“That said, I do still want to talk to you about your behavior. I’ve noticed the last few ceremonies, you’ve… been very off-putting when it comes to the alphas here. If you’re so against it, why are you even here?”
I shrugged. “It isn’t like I have a choice. My aunt made me do this.”
Delilah’s voice came out softer when she said, “Regardless of what you believe, not all alphas are bad. If you open yourself up to it, I’m sure you’d get many potential matches—”
With a shake of my head, I said, “It’s not that.”
“Then what is it? Tell me, and maybe I can help you.”
I eyed her up. Though she was an alpha herself, she was also a woman, so she had to know how badly society wanted to see all women either paired or matched with a pack. “Do you have a pack, Delilah?”
She let out a deep sigh. “I do not.”
“Why not?”
“It was never in the cards for me. I know what you’re doing, and I’m going to remind you that your situation and mine are completely different. You already know things are always different for omegas.”
“I know, but… why does it have to be? Why can’t I be alone if that’s what I want?”
“You can be, but it’s a more challenging feat. Someone of your bloodline… things are different when you come from old blood. You know this. There are, of course, options for omegas who don’t want or can’t find a pack of alphas, but typically they’re reserved for those who can’t trace their lineage all the way back to when this country was founded.”
Yeah, yeah. Coming from old blood, we’re expected to give up everything we wanted, just because we’re taught that preserving our bloodline was what mattered the most.
My voice came out uncharacteristically quiet when I asked her, “And what if what I want and what my aunt wants are opposite?”
Delilah’s lips thinned as she thought about it. “Unfortunately, unless you get emancipated, she will remain your guardian, and when it comes to omegas, legally choices can be decided by said guardian. But getting emancipated isn’t something that happens overnight. It can take months, maybe even a year or more for the case to make its way through court—and then you have to prove that, once guardian-free, you’d be able to take care of yourself.”
Yeah. I didn’t have that kind of time. Too bad I didn’t find the will earlier, maybe then I could’ve worked to get myself seen as a beta in the eyes of the law.
“That said,” she went on, “there are programs out there designed to help omegas who don’t want to be matched. Companies that are helming the spear of change in this country. In fact, I’m working with Alabaster Security on changing quite a lot. Tonight, however, there isn’t much I can do for you.”
My shoulders slumped.
“For now, tonight, I can only tell you what I tell everyone else: go into it with an open mind and an open heart. A lot of times, when omegas are closed off, they’re just waiting for the right alphas to come strolling along.”
The right alphas. Hmm. Maybe if I was a normal omega with all my senses intact, I’d know when the right pack of alphas came along. Maybe I’d be so drawn to them I wouldn’t care about claiming my inheritance and keeping my aunt from it.
But I wasn’t normal. I was broken, and I couldn’t smell for shit. The biggest indicator of a good match was scent when it came to alphas and omegas.
“Now, let’s get you out there so you can meet some alphas.” Delilah motioned for me to get up.
As I slid off the stool, I asked, “If my aunt calls you again—”
“I’ll tell her you were the model of good behavior tonight.” She tossed me a wink before she led me through the dressing room, to the set of doors that opened up directly into the ballroom, where the other omegas and alphas already were, at their own tables, getting to know each other, as waitstaff flittered about getting drinks and food.
Delilah led me to what must have been my table for the night, and she set a comforting hand on my shoulder before she walkedaway. A waiter immediately came around to take my drink order, and I just asked for water, my mind elsewhere.
A pair of alphas took up the chairs on the opposite side of the table from me, eyeing me up and down the entire time. I could tell they were smelling me, and that they liked what they smelled.
I, on the other hand, did not react at all to them. I didn’t even give them a smile. I set my hands on the table, leaning forward as I gave the two alphas my hardest glare and my iciest smile. “Listen, before you two say a single word, you should know that you won’t be able to win me over. Maybe you think I’m easy-pickings because I don’t have a sponsor with me, but let me assure you: I will not be having any conversations tonight in good faith. I’m only here because I have to be, not because I want to be, so why don’t the two of you just get right back up and go find another omega to talk to?”
They exchanged looks. Though they didn’t say a single word, I could read what they were thinking based on their expressions.
They thought I’d be a handful. Maybe too much trouble. And, what would you know, they were right.
“If you two don’t get up right now, you’ll just be wasting everyone’s time,” I said, my eyes lowering to the two suits they wore, taking in the details, the color combos. “And based on the fact that you’re wearing suits from three seasons ago, I’d say you’re already late.”
Maybe it was a bitch move to reference the fact that their suits were obviously older—I didn’t know who these two alphas were, which probably meant they had saved up to apply to this thing. All the more reason for them to go to another table. If they wanted an omega, they weren’t going to find one in me.
