Page 47 of Trust No Alpha
The sound he made vibrated my whole being. I turned to look at him and he had a lavender light surrounding him. It was a play of the firelight, but still it looked beautiful.
“Do you think that’s it? I’m just a fucking embarrassment?”
“You will drive yourself mad if you ask questions like that.”
“I think it’s true. Father taught us Omegas are nothing but breeders. They live to breed. Like stock on a farm. Don’t most Alphas think that way? Isn’t that why the compounds that house Omegas are called farms?”
“Yes. It’s true. It is an unkind world to the other half of our population. The expectations of Omegas to be unintelligent and weak and need Alpha guidance, the jokes at their expense, their lack of protection under the law if they are abused. But not all Alphas think that way. You were raised one way, but I was raised another. There are others like me.”
“Tell me about how you were raised.”
“I had two parents, one Alpha, one Omega.”
“You knew your birth-Omega?”
“Yes. He was wonderful. As was my Alpha father. Both my fathers loved me and taught me about acceptance and love.”
I could barely fathom it. At times, when I was little, I had fantasized about having two parents, about knowing my Omega birth-dad. But I told no one because the way Father, my brothers and my private tutors talked about Omegas it was better our way, and no loss not to have one around disturbing our perfect lives, tantalizing us, interfering with Alpha rule and Alpha behavior.
“Your Omega father… what was he like?”
“Very loving. Attentive. Intelligent.”
I must have reacted in some way I wasn’t aware of, because Thorne said, “Does that surprise you?”
I shrugged.
“It’s a crime that you’ve never met an Omega.”
“I have. Or, rather, I’ve seen them in town when Father or our servants took us shopping. With their Alpha mates. But that’s it. I never thought it through any further until now.” I must have sounded like an ass.
“Well, that’s not the same as meeting one.”
“I guess I figured I’d meet one when I needed to.”
Thorne nodded. “Most Alphas are taught that if they aren’t raised by both parents. The Omega serves one need only, to service an Alpha through the Burn.”
“And that’s how they’re also taught on the farms so they don’t know any better, either?”
“Unfortunately, yes. They are taught how to make an Alpha happy and whole, how to defer to him, how to serve him in every way if they are chosen for the mate-bond.”
“Where are your parents now?” I asked.
“My dad, my Omega father, contracted a rare infection. I was twenty-one. It was before I met my Omega mate. My dad was in the hospital for a long time, weeks. He didn’t get better. He fell into a coma and died a few weeks after that. My Alpha father was so distraught. The breaking of their bond weakened him. Two years later he died of natural causes. Both were in their 70s and should have had much longer lives.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Well, it happens. I met Ian soon after my Omega dad’s death. I had four good years with him. But only four. That’s nothing in our life-spans.”
I wanted so badly to ask the details of Ian’s death. I waited for Thorne to be forthcoming. He was not.
“Well, life sucks. The whole thing isn’t fair.” I slumped down on the cushions. It felt like the flames of the fire grew larger, whipping about the room. “Whoa.” The word escaped my mouth as I tried to straighten.
“What?”
“Didn’t you see that? The fire just blew up, sparking out to almost the end of the table.”
Thorne was silent, his gaze on the hearth.
