Page 9 of Trust No Alpha
When the Burn came, he chained himself up in his basement with enough food and water to last it out. Sometimes the fever ran for only a couple of days. Other times, he was down there for a week.
Most Alphas went to the chattel farms and got it out of their systems in a day or two. But Thorne would never do that. He’d denied himself even those farms that existed solely for Alphas marked as dangerous.
He’d sworn he would never subject another to his rut. If he couldn’t control himself, he didn’t deserve to have others in his life. It was that simple.
Nodding once more toward Ian’s grave, he entered his home and began to prepare his dinner.
Chapter Four
Kris
Coming out of the bathroom to see Father standing in the center of my bedroom, my heart flipped over and over in my chest. Nervously, I ran my hand through my long blond hair.
Father looked about as stiff and unmovable as he ever did. The legend of him—wealthy, strong, an Alpha leader not to be defied—stood before me, and would not meet my eyes.
I knew from my studies that this wasn’t my fault. I had no more control over my biology than a star’s flame in the sky. But because I was now deemed a second class citizen, I would be punished for my biology. Everything would change for me now.
“Father.” I spoke the single word as a sentence. Swallowing hard.
Father put his hands behind his back and turned away from me, his head held high, his shoulders back. In a low, emotionless voice, he said, “What will happen is this. From here on out you are my property. You will remain here, your needs met, but that is all. You are never to leave here. You are not to leave your room without permission. A lock will be on your door at all times. Be assured, you are no prisoner. It is for your own protection.”
I could not believe my ears. My voice came out scratchy. “Protection? From whom? You? My brothers?”
“Yes.”
I blinked several times, trying to comprehend what Father was saying.
Father continued. “As an unmated Omega, you must know from your studies that you can’t be around Alphas.”
“But that’s all about strangers, and Alphas in rut. Not family. Not Mathias and Trigg. And surely not Mica and Bren. They’re only five!”
“You are an Omega. Even if you don’t feel it, inside, deep inside, you are. You can’t be around Alphas all the time unless you are mated and bonded to one. You can’t trust them.”
“But you are my father! And—and my brothers?”
“You can trust none of us.” Father still would not look at me. “We’re Alphas. When you’re an Omega, you can trust no Alpha!”
Only this morning, I was to be one of them. An Alpha. Someone who Omegas could not trust. It felt weird. Wrong. Suddenly I was this other person. Not me. An Omega in label. Yet I still had my strength, my beauty, and all else that Father had taught me. And I had the Alpha gene.
“But Father, I don’t want to be locked away.” I did not whine. I stepped forward and made my argument. “I have so many plans. What if the organs were removed? Couldn’t surgery solve this problem?”
Father sighed but still wouldn’t look at me. “It would seem that way, but that’s not how our society works. Of course I have the money to see you through such a medical procedure, but your records and our laws will not allow simple surgery to change the fact that technically, in our world, you are an Omega. These laws are in place for your safety and that of the whole community.”
“It doesn’t seem safe if you feel a need to lock me away.”
“I cannot change the world, my son. But I can make your life comfortable.”
But I didn’t want comfort. Not if it meant being a prisoner forever. Father could ply me with designer suits and satin pillows and meals served on fine China plates, but my life had gone from pride of achievement and Alpha status to nothing in a few seconds of an intrusive medical examination.
I could still beat my litter mates at any game, or in any fight. I could still score high marks on tests far beyond my age and grade. I could stand beside the best of the best of Alphas and no one would be able to tell I wasn’t one. Except for a few atrophied organs no one had ever noticed until now.
Hell, I didn’t even smell like an Omega. Did I?
I’d never smelled one before, but Alphas bragged the scent of them riled up the Burn. Made them crave sex with them.
“Do I smell like one of them?” I asked Father.
“What?”
