The Omega Witch

Reality

On the walk back through the corridors leading out of the Great Library, where the freshman initiation had been held… the story told, I let my mind wander. I’d heard the legend so many times it was nearly offensive that they chose to hash it out again on school grounds. It was almost as if they were telling me something, something I missed… but what was it? 

It's always been odd, I thought, that the Omega wasn’t seen as such. She was a witch, a time traveler as they implied, an entrepreneur of sorts…” I paused to check my surroundings then moved on out into the open campus, checking meticulously around me for anyone else that might be out. 

Everywhere I looked seemed to be empty as if tonight was not the night to be out for a stroll. 

The new moon phase proved to frighten even the toughest looking alphas to which I snorted at. Selene was known to be preparing the new crest and disrupting her wasn’t wise. The mere thought of her had me launching back into needing to find answers, finally falling into my next series of thoughts. 

It honestly was a genius move to rid a woman of their heat without the need of heavy doses of suppressants. Women took them now without even a thought about what it would do to their futures. Terrible, terrible things happened to omegas who refused their heat. Infertility being the main concern followed by lameness which could be passed down if they even ever had pups while on the drugs and that wasn’t even the half of it. 

Natural death rates were already high without common medicine and it didn’t help much that mating rituals were so aggressive that Omegas could die if they mated outside of their pack just from trying to overpower the stench of her family. It really was no surprise that the Omega witch had been so successful. She gave them an out to their own biology and in return had gotten to see another year pass, pain free. 

Well, with the exception of litters being born. Notes on that were horrendous. Not keeping her pups burned a hole in my heart. How couldn’t she at least keep her pups? The answer was simple. No alpha wanted to come where another did unless that was part of the contract—the ownership of the, I roll my eyes at the term, b***h. 

Selling them had been her only option. The money she made kept her on the run but where did she run to? There’s exactly no record or where she went or where she stopped. No ideas on whether or not she died or found a reason to end it. Did she know what she did to all of those Alphas? Did any of them track her down and beg for his mate? 

No matter how much I tried I just couldn’t come up with the answers. There was just… nothing there except the memory of  the eyes of my classmates begging me to drop it. 

I sighed long and far louder than I had thought, drawing eyes in my direction. My first instinct was to drop my head in shame for using a distressed call even though I was not actually showing any symptoms such as that… or so they could see. Lying about that type of stress as an Omega meant a lifetime of servicing those that came to their aid. A service could be anything from small tasks to large ones that could even warrant s****l acts depending on how desperate the individual calling attention to herself was. None of which I want to provoke. Instead I look around as if I’m searching for the one who made the sound.

It’s enough to stop the interest in me and for that I’m thankful. 

Somehow I’ve released my thoughts enough to make it back to my dorm without another sound. 

Thank goodness. 

By the time I’ve made it back I realize the whole floor is already sleeping out of respect for Selene. It’s not uncommon but since I’m still up, I take this opportunity to quietly shower instead of rest. Being in a dorm here is a privilege, one I do not want to lose, so I am gravely quiet as I move through my shared room to retrieve a few towels. 

My skin crawls slightly at the sight of my roommate and her Alpha in their wolf forms, Lilith and Marco. Now that’s a pair made for each other. I rolled my eyes then immediately remembered why I shouldn’t do that and move at the same time. I walked right into the corner of my bed frame, making me yelp and stirring the two of them. 

I freeze in place, willing my heart to stop beating so fast. It’s not that I don’t get along with either of them, per se, but they don’t necessarily make it easy to be with them. They’re wolves of a different kind I’m told. Lilith ran for days looking for the fight that would end her ownership to her first mate. She’s something of a legend here. She’s three years older than me and had been quite annoyed when I showed up this year, wrecking her plans to keep Marco with her at all times. 

Lilith is smaller than me in my wolf’s size but not by much. Her fur is as white as moonlight and she’s darkly skinned beneath which she believed was Selene’s way of giving her two moon phases: new and full. It’s what carried her into battle. She most definitely has the will of the goddess with her and that was an undoubtedly beautiful thing, but her beauty shouldn’t be mistaken for peacefulness. The Omega was a warrior through and through. She removed herself from an unfair mating cycle and after the deed was done called to Selene herself demanding the location of her Alpha… and was given a vision. 

Most would go blind. 

Not Lilith. 

She followed her gift and called out for Marco’s wolf to join hers. She knew Marco was hers the moment his human form shifted in front of those humans. How unafraid he was to lose the life he built to claim his mate. It really is a beautiful love story… and makes sense as to why they’d rather sleep as they do, but he’s just so big, and seeing him balled up against her when I walked in was a surprise. 

Anyone else would have yelped too, I tell myself.

