Page 107 of The Sterling Acquisition
She looked up, meeting both their eyes with an expression that was equal parts sympathetic and determined. “You’ve completed the Primal Triad. And Orion? You’re not the claimed one in this equation. You’re the claimer.”
Orion stared at her, his brain struggling to process what she just said. The words seemed to hit him in waves, each realization more shocking than the last.
The Primal Triad. An ancient bonding process. Rules that put power in Omega hands.
You’re the claimer.
He felt like the floor had dropped out from beneath him, his entire understanding of the world inverted. For years—his entire life—he’d been taught that Omegas were meant to be claimed, owned, controlled. That his only value lay in his eventual submission to an Alpha. That his designation made him inherently less powerful, less autonomous, less worthy of respect.
He’d fought against that narrative with everything he had, determined to never be owned even if it killed him. And now this woman was telling him it had all been a lie—not just a corporate half-truth, but a complete inversion of reality.
“That’s not—what does that even mean?” His voice sounded distant.
Tallulah’s smile was infuriatingly pleased, like she was watching her favorite entertainment. “It means what I said.”
“But I don’t—” Orion looked at Dante, who appeared just as stunned as he felt, the Alpha’s usual composure shattered. “Alphas claim Omegas. That’s how it works. That’s how it’s always worked.”
“According to who?” Tallulah asked mildly.
“According to everyone!” Orion’s voice cracked with frustration. “According to every corporation, every contract, every—”
“Every lie they’ve been telling the world for seventy years,” Tallulah finished, still looking too amused by their distress.
From the corner of his eye, Orion noticed Lilac shifting in her chair, her scarred face creased with something that looked like sympathy mixed with secondhand embarrassment.
“This is insane,” Orion said, his hands clenching into fists. “You’re telling me that everything—literally everything—about how bonds work is wrong?”
Tallulah tilted her head, considering. “Wrong’s not the right word. Incomplete, maybe. Deliberately obscured.”
She studied him for a moment, her sharp eyes seeming to read the chaos of emotions he couldn’t fully conceal. “You’re overwhelmed. That’s normal. Finding out your entire world is built on lies tends to have that effect on people.”
Dante found his voice. “What is the Primal Triad?”
His tone was controlled, but Orion could sense the tension radiating from him—could smell the subtle shift in his scent that indicated deep unease. Whatever was happening, it was affecting Dante just as profoundly.
“Now that,” Tallulah said, her grin widening, “is the right question.”
Chapter thirty-seven
The Real History
Orion
Tallulahopenedtheancientjournal on her lap, pages crackling with age as she turned to what looked like a hand-drawn diagram. “The Primal Triad has three stages. Always has, always will, no matter what the corporations try to tell you.”
Orion leaned forward despite himself, drawn by the certainty in her voice. “What stages?”
“Stage One: The Scent-Sync.” Tallulah’s finger traced over faded ink that looked like intertwining spirals. “When two people are biologically compatible—truly compatible, not corporate-manufactured compatible—their pheromones start resonating. Creates obsession. Makes it impossible to stop thinking about each other.”
Something cold settled in Orion’s stomach. “That’s just... attraction.”
“Is it?” Tallulah’s eyes glinted with mischief. “Tell me, Dante, when did you first smell Orion? Really smell him?”
Dante went very still beside him. “My first day in SVI territory. In the courtyard.”
“And?”
“I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” Dante admitted. “His scent was overwhelming.”
