15. The Contest

Reminder: this is an Omegaverse novel. Female Alphas have a retractable member that allows them to impregnante males and females. For more information, see the Story Q&A chapter or The Unoffical Guide to the Omegaverse by Velvelyami on Wattpad. Thank you!
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Seff should have paid attention to the tour of the entire Keep, but her mind kept bringing her back to the image of Hawthorn and his mangled throat—her own mangled body.

“Why do you keep holding your neck like you’re going to choke yourself?”

Seff blinked. “What?”

Cedar Clematis was the female who had the guts to touch Kiran’s abs at the Choosing. She was exceptionally beautiful with dark skin offsetting her green eyes that she adorned with sparkly gold eyeshadow that was also included in every consort’s room. The Magnolia Omegas, seven of them, six females and one male, all did as they were asked and smeared themselves with edible body glitter that did make them all look delicious.

“Do you really hate this all so much that you want to choke yourself?” Cedar repeated over a bite of apple muffin.

Seff dropped her hand quickly, glancing at Allium. She wanted to tell her friend about the disturbing dream, but she was deep in conversation with the male, Endine Flax; Seff didn’t bother eavesdropping. “Sorry,” she said as she bit into her muffin. “Just a bad dream.”

Cedar perked. “How can you have bad dreams in a place like this?” She gestured to the open morning sky and the orchard around them from where they sat at a picnic table in a clearing. “With food like this? There are so many meals you can make with apples. Like wolves, we eat meat. But who says we can’t eat fruit?”

“A lot of wolves,” mumbled Iris Jasmine, poking at her muffin with a single canine sticking over her lower lip.

“They’re not bad,” Flora Harebell said despite her wrinkled nose.

Cedar scowled. “Fine. I’m not a fan. I want a deer leg. But I also want Kiran Cyrus to impregnate me, so I have to appreciate what he gives me.”

Endine snorted a wolfish laugh, breaking up his conversation with Allium, much to her hurt. “Are you even near your heat cycle?”

“No,” she replied defensively, “but Allium is. That’s why she’s so annoyed with you, Seff, because she’s horny as all hell.”

The two females’ faces flushed. Iris, known for her Beta-like peacemaking, quickly mediated, “We’re all tense. It’s been a crazy past two days. It’ll take time to adjust to…”

“Being shared,” supplied Flora. The chubby wolf picked a muffin crumb off her silks, unaffected. “But I can smell you real bad, Alli.”

“Thanks,” Allium said harshly.

Endine, sitting next to Seff, pressed his shoulder to hers. He was always a gossip. “Why do you think both Alphas are so obsessed with you? They were about to tear each other apart for you.”

The other five wolves were all staring at Seff as if she had the answer. “I don’t know! Okay? I don’t want any of their attention.”

“But you’re getting it,” Cedar pressed. “So what are you going to do with it? Kiran might take you to his bed tonight. Not that we’re, you know, jealous or anything.”

“We’re jealous,” Flora added again unhelpfully.

“We don’t have to be.” Iris looked harried. “We’ll all get our chance. It's not like there’s a time limit.”

“But there is,” claimed Cedar. “Haven’t you heard of the Alphas’s Contest?” When not even Allium knew, she continued dramatically, “It only started two years ago, which means there’s only another year left, but they made a competition of who could sire the most pups in a three-year span. That’s why they’ve taken so many of us recently. So they could fuck as many Omegas as they can to win.”

“What do they win?” Iris asked hesitantly.

Cedar shrugged. “Bragging rights? I don’t know. I don’t understand Alphas. But if I could help Kiran win, that’s all I care about. I’m going to name our offspring—”

Seff tuned her out. She was right all these years. The Sun and Moon Alphas didn’t care about anything but personal gain. They were treating naïve Omegas like objects to win a bet. Breeding stock indeed, brainwashed to think they owed Kiran or Selene a debt by sacrificing their bodies—for what to the Omega’s gain? Did they get to fuck a king or queen and maybe got their praise? Then they lounged around the harem, this pretty villa prison, hoping to get pregnant just to lay around for nine months?

“I mean, I’d do it in my wolf form,” Flora said to bring Seff back. “It’s only two months. I could just get pregnant again in my next heat cycle, easy.”

“That’s cheating,” Cedar said as if it was obvious. “And not a challenge. Plus that might be too many pups being born all over the place. We didn’t get to go inside the nursery. But I want to see all the babies soon!”

Endine nudged Seff again. “If Kiran really does want you so bad, do you think he’ll wait for your cycle, or just want to lick every inch of you right away—”

Seff batted her muffin off her plate and bolted to her feet, startling the wolves. “I’ll see you all later.”

She stormed off back inside the regular-sized door to the central building. Two lesser Alphas guarded it; the Omegas would have to get used to having personal guards to protect them at all times. From remained to be seen. They let Seff inside without a word. She planned to lock herself in her room and hide until she was absolutely forced to come out, most likely for lunch, and she would rather jump off the Keep’s balustrade than run into Kiran.

Unfortunately for her, that’s exactly what happened.