Page 7 of Zodiac Monsters

Chapter 2

The week following the field trip, I was back in the library, hoping to find some more hints as to what I could expect from this whole debacle. Marcus was hopefully going to be a good resource, but at this point, I didn’t even know how much I didn’t know, so my chances of asking good questions were slim.

Though even with the new information I’d learned, there were literally zero books about Zodiac Shifters, even when I searched the library’s catalog. None of the books in the Lore section were listed in the catalog at all for that matter, so I couldn’t say for sure that they hadn’t been checked out or misplaced, but that didn’t change the fact that my relevant options were limited.

I was going to have to be complacent with the werewolf, vampire, and incubus books that were available, despite the fact that every single one ignored the concept of a hybrid species entirely. They were about as useful as reading encyclopedias about technology from the fifties. You would think the idea of an incubus fathering a child with any random thing it could stick its dick in would be well documented, but apparently it was shocking and unheard of.

The only even vaguely interesting bit of incubus history I could find was that, typically, incubus actively avoided feeding on virgins, as they were expected to marry the—their-words-not-mine—‘victim.’ Obviously that was an outdated ritual, considering my professor hadn’t come by my dorm room and gotten on one knee yet. The unhelpful, two-sentence paragraph that followed that passage, explaining how an incubus would experience vague “consequences” should they be the first to “implant” their “scent” and “mix seed with blood” in an “untouched cavern,” made my whole face cringe.

Not that it mattered. Those rules didn’t apply to humans who were—again, their-words-not-mine—‘weak, unbreedable, and unworthy of betrothal.’ An incubus would be condemned if they tied themselves to a species who was ‘little more than food for superior beasts,’ it emphasized.

I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous mental image. Nothing says true love like being forced to marry the first demon who sneaks into your room while you’re sleeping and touches you. Maybe Adrian’s Zodiac Shifter half negated that kind of old, creepy magic.

It was hard to say, because there wasn’t one single instance in any of these stories that even implied two opposing species could breed, let alone how it changed their gifts and curses. There was more information about the mechanics and legends of ancient wars than there even was about diet and nutritional needs. I was starting to gather that magic species were racist as fuck. Also pretty violent. The sheer quantity of different blood rituals in these books was alarming.

I went back to the werewolf book, since that had oddly been the most helpful. Werewolves were the best documented of all the species, and I hoped that some of their traits were somewhat universal among human looking things that turned into not human things.

Flipping through the pages, I came upon a section on Alphas, Betas, and Omegas. I recalled the professor saying something about that, and it seemed like as good a place as any to start a deeper dive.

I didn’t know for sure what designation Professor Karras fell into, but he seemed pretty Alpha-ish in general. He’d heavily implied he was an Alpha at the very least. Marcus could probably be described as a Beta though. He was always kind and docile, regularly made a point to take care of me even when he had to read my mind to do it, and was all around not a very aggressive person. The night of the full moon didn’t count, since he’d already told me his personality changed on those nights. Even the old, mature professor couldn’t handle himself on the full moon.

Yeah, definitely a Beta. At least compared to Adrian who puffed up his chest every chance he got. I’d heard the phrases Alpha and Beta thrown around enough in macho, douchey bro-groups to know the difference between those two at least.

I had no fucking clue what an Omega was though. It sounded powerful, but I’d never heard even the biggest narcissist call themselves an “Omega,” so I didn’t have a good human equivalent to associate with the word.

“Human Lila, how was your field trip?” Ceto’s familiar voice pulled me out of my studying, and I immediately looked up from my book.

How does one answer that question?

“It was great,” is apparently what I thought when put on the spot. To be fair, it wasn’t like it was actually awful. I made friends, learned some things, and got mine. What the fuck did I have to complain about? The whole almost drowning thing? Marcus wasn’t going to let me drown, probably. Getting bitten by a vampire? That was par for the course now. Nothing surprised me anymore.

“No issues with the moon?” He took a seat across from me. “I know you were a bit worried about the potential effects on your club mates.”

Well, that was a bit harder to answer honestly. “I’m still alive, aren’t I?” I dismissed the question then changed the subject, not wanting to go into specifics. “Anyway, do you know much about Alphas, Betas, and Omegas?”

Ceto immediately started choking on nothing, and I tilted my head to the side in confusion.

“What about them?” He asked, his crystal-colored eyes darting to the side. Weird.

“What does it mean? To be an Alpha or a Beta or an Omega?”

“That’s a question with a lot more nuance than I can begin to explain.” He shook his head. “The designations are ingrained at birth, and there’s nothing you can do to change them. They have different manifestations for different species, combinations of species, and personalities, but similar to astrology, there are base characteristics that are like among each classification.”

“That sounds complicated.” I rested my cheek on my hand. “Which one are you?” Considering how many times he’d shown me his slitted eyes, I reasoned that the question wasn’t making a particularly bold assumption.

“I’ll answer that as soon as you can tell me which one you are, Human Lila.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes. Sensitive subject, I guess. Probably also a Beta. No dude wants to be a Beta.

I shrugged then tried a different approach, since I got the impression he was willing to talk to me. I just needed to ask the right questions.

“Well, then what does it mean when someone tells you you’re giving off a scent that’s messing with their brain? Is that a shifter thing? To smell people?” I thought back to when the professor rejected hanging out with me because I was driving him mad. Considering he sniffed me on first meeting, that seemed like a reasonable point to latch onto.

“Hard to say without smelling it. Some shifters give off predatory scents, which are typically something earthy or savory. Alphas are born hunters, so they’re usually more the oak and sandalwood types. Comparatively, Betas and Omegas tend to smell like something delicious, as they’re expected to be prey, and it’s built into their blood to attract a worthy hunter.” He paused for several moments, like he was parsing his words carefully. “But, again, different species can manifest scents in vastly different ways. A hawk shifter’s scent won’t attract a Zodiac Shifter, for example, even while in heat…” He paused for a moment to stroke his chin. “Were you in heat, perchance?”

What. Is that how guys ask if a girl is on her period without using the big, bad menstruation word?I rolled my eyes at the question.“Uh… that’s not how humans work.”

I stopped myself from being too condescending, considering I didn’t know how these people worked either. If they’d never been human and never been a woman, I suppose it was within reason that they didn’t get a proper education on the Homosapien menstrual cycle. Hell, regular men didn’t have half an education on a woman’s body for that matter, so how was I going to expect magic men to know the first thing about female hormones. For all I knew, shifter women might lay eggs or something.

I followed up quickly, adding in “No. We just went star gazing, and one of the guys told me my scent was getting to him.”