Hey everyone! Happy Holidays! Here's some angst!
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Mating: Celebrating your Happy Event
Mating is a wonderful and happy occasion. Now that you've decided to mate and applied for the mating serum, it's time to plan your celebration.
Question 1: Will you wait for a heat or do you plan to mate between heats?
Although enjoying your celebration for a full three day heat cycle is a wonderful thing, artificially induced mating can be blocked by an excess of naturally occurring hormones. It is generally more reliable to induce a mating heat in the base period of one's natural cycle.
An artificially induced mating heat usually lasts only twenty-four hours, allowing you to plan your post mating celebration without too much delay. But to be safe, it is best to stay in seclusion for at least 48 hours. After the heat fades, the elevated protective feelings of the alpha may linger and cause problems.
Question 2: Will I love my partner more after we mate?
The answer to this is yes! For a little while.
Mating releases many chemicals in the brain that inspire love, trust and physical attraction. The increased sensitivity to your mate's scent and sexual responsiveness will remain, but the myth of instant true love after mating is a myth. Usually, the chemical response plus physical and emotional togetherness is enough to build a bond that will last for a long time. But without reinforcement, this love, like any, can fade.
The Anatomy of a Mating Heat
Step 1: Injection: the omega injects the mating chemicals into her system. Usually it takes 4-5 hours for the omega to go into full heat and become receptive to mating.
Step 2: Seclusion: The alpha and omega meet in a private area. If they need food or water, a beta or other omega should provide it. Though most alphas retain a good deal of self-control, it is best for other alphas to stay away and not provoke a violent reaction.
Step 3: Mating: Although mating does not necessarily require sexual coitus, skin to skin contact with the alpha's scent gland is required. It must be maintained for long enough for it to activate and secrete fluid. Since most alphas have preputial scent glands (located in the foreskin of the penis), unprotected sexual contact is usually the most convenient method.
Step 4: Knotting: Knotting, though an optional part of the mating process, takes on new meaning and joy when performed within seclusion. It is an opportunity for the mated pair to linger together, communing emotionally, and describing to each other the new and wonderful feelings being mated has given them.
Mating is a time of peace and joy when both partners are filled with love, and their feelings, already intense, become deeper and more fulfilling.
Step 5: Celebration: Though historically mating has been a private affair, followed only by the formation of a new household and pups, today many alpha-omega pairs choose to follow the beta tradition of marriage. A public ceremony, affirming your commitment to each other in front of family and friends, offers an opportunity to make a process that some refer to as simply a 'biological phenomenon' into a sacred and community focused celebration. But even if the marriage ceremony is not desirable, a party in which the newly mated pair meet their friends and family as bonded and joined, can be a wonderful culmination to the happy event.
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Jadelyn West (16) and Gavin Marks (26) will be mated in on the fifth of November at the West home. Following their seclusion a party will be held at the penthouse apartment in the Marks Holdings Building, where Mr. Marks will introduce his new mate to society. Mr. Marks is the youngest CEO of Holdings Corp, and is a graduate of Princeton University and the Harvard School of Business. Miss West is the daughter of notable capitalist Hadrian West, founder and head of West Enterprises.
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There was a knock on the door. David Vega answered it.
"Tori! It's for you!" There was a slight pause. "It's a boy." He sounded not entirely approving.
"I'm in the yard!"
"Hey Tori."
Tori glanced up, surprised. "Beck!" She had expected Andre, or maybe Robbie, but not Beck.
He gave her a sweet smile. "So, how was the thing at Cat's?"
Tori swallowed. "Uh, good." Jade had gotten drunk and passed out on Cat's lap. She had kissed Jade's foot. She was really trying not to think about it.
"So, um, I really like you Tori."
"Thanks Beck! I like you too." She made to punch him in the arm. He looked puzzled.
"Great. I was wondering if you might want to go out some time."
Tori froze. "I- What? What about Jade?"
"We broke up."
"You broke up? Just now?" Was that why she was a liquor-soaked mess?
"A couple of days ago. It wasn't working out."
"Is she okay?"
Beck frowned. "Tori, she's fine. We just ended it. She has some family shit going down, and well, I was... looking at other people."
Other people. Like her.
God, two months ago Tori would have jumped at the chance. Beck was an incredibly attractive beta. He was sweet, and a good kisser. She stared at him, at his pretty face and casual shrug. She wasn't even tempted.
"While you were with Jade?"
"What?" Beck's forehead furrowed. "Tori. This isn't about Jade. And why does it matter to you? You aren't even friends with her."
"Yes," Tori said fiercely. "I am."
"You haven't gone near her for the past week."
"We made up! On Wednesday. I was just... a little messed up when she went into heat."
Beck wrinkled his nose. "You and me both. It was like three days early, and she kept digging her nails into my back." He rubbed his side. "I hate that."
Tori swallowed. It sounded... kind of sexy to her. "I could smell it," she said softly. "It seemed... strong."
Beck turned to her, lips drawing into a frown. "You could smell it? Betas aren't supposed to be able to smell heat."
Oh, shit. "I never said I was a beta."
Beck stared at her, his face a rictus of disbelief. Then he collapsed into one of the lawn chairs. "You're not a beta?" He smacked his forehead. "Damn. Why can't I find an awesome beta girl who I might actually have a chance with?"
What? So that was the end of his offer? But he had... "Did you break up with Jade because she's an omega?"
"I have the worst taste in women."
"That's not fair, Beck. You can't just dismiss huge groups of people because they're different kinds. Biology isn't destiny!"
"Tori!" Beck yelped, sounding exasperated. "Biology is life!"
"What?"
"I like Jade. She's crazy, but in an awesome way, most of the time. But as a couple, we just don't fit."
"What do you mean?"
"We don't line up. Biology is where we live, and you omega girls-"
Tori swallowed a protest.
"-you live it every month. I know it's not just 'get knotted and it's all okay,' because Jade has drilled that into my head, but I'm a regular beta guy. I like regular sex on a regular basis. You omega girls - you're as kinky as fuck and have endurance like whoa, for three days a month. I can't get it up after a couple hours."
Tori made a face.
Beck stared at her. "Oh come on. If you're an omega, you can't be a virgin."
"I am a virgin."
Beck's eyebrows shot up. "How do you deal with the heats?"
"I don't go into heat."
"But you're an omega. You said you weren't a beta."
Tori forced a smile. She had missed her chance to lie to his face. But this was her plan, right? Tell her friends. And Beck was... sort of a friend. "I'm an alpha, actually."
"What?" Beck shot up from his chair. "But you're a girl!"
"We're 5% of the population!" Tori yelled back. "I exist!"
Beck chewed the air for a moment. Then he winced. "Yeah, of course. I'm sorry. I've just never..."
"Met a girl alpha before?"
"Yeah." Beck's eyebrows drew down as he stared at her. "It's you isn't it?"
Tori pinched her lips together. "It's me what?"
"You fucked up my relationship with Jade. Our arrangement was fine until you showed up. She started acting all weird, clingy and demanding, and she was such a super bitch to you. And then that heat, it was early, and way intense, and she kept looking at me like I was dirt, even while she was riding me. But what was different was you. You were always hanging around us."
"Wait! I didn't..."
"I thought you liked me!" He choked out a laugh. "You wanted to knot my girlfriend."
Tori's mouth opened in horrified shock. "I'm not knotting anyone!"
Beck's eyes slid down her, lingering a lot lower than was appropriate, and Tori jerked the patio table in front of herself. His gaze shifted to her hands.
"Well, fist her then."
Tori's jaw dropped.
"What do girl alphas do in bed?"
Tori pointed at herself with both thumbs. "VIRGIN!"
Beck rolled his eyes. Then he sighed, chewing on his lip. "Are you into Jade?"
Tori made a face. How was she supposed to answer that? "I - look, just because I'm an alpha, it doesn't mean..."
"Hey, don't worry about it," Beck said. "Sorry for getting weird. Just... if you are into her, Jade has a lot of family stuff going on right now. It's not a good time for her. I don't think it will ever be a good time for her, honestly. You don't really have a chance, you know, even if you wanted one." He sighed. "And I don't have a chance with you. See you around, Tori."
