SIX
Rose
Even though I’m twenty-seven,Ma can make me feel like a guilty five-year-old who pinched a cookie. I resist the urge to drag the toe of my boot across the floor. “I went to see the king.”
“Youwhat?”
When I’m brave enough to meet her gaze, I see her eyes are huge pools of astonishment. Thank god. She’s not mad. “At the market yesterday, Leelah was saying this mysterious sickness was like the Red Death all over again. She told me that it happened before, and that the king found the cure. When I saw the rash on your face, I couldn’t think of anything else to do.”
“Oh, Rose,” Ma says again.
I wait for her to continue, to scold me, to ask questions, anything, but instead she just looks at me. I can’t read her expression. “Ma?”
“I’ve done you ill,” she whispers.
“What? No—”
“It’s time I told you the truth. I’ve hidden it for too long. A lifetime.”
I sink into the chair opposite her. Ma’s long, slender fingers are clenched in the quilt covering her lap. I want to reach out and take her hand but she’s gazing into the fire as if reading her future there.
“I’m an Omega,” she says. It sounds like a sigh.
I blink. “What?”
“It’s true. I’ve been in hiding for decades.”
“But… I thought Omegas were rare to non-existent. They basically died out or something.”
“Oh, we exist. Yes, birth rates have plummeted but there are other Omegas here on Ulfaria.” She attempts a wry smile. “You could say we’re as rare as we are fertile.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because it’s no longer just my secret to keep. Haven’t you ever wondered why I always told you to avoid Alphas? To hide?”
“I thought it was because I’m human.”
“No. You are different but they would accept that. You must hide because you are an Omega, too.”
I laugh. I don’t mean to, but… “Ma, no. There’s no way I can belong to a subclass of Ulfarri society. I’m a human. From Earth. New York, to be precise.”
“I don’t know how it’s possible, but I know it’s true. I am certain. You’re an Omega.”
I open my mouth and she holds up a hand.
“I know for sure because I’m one,” her piercing blue eyes are watching me intently, “and I can scent it on you. You may still be a human, but you’re an Omega too. Just as I’m Ulfarri—and an Omega. More importantly, if I can smell it on you, so can they.”
They?
The question must show on my face because she continues, “Alphas. Alphas can scent Omegas. It is their nature. Alphas are our warriors. They are born to fight, born to lead but above all, they are all born to find their perfect Omega. To find her and claim her as their mate. And Omegas can do the same. If they scent the right Alpha, they go into heat. It’s called the rut in Alphas, and estrus in Omegas. It can last from days to weeks, during which the Alpha and Omega join together as many times as possible with the intent to conceive.”
My eyebrows rise higher and higher. Even the wind is still, listening.
“An Alpha in rut can be out of control. Dangerous,” Ma says in her most serious tone. “If you and the wrong Alpha scent each other, and he goes into rut, you can forget about getting away,” she continues darkly. “He will have you, one way or the other. Not only that, but he won’t even think about letting you go.”
“Why not?”
“An Alpha’s instinct is to breed. Especially once the rut sets in. Since he cannot ever impregnate a Beta—Ulf knows, he won’t even go into rut with one—to him, you would be a prize jewel. A perfect mate.”
