“Everything those like my father want us to know.” He brushes my hair back behind my ear. It’s a simple gesture, but it warms my heart and makes me feel cherished. “What if all females can carry life?”
My elation deflates. “I’m barren, Sin.”
“Who told you that?”
“History. Gammas can’t have kids,” I argue.
“How many gammas do you know who live in packs?” he challenges. “Furthermore, if the council wants you to believe that only omegas can bear children, then why do the other designations even exist?”
“They are born from packs,” I say, but I’m not convinced that’s true. Not anymore.
“What if everything we thought was wrong?”
“It’s still a rare breeding.” I eye him speculatively.
He smiles at me in that sinful way of his. “I think there are far more omegas in existence than the council and the dean are even aware of. Omegas are in hiding. Some take suppressants and scent suppressors, while others find packs and don’t want to be in debt to a society that only sees them as chattel.”
“I don’t blame them,” I tell him softly.
“Nor do I.” He leans forward, pressing a kiss to my lips. It’s so gentle, it’s more of a teasing press.
“Why, Sin?” I lean back and sit up, letting the sheet fall between us.
“Why did my father name me Sin?” He places his hands behind his head, his eyes heavy-lidded as they track my breath and the way my breasts rise and fall. “No one planned to have me, not in a traditional sense. My father never bonded to a pack or an omega, but he loved fucking omegas during their heats.”
My jaw drops. This is the authentic story, and not the lab one he lied about before.
“I love that shocked look on your face.” He wags his eyebrows, breaking my shock. “The council members didn’t all bond, but the ones who did shared omegas. When she fell pregnant, they had mages determine who sired the child, and then they gave the baby over to that alpha.”
“Our entire system is as corrupt as they come.” I shake my head. “Taking a baby from an omega, that’s…”
“Harsh?” He nods. “It is. Didn’t you ever wonder why there’s a rule that says the alpha heirs cannot bond with one another?”
“I’m not sure how much more shock I can handle.” My cheeks flush as I realize they all had one big orgy. “Holy fuck, how many brothers do you have? For that matter, how did no one ever find out?”
“Had a handful,” he admits, and that alone tells me precisely who one of his brothers was—the heir that died last year.
“I don’t know whether to feel sorry or happy for you.” I snort. “No offense, but he was a cunt.”
“He sure was, and I’m not offended.”
“Who was the omega?” I run through all the council members. There are seven on the council and one monarch.
“Gone. And the public never knew because they kept all omegas from the public eye. For their safety, of course.”
“Yes, of course.” My tone drips with sarcasm.
“I have a sister,” he says, surprising me. “And she’s fierce. She isn’t my real sibling, not by blood, but the one I chose to keep.” He rubs his chest as though the thought of her pains him. “I miss her, but she isn’t too happy with me.”
“I can’t wait to meet her.” I smile at him, glad to share this with him.
“Oh, but I think you have. Seraphina.” When he says her name, it’s full of pure adoration.
I know the omega. She lives at the castle and isn’t quite of age yet, but she is fierce and full of fire. We met briefly through mutual friends. “She’s sweet.”
“She’s a bulldozer.” He chuckles. “She’s the only sister I accept. How about your siblings?”
Horror spikes inside of me. “Oh, shit.” His question triggers me into remembering my own.