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“I’m sorry, what? What is all this omega stuff you are talking about? Where am I? And how did I get here?” The doctor and nurse shared a worried glance.
“Piper, what’s the last thing you can remember?” I laid my head back and thought. “I remember going camping at Pine's Edge, and waking up in a new area. I walked to my car and couldn’t find the parking lot. My phone had no service, so I found a road and walked to a convenience store. There I met… a man… where did he go?” I thought back to the man who had helped me, and my body started heating up again.
“Oh yes, you ran into an alpha as you presented. You’re quite lucky you know! He had control of himself, but you were fortunate that your designation presented so recently that your perfume hasn’t fully developed. Otherwise, you’d have been in quite a predicament! My team is running some theories about why you presented so late in life. But we can’t figure it out, unless you’ve been living in a cave all these years or had an extended period of time where you were around betas exclusively.” I looked at her again.
“I’m sorry, what is an alpha? What are you talking about? Where am I?” The doctor stood and approached me, pulling out a small flashlight and flashing it into each of my eyes. “Do you remember what month it is?”
She then went on to ask me a series of questions, but when the doctor asked me about where I was from, my insistence that I was from Weatherby was met with concerned looks. “It seems you may have experienced some sort of memory loss. Do you have any friends or family we can contact?” I was exasperated. “In my phone - all the numbers are in my phone.” The nurse gathered my backpack, still full of supplies. They found my phone and handed it to me. It still had no reception, but enough charge that I was able to scroll through the few contacts that I had. The doctor tried calling number after number on her cell, and all of them came back as non-existent. “Piper, I don't believe that this is even a valid area code.” My mind was spinning. What were these people talking about? I threw my head in my hands.
“I don’t understand what’s going on. Where am I?” I started crying, a whimper escaping my throat. I couldn’t understand that either - I was never the type to whimper. I always had to be strong.
“It’s alright. We will call Omega Social Services and get you some help.” The doctor comforted me while the nurse procured some reading materials. “Have her read through the basics. Her memory is shot, we need to go slowly until we can figure out what’s going on with her. She seems to remember most aspects of her life except for designations. She could be going through shock and denial at her late presentation.” The doctor left the nurse with me to explain while she left in a hurry. Were they right? Was I going crazy? Once I calmed down, I tentatively reached for the pamphlets while the nurse talked me through them.
“These are some of the reading materials we give omegas when they first present. Usually it happens during puberty, your teenage years. It’s an anomaly that you presented so late. I’ll be here to answer any questions you have.” I quickly thumbed through the materials, wondering if the whole world was playing a prank on me. Terms like heat, slick, alpha, scent, and omega littered the pamphlets, terms that I had never heard of. “This says omegas go into a heat cycle? Is omega some type of disease?” I asked, looking at the nurse incredulously. To her credit, she calmly explained everything to me.
“Yes, omegas have a heat cycle. People fall into one of three designations. Most people, like myself, are betas. But some either become alphas or omegas like yourself. As for heat cycles, you will get one, but for now we are trying to manage your transition with suppressants to gently ease you into it. Presenting so late might give you an overwhelming first heat, and unless we procure an alpha to take care of you, it could be unbearable or even dangerous to your health.” My mind was reeling. “How?” The nurse gently patted my arm as she continued. “The heat will take over your body, causing your hormones to increase and your body to secrete scents and lubrication. You will feel an intense need to breed with an alpha. The pain will be unbearable unless the alpha helps take care of you. Alphas have a knot, which other designations cannot replicate.” She spoke to me as if she was a child, and I felt like one.
I looked at her suspiciously. “This sounds like some type of animal. I’m not an animal, I’m not going to be bred!” I threw the pamphlets down on the bed. “So you're trying to tell me if I go into this supposed “heat” that I have to have sex with any guy who is one of these magical ‘alphas’ or I’ll possibly die?” The nurse nodded hesitantly.
“Alphas include men and women. As for the heat, usually you won’t die from it, but when an omega has suppressed their heat for so long the resulting heat can be overwhelming and confusing. You haven’t had one in twenty-eight years. It’s unheard of. Of course, we can get an alpha to care for you once it eventually does hit. There are services exactly for this scenario when unbonded omegas in heat. But with your condition, your memory, and with the authorities having questions, we’d like to hold off on it until you are more stable.”
I looked up at the nurse. “Authorities?” She nodded. “Yes, the police will have some questions about where you came from. Once you are stable, they will have you questioned by an alpha. But please don’t fret. They just want to know where you are from and how to get in contact with your next of kin. I’m sure everything will be fine.” The nurse looked at me with sympathy. How could she stand there and act like this was normal?
