Page 8 of Daughter of Garnet

No Omegas? Out of hundreds of us, not a single person was designated as an Omega?

If the voice in my head is to be believed, which it isn’t, because that would be absurd, I’m an Omega. Not that I’ll tell anyone about what I heard.

The professor continues, explaining our syllabus and what he expects us to learn over the semester. The main goal of this course is to teach the designations how to work together. In other words, it’s to keep us under the thumbs of the Alphas who make the rules.

As soon as the class is over, I’m on my feet, darting for the door in hopes of being one of the first out so I can scan the students for Viv. We have the next class together, and I have no idea how many people will be in it, so I’d like to make sure I sit with her.

When she comes through the door talking to her brother, I call her name.

“Viv! There you are.”

Ray doesn't appear to have heard me and turns to his sister. “I’ll see you later.” I watch his back as he walks away.

Warren follows them out of the classroom. “Not very chatty, is he?”

Viv shrugs and falls into step beside me. “He can be. He’s just adjusting to everything, I think. I mean, just a few days ago, he turned into a giant bird.”

She told us on the first day that her brother was an Argentavis. I wanted to go to the library to read more about them, because it’s not a form I ever learned about in school, but I never made it there. Most of those Blessed by Oren were hawks, vultures, and owls. I’ve heard of a few that don’t seem useful at all, like flamingos and cranes, but I believe those forms are reserved for the few Omegas Blessed by the God of Wind.

After a short walk, Viv and I peel away from Warren, heading to our next class.

Viv’s voice is low as she leads us to the back row of the small classroom. “What job placement are you hoping to have?”

“No specific career in mind, truthfully. I’ve never spent much time thinking about it. I figured I’d take a balanced load in university and here, and see what they recommend for me.”

She hums as she stores her bag under her chair. “I can’t imagine leaving so much up to chance. I want to live in the capital one day, so I’m hoping for an administrative-type role. Maybe one day I can be a subprime.”

“Ah, I have no desire for government. That’s one thing I do know I’m not interested in.” The teacher’s aide hands out the syllabus, and I skim it to see if there are any group projects. There aren’t, thankfully.

A small Beta woman shuffles to the front of the room. “Welcome to Cultural Anthropology. Let’s begin.”

CHAPTER 5

Zoe

By the time my final class for the day, a physics course with Warren, wraps up, my body is tense from sitting in uncomfortable chairs all day.

"Wanna grab dinner together?" he asks as we're walking back to our building.

"I was going to go for a run, but I can skip it if you need the company."

He stops outside my door and takes my hands in his, and I blush at the contact.

Our parents have always joked that we were meant to be together. My father used to talk about me marrying Warren like it was an inevitability, and so in the back of my mind, some part of me has always thought maybe I'd end up with Warren. I don't know why, but that part has been close to the surface ever since the ceremony.

"Nah, it's no big deal. Enjoy your run." He sweeps down and kisses my cheek, and my heart stutters a little.

We part ways, and I change into comfortable clothes and my running shoes. I’m not someone who spends much time working out or lifting weights, even though I sometimes wish I did, but I do like to run, and I enjoyed the guided dance classes my university offered. There's nothing like that here, so running it is.

After a quick warm-up, I run the circles until I reach the Hub, then head toward the gymnasium and athletic fields. If there isn’t a proper track, I’ll see if I can find a path through the woods.

The fields are full of people, some playing contact sports and others lounging around in the fading daylight. Not to judge someone by their size, but they’re all massive, so I bet this is where the Alphas hang out in their free time.

I don’t bother trying to run on the track that circles the fields. Being around that many Alphas isn't appealing, so I opt to head straight to the woods.

It’s peaceful out here. My footfalls are steady, and the movement is almost meditative. With only my labored breaths as my soundtrack, my mind drifts back to the Blessing ceremony.

So much has changed in such a short amount of time. I barely had time to process finishing university before I was thrust into the Institute. I would have liked some time to breathe, to figure out what I’m going to do with my life.