Chapter 11

The 100 – solstice

Well first sorry for how long this one took I thought it would be quicker but stuff just started coming up.

Would like to thank everyone for the attention though passing 200 kudos was really nice and thank you for the comment suku I really appreciated that comment.

With this chapter things might be a little shorter but I felt this was an important link that needed to be here.

Clarke Griffin

Sitting outside the office that belonged to the dean of Polaris college with her mum sat silently next to her Clarke couldn't help but wish she was anywhere else but here. The silence that currently existed between Clarke and her mum was so tense she really thought anything else would be better if just to escape this but there was no escape for her sadly.

It had been two days since the incident as the college was calling it had happened and in those two days things had managed to get really bad, things had been bad before, but now. Before everyone in her immediate circle knew that Finn had turned her in to the other woman without her knowing, now though the whole of Polaris college from what she understood knew about Finn and the fact she was an Omega.

Things had been bad between Clarke and her mum before as well thanks to Finn telling her mum about the friends she had been making at college but they had gotten a lot worse, especially after Clarke had ended up having to tell her mum that her secret was out. Also if that wasn't bad enough there was the circumstances of exactly how her secret had been exposed, Clarke had just acted on instinct but she had sadly made an omega request for the first time. That little fact more than anything had really set her mum off, so much so that when Clarke had told her over the phone she had come up here to in her words see to her personally. A lot of words had been said words like cock Alpha and slut Omega words Clarke really hadn't like but thankfully those words had lessened a bit and now silence was what was between her and her mum.

As bad as the words had been though the silence really did a number on Clarke and it was made worse by everyone else, all her friends now not just Bellamy knew she was an Omega. Her sub cast condition was thankfully still a secret but that didn't really mean much people knew she was an Omega and that was what the nightmare had always been, her secret was out and people were looking at her differently. A sub cast condition was something that came with a lot of problems like with Clarke being a Apex Omega she had a lot of innate aggression and issues around control to deal with thanks to her Alpha traits but Clarke was still an Omega and that was what the problem was.

Society saw Omegas in a certain way Clarke knew that to be true as sad as it was, it was wrong but Clarke had been taught that society saw Omegas as baby factory's, either that or sex slaves for whatever Alpha took a liking to them. Society wanted Clarke to be nothing more than some Alphas mate and that was it, society thought that's all she was capable of doing and now everyone at Polaris college knew.

Clarke had been avoiding people as best she could up to this point in an attempt to put off facing her friends and the rest of the college but Clarke didn't feel like she was going to be able to get away with doing that for much longer, sooner or later people were going to come looking for her. Trying to distract herself from the inevitable nature of these facts Clarke started inspecting the waiting area that she and her mum were sitting in outside the dean's office for whatever was about to come.

It looked how one might expect; it was a large rectangular space with various chairs about and with a desk on one side of the room backing on to a window where the deans assistant currently sat. The waiting area was also a nice space though, the chairs where comfortable, the walls were painted a nice colour and there was art hanging on the walls that looked rather impressive. Polaris college wasn't exactly ivy league but it was close so it stood to reason the woman who was in charge of the college would work in a building that was made up of nice inviting spaces.

As Clarke inspected the artwork on the walls of the space she began to notice one in particular, the painting was stylised using abstract figures in the display so it was not clear right away what was being displayed but Clarke was pretty sure what was being shown in the painting. Judging from the attention one of the figures was paying to another's neck Clarke was pretty sure the painting was a stylised abstract depiction of mating.

Looking at the painting Clarke could feel her face beginning to heat up as she blushed as all this stuff started to get into her mind and to make things even more annoying her mating gland began to prickle in her neck as well. Clarke's mating gland had started to become a real problem for her recently, ever since Finn and then her being exposed a lot of physical stuff had started going on with her and it really wasn't helping matters. It wasn't just her mating gland either all Clarke's glands were acting up causing all kinds of trouble, her inner Omega and Alphas were getting louder and worst of all a certain part of Clarke had started to get wet on occasion.

