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He straightened, his face taking on a serious expression. “My dear, no one will force you if you don’t wish to be claimed. As you and I both saw last night in the courtyard when you arrived, your status is above theirs, no matter their physical prowess and Alpha stubbornness. It is you who hold the power.”
I nodded slowly, understanding now. “I see. So, back to the heats and such. As you say, I am from a rural village. I have seen female animals reject potential mates before. Especially female cats.” I laughed.
“Exactly. And like cats, the male bites the neck of the female during copulation, holding her still, lest she move and interrupt the, um, act.”
I felt for him. As embarrassing as the subject matter was, any shyness on my part was surpassed by insatiable curiosity. “You can speak candidly, sir. I find all of this fascinating, in an academic way.”
“A learned mind, then. I knew I liked you.” He patted my hand. “Well then. In that case, claiming will consist of a bite at the neck, and during the male’s release, the alpha’s male member must remain intact, inside the female, resulting in a hold for quite some time. To disengage would be painful to both parties. An alpha’s anