Ben tried to keep a straight face as various lords, ladies and their daughters of marrying age were paraded before him. He had never been good at hiding his emotions. And tonight he felt irritated, impatient and anxious.
Not one woman stood out to him. There were pretty girls, ugly girls, rich girls, poor girls who had clearly spent every last penny on their outfit, girls from court, girls from backwater provinces. But not one had that certain something that would spark his interest.
He knew what he wanted, what Snoke had advised him to wait for. Snoke was convinced that tonight he would find a lady of noble birth, and more importantly, his Omega. As an Alpha, almost thirty years of age and as Snoke advised, having kept his seed to himself to avoid any royal bastards, the thought almost consumed him. He either needed to find an outlet for all of this pent up rage or he would end up starting a war.
His mother had done her best, reminding him numerous times that he was well into marrying age and needed to begin making heirs for the good of the realm. The more time he wasted the less baby making time they had. Alphas were notoriously infertile without Omegas. She recommended an heir and a spare as soon as he could manage it. They needed to be male because women in Alderaan were overlooked in such things as succession and inheritance.
He agreed. He wanted to do as much baby making as possible, he just needed to find the right Omega. His mother had chided him about chasing the impossible. They just didn't exist any more, but Snoke and something within him convinced him otherwise. Snoke had told him stories about how an Alpha could never truly be happy unless he mated with an Omega. A plain beta would always feel lacking. And of course there was always the fact that Alphas needed to be extremely restrained with betas as they just weren't designed to be together. And the only Alpha woman he knew other than his mother even Ben found intimidating.
His mother had introduced him to numerous foreign princesses, none of which met the criteria, and Ben had almost started a war with a neighbouring kingdom had it not been for his mother's legendary diplomacy.
This was her latest idea to marry him off, and to his surprise Snoke had agreed that it was a good idea, and this was likely Ben's night to meet HER. Ben felt keyed up with excitement but worried that his hopes were being dashed by the second.
"She's not here."
His mother sighed. "How do you know unless you get out there? Dance. Mingle. Talk! Don't be so superficial." She looked at him pointedly. "I told you, Omegas don't exist anymore. Find someone you can converse with, laugh with, spend your life with!"
"What, like you and Solo?" Ben refused to call him father. "You can't be in the same room for ten minutes without arguing."
His mother got in his ear to the extent that in the end it succeeded in getting him out in the dance floor with an endless tirade of women, who all faded into one. For a moment he thought he caught a whiff of something special, and again, but he never did find the source. Cherries and vanilla with a kick of something addictive.
Probably just perfume, he decided. Artificial.
As he felt his frustration begin to boil over he excused himself and went out into his private gardens for some air.
"Where are you going?" His mother ran after him with as much dignity as she could muster. "You'll not find a wife out there."
"I'll not find one in there either. Let me be, mother."
He soon left her behind, due to a longer gait and much freer clothing. Snoke was wrong. He had never been wrong before and it unnerved Ben. What if his mother was right?
But did he want to settle for some bland beta noblewoman who he would have to hold back for until his dying day? He just wanted someone...special. Who would love him not just for being a Prince, but for being Ben. Someone who wouldn't think he was a disappointment. Who wouldn't look at him like he was his grandfather reincarnated.
He removed his velvet cloak, grabbing something a dark woollen cowl, and headed to his favourite private spot for space to think.