“Alphas,” he greets quietly.
I smile, fully intending to grill him later on what we might have interrupted.
“Beta Zilas,” Azane answers, “Would you join Pack Traex?”
He blinks, big black eyes filling wetly. He looks down, nodding silently.
Finally he answers, “I would.”
“Good,” I say, smiling genuinely. “We would love for you to come with us.Today.”
He looks up, eyes flicking between us.
“Now?” He swallows, a gulp working down his very blue neck. “I... I need some time. To... pack, but mainly to wrap up things with my bakery...”
Azane tilts her head, smiling in the winning way of hers. “Can you not handle it via handheld? Our home has acceptable service and is not far from Citradoth.”
His pretty face tilts, horns angling as well. “Not far from Citradoth?”
I frown. “Unfortunately, far enough that it would be impossible for you to be regularly in the city to run a bakery.”
Zilas nods, eyes flicking between us. “Sure. Today.” He nods decisively.As though if he lets us out of his sight, he’s afraid we’ll change our mind.“I just need to swing by mybakery, talk to my partner.” He steps back from the door. “Please, come in. It won’t take me long to pack.”
We enter his small room, and the first thing I notice is how clean it is. I approve.
Zilas drops to his knees, tail across the floor for balance, and digs under his tiny bed. After a few moments of rustling, he emerges holding a duffel.
I catch Azane frowning and I put a reassuring hand on her back.
She’s likely thinking the same as I am: meager quarters here at the Beta House.
We had only spent the required two revolutions in an Alpha House, but the rooms had been much more plush.
I lean into her body, and her arm wraps around my back. “Don’t worry, baby, we’ll spoil him,” I whisper.
She nods. “Our little omega too. Fuck, I can’t wait to meet her.”
I growl, heat diving through me. I can’t wait for her. Only three more sleeps.
“Do you need a hand, Zilas?” Azane offers.
He spins, the small braids in his silky dark blue hair flying. He looks absolutely shocked. I bite my cheek as sorrow fills me heavily.
For a Celnoe that wants a pack, I imagine it must be terribly lonely to be here.To be alone.
Azane and I met when her pack moved in next door to where my family lived in Citradoth. My fathers, alphas, helped run a farming co-op along with my one mother, another alpha. My other mother, an omega, raised us with the help of our charax father. We grew up running and playing, helping withgardening and household chores. My tail was barely brushing the ground when Azane’s mother and father moved in. It was just the two of them, betas, and Azane, their little alpha kit. We knew immediately we liked each other; we were drawn together. Inseparable for our school years, we then moved to the Alpha House in Figate for training. Years passed, once we moved Citradoth, happily together, just us. We forged community bonds; making friends and supporting each other.
But not three revolutions ago, we heard of an intentional community named Setias, not too far outside of Citradoth. Meant to be a return to traditional Celnoe ways, traditional living. We signed up, interviewed, and were approved.
We’ve spent the last couple revolutions building our home and learning to be a helpful part of our community. It was Azane who pushed for an omega. She thought we were ready. And maybe we were.
I had considered us solid—our bonds, our relationships, our now-finished home. But the requirements for signing up for an omega through the Concord agreement... we didn’t meet them.
She talked me into it, the persuasive beast that she is. She was right. We’d never heard of a pack waiting less than several revolutions for a matched omega. We’d have plenty of time to find a charax.
“Ready,” Zilas says, tossing a second bag over his arm.
Azane and I both make a noise of displeasure, moving forward and taking a duffel each.
