Beyond that, she seemed determined to kick one of us into heat. Evenings were spent tangled together in the nest or soaking in the hot tub, steam curling around us as her scent grew heavier by the day.
And it seemed the more we fucked her, the hornier she got.
The drugs she’d been given wouldn’t put her heat off forever, so we all knew it was a matter of time.
I had to figure out what I was going to do about mine. My nerves told me that I should continue what I always had—to beat the heats back with drugs—but another part of me, the part that was finally starting to process that we were really, truly free… that part wasn’t so sure.
I needed more information about my designation. Learning that I wasn’t an omega changed everything. And finally, on the eighth day of our freedom, I got a letter from the Kingsman pack—or from Shatter, really, since she was the one digging into Sigmas.
I brought it to the nest, where Vandle was, so the whole pack could read it. He was getting up and about now, though he still spent most of the day in the nest.
The others joined us as I skimmed the words scrawled out.
To the Banner pack:
This is what I’ve found on Sigmas. There is very little data available, so it’s not complete.
Sigmas present similarly to omegas in that they perfume. However, a year later, their eyes change to red instead of gold. The larger hormonal changes seem to follow this shift in eye colour—or perhaps work in tandemwith it—because the Institute’s injections have neutralized them completely. From what we can gather from the data, omegas who would have presented as sigmas remain at the omega baseline after receiving the injection.
They were rare even when unsuppressed. Now, with gold pack omegas making up such a small percentage of the broader population, sigmas are likely so rare that they are easy to relegate to myth.
Unlike omegas, sigmas are fiercely independent and the only designation that doesn’t rely on packs to remain balanced, with flexible heats satisfied by any designation. They possess massive, volatile auras like alphas, but these are harder to trigger, often coming out with threat or injustice, but they can be mastered.
In packs, they complete a triad: the alphas balance the omega, the sigma anchors the alphas, and the omega balances the sigma.
They cannot take the role of pack lead, but history indicates it isn’t unusual for there to be clashes between pack leads and sigmas within packs. Sigmas bonded with omegas are recommended to have enough alphas in the pack to keep them in check, as they can be violently volatile in protection of their bonded—especially in the case of mates. (Something to keep an eye on—Sin likely needsyou all, as no one has interacted with him as his true designation).
I couldn’t find any data on how sigmas interact with Institute-developed bonds like princess and dark bonds. They were eradicated because they were, for a long time, considered the ‘moral compass’ of the Arkological designations. They spoke harshly against the early concepts of princess bonds, firmly believing that the alteration of nature could only lead to catastrophic outcomes.
However, I wonder if the strong connection with nature’s balance is why the dark bond ended up the way it did. In essence, in dark-bonding her, you took power from Crescent, and his bond reacted to rebalance it, giving him power over you.
The princess bond was not fully developed until much later, when Sigma numbers were already dwindling or extinct. However, it appears they were right; the eventual development of the princess bond resulted in the dark bond—a consequence the Institute never intended.
Based on what my alphas have told me regarding the Institute’s methods, I would wager that they quietly deal with the existence of Sigmas behind closed doors.
It’s something we’re going to look into.
—Shatter
VANDLE
A few days had passed since we’d got the details from the Kingsman pack about sigmas, and they’d since sent a few more tidbits.
Basically, there was a good chance we were in for a crazy ride if Sin went into heat.
And Crescent had made him swear that if he did, he wouldn’t take any more drugs. She was right that he could go through heat with any designation—including her.
But it wasn’t so simple.
They were bonded, and that meant if his heat triggered, hers likely would too. And Sin still had a complicated relationship with alphas because of his time in Anarchy—which might extend to us.
Me, Karma, and Phantom had herded her out onto the back patio to talk, since we couldn’t risk being overheard by Sin. We’d had to do it while he was in the shower—otherwise, prying her away from him was fucking impossible.
It was a clear night, and the stars were visible through the trees above. I could see Karma peering up at them as he leaned on the side of the hot tub. He did that whenever we’d come out at night. He and Phantom had stayed out so late a few nights ago, they’d fallen asleep out here.
Crescent hopped up onto the side of the hot tub, folding her arms. “Sin said he doesn’t think it’s coming soon.”
“I think we’d be foolish to think it wasn’t,” I told her. “He’s growled at every alpha entering the nest in the last day.”