“Can I be alone for a bit? This is overwhelming.” The nurse stood. “Of course. We have some sweets for you on the table. Call if you need anything.” She left the room, and I sighed while looking through the materials again. Apparently, I had been transported to a world where people had extreme animal instincts, and I was one of them. I wondered if I was still dreaming and would wake up in my tent. But when I read about the heat process, and having an alpha care for my needs, my mind immediately went to Aiden, the man from the store. Hadn’t I felt a sudden need to be near him? The strange connection, his incredible scent - hadn't I even called him… Alpha?
I read through the pamphlets, clearly written for teenagers. My head was spinning, and my body still felt odd. In fact, I could still smell the vague sweet scent coming from my nether regions, and part of me wanted it to be stronger - to attract someone like Aiden. I wanted to give my vulnerable self to him, have him care for me, fill me up. I realized my hands were clutching the sheets, pulling them around me. It would be better to have more blankets in here, I thought. Soft, snuggly ones, not these simple sheets. I sighed as I rolled over. Whatever was happening, at least I was being cared for. I cringed at the thought of my medical bills. I didn’t even have health insurance! My body was still making strange demands of me and pining over the stranger from the store, so I decided to sleep it off and hope that I awoke in the campsite, far from this bizarre dream. But if it was a dream, I thought I might as well indulge in a few of the sweets left next to the bed before I nodded off, dreaming of amber eyes.
Chapter 4
Piper
It definitely wasn’t a dream. I woke up in the same hospital bed, and I had been fussed over constantly each day since. The doctors and nurses came and went, checking my vitals, my blood, and strangely, sniffing me. I kept reading through the information they gave me, and though I wanted it to all be a big joke, I couldn’t deny that some of the physical responses I was having matched with what the literature claimed I was. My sense of smell was improving - I was starting to notice the different scents of the people who were coming in. They were faint, but each person had an individual and unique smell.
Now, a few days later, I had been pumped full of medicine and my body was feeling more normal. The wetness had stopped dripping from my center each time I thought about the mystery man Aiden, and I was feeling way better. I was deemed healthy enough to be questioned, according to my doctor. I was okay with being questioned - I needed to figure out where I was and what happened to me. I had half a mind to think I’d been abducted by aliens at this point.
Dr. Calloway and a nurse were walking me through a hallway that led to a large room. It was empty except for a table and a chair, and one wall that was made up of a glass window with a room on the other side of it. The doctor held my hand as she motioned for me to sit in a chair. “An alpha will question you now. It’s necessary for their investigation.” The police had confiscated my phone after coming in to help me find a family member to contact. The joke was on them, my family was long gone out of my life. I never knew my dad, and my mom had kicked me out before I was eighteen because she couldn’t afford to feed both me and her drug habit. When the police saw my cell phone, they had immediately taken it and asked questions about what brand it was and where it came from, asking what county it was made in, where I got it, and what technology it used. All things that I wasn’t sure how to answer. Dr. Calloway had shoed them away until I was better, which was today, apparently.
As I waited in the cold room to be interrogated, my anxiety started growing. What were they thinking about me? As far as I could determine, I was actually in some sort of state or place similar to my own world. But no one could find any trace of where I claimed I was from. Then the door on the other side of the glass opened and I saw a line of officers file into the room.
“Omega.” The tall, intimidating female officer barked at me.She reminded me of the Terminator - tall, ripped, and scary. I felt my back straighten and suddenly had the urge to comply with whatever this lady wanted me to do. “State your name and where you are from. You will answer me truthfully.” Something about the words this lady was saying made me feel compelled to answer her. But I had nothing to hide.
“My name is Piper Miller. I’m from Weatherby.” The officer nodded, and I saw the others taking notes and typing into their laptops. “Piper, you claimed to not know anything about designations. How can this be possible?” I answered honestly, not sure why the words came spilling out without any thought. Was this some sort of mind control? “I didn’t know anything about them until I woke up far from where I fell asleep at the campsite. I still don’t know where I am. I can’t get a hold of anyone I know, and I feel like I’m in a dream or an alternate universe.” The officer nodded at the others in the room, and they typed more. “Are you a spy?” The question was so blunt and bizarre that I couldn’t stop a chuckle. “No!”
“Where did you get this phone?” She held up my smartphone. “I got it at the store!” The officer looked at it. “It has a technology that is similar to ours, but we’ve never seen this type of phone before. Are you working for a foreign agent?” I was incredulous. Did they think I was a spy? “No. I’ve never left the country. Until now, I guess - I don’t know where I am.” The officer nodded, satisfied with my answer. Question after question, I answered honestly until the police were satisfied.
