“You didn’t grow up with any Omegas? No one to tell you there’s another way?”
“There aren’t many where I come from,” she murmured, keeping her voice light. But inside, the words tasted heavier. Not many—and none allowed near enough to offer their wisdom.
Even before her Awakening, no one had thought she’d need to know. Why teach a princess how to carry a burden no one thought she’d bear?
Solmaz exhaled. “Then you were left with the same stories many Omegas are told—half-truths shaped to fit an Alpha’s world.” She shook her head. “You’re not the only one who’s been taught that we exist only to serve.”
She clasped Reiya’s shoulders. “Being an Omega doesn’t mean being powerless. There’s strength in it—if you learn to claim it. Alphas may have brute force, but we are far rarer. In every thousand men, twenty are Alphas. In a thousand women, only one is an Omega. That scarcity alone gives us influence.”
Reiya carefully considered her words. She’d never thought of her Omega status as a source of power—only as a role she had no choice but to begrudgingly accept.
To her, being an Omega had always meant weakness, a curse binding her to the will of Alphas. But Solmaz painted a different picture: one where being an Omega wasn’t a limitation, but an advantage.
“I come from a family of brickmakers in the south,” Solmaz confided, her voice calm, though pride threaded through it. “If I’d been born a Beta, I’d have spent my days in the sun, hands deep in mud and clay. But as an Omega, I was able to leverage my position, and change my path.”
She gestured around the bathing chamber. “Enough that this place is mine. I built it, I own it, and no one can take it from me.”
Reiya’s eyes widened. She turned around. “Youownthis bathhouse?”
Solmaz’s smile softened, quiet satisfaction flickering in her gaze. “I do. My life, my work—these are things I’ve built on my terms. If I choose to share any of it, it’ll be with someone who understands and respects that.”
Her gaze held steady, warm yet unwavering.
“Being an Omega doesn’t mean giving everything away. It means choosing who’s worthy of the parts you offer.”
The words settled in Reiya’s mind—a seed taking root. Solmaz wasn’t just an Omega; she was proof of what an Omega could be: strong, respected,free.
“Did any Alpha try to make you submit?” Reiya asked.
Solmaz’s smile turned wry, amusement flickering in her eyes. “Oh, plenty have tried. But I’ve learned to value those who earn trust, not demand it. Real bonds grow from respect, not force.”
She studied Reiya for a beat, her expression softening.
“And one day, if it feels right, maybe you’ll find someone who understands that too. Until then, remember—you belong to no one but yourself.”
Reiya held her gaze, the weight of Solmaz’s words sinking in.
“And you?” she ventured, hesitating. “Have you met an Alpha you wanted to bond with?”
Solmaz shrugged lightly, though a thoughtful smile tugged at her lips. “A few came close, but none felt right just yet. I haven’t found the Alpha who makes me want to stay. When I do, it’ll be because Ichosehim.”
Reiya hesitated, the question forming before she could stop it.
“Would you really choose to submit to an Alpha? Even with all this? Your freedom?”
Solmaz’s smile deepened, a twinkle lighting her dark eyes. She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“Let me tell you a secret.” She brushed a lock of hair from Reiya’s damp forehead, a gesture almost maternal. “There can be pride and pleasure in submission—a lot of it.”
Reiya’s breath caught, startled by the gentleness of the words—and what they stirred.
Solmaz leaned back again, her eyes crinkling with warmth.
“It’s a beautiful thing, Yara, when the heart chooses to kneel—not because it must, but because it wants to.”
The words lingered between them, soft and unhurried, sinking deep. The woman’s smile gentled further, almost wistful.
“I pray one day you’ll meet an Alpha worthy of that choice.”