Tori curled up in her lawn chair, feeling slightly sick. So if that was what it was like to out herself as an alpha to a friend, yuck.
At least Jade already knew. Cat and Andre couldn't be as bad as Beck. And how nice of Beck to let her know that she didn't have a chance with Jade. She wasn't even totally sure if she did want one. Oh god, who was she kidding, Jade had gotten up on her lap and pushed her breasts into her face, and she was going to say no to that?
But apparently she had never had a chance.
Fuck.
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The classy hotel had a tearoom on the mezzanine. Jade, in kitten heels, an updo, and a blinding headache, strode in and mounted the stairs.
The sight of Gavin, leaning back in the coffee-shop chair, made her want to vomit. His dark hair was slicked back, sleeves of his coat rucked up over his elbows. Fine, he was handsome, he was a complete and non-defective alpha, he was everything her father wanted. He was everything she was supposed to want. But Tori had kissed her foot, had got on her knees, voluntarily. Fuck.
It didn't matter. That wasn't something she could have. Gavin was the one who sat in her future. It wasn't worth fighting it. If her dad threw her out, Tori wasn't going to pick up the pieces, and she would hate her if she did.
"Jade!" Gavin grinned. "You prefer that, right? To Jadelyn?"
Jade nodded and stiffly took the seat across from him.
"You look lovely today."
"You don't have to compliment me," Jade said flatly back. "You're buying me. And it's not like I don't know that I'm attractive already."
Gavin laughed. "I knew I liked you." He leaned over. "Look, Jade. I'm not one of those old fashioned alphas. I know you're a person. I know you have things that you want from your life, and that they might not be me. I'm not trying to make you miserable. This is a deal between me and your dad, but it's also a deal between you and me. Your dad can't guarantee that you'll be the mate I need. Only you can do that. So if you really would rather anything else but me, tell me right now, and we'll call this off."
Jade sank. Part of her had wanted him to be a raging asshole, something, anything that would make it worth it to face her father's anger. But he was trying to be nice. "I... You're a better option than some of the other proposals," she said. He was young, not physically revolting, and he was willing to give her some control over her life. It was a good deal. It was probably the best deal she was ever going to get.
Gavin laughed again. "I can imagine."
But she had power. Not much, but maybe enough to make a different. God, she didn't want this. "So what are the bargaining points?" Jade stuck her chin out.
"Well, for one, I'm totally in favor of you finishing high school. There's old fashioned and then there's archaic. I'll even pay for college, if it's local, and you study something reasonable."
Jade nodded slowly. "What's reasonable?"
Gavin shrugged. "You're into drama, right? I'm not comfortable with my mate being a professional actress, but school productions are fine."
"I want to write scripts."
Gavin wrinkled his nose. "That's a little... Romance scripts?"
"Horror movies, mainly," Jade said flatly, fingering the scissors concealed in her pocket.
"You want a career in that?"
Jade tensed. "I thought I could submit scripts. I wouldn't... network." It was the kiss of death for most screenwriters, but it was better than nothing.
"If you use a penname, fine."
Jade swallowed and nodded quickly. That was good. That was almost good enough.
"You're on birth control, right?"
Jade flinched. "Yes."
"You can stay on it until you finish high school."
"How many kids do you want?" Jade bit out. She turned eighteen and then she was going to be breeding until she died? Hell no!
"I'm not unreasonable. I just want an alpha son. As many as it takes until I get an alpha son."
Jade choked. That could be one or a hundred. "No," she said. "I need a cap. I can't just..."
Gavin blinked. "A cap? Five. If you haven't given me an alpha son by the time we have five children, I won't make you have any more."
Jade thought she was going to be sick. "And the sex?"
"You'll be my mate. It won't be onerous." He grinned. "I expect you to make yourself available to me and only me during your heats."
Jade nodded.
"And, of course, in between."
Jade shook her head. "I don't like sex, and I don't have a sex drive between my heats. My doctor says I have an abnormally low base state for hormones." That had been true. Lately the wild spikes of desire had been more frequent, though… not unpredictably so.
