She’s lounging on a pile of cushions, with her eyes closed. Glancing around, I see the other harem members all doing the same thing—nothing. Various forms of nothing.
“Make yourself comfortable,” she says. “And wait.”
“Wait for what?”
She turns her head and lifts her long lashes high enough to give me some serious alien side-eye. “For his Majesty to summon you again.”
“Is that all you guys do?” I’m incredulous.
She gives a little shrug. “It is a great honor to be chosen as the king’s courtesan. Other Betas must work hard to feed themselves and their families. Long hours. Backbreaking labor, in some cases. Here, we are fed, clothed, and live in luxury.”
“Do you get paid?” I ask.
More side-eye. “No, of course not! We have no need of remuneration. All our needs are met.”
I plonk myself down on a nearby footstool, sitting cross-legged, tugging the skirt of my dress over my knees. “What’s a Beta?”
There’s a pause. Eventually, after apparently having decided that I’m not going to go away and stop pestering her, Juno opens her eyes fully and settles herself so she’s facing me. She’s still lying reclined, very feminine, a picture of seduction.
Meanwhile, I’m perched on the footstool like an eager child about to be read a story.
“Society is divided into three classes,” she begins. “Alphas are the leaders. King Aurus is an Alpha, of course, as are the eight other known kings. And the soldiers.”
“Are they all male?”
“Almost. I’ve heard stories of female Alphas, but I’ve never seen or met one, or met anyone else who has.”
“Typical,” I mutter under my breath. Then, when Juno shoots me a look. “Sorry. Please continue.”
She lets out a little huff of exasperation. Pomposity seems to be an inherent trait among Ulfarri if Lenah, Juno, and Aurus are anything to go by. “Betas make up the majority of society. All of us courtesans are Betas. Betas work in all fields, from medicine to construction, teaching to artistry.”
“So are there male Betas as well?”
“Yes. Of course.”
Of course.I suppress an eye roll. “And… Omegas?” Since this is apparently what I am, I’m most interested to find out what exactly that means to them.
“Omegas are the rarest of all. Precious. Special. They all but died out with our parents’ generation—or so we thought. Then Khan returned with Emma.”
Immediately, I’m on high alert. My pulse starts to race. “Emma?”
“Khan is the Wanderer King. He travels the universe, ostensibly looking to further Ulfaria’s interests, but it turns out he was really hunting for Omegas all along. And then he found one. Emma. A human, like you.”
A human? Here? On Ulfaria? “Where is she?” I manage, forcing myself to sound calm.
“In Altrim,” Juno tells me as if I’m stupid. “Beside her king.”
Altrim. I make a mental note to remember that. At last, I have a destination in mind when I escape this place. “And why was… the Wanderer King… so keen to find Omegas?” That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? What makes us so special that we have to be abducted and brought to an alien planet to be… I refuse to finish that sentence, even in my mind.
Juno gives a little sigh. “To breed. Beta/Beta pairings almost always produce Beta offspring—very rarely are Alphas born. Omegas, even more rarely. I’ve never heard of it happening during my lifetime. When Alphas mate with Omegas, however, they will always birth Alpha or Omega progeny.”
That’s it? I’ve been imprisoned here and thoroughly sexed up by Goldprick—just to have babies?
“What’s wrong with Beta progeny?” I ask. “It seems to me they’re capable of anything Alphas or Omegas are.”
“Alphas are stronger. Bigger. Better warriors. They protect us from all threats.”
Huh. Well, Aurus is certainly enormous. He makes human bodybuilders look like stick figures.
