The sound of tires riding over the uneven terrain draw my attention away from the group. Noah has returned from his errand. Soon he’ll join us at the fire pit, and I’ll have to tell my story all over again.
“You’ve been with another alpha before us.” Archer’s voice is cold but not angry. He’d already guessed at my experience before. A part of him already knew, even though I’m sure he had the details wrong.
“Not an alpha,” I clarify, watching as the bright blue truck parks nearby. “A male omega.”
“But you got pregnant. That’s not possible with another omega. You’ve already told us this much, just tell us the full truth, Violet. Tell us the truth so we can figure out what to do. You owe us at least that much.” This comes from Miles, my cinnamon roll. He no longer looks sweet and delectable. Now his expression has soured. I did that to him. Me.
“I am telling you the truth. I had just turned eighteen a few months before. I got my first heat at prep school, and I was terrified. It hurt so bad I passed out. And then Duncan was there, offering to help.”
Ben’s hands form into fists. He hasn’t said anything to me since I started sharing my secrets. Does he hate me? If he does, I deserve it. Whatever happens next, I’ll deserve it.
“I didn’t even know him before that,” I add quickly, glancing back over my shoulder to see Noah pulling plastic shopping bags from the rear of his truck. “And I was never in love with him. It just hurt so bad, the pain from that heat. And it came three years earlier than it was supposed to. I wasn’t ready. If you hate me, I’ll understand. I never wanted to hurt you—any of you.”
I look to Noah as he approaches with steady strides, an overstuffed grocery bag in each hand.
“What did I miss?” he asks, his eyes narrowing on me before quickly looking to the others instead. “Seems kind of important.”
BEN
Of all the secrets Violet could have been hiding, I didn’t expect this one. A part of me wants to scream and curse the Heavens for our bad luck.
But then again, I have a secret too.
And Violet’s secrets never hurt anyone. Meanwhile mine almost got my best friend killed.
She was unfaithful, but that was before she knew us, before she’d ever even heard of us. We always expected our omega would come to us untouched because that’s the double standard that governs our society.
Alphas and betas can play, but omegas must not take a single step out of bounds until they’re mated to a pack. And it’s precisely because of the scenario we find ourselves in now.
Omegas are the only ones who can bear children, and given the human race’s greatly diminished fertility rates, we need to make sure those children are born into a loving and stable pack environment.
To protect the children, we punish their mothers, punish them before they ever do anything, assuming we know better.
How fucked up is that?
What’s even more fucked up is that I didn’t realize how unfair this all is before. Omegas nurture our packs and give birth to the next generation. They take care of us, help us, while we treat them as less-than with extra rules and laws without letting them choose for themselves.
Violet didn’t choose us, even if she went along with the match—no, her mother made this arrangement happen. Her mother who is also an omega, who has been oppressed by the same laws that now afflict her daughter.
My mind is fucked.
I’m supposed to be the thoughtful, artistic one. I’m supposed to be the one who sees that spotlight on society, who finds a way to make it a better place. But all I’ve done is uphold the status fucking quo. All I’ve done is hurt those closest to me.
I was born a nothing, and I should have stayed that way. It was an amazing stroke of luck that Archer found me when he did, that he saw something in me and chose to include me in his new pack’s formation.
He risked so much for me, for all of us. And I wasn’t brave enough to come clean before. My secret hurt him, just as Violet’s is hurting us now.
But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my predicament, it’s that nobody can punish me worse than I’ve already punished myself.
Violet is clearly suffering, and we’re all just sitting here in silence as if we’re the goddamned judge and jury.
It’s not okay. This is the woman we vowed to love, to build our family upon. It may not be official yet, but it’s as good as. What we did today… it was so beautiful.
How could any of the others be questioning that it’s right?
I know I need to say something to Violet, to share how I’m feeling in the wake of all this. But my brain is filled with a sea of emotions, and every time I bob above the surface, something new comes along to drag me under.
It’s only when she mentions the male omega by name that I finally outwardly react—and it’s not in a way I’m proud of.