I don’t really know much about Marco other than the fact that he lived among the people. His human worked on the docks up north on a fishing boat. I frown trying to remember if it was giant crab or large tuna that he’d been working on collecting out there, both of which make me salivate, forgetting my shower all together. I’ve always wondered what crab tasted like since I remembered Lilith’s story. I didn’t linger long the moment I realized that tuna is canned here and that having a real meal on the land usually meant hunting in packs, something many around here don’t really know. 

I’ve never been hunting, I hang my head like it’s a bad thing. Like the wild part of me is missing. Sure, I’ve turned, morphed… whatever it’s called but I’m pretty sure she hadn’t even been named. What do I even call her? What do I answer to? I shake my head at the thought, thankful that my distress hasn’t woken the pair. 

Our room is a humble size. I suppose you could call it cozy, safe maybe… but to me it feels like we’re trying to be them, just like the humans. I suppose we are but our lineage is far more than what they are. I can’t help but think there should be more of us together rather than spread apart, hiding as we do. Maybe then I would know her, my wolf. 

Instead, my eyes move around the small room while I try to gather my bearings. Two twin beds are flush against opposite walls, both dressed in quilted blankets that match the school colors of emerald and gold with hints of plum stitching throughout. The bed frames are thick and made of cedar. We’re told it was to keep out the bugs but the upperclassmen giving the tour promised it was soothing to rub up against in case there were any unmated Omegas in the group. 

I could have died of embarrassment but one of my classmates informed me that they misspoke. The cedar was a common point our wolves are expecting when we find our mates. Cedar opens their senses because of its intensity. Once we’re able to identify it, we can fine tune the scents of other woods and earthy tones we need to be able to understand while scenting males around us. It tells us about their lives, whether or not to be threatened by them and so forth. 

I should have thanked her or at least asked her name. Instead, I nodded and let it go. 

In my fading concentration I happen to notice Marco’s eye open, he’s gotten better at staying silent while Lilith is sleeping but the command is there. He’s very aware of the moon cycle and is frustrated he’d even have to tell me why. And so he doesn’t. Instead he stares me down and I’m stupid enough to stare back. 

It’s like I’m locked there, right between the two beds, thankful for the darkness that flows just as freely through our window as does the light in every other phase. It’s a blanket of comfort in the uncertainty of his stare. It feels like whole minutes pass and then the swoosh of Lilith’s white tail come into view. My eyes, however, don’t leave Marco’s. Looking away would be considered submissive and would give into the fact that I was either a threat or an Omega, neither of which I wanted to disclose. 

“Marco,” Lilith sighed. “Let the Alpha pup be.”

What the hell? I wanted to scream. Instead, I stood carefully in place. Not only did she demoralize me about my age, which I’m only three years younger than her, but the way she said it made me want to say… well… something. But instead I moronically stood there waiting for the rest of it. 

“There’s food in my nap sack,” she offered solely for me to leave and I felt myself nod at that. 

Next, I turned the corner of my bed, trying to inhale the smell of the cedar in the room but there wasn’t much else besides the combined smell of the both of their scents there. A moment later I realized what that meant, what I stumbled in on and that I’m very lucky to still be alive. As a silent thank you, I reached for the bed frame throwing the heavy bed towards Lilith’s, lining them up with ease as if I had someone alongside me shoving the bed in their direction. The force of it had made Marco move, even though it was just a little, I still took that as a proud moment. 

“Be safe, Little Alpha. Goddess Selene can be unforgiving,” Marco grumbled his approval of my actions. 

It wouldn’t get any more friendly than that, so I nodded slightly, grabbed the towels, my shower supplies that I originally came for and the offered jerky from Lilith’s bag before heading out. 

The floor was remarkably quiet, not even the loudest room made a sound which made me feel tremendously self conscious about every move I made. It didn’t help that the hall floors were hardwood or that the door to the bathroom squealed on entry, less so when it closed. My heart leapt in my throat at the sound of the clack of the light switch when I turned the lights on and even when I unsteadily put my stuff down on the metal vanity. I needed to get myself together, no one was coming for me. Selene had more pressing things to get to, and so I continued on, taking the shower I needed. 

I’ve always been amused by the way the water fell over my skin. The way it felt as it ran down the strands of my hair and soaked my skin, how different it felt each time, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to bathe as my wolf, just the thought of her reminded me of my FA patch. 

Shit. 

I closed my eyes in defeat. 

It was wet now and I couldn’t do anything until tomorrow to create another one. I roll my eyes at my idiocy. I’ll have to go all night as myself. As an Omega during the new moon. I let myself groan as I should have before, specifically not caring if anyone else on the floor could hear me. 

It had only been recently that I’d started worrying about socially unacceptable things like that. Why did it have to matter now? Deep down I knew. The thought of Sylvia’s pup came to mind, halting me completely. She unknowingly sacrificed her rights for us, the many, the ones who were well… I shouldn’t have to think about it. There’s an obvious yin and yang to all of this but saying it made my inner self hurt. 