It was all probably just stress plus Clarke had been forgetting to take a few different pills sometimes over the last few days so there was that as well also when it came to her loushions it had been at least a week since she had last used them. Stress and not doing the things she needed to be doing was more than enough to spark the stuff that was happening with her physically Clarke knew all too well but keeping on top of everything was a lot right now and it was just kind of difficult.

'It's going to be ok,' her mum said suddenly drawing Clarke's attention probably picking up on her stress 'this shouldn't take too long, you just need to explain what that alpha did and it will all be sorted.' That was probably her mums way of trying to make her feel better but it didn't help because it only made Clarke think of Bellamy which was a subject which had managed to become even more complicated.

'Can we not talk about him,' Clarke asked in a small voice looking away from her mum as she tried to meet her gaze, this request was probably pointless but she had to try. She hadn't seen Bellamy since the incident with Finn, she'd heard from Octavia he had gone to the sex clinic when he had ran off and he was staying there apparently while he came down from his rut. Clarke would have thought the separation would make things easier but in a strange way it kind of felt like being separated from him made her feel worse, being away from Bellamy and not knowing exactly what was going on with him really put Clarke on edge for some reason.

Clarke knew it wasn't true but for some reason there was this nagging paranoia within her that Bellamy might think she did something wrong that he might blame her somehow for how things had gone down, Clarke knew that was crazy but there it was. Bellamy said he thought of her as a princess as in a kind of really good girl who held herself to an as he put it impossible ideal without being asked, Clarke used to find that annoying but now there was part of that she found reassuring. Bellamy saw her, he really saw her, Bellamy saw all those things about her, he could tell she was a virgin and he still liked her he didn't judge her but now she was worried he might judge her.

Again Clarke knew that was just paranoia but she still worried about this even though she knew she shouldn't. Well he is a good man Clarke thought going over this in her head he really tried so hard around her, he is a good Alpha Clarke's inner Omega whispered as Clarke thought this which made her very frustrated with her stress addled brain. He is a good Alpha though Clarke's inner Alpha said now actually agreeing with her inner Omega which was concerning, whenever Clarke's inner voices agreed on something it was very hard to go against them.

'You know that Alpha is bad right Clarke,' her mum asked ignoring Clarke's request to get off this subject speaking in a firm voice that sounded more like she was telling as a pose to asking.

Spired on by her inner Alpha Clarke opened her mouth to defend Bellamy on this point however before she could Clarke heard the sound of a door opening and she got distracted. Looking away from her mum to the door that was to the side of the deans assistants desk Clarke saw the woman she knew to be the dean standing there looking formidable to be sure but she also was smiling a reassuring smile.

Charmaine Diyoza was an Alpha which wasn't a surprise considering the job she had but what was unusual was her background. Clarke had heard a lot of stories since coming to Polaris college about Diyoza plenty she was sure weren't true but she did know some of them were, like the fact Diyoza was former army and she didn't come from a well off family. Diyoza Clarke knew had fought long and hard to get where she was, she had a fiery reputation of being someone not to mess with and of being someone who took no bullshit, Clarke was a little intimidated seeing her in fact but also awed.

Seeing Diyoza looking down at her Clarke quickly began to stand moving ahead of her mum in terms of how she was sure she should be acting. Diyoza waited for her mum to stand as well but once she did Diyoza nodded at Clarke and her mum and then gestured for them to step into her office which they both did moving into the space.

'Thank you for coming,' Diyoza said politely as she walked in after them closing her office door behind them 'I know this is uncomfortable but I feel this will be for the best.'

'I agree,' Clarke heard her mum say in response as she step towards what she took for Diyoza's desk and the chairs she could see there looking around the space as she did so. It was a nice office, it was a long space with a lot of room and a large window set into one wall but Clarke ended up not spending much time and this because the man distracted her.

Clarke didn't know who he was but there was a man sitting in an arm chair that was a few steps away from the desk in a little seating area and he was watching what was going on closely. The man looked young to Clarke but not too young maybe approaching middle aged and he had brown hair that was styled in a kind of distinctive way also Clarke would guess that the suit he was wearing was on the expensive side.

