Page 19 of Daughter of Garnet

I can hear what she’s saying, but I’m barely processing it, because a man with dark hair, dark eyes, and a glowering frown traps my gaze.

Dominic Bradly.

The sabertooth tiger from the woods.

The one convinced I’m an Omega and lying about my designation.

Fuck.

“Take a moment to move around, get in your groups. Then we’ll assign you your aides.”

Warren and I are in a group with four others: a blonde woman named Jeanette; a man with red hair and milky-pale skin covered in freckles, who introduces himself as Naoise; and two men with identical green eyes, brown hair, and olive skin. They said their names are Alek and Merrick, but that it’s fine if we call them the twins.

Dominic is whispering in Professor Trisha’s ear, and I can’t take my eyes off of him. He’s wearing denim and a black button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up, and has a notepad clutched in one hand. She nods, agreeing with whatever he’s saying, and then calls the class to order again.

“Today's class will be about getting to know your Aide. Get acquainted, learn about their beasts, and find out their expectations. Match schedules so you can have study groups. They’re here for your benefit, but this is also a grade for them, so know that they're as invested in your success as I am.”

She begins calling each Alpha by name and pointing them to a group.

Every Alpha she introduces makes my stomach swoop, because they’re not getting assigned to our group. When Dominic is the only Alpha left, and we’ve yet to be assigned an Aide, bile rises in my throat.

Is he going to call me an Omega in front of everyone?

I’m not one, of course, because that voice in my head was a hallucination, but still. I don’t want to have that hanging over me. I've never been good at explaining myself.

He approaches our group and grabs a chair from the row in front of us, turning it around and resting his elbow on the seat back. His notebook slaps onto the table.

“I’m Dominic Bradly. I’ll be your Alpha Aide. I’m Blessed by Kashmyre. I'm assuming you all know what that means.”

His voice sounds different from how it did that night. It’s a purr, meant to disarm, but I’m not going to fall for it.

I refuse to make eye contact with him.

Naoise speaks up. “You’ve got a creature of the Earth. More Alphas than Omegas are Blessed by Kashmyre, and he's the most prolific God."

“Correct. Because Kashmyre is so involved, responsible for sixty percent of the Blessings, you’ll find that most Earth Alphas are the ones who have jobs that require us to shift. Aenella's Alphas can’t do much unless they’re near water, which means they're often hired for roles that don’t require shifting but may still need an Alpha's strength. It also means that if you end up with an Alpha-facing job, as many of you will, you’re more likely to need to use some of the skills from this class on an Earth Alpha. Which means you got lucky getting me as your Aide.”

Warren is a little tense beside me, no doubt remembering that this is the Alpha who chased me in the woods, but he doesn’t show any outward animosity toward him.

Dominic continues talking instead of asking our names.

“Betas are needed in many ways in our society. An Alpha cannot calm another Alpha or their beast down. It’s nearly impossible, unless they are romantically involved. Even then, they risk setting each other off. We’re too competitive, too aggressive, to be so vulnerable together. So we rely on Betas.” He turns in his seat, capturing my gaze with his dark eyes. “Unless there is an Omega around.”

This is it. This is when he’s going to accuse me of an impossibility, and everyone is going to have to listen to me argue with him that he’s wrong.

He may even try to escalate it by getting Professor Trisha involved or taking me to the administration. Do they have a test that will show I'm an Omega?

Would they make me touch the stones again?

Well, if they do, it’s not like I’ll shift. I have nothing to worry about, not really, except a minor inconvenience.

Yeah, just an inconvenience—nothing to worry about.

But my nervous system thinks I'm under attack, and my heart is pounding in my chest the same way it did when his tiger pinned me down in the woods.

“When an Omega is around, Alphas shine. Omegas are treated like gold. If they are scent sympathetic, meaning they have scents that are compatible for breeding, the Omega can calm and soothe the Alpha with a purr, and the Alpha will be able to assist them during their heats. If they’re not scent sympathetic, the Alpha will not produce the pheromones to satisfy the Omega. Not to mention the… anatomy complications.”

“Your knot won’t work if you’re not scent sympathetic?” Jennette asks, appalled.