Gavin raised an eyebrow. "Really? To be honest, I work hard and I travel a lot. I'm not making any promises, but I doubt I'd be after it all that frequently. How about we give you vetoes."
Jade narrowed her eyes. "How many?"
"Three. You can have three headaches a month, and I'll deal. But no more than three."
"How long do vetoes last?"
Gavin gave her a mildly impressed look. "Twenty-four hours. Is that reasonable?"
Jade nodded shortly. "But what if you stop traveling and want it every fucking night? I'm not going to like it."
"You can bargain. If you don't want to get fucked, we can make other arrangements."
Jade glared. "I don't do oral."
Gavin smiled. "I won't force you. But if you want to offer it in trade, that's up to you."
Jade covered her face with her hand and took a slow breath. She never wanted to be within three feet of a knot, and here she was, bargaining her life away.
"Otherwise, basically I need you to manage my house and host my business colleagues with parties. You need to look and act appropriately."
Jade nodded. "And I can... see my friends?"
Gavin shrugged. "Appropriate friends." He frowned. "I might have affairs," he said. "On my trips. I will always be safe with that."
Jade stared at him. "Can I have affairs?"
Gavin guffawed. "What? You'll be mated to me. You won't want to have affairs."
Jade shifted, brows lowered, registering her displeasure. "Could I anyway?"
"No," Gavin said. "Not with alphas."
"Not with alphas?"
"Oh, you have that beta boyfriend, don't you?" He looked disgusted. "No, no affairs."
"We broke up. It was just an arrangement," Jade said. "It was supposed to end when I got mated."
Gavin nodded. "Did you have anyone in mind?"
Jade laughed. "No. I just wanted to see if I could. I don't have a sex drive, remember. You won't have to worry about that." Oh she could lie, lie, lie. But that was what you got for dating an actress.
Gavin grinned. "Well, let's say I'll consider it on a case by case basis. If you happen to hanker after beta girls, we could totally work out an arrangement."
"What about alpha girls?" Jade asked without thinking.
Gavin blinked. "Alpha girls?"
"They exist," Jade said sharply.
"Well," Gavin made a face. "If you find one, introduce me. That might be... interesting."
Jade's hands clenched so tightly on the tablecloth that it ripped.
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On Monday, Jade looked different, somehow. She stomped through the crowds, hair flowing out behind her. Tori leaned against her locker and let herself look. Her eyes lingered on the curve of her face, and, mmm, various lower ones, enjoying the way she snapped at anyone who got in her way. Maybe she didn't have a chance, but alphas were all about risk, and Tori was embracing being an alpha these days.
"Jade!" Tori caught up to her, just as the bell rang.
"Oh god, you."
Tori grinned and moved closer. Jade flinched. Tori reached out and caught her hand. It was warm, in fingerless gloves, and Tori took a quick breath, trying not to react. "Hey," she said. "Are you okay?"
Jade bared her teeth. "I'd so much rather you not care!"
Tori shrugged, keeping the hand pressed between hers, "You're not going to stop me."
Jade sighed. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "You're insufferable."
"And yet you want to be friends."
"I was drunk!"
"That's okay." Tori grinned. Her annoyance was nothing but attractive. "I'll get you to admit it sober."
"You're like a dog with a bone aren't you?" Jade grimaced. "And I'm the bone."
"Kinda."
"Stop looking at me like an idiot alpha."
Tori just grinned wider. "But I am an idiot alpha."
Jade stiffened in surprise. "We're in the hallway!"
"No one's listening," Tori said. The halls were mostly empty by now. She couldn't help but smile. Jade cared - in her own special way. It was nice. "And... maybe I don't want to take the easy way out."
"What?" Jade's tone went suddenly sharp and ugly. Tori had expected this, she'd expected resistance. She just had to forge on through.
"I don't have to lie. And I don't want to."
Jade's lip curled. "You're serious? You're going to out yourself?"
That was the plan. Tori had so many plans, but way too many counted on Jade. "Not, like, all at once. But I don't want to spend my life hiding."
"You're serious?" Jade stared. "There's no point to it!" Jade jerked her hand out of Tori's grip. "Why would you throw away a chance to be normal?"
Tori looked at her and swallowed a knot in her throat. "There is a point to it. I just... I like you." Jade's face went suddenly, desperately still. "My alpha... she really likes you, but my brain likes you too." Tori reached out and let her fingers brush down her cheek. "And even if it was just hanging out a little more, or if you would give me a chance-"
"I can't."
Tori straightened in surprise. She had expected a look of utter disgust, or a smart remark, or just a "NO" and a storm out, but she hadn't expected that look of devastation.
"Jade."
"NO! I can't! I can't give you a chance. I don't have any chances left to give! And you can't do this, out yourself. You can't fight for me! You can't be brave! You're just screwing up my life!"
"What's wrong with your life, Jade? You have to tell me! I want to help!"
"You can't help! You can only make it worse! Your stink hanging on me - "
"Jade." Tori pulled at her hand, and Jade ripped it away from her.
"Don't TOUCH me! You can't save me! Just give it up and submit! You're good at that."
"I'm not going to give it up! I care about you. I'm not going to submit or shut up when it's you."
Jade's lip curled. "Want to bet?"
"Jade."
Jade jerked her in, kissing her, briefly, roughly. It was half teeth, so hard that Tori tasted blood. Tori opened to it, submitting without even trying.
Then Jade shoved her away. She spun, and stormed off, leaving Tori sprawled against the lockers, stunned and desperately turned on.
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Oh, god, oh god, oh god.
Jade hurried to the bathroom and scrubbed and scrubbed, trying to get Tori's alpha stink off of her. Why was this happening now? Why was Tori suddenly deciding to get over her issues and ask her out right exactly when she needed her to stay as far away as possible? It was her fault, Jade knew, for getting drunk and falling all over her, enough to get her father's wind up, and she had been So Good at staying away from alphas until now!
She had to keep her away. Tori had to stay away until Jade was safely mated, and her father couldn't just kill her friends if he felt like it. Tori had to get AWAY from her. And worse, she wanted to know what was happening. What if she went poking around Jade's house to figure it out? What if Jade's dad caught her?
Jade paused, straightening, staring at herself in the mirror. Who was she? Some cowering fucking omega? No.
She smiled.
Sinjin, watching on his CCTV of the girl's bathroom, shook in terror at that smile.
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Tori had been expecting rejection. But Jade had completely freaked out at her, kind of like... kind of like she wanted to say yes, but couldn't. And Jade had kissed her, again, and god Tori wanted that. She wanted more of it. And if Jade had a problem that needed to be fixed, she had to find out what it was.
But Jade seemed to have disappeared. Cat, Robbie and Andre had collected around her table, Beck, thankfully, was staying far away, but Jade wasn't there. It was fifteen minutes in to the half-hour lunch, and she still hadn't reappeared.
"Hello everyone!" And then there she was, on the roof of the school, with a bullhorn.
"Hey Jade!" came a chorus of shouts, mostly from the alpha tables.
Jade grinned and waved down at them. Tori just stared. What was she doing?
"Now I have just a super special announcement for y'all," she continued, in her southern fake-Tori voice.
"Oo, ooo! Let us know, baby!"
"You still need a knot? Because this one comes for free!"
"Sorry boys," Jade said. "It's not an auction. None of you can afford the entry fee for my auction. It's just an announcement, about a special friend of ours, Miss Sweet Sally Peaches, also known as, Tori Vega."
Oh no. Tori couldn't breathe. Jade couldn't be doing what she thought she was doing. Had Tori pissed her off that much?
"Now our darling Miss Vega has a sweet little secret that she's decided she wants you all to know, so I'm doing the honors."
No, please no.
"Tori Vega is one of those oh so rare and special things," she paused. Tori's stomach clenched. "A female alpha." Jade's lips curled in a cheshire smile. "And she just tried to make a play for me."
She'd done it. Tori shoved herself up from the table, and then froze. Every eye in the cafeteria was on her, everyone was watching her, everyone knew.
Tori turned and fled.
