Jaxom
“Your cabin is... “ Elara hesitated and bit her bottom lip as she glanced around the room. “Home-y. Yes. Let’s go with that.”
“That’s because I’m only a beta,” I explained, trying not to take offense at her lack of knowledge of the universe. Now that I had experienced space and had the freedom to explore other planets, I wouldn’t know how horrible it would feel being thrust away from my family and forced to live my life trapped within the metallic walls of the station.
“But there have to be wealthy betas in the universe.” She frowned. “Aren’t there?”
“There are a few here and there, but nothing like how many alphas there are.”
“Don’t you ever wonder why that is?” She walked deeper into my cabin and sat on my bed as she continued to survey her surroundings. “And why do you never hear about an omega owning their own business.”
“That’s because omegas are supposed to be sheltered and pampered--”
Her gaze snapped to mine. “You can’t tell me that you believe in that, too.”
“This isn’t about what I believe,” I countered as I sat beside her. “But how our society works. Those deltas take you away from your family as soon as you start to smell too sweet and lock you away from the rest of the population until you are chained to an alpha.
“They shelter you from the beginning and only provide you with enough knowledge that would be barely passable if you were to attend a beta academy. Why would an omega want to own a business when they are conditioned at a young age to look forward to a future filled with pampering and being worshipped by an alpha.
“Can’t you see how controlling that is? The matron tells you how much she is protecting you, but the cost of your protection comes out of the pockets of the alphas that need the sacred connection to live. Has anyone stopped to think that perhaps it's the deltas who were causing the strife?”
“Honestly, I’ve noticed a few concerning things ever since The Den,” she muttered, looking down at her hands. “The ratio of omegas to alphas is off. For their system to work, there should be just as many omegas looking for a match. But every year, the omega numbers seem to dwindle, and I am starting to feel, more and more alphas are starting to notice.”
“Let’s just hope we aren’t at the station when it all comes collapsing down on them,” I muttered, not wanting to think of the disaster that was going to come. “I want to be on the other side of the galaxy when it does.”
“Do you really think it will happen during our lifetime?”
“How can it not?” I grabbed her fidgeting hands as her sweet pastry smell started to rot with fear. “I hate to tell you, but the matron somehow made omegas a rare commodity, and she is the broker. What she is doing is going to start a war. Desperate people are willing to do anything to survive, including killing if needed. Let’s just hope no one we know becomes a number in a statistic.”
“I refuse to allow my role to determine my future,” she spat. “Why can’t I start a business of my own? Do you understand how much I wanted to work on the station and was turned down? One a select handful was able to do, and now that I am on the outside looking in, I am wondering if that has to do with a deal they had made with the matron.”
“I am sure once we pass your heat, Luca will help fund you with whatever you want to do,” I soothed, as I hated hearing her like this. “Stars, if you need someone to run your inventory, I would love to give you a hand.”
“Truly?” Her eyes shot up. “You would do that for me?”
“My little sister is an omega and currently on the station,” I confessed. “Before her scent turned sweet, she had a dream to create a matching system for your tablet. She wanted to help betas find an alpha who was looking for more to join their clan. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find one that you mesh well with. Most sell all of their things to go to another planet in hopes to meet one, and in the end, it doesn’t work out, and they are stuck there until they can find a way out.”
“That’s awful.” She covered her mouth in shock.
“But that’s how it is for us,” I added softly. “We don’t have some elaborate station that does all the hustling for us. So that is why most end up without and pair up with someone in a similar situation.”
“What’s going to happen if a war breaks loose and your sister is still on the station?”
“Let’s just hope it doesn’t get to that point.” I frowned. “And if it does before she enters The Den, then I will beg Luca for an extended vacation so I can go there and take her away from it.”
“She would be welcomed here,” she insisted.
“You are my alpha’s omega.” I let out a sad chuckle and shook my head. “Having an unclaimed omega here would cause tension within the clan that I am not going to want ever to experience.”
“I understand that,” she replied, touching my hip. “And I am not about living in what-ifs, so that I will drop the topic. Just know that I am highly interested in her idea. When she gets herself an alpha, I wouldn’t mind collaborating with her. I am sure many would benefit from it.”
“Are you being serious?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” She bit her lip as her eyes locked onto mine. “Wouldn’t you think it would be a nice idea to have your sister and me working together on something like that?”
“Yeah, but… “
“Jaxom,” she purred. “Have you been told what you smelled like?”
