Swing-swing-swing-swing.
Four times.
"She said I'm probably going to present as an Omega." The words come out sulky, pouty, the complaint of a child who's just learned the universe isn't fair. "Because of my scent glandsdeveloping or something. She said she can tell early, and I'mdefinitelygoing to be one."
Dad's expression doesn't change.
No surprise, no disappointment, no pity.
Just that same patient attention, waiting for me to finish.
"I don'twantto be an Omega," I declare, crossing my arms over my chest in the universal gesture of childish defiance. "It'sstupid."
"Why don't you want to be an Omega?"
The question is genuine.
Not leading.
Not correcting.
Just curious.
I huff, blowing a strand of hair out of my face—pink even then, though lighter, more pastel, not yet dyed to the vibrant bubblegum I'll favor later.
"Because Omegas areweak, obviously," I say it like it's the most self-evident thing in the world. "Society hates them. Everyone looks down on them. They have to follow Alpha orders and wear collars and—" I wrinkle my nose, remembering fragments of things I've overheard, things I've seen on the edges of adult conversations. "Why would Iwantto become one?"
Dad is quiet for a moment.
Considering.
When he speaks, his voice is thoughtful—not dismissive, not correcting, just... thinking out loud.
"Do you think your mother is weak?"
The question catches me off guard.
My arms uncross.
My kicks slow.
"What?"
"Your mother," he repeats patiently. "She's an Omega. Do you think she's weak?"
The very idea is so absurd that a giggle escapes—high and bright and untouched by the madness that will color it later.
"That'simpossible," I declare with the absolute certainty only children possess. "Mommy can't be weak. She'sbadass!"
Dad's eyebrow arches.
One corner of his mouth twitches.
"Badass?"
I clap my hands over my mouth immediately, eyes going wide with the realization that I've said a Bad Word. The gesture is pure instinct—the reflexive cover-up of a child who knows they've crossed a line.
"The TV said it!" I protest through my fingers, muffled and defensive. "I just heard it from the TV! The man with the hat said it when he was fighting the monster and?—"
