Icometowitha stretch and groan, feeling far too comfortable surrounded by soft bedding and delicious scents. It's quiet, and the warm press of bodies on either side of me makes me smile. Keeping my eyes closed, I try to will myself to fall back to sleep, but after several clicks, I realize sleep will evade me.
I take a long moment to simply breathe them in and process everything that's happened in the last few cycles. It's been one thing after another since I woke up, and I'm tired. Not so much physically, though I could certainly use another nap; it's the mental exhaustion I'm speaking of. I feel worn thin, yet content, and it's such a bizarre mix of emotions that I don't know how to handle it.
Part of me wants to cry, while the other wants to roll around in the sheets for cycles on end, giggling like a child.
My sigh is heavy, my thoughts heavier. I don't remember getting back here, to their home, but that's no doubt where I am. It's only confirmed when I finally open my eyes and take in the darkened room they call a nest. A nest is the perfect descriptor too—it's cozy, warm, and comforting.
"You're awake."
I startle and turn. Wen's on my left, his dark eyes taking me in with an intensity I don't quite understand.
Instead of replying, I hum and turn back to the ceiling. It's nice to have a moment to simply breathe. To relax. To process, even if I don't understand a lot of what happened to me. Despite my confusion, the peace is simple and nice.
Hands soothe through my tangled hair with a softness that makes my breath catch. It's soothing, and I've never been one to tolerate much contact, so it's surprising how…acceptingI am of Wen's hand. There's this weight in my chest that somehow feels less tight and heavy, getting lighter with each pass of his fingers.
"I feel… odd," I finally say into the silence, voice low in an effort not to wake Olo.
"How so?" Wen's hand pauses, and I have a feeling he's about to sit up. "Are you hurt?"
I reach over and gently push him back down, even though the angle is all wrong and I'm not putting any sort of weight into it. Thankfully he gets what I'm silently asking and resumes stroking his fingers through my hair.
"I'm fine," I mutter, thoughts still swirling. "There's just this pressure in my chest, and on top of that, my head’s a mess of confusion."
"It's the bond."
"What?"
Wen gently scratches my scalp, and it feels heavenly. So heavenly I almost groan and miss what he says. "What you feel in your chest is our bond—it's something the Allagi mutation brought forth when it altered us. We still don't have a concrete understanding of it, but the bond only occurs after an alpha and omega exchange claiming bites. It ties them together for life and allows them to access their partner’s emotional state.”
I turn to face him with a frown. "What do you mean, ties them together?"
His hand leaves my hair to skate down to my nape, where his fingers dance along my bare skin. I shiver, the touch almost arousing.
"I bit you here during your heat, just as I bit Olo seventeen years ago." Wen smiles, the look utterly devastating, and I swear my heart skips a beat. "It creates some sort of bond between our souls and means that no other alpha can claim you. You essentially belong to me, and I to you."
"And Olo."
Wen reaches out with his other hand and trails a finger down my cheek, his eyes filled with something I can't quiet name. Affection doesn't seem adequate somehow.
"He belongs to me, and I to him, but if you're asking about the bond between you two, there is none."
"Because he's also an omega?"
"Yes, though who knows? It might be possible for a bond to form between two of the same dynamic. It’s just never happened before."
There's still so much I don't know about all this, so much that overwhelms me. If I let it, this shit will drag me under, and I won't have that.
"So you and Olo have been together for seventeen years." It's not a question, and Wen seems to know that as he patiently waits for me to continue. "Why didn't you just send me to the village? You were already bonded."
"Because we wanted to help." I startle at the soft voice behind me and turn my head, accidently dislodging Wen's grip on my neck. Olo wears a soft smile from where he's tucked beneath the blankets with only his head exposed. "And we wanted you to stay."
My heart warms at his announcement, but it’s quickly overshadowed by uncertainty.
"But I'm bonded now to your… alpha. What does that mean for you? Where do I fit?"
"With us," Olo says kindly, "however you want that to happen. We didn't ask before Wen bit and bonded you, and we're sorry for that. We won't make excuses for our actions, but we didn't mean to take your choice from you. See, on Strafor, we have this festival where all the eligible omegas and alphas are introduced to one another. This happens before an omega’s first estrous so unpredictable heats don't cause riots. It’s meant to protect everyone, and it's understood that attending these festivities could mean you end up bonded and claimed by whichever alpha you bed."
Olo glances over my shoulder, his smile gone. "You didn't have a festival, and you weren't properly introduced to the eligible alphas. We took that chance from you, and we're sorry."