The Omega Rule (Omegas of the New South Book 1) Read online

  The Omega Rule

  by

  Sharilyn Skye

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons living or dead is coincidental.

  Copyright 2019 by Sharilyn Skye

  All Rights Reserved

  EBook ISBN 9781733313445

  Paperback ISBN 9781733313452

  First Edition: December 2019

  Revision: September, 2020

  Cover Design: PaigeLCro Photography

  Cover Photo: Anna Ivanova/123rf

  Dark Horse Publishing

  Morgantown, WV

  #CountryRoads

  “Southerners have a genius for psychological alchemy. If something intolerable simply cannot be changed, driven away or shot, they will not only tolerate it but take pride in it as well.”

  ~Florence King

  “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”

  ~Bob Marley

  “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”

  ~Shakespeare

  “Montani Semper Liberi”

  ~ Every West Virginian

  Prologue

  After decades of uncertainty and strife, in 2072, the Great War finally happened. As the victor often writes history, no one knows what precipitated the warheads flying from continent to continent, but the truth is that they did. The entire west coast of the United States disappeared within minutes, as did choice targets on the eastern seaboard. The missile defense network saved parts of the country, but not all, and the areas not destroyed by bombs were altered forever by the fallout.

  In retaliation, any place suspected of launching those warheads was turned to ash, glass, or rock, depending on the makeup of its original landmass. The last order from the dying central government was to push every button on every missile silo in existence.

  No winner was declared.

  Afterward, the United States fell upon itself, ripping and tearing apart what remained. Factions split the remainder of the country into three areas containing a few hundred thousand residents each. The total population of the New North, New South, and Middle West is estimated at less than two million souls.

  Deep divisions within the military began the split, and civil war finalized it. The Army ruled the West, the Navy, the North, and the Marines the South. The Air Force as an entity did not survive the Great War, and remaining members chose which country they wanted to call home. Most of those individuals settled into post-military life without looking back. An uneasy peace followed.

  It took decades to rebuild the power grids and a century for technology to begin to recover. Due to the damage done to the atmosphere, air travel was restricted to three thousand feet or less and limited to smaller shuttlecrafts or helicopters.

  High walls separate the three new countries, and their cities are encapsulated by smaller, less ominous walls in an attempt to keep citizens safe from the wild things unleashed during this troubled time. Although life outside of the walls was viewed as impossible by those living within them, it does go on.

  Everything changed.

  Exposure to unknown agents caused a shift in the human genome. From a population comprised of what would become genetic Betas came Alphas and Omegas. The pre-war world had used the term Alpha Male like they knew what it was all about.

  They did not.

  Not that all alphas are male. Alpha females are known to be particularly vicious and wickedly smart. The rarest of all creatures is the Omega. Small of frame and gentle of spirit, they bear the burden of creating more Alphas and Omegas. Their bodies calling specifically to the Alpha, each providing something to the other that is not only necessary for them, but to all that remain as well. Fertility rates among the Beta population are abysmal, but enough betas were born to keep the wheels turning, even if just barely.

  The Betas keep the status quo, and everyone is grateful for that if nothing else.

  Chapter 1

  Eve wouldn’t survive another estrous in a cave; she knew that. As the frenzied haze lifted from her mind, she released herself from her bindings and fell upon her stockpile of supplies, drinking a gallon of water and eating almost all of her salted meat.

  Omega slick cooled on her skin and lay in a deep pool where she had struggled against her biology for the longest seven days of her life. Her wrists, gouged deep and bloody from fighting the restraints she had placed on herself just before the first cramps started, ached from her struggle. She knew her body well and had survived a long time by paying attention to it.

  Once, she had forgotten the restraints and traveled nearly a hundred miles during her heat, coming dangerously close to the walls she now headed for voluntarily before she came to her senses. Had she made it to Greenville, she would have likely been ripped apart and killed by a rutting Alpha or ten. She never forgot the restraints again.

  For Eve the decision had always been hers. She knew what life as a mated Omega would bring, even in her relatively calm area of the New South, freedom could not last, and with a choice between freedom and life, she chose freedom. She had good parents, an excellent education, and wanted for nothing.

  And then she had to leave.

  Hundreds of Omegas, males and females alike, lived free in the woods, separated by enough distance that their scent could not accumulate and draw unwanted attention. They traded for goods then separated or trained briefly together in preparation for the fight ahead before putting distance between them so their sweet Omega scent could not fill the air. Few, if any, saw another human for more than minutes a month. They could not colonize or congregate. It was a lonely life for those who wanted to choose their fate.

  They were waiting for the right moment to affect a change that might allow them to steer their ship insomuch as an Omega can, and Eve was their leader. Eve said their time was coming, and they had to believe she was right. Otherwise, all this pain and loneliness was for nothing.

  At seven days long, this estrous without food, water, or nourishment from an Alpha had almost killed her. They were getting longer and harder to survive alone. Bones stuck through her pale skin, and her stomach sank in upon itself. She decided to fight many months ago, no matter what that meant, and had formed a plan for a new war, a different war than the one she already knew. A fight she needed to live long enough win, not only for herself but for those wandering and lonely Omegas around her that she called friends.

  It was time.

  When her belly was full, she slipped off the remnants of her clothes and eased her aching body from the crevice hiding her most recent cave, and half crawled, half stumbled to the stream beyond to wash the stink off and drink her fill. After, she rested on the banks to catch her breath. When she felt better, she climbed out of the water, dried off, and applied a pungent mixture of pine tar and rare flower inside her nostrils, on her skin, and on a flexible cup she then shoved into her vagina. She drank a cup of water made from the same rare flower that grew only in the southern part of a place formerly known as West Virginia but now known as the Seventh District. The tea muted her naturally strong scent and worked with the pine tincture to suppress an alpha’s reaction to her dynamic. They also helped shield her from the pheromones they dumped out to entice her.

  Wrapping a black scarf around her head, she tucked it artfully so that it would appear to be long, dark hair and then wrapped another around most of her face so that only her electric blue eyes peeked through. Then she gathered her possessions, got on her dirt bike, and rode the last few hours to the Greenville Walls.

&n
bsp; Chapter 2

  “The Alpha does not speak to just anyone.” The guard barring her way could have been Alpha or a Beta for all she knew or cared. He was a Sargent at most. She had researched all the rankings before this trip, but with only one target in mind, she had not cared about those below him.

  He sniffed her. Then he sniffed her again, confusion knitting his brows together. She got that a lot.

  “The Alpha will speak to me. I am looking to trade him something he values,” she said, slinging her pack higher on her shoulders.

  “He’s got plenty of ladies, ma’am.” He sniffed again. “It’s likely you’ve got nothing he wants.” The guard pulled his automatic rifle a little closer to his chest and stepped back, blocking her way.

  “Tell him I’ve come to trade him an Omega. See if that rouses him from one of his ladies. I’ll wait.” Eve eased back to the tree line while the confused soldier spoke into his Comlink hurriedly. The words ‘Omega Trader’ reached her ear, and she grinned.

  He assumed she was an Omega Trader, even though that label came with hefty jail time if it was proven to be true.

  “Come,” the guard said, raising the gate.

  Pushing off a tree, she walked forward without hesitation. Relaxed confidence was not something all Omegas could project, but Eve was a master at it. She had grown up surrounded by politics and Alphas. Her parents had taught her to be more than her dynamic, and she was well-schooled at many things.

  She kept her eyes up and forward as she followed the guard through the clean streets of Greenville, passing by restaurants and bars that bustled with life.

  A quick flutter of anxiety tore through her gut as she took in the groups of Betas enjoying the hot, late spring haze, sipping drinks with umbrellas and fruit in them. Greenville was the capital of New South and was known for its civility and charm. The Marines ruled with iron fists, and life here was the best of the worst according to her research. Still, Omegas had no rights and were torn apart in the streets from time to time, but she had planned this well, taking a long time to make her move. Now was not the time for second thoughts.

  Alpha grunts stood at various points along the way, their weapons strung lightly across their chests, eyes watchful. All of them trained on her. Only a small portion of her pale skin showed from around her scarf, but it was noticed.

  In the years leading up to and following the Great War, the population had mostly blended, causing the general skin tone of the people to range from a very light brown, almost tan, to incredibly dark. Pale skin was seldom seen and then only in small pockets of population that had not survived the Great War.

  The exception to this is the former state of West Virginia. Often ridiculed before the War, it became a powerhouse and a solid holdout in the aftermath. Though it is considered a part of the New South by The Alpha and the President, everyone knew it was the last frontier of free men and would not accept outside rule. The government ignored it, as no one wanted to fight a war on that soil.

  The natives were known for their protectiveness, pride, independence, and ruthlessness. Not much had changed there after the war. Until recently, their solidarity was a thing unheard of anywhere else. Having been mostly isolated and shunned by the country at large before the Great War, guaranteed that there would always be pale-skinned, blue-eyed, redheads in that wild place.

  The guard growled his displeasure as he pushed her through the doors of the capitol building, shoving her roughly onto the elevator. Eve said nothing and did not fight him. Grabbing her arm, he led her through the door to the Blue Room, where the Four-Star General known as The Alpha ruled the president's people. Pushing her through the door, he slammed it behind him and stood at attention. He was met with a glare that burned the hair off of Eve’s arms.

  “Leave us,” The Alpha said, narrowing his eyes on the man.

  “Sir?”

  “Go. Now.” The man rose from his chair and kept climbing. At nearly seven feet tall, he was by far the largest male Eve had ever seen. He looked down at her, and her knees weakened. Not because of her dynamic, but because of his sheer size. Research had not prepared her for that.

  He was beautiful, as pictures suggested. Large, well-defined muscles covered in smooth, light brown skin decorated with tattoos down one arm. His broad chest ended in a narrow waist that dipped to strong hips and legs, the outline of which bulged in his dress blue pants. Sharp green eyes watched her and missed nothing. She held her breath.

  “Omega Trading is outlawed in the New South, Miss…”

  “Eve.”

  “Miss Eve,” he growled, scenting the air. Her eye twitched.

  Walking to her, he stood within reach. Leaning over, he sniffed again, pulling in enough air to make it obscene. He growled low in the way that calls to Omega slick, watching as her eye twitched twice but nothing more.

  Eve thought she was going to die. She could feel slick pooling in her cup, undeterred by the flower tea. Thankfully her face did not betray her, and neither did the pine tar filled cup.

  “What is your Dynamic, female?” he growled, stepping back.

  “Yes, I am female.” Eve’s voice remained steady.

  “Do not play with me. Your Dynamic?” he purred then, her eye twitched again, and it was all she could do to keep her knees locked.

  The pine tar in her nostrils kept her from smelling the pheromones she knew he was dumping out to bait her; she was never so happy to have a nose clogged with it in her life.

  “My dynamic is irrelevant. I have a proposal for you. If you are not interested in hearing it, there are other Alphas here who will be.” She turned to open the door.

  It slammed shut, his arms extended over her to block the way, his nose came down to the crook of her neck, pulling her scent in.

  “Sit,” he demanded.

  She sat.

  “Speak,” his voice came out in a low growl.

  Taking a deep breath, Eve started, “I would like to court you.”

  His laughter boomed deep, echoing in the vast space. “You are the Omega you trade?”

  “I am,” she said, slowly slipping off her scarves. Her lustrous, bright red hair gleamed in the light, falling in a smooth, silken mass down her back. A small framed face and delicate features looked up at him, and he stilled. Never had he seen a woman with pale skin and red hair. He didn’t know they existed.

  “Then, I will take you. There is no proposal,” he stood, walking to her.

  “Then what of the other Omegas?” She slanted her gaze to him, rounding her eyes in feigned innocence.

  “Others?” He stopped his advance, waiting.

  “Many others.” She sat still, unmoving.

  “You smell of pine trees and something floral. Are you broken, Omega?” he asked, returning to his seat. He continued to scent the air, wondering why his cock was not responding. She looked like an Omega. Her bone structure was fine, and her frame small. She smelled like trees. It was not a pleasant smell on the beautiful creature in front of him.

  “I am not broken, I assure you. Will you hear my proposal?” She sat back, pulling her perfectly straight hair from the scarves wrapped around her, shaking it out in irritation so that it fell to her waist. “Call me Eve, I insist.”

  “State your purpose so that I can show you to a bathroom where you can return to your natural state,” he said, steepling his fingers, his eyes narrowing. She watched him look down at his pants in irritation.

  “This is my natural state, Sir. My proposal is simple. I want a chance to court you to see if we are compatible, and if so, I would offer myself to you willingly. In return for your patience, and should this process work, I will bring more Omegas like myself to your walls where they can also choose an Alpha to court.” She spoke quickly, seeing the interruption coming.

  “That’s not how this works, little Omega. Where are you from that you think this proposal will fly?”

  “West Virginia, but that’s beside the point. If I may continue.”

  “Yo
u may not. You are educated?” he asked, leaning back he crossed his ankle over his knee.

  “Of course, I’m educated, that is again, irrelevant.”

  “If you are educated, then you understand that your proposal is flawed. You are an Omega. I am an Alpha. You belong to me. End of story.”

  “That’s hardly the end of the story, Sir. Rape outside of estrous is a felony. I am not in estrous. Would you rape me?” Eve narrowed her eyes at the man across from her. Her position was delicate. She knew that, but this was war, and she would use every weapon at her disposal to win this battle.

  He growled deeper, raising his nose to scent the air. Nothing. He looked down at his cock, willing it to stand up, stand up, there is an Omega in the room! Still nothing. His growl turned into a snarl.

  “I have been raped by an Omega in estrous and did not complain about the insult,” he lied, meeting her eyes to gauge her reaction. Omegas were territorial to the point of extreme violence.

  “I doubt that you did, Sir. I also doubt there was much cajoling needed on her part to woo you. I, however, would like for you to know me outside of estrous. I would like for you to know me as a person, and I would like to know you outside of my nest.” She narrowed her eyes and watched him slump at her words. The nest is a powerful place, and invoking it carries weight. “I ask only this. Offer me a separate space in your quarters or grant me my own. Take me to dinner, teach me the ways of this place, and if we get along without murdering one another outside of estrous, then you can do as biology intended and serve me through my next. I will offer no complaint and accept a bond willingly should you offer it. Then I will contact others in my situation and have them come as well. The choice is yours, Alpha,” she finished.

  “There is no choice! The Omega is a slave to biology. A slave to an Alpha,” he roared, causing the glassware on his wet bar to rattle.