Turning around Clarke made to ask Dyoza about the man but she beat her to it 'just ignore him,' Dyoza said quickly gesturing for Clarke and her mum to sit on one side of her desk. As she spoke Clarke noticed Dyoza send the strange man a rather pointed look, Clarke wasn't sure what was going on here exactly but she was sure Dyoza was making a show of dominance there.

From the smell of the room Clarke was sure they were both Alpha's but Dyoza was making sure it was clear which Alpha was top of the pack in this room. Like many parts of the culture around the casts Clarke had always thought the whole thing around the idea of Pack Alphas was archaic at best, Alphas sizing each other up to see who was in charge was a bad idea in Clarke's mind. However Clarke did understand how it all worked and Dyoza was something like a pack Alpha so she guessed she understood why Dyoza would be so pointed with another Alpha.

Once Clarke and her mum were sat down Dyoza took her seat on the other side of the desk and then there was a moments silence for her part Clarke was waiting for Dyoza to speak first but her mum had other ideas. 'It wasn't really her fault,' her mum blurted out speaking kind of quickly 'you need to understand Clarke has always had a hard time making friends since she was a child,' she paused here to think about Wells Clarke was sure and him dying but then continued. 'Also,' she went on continuing with her apparent attempt to justify things 'please understand Clarke's dad is gone, it happened a long time ago but it's just been the two of us since, she was led a stray.'

That part struck a nerve with Clarke so she opened her mouth to counter but her mum was speaking too fast for her so she was unable to do so 'you know what it can be like for Omegas,' her mum blurted 'and how people can take advantage.' This wasn't even the truth of the matter but Clarke watched as her mum continued to make this case she had apparently come up with 'Clarke shouldn't be punished for what this alpha did,' she argued passion in her voice. 'So few people are Omegas,' her mum went on still justifying what she was saying 'so people see an Omega and they want to take advantage, Clarke shouldn't be punished for that.'

This was enough so as her mum took a breath Clarke made to cut in and defend herself with the truth of what things had been like for her since she had come here and what had actually happened with Finn. However she was unable to speak again because someone else spoke before her but it was Dyoza this time, 'Clarke isn't being punished,' the formidable woman said quickly in a firm sure voice that got both Clarke and her mum to look at her right in the eyes.

'Errrm, good,' Clarke's mum said after a minutes slightly stunned silence she was clearly shocked though 'I'm glad to hear that.'

'Yeah, I'm sure you are,' Dyoza said nodding her lips a fine line from the looks of it she wasn't impressed by her mum Clarke observed 'I asked you here so I could tell you myself how things are going to be,' Dyoza added giving both Clarke and her mum a careful sort of look.

'Has the Alpha been expelled,' Clarke's mum asked before Dyoza could say anything her voice a mix of hopeful and disapproving tones which again made it very clear what she thought of Bellamy.

'No,' Dyoza retorted confusion showing on her face now clearly a little taken aback by the question. 'I've talked things over with the Blake family,' Dyoza added after a minutes thought giving some explanation 'and I guess his grandmother and other grandmother have agreed to pay for the damages.'

'That's it,' Clarke's mum almost shouted now, anger clear in her voice 'he put a poor boy through a window for peak sack and you're not expelling him.'

'Well,' Dyoza began her voice and expression stone now 'I've talked with people including professor Cartwig and Harper Mcneal and I think because of the circumstances I can be forgiving here.' Clarke saw her mum try to respond to this but Dyoza was too fast for her 'they and others tell a very interesting story of what happened and they very much defend Mister Blake.'

'All he was doing was trying to put things right with Clarke,' her mum countered actually defending Finn here now 'that alpha though, he wouldn't allow that and he threw him through a window.'

'That's one way of putting it,' Dyoza admitted her jaw tight now as she stared Clarke's mum down 'however I and others would say an upstart Beta got above himself and attacked a girl and an Alpha put him in his place.' Dyoza took in a breath here but then kept going 'it's worth noting Mr Collins doesn't go here, I've seen to it his college know exactly what kind of man he is though and he will be punished by the way.'