“Omega, we are done now. Omega Social Services will work with you to get you placement and help within our society.” The officer turned to the others. “She’s been telling the truth. I’m not sure where she’s from, but she doesn't pose a threat. Sheisan omega now, after all.” The officers smirked while the doctor led me from the room, and I turned to her with a sour look and lots of questions. “What did she mean by that? That I am an omega now so obviously I don’t pose a threat?” I had heard the condescension in her voice as she said it. The doctor gently guided me down the hall. “Don’t let that bother you. Omegas don’t pose a threat like other designations do, statistically. And I’m sorry she used her alpha bark on you. But in cases such as yours, it was a necessity. Now they will leave you be for a while.” I stopped in my tracks. “Wait, what do you mean alpha bark? Is that why I felt like Ihadto answer her?” She cast me another sympathetic look. “Yes, Piper, alphas also have a way of speaking that demands a response.”
“Wait, so can any alpha order me around? And I can’t stop them?” I had felt the compulsion to follow orders in the room but hadn’t made the connection.
“Yes, it’s why Omega Social Services will help you. We don’t want any unsavory people to take advantage of you. It’s especially hard to resist during a heat, and there are some alphas that can take advantage of it. We heavily frown upon an alpha using their bark unscrupulously, but for official questioning, it is allowed. Omegas are particularly prone to being subservient to alphas. And Piper, you are unmated. You will be a magnet for any unmated alphas. There are far more alphas than omegas worldwide, so you are a precious commodity to them. But not all of them are nice or kind. That’s why we keep omegas in a separate wing. The scent of an omega, especially before and during their heat, can cause alphas to come to you whether you want the attention or not.” I started trembling. “What about Aiden? The alpha I met at the store? He only helped me.” The doctor brought me into my room. “As far as we can tell, he met you when you were still a beta. Once you started mildly perfuming, he was able to back away from you and keep his wits. He sounds like a good man. But he was also unmated to an omega, and you were lucky he had good self-control and that you haven’t really developed as an omega yet. Someday soon your full scent will develop, as well as your other omega features.”
As she led me through the door to my hospital room, my attention was interrupted by a pretty, petite lady in a suit waiting for me. She stood and held out her hand. “Hi Piper, my name is Callie. I work for Omega Social Services and I’m here to help you get settled as you transition into an omega lifestyle.” I shook her hand and realized I was close enough that I could smell her - it was a different smell than everyone else in the hospital. Although I was still learning, I figured from her small stature and different scent that she might be like me. She was an omega herself. The realization that I could now scent out the differences between designations hit me. I was not, in fact, dreaming., This was real, and somehow the conversation I had with the man that night at the campfire had shifted me into a new world. The question remained - was this world any better than the one I had left? And would I ever be able to get back?
Callie helped me check out and gather her things. “Callie, you’re an omega right?” She looked at me with a warm smile. “Yes, just like you. Ask me anything you want.” She smelled so good and her voice drew me in. I blushed as she spoke to me - if this was how all omegas affected people, then I kind of understood why they kept us secured away from other designations. “Well - how come you can be out in public if you smell like I do?” She walked with me to check out of the hospital. The doctor had given me the okay to leave and be transitioned to Omega Housing, but I had to be under careful observation until it was time for my first heat.
“Piper, I’m mated.” She turned her neck, and I saw several silvery bite marks making a collar around her neck. I had read briefly about the mating bond but hadn’t paid much attention to it. “That’sthe mating bond mark? They bite you and leave a scar!” I recoiled in horror. Callie seemed to be confused at my response. “Yes, Piper. The Alpha leaves a mark, and the mixing of the pheromones will not attract anyone other than your mate at that point. And also, Omegas mark their mate too. It’s very natural.” I couldn’t believe it. I shuffled through my bag awkwardly, trying to find my pamphlets as she went on. .“My scent won’t attract alphas or betas in the way an unmated omega would. Once you are mated your scent will change, and you will be even more attractive to your mates, but not as interesting to anyone else. You will still smell good, but it won’t inspire the crazed responses that an unmated omega brings out.” I frowned. So I would have to get mated to escape any unsavory characters? “But don’t worry. You are on heavy suppressants, so you shouldn’t perfume enough to cause any issues. Also, using a descenting spray will take care of any lingering smell.” She brought out a can and sprayed me down right there in the hospital lobby, focusing on my neck and wrists as I coughed through the haze.
“Ugh! What is that!” I waved my hand through the mist of the descenter. She handed me the can as we headed through the front doors of my new living situation. “Well, it’s yours now. Use it any time you go out in public. You are safe in the Omega House, though. It will be mostly all omegas there and a few mated betas guarding the gates, so your scent won’t be a problem.”