“I hear you,” I told her. “I might not know you, but I… I know…” 

Water still pelted my body in a constant stream, closing the long strands around my head like a veil. It seemed natural, like it should have fallen just so, so I let it. The heat from the steady drops continued while I dropped my head low enough to completely close it. All the while a voice inside me told me to be still. 

“Be still,” I can’t help but remember Jordan.

“I am,” I reply.

It’s true. Even my breath is shallow, barely filling my lungs as I wait. All that moves is the water and steam around me besides that. My toes feel like they’re rooting themselves into the ground while I stand there and become one with the space. 

A breath of a sound flutters around me, one that’s not meant to be there. Not in the shower beside me—no ones there. I don’t have to open my eyes to know. Instead I stand motionless as she asked. 

In my head I see Jordan move around their home. Kristoph lovingly petting Sylvia’s copper toned hair while she sits upon his lap. She turns to her father and mentions but one word, Zera, which makes me frown. It’s not a word. My thought sends my vision hurtling towards a darkened land. It should make my heart race, but there’s nothing here to feel. It’s barren. Not even a tree stood upright. It feels unreal, unnatural, and in pain. 

A quick shift in the ground beneath me sounds a lot like the word Sylvia used, but this time it was a splintering crack beneath my feet. 

I inhaled quickly. 

I moved. 

I could feel my body lean forward enough to need to step with it, and before my vision went white, I remembered to look up for her, the moon goddess, and I saw the eclipse. 

Again, I groaned, just as dispassionately as I had before. Why tonight? Why in the shower? Was it because of Marco’s warning? Ugh, Marco’s warning… I tip my head back allowing the veil to part but don’t feel it does that specifically. 

Water is crashing down over the bridge of my nose, my eyes have to remain shut or they’d get hit with the pressure, and then that’s when I feel it. The change in the air, the smell in the bathroom someone else has joined. 

Not someone, something. 

I lower my head so that I can open my eyes and as they blink open, I see it. 

I shifted. 

Wasn’t I worried about not being connected to her before? If she showed now, wouldn’t my thoughts be less dominant?

My issue is that I barely know her. I don’t even know her name. What kind of Omega doesn’t even know her wolf’s name? I snort at myself and so does she. I can feel her try to take over, uncomfortable by the shower, both it’s feel and it’s sound. She shakes once and I do my best to mentally hold on. At least I have that. I can’t help but wonder what will happen when I don’t. I try to will myself to allow this but can’t and so she shakes me out.

I want to freak out, honestly, but how would that even go? She probably thinks I’m insane as it is, constantly asking questions instead of letting go like… well, like Marco and Lilith. Hell, when I first met Marco I was pretty sure she’d brought a real wolf to bunk with us. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Gabriel in his human form, I bulge my eyes and so does my wolf at the thought and I apologize immediately.

That couldn’t have felt good for her.

My wolf makes her way out of the shower stall by bumping her nose against the door. I feel the way her ears twitch softly and focus as she does on her senses. She’s picking up on someone but no matter where I look, I can’t find it—or them. 

“Stop,” she commands me, and again my eyes go wide. 

Shit.

“Sorry,” I reply. “I swear I’m trying,” I promise.

She doesn’t say another word but my mind lingers on how pretty her voice sounded. How clear it was like a crack of thunder, but rather one that fumbled softly in the distance. It’s then when I can feel her ease up with me. 

I think maybe my silent complements are building a bridge to her, but like anyone else I’ve ever met, I knew people and werewolves didn’t specifically like to be complimented all the time. It took away from the authenticity of what it meant at that time, but I had to add one more. It was the truth and if I didn’t do it now I am sure I’ll forget. 

But just like that she made her way through the bathroom back to the jerky, grabbed it then bit down hard on the salty meat. A low growl came from down in her throat, one as a powerful warning to me that whatever she sensed was closer now and I needed to be quiet. 

In being so, my mind went blank. I cursed to myself trying to run the vision in the back of her mind with mine again, that is, until she shook me off completely, dropping me somewhere back in the corner of her mind. 

There I could watch her work. It’s what she meant anyway, but a little piece of me couldn’t help but feel like I was being tossed out and that stung. 

While I took the back seat, I replayed my vision to myself, just to see what I could recall. 

I’ve studied these sightings before, I promised myself as I was the only one listening. There had been enough reports of needing to watch for clues that I knew I would have lost the message if I didn’t know the moon phase. An eclipse could mean one of two things, one being, “to keep on hold” like Sylvia’s path, or to “restart” which didn’t make sense to me at all. We were all on the same path to a point… but Sylvia, she was there, young, unknowing…

My being goes cold with the chills then lunges forward to the forefront of my wolf’s mind, “I need you to find Jordan!” I gasp.