of himself as other alphas she’d seen were. But he was still an alpha, and even if he wasn’t as arrogant and domineering as the others (he’d gained confidence in himself, she was glad to see) he still presented a very clear danger to her plans beyond high school. She’d come this far, had done this well, and though she would make the same choice if she had to do it all over again, the stress wore on her. She didn’t have anyone to talk to, anyone to confide in. It was too dangerous for anyone to know what she really was and if any of the school administrators found out, she’d be forcibly transferred to a ‘proper’ school for omegas. No matter how good a student she was, how advanced she was, how impressive her academic history was, she’d be shipped out to one of those insipid little brainwashing camps to learn to be a ‘proper’ omega. To prepare her for a life as a pampered, insipid fucktoy.

What kind of life was that for anyone?

So when Remus sat next to her, even though he paid her no mind, she found herself inching away from him slightly, staring down at her textbook and notes as she tried her best not to let any of that fear that soured on her tongue and made her stomach churn show on her face. That would garner questions, and Morgan hated questions. So many lies that she had to keep track of, to remember what she told who. The worst thing that could possibly happen would be an alpha finding out about her, because she wasn’t so stupid as to think that she wouldn’t be claimed right away. Trapped in a relationship with a person that she couldn’t stand, that thought of her as nothing more than a convenient set of holes? She wasn’t a dramatic person by nature, but she would have died first.

They only had to get through this semester as lab partners. Nothing more. She could handle that. Everything would be alright. She just had to be smart and careful. She could do it.