'O my god,' Clarke's mum shouted sounding disgusted now 'is this the kind of place you run here, a place where Alphas are given free rein to do whatever the hell they want.'

For some reason she didn't understand that was it for Clarke, hearing that she just snapped 'Mum stop,' she shouted turning on her mother 'just stop.' Clarke paused for a moment here surprised at herself that she was actually doing this but she was in it now so she knew she might as well continue 'there's more to all this,' Clarke said trying not to shout 'you're not listening to anyone.'

'You don't get it Clarke,' her mum spat back looking extremely angry with her now 'alphas take advantage of Omegas, of girls like you, it's what they do.' She took a breath in here but then she kept going dressing Clarke down 'Finn was trying to protect you from Alphas that were trying to take advantage of you Clarke, you're supposed to be able to see that Clarke, have I taught you nothing?'

'It's because of him people know about me now,' Clarke growled looking away from her mother indignantly, she couldn't meet her mums gaze but she wasn't going to back down either. 'He was the one who started making a scene,' she continued trying to make this point clear 'Finn wouldn't listen, so,' she trailed off here unable to say it but she was sure her mum got the point.

'He was trying to get you away from that Alpha,' her mum hissed in response apparently refusing to let this point go in spite of everything.

'By grabbing me,' Clarke shouted back looking her mum right in the eye now 'by acting like I'm just something he can snatch away, like I'm his property.'

The argument that had started between Clarke and her mum probably would have kept on going passed this statement Clarke felt certain but it stopped here because the laughing distracted them both. Hearing the laughter Clarke turned in the same moment her mum did and looked over at the man Dyoza had told them to ignore who was the one who was laughing for some reason now. 'I see why Madi liked you so much now,' the man chuckled seeing them looking eyeing Clarke as he spoke 'I didn't get it at first but now I do.'

That statement was enough for Clarke to make things click in her mind 'your Cage,' Clarke said thinking allowed looking at them man she knew was making a lot of trouble for Bellamy and Octavia.

'I'm touched,' Cage said smiling holding a hand to his chest theatrically 'they've told you about me have they, only good things I hope.' Everything seemed to be a joke to Cage from what Clarke could see but looking at him she felt like she saw a hint of the evil that had been described to her.

'No actually,' Clarke said making and effort to keep her voice level but freely letting her self-glare at the man in front of her 'I know exactly what kind of man you are.'

'And now I know exactly what kind of woman you are, Omega,' Cage countered pulling himself to his feet an air of calculation about him as he moved towards the office door. As he reached the door though he turned back around 'it was nice meeting you Clarke,' he smiled looking very satisfied with himself 'I have a feeling we will cross paths again.' With that said Cage left the office not even addressing Dyoza who's office it actually was and leaving Clarke with a sense something had just been started.

Octavia Blake

Octavia had a test coming up for the classes on military history she was taking so as she sat on the bed in her dorm room she tried her best to make an effort to do some actual revision however it was proving difficult. Sitting where she was on her bed Octavia couldn't help but get a good view of Clarkes neatly made bed which served to keep distracting her from the book she was trying to memorise as much as she could.

Octavia had gotten a call from the sex clinic the moment Bellamy checked himself in there so she had quite quickly found out what happened and how Clarke had managed to get him to go there. So Octavia had known right away that the shit was hitting the fan for her brother and Clarke sadly at first she hadn't believed it but after talking to Harper she had to face facts, Clarke was an Omega.

Shaking her head as she went over this realisation Octavia gave her roommates bed a once over kind of giving up on her revision, Clarke was still ordered and Octavia was still what people would call disordered but things had changed a little. She wasn't really talking to her in spite of her attempts but Octavia could tell Clarke was dealing with a lot, everything on Clarke's side of the room was still ordered but the right angles were gone. Everything on Clarke's side of the room was clean and in its place but there was a certain scattered element to everything, Clarke had a lot on that she was dealing with and Octavia could see it reflected in how she was acting.

Octavia had been trying to talk to Clarke about for one the fact she had been exposed as an Omega but the list went on however every time she tried Clarke shut her down. Clarke didn't want to talk, she was isolating herself and Octavia knew that was a bad thing and she needed to get her to talk about everything but there was only so much she could do especially with everything else she had on. Bellamy wasn't here right now so that kind of meant there was a lot of family stuff that fell to her, she had tried to visit him in the sex clinic but she hadn't been allowed apparently her brother was having a hard time getting out of this rut.

'Too many people look to you brother,' Octavia said addressing a picture of her, Bellamy and Gaia she had which was currently on the floor mixed with several item of dirty clothing picking it up as she spoke 'and now there looking to me.' She didn't like it and she knew Bellamy didn't really like it but there were people who saw Bellamy as a pack Alpha so now with him shut away those same people were all over the place looking for reassurance Octavia couldn't give them.

Frowning out of frustration Octavia put her picture down beside her and as she did so she heard what she was sure was the sound of Clarke arguing with someone outside the door, probably her mum who Octavia knew had driven up today to talk with the college. Octavia did have to admit she thought listening to this muffled argument as it went on that recent revelations had explained certain questions when it came to Clarke and how some people were around her friend.

Clarke's mum for one Octavia kind of got now; it had seemed strange to her that a mum would be so worried about their Beta daughter being around Alphas she didn't like to look of and some theoretical bad influence. Things made a lot more sense now though a mum being worried about their Omega daughter was kind of to be expected when it came to certain demographics of society which Octavia was now sure Clarke's mum fit in to. Although Octavia didn't think Clarke's mum had much to worry about really she, her brother and her friends weren't bad people so Clarke was fine in reality.

Then again though Octavia thought as she went over this in her mind there was the bet that had been made so maybe they were. This wasn't a laughing matter Octavia knew but she couldn't help but giggle at this thought just a little, Bellamy's behaviour around Clarke did make a bit more sense now to. With the condition Bellamy had she knew he wasn't like normal Alpha's so it made sense her brother would be on edge around an Omega like Clarke, who she could tell Bellamy did actually quite like so in a way it was kind of natural what she had seen between those two.

As Octavia was pondering all of this she could tell the argument between Clarke and her mum was getting louder but she paid it no mind figuring that Clarke would probably want some privacy right now. Brie's reaction to everything had been really something as well Octavia thought smiling, she had never liked Brie the girl was a little to obsessed with the idea of acting like an Omega when she was really a Beta so seeing her melt down over everything had been a lot of fun. The idea that she had gotten Bellamy to get close to an Omega was apparently some kind of nightmare for Brie and that nightmare had now become a reality for all of them. 'Every cloud has a silver lining,' Octavia laughed to herself as she thought about this smiling at the idea of that girl's distress.

Letting out a slight sigh now Octavia picked up her phone and started browsing thinking it would probably be good to find something so she could distract her mind a bit from everything and the argument she could still hear going on outside and maybe then get back to work. Going on Instagram Octavia was right away treated to a few images from Bellamy's cousin who she thankfully wasn't related to by bloods feed, Josephine fancied herself a real it girl so she was always blowing up all over the place on social media.

Octavia did not like Josephine, the girl was a spoiled brat like all the people who bore the name Lightbourn or who were part of the so called clans but sadly the Blake family was very much connected to them so she didn't have a choice here. If she could Octavia would ovoid the girl but she was her brothers cousin so she was always turning up to stuff that happened with the family so she didn't really have a choice and following the brat on stuff like Instagram was part of that.

Scowling Octavia made to scroll past the images of Josephine showing off designer dresses but as she did so she stopped, the argument Clarke was having with her mum seemed to be getting louder. Octavia knew from experience when it came to her and her brother that the sort of argument she would guess Clarke was having with her mum normally didn't last long if things were going ok so she would guess things were bad here.

Octavia wasn't sure it was a good idea but her inner Alpha was whispering thoughts of concern rather insistently in her ear so she got up and walked to the door the idea being she should check if Clarke was ok. Getting outside of her and Clarke's room Octavia saw Clarke right away engaged in a rather big looking argument with a middle aged looking woman who Octavia assumed was Clarke's mum. She did feel really awkward stepping into this argument but Octavia could see real aggression in the woman's face as she and Clarke carried on snapping at each other so she did think it was best she kept an eye on things for the moment.

Octavia didn't think she should actually say anything or get involved that way because this was between Clarke and her mum however she had seen a lot with her family so she also wanted to have Clarkes back if she needed it. In spite of some of the lies that she had been telling, Clarke was still a friend and Octavia looked out for her friends although as she stood there Octavia started to wonder if Clarke needed her here a tall.

Her mum was definitely being very aggressive but there topic of argument seemed safe to Octavia, yelling about the guys in Clarke's life such as Bellamy or that guy Finn stuck Octavia as on some level as being a normal subject matter for this kind of mother daughter argument. Octavia didn't have any of her own experience true but she did know a few things so with this considered she was about the bow out completely and go back inside but that option went away the moment she heard what Clarke's mum said next.

'Do you want to be like the brain dead bitch that no doubt popped her out,' Clarke's mum snarled gesturing at Octavia with a pointed thumb while she glared at her daughter.

That crossed a line, Octavia couldn't and wasn't going to let that one go, this wasn't just about Clarke anymore not now not after that. 'Say that again,' she said turning around so she could face Clarke's mum her voice cold 'go right ahead why don't you,' she repeated glaring the woman in front of her down 'go ahead and insult my dead mother why don't you or better yet why don't you insult my dead farther.'

Octavia saw right away that Clarke's mum knew she had said the wrong thing but she didn't back down 'look I was just trying to make a point,' Clarke's mum said in what Octavia guessed was meant to be an apology before turning back to her daughter. 'Clarke you need to leave this place,' she said in a rather commanding voice acting like the insult she had just levelled at Octavia was somehow sorted.

'Clarke do you want to pack up and leave,' Octavia asked turning to face Clarke herself now who looked extremely conflicted, Clarke's mum had just insulted hers so she wasn't going to back down. Octavia had been concerned about getting involved in this but she was in it now so she might as well go all in and besides she had a feeling this was the right thing to do.

Clarke didn't answer either of them though and it was clear from her face she was unsure about what was happening and might even be unable to answer however there was something Octavia could do. 'Omega answer me, do you want to leave,' Octavia commanded using an Alpha command for only the fourth time since she had presented.

The effect was immediate, Clarke straightened up slightly and said in a sure voice 'no alpha,' doing what she had just done was questionable Octavia knew but the answer had to be given and because of what she had done she knew this would be the truth. She hadn't given Clarke a command on what she should say Octavia had commanded her as an Alpha to speak the truth which Clarke had now done and also she had probably wanted to say it really.

'There it is then,' Octavia said rounding on Clarke's mum 'I think you should go now,' she said this part calmly but Octavia made sure to put wait on to it. 'Don't test me on this,' she added laying on to her point thick 'I might not be my brother but I promise you I'm prepared to fight you on this,' and she was, Octavia would fight for her friend. She didn't know what doing what she was doing right now would mean for Clarke long term but Octavia also knew there was no way she was letting her friend leave with a woman like this.

Clarke's mum was quite for a moment seemingly making some kind of calculation but then she spoke turning to face her daughter 'they'll destroy you Clarke and when they do you will know everything I taught you was correct.' Having made that rather aggressive as well as prejudiced statement with an angry disapproving look on her face Clarke's mum turned on her heal and made to walk away but Octavia wasn't going to let her have the last word not after that.

'Ok,' she began speaking in an intentionally loud and judging way 'let me guess, some Omega charmed a boyfriend away from you and now you hate the whole cast.' It was a stereotype Octavia knew but she knew the type, some Beta women hated Omegas for really petty reasons and she thought there was a good chance that was what was going on here. As she said this Octavia saw Clarke's mum flinch as she was walking away and she knew then she was right, Octavia didn't know much about Clarke's dad but she felt like she had an idea now.

Well there we are, I hope this chapter was worth the wait and it really got you ramped up for the next one. I know this chapter is kind of small and less action packed but with how I have things planned out it kind of needed to be, more will be happening next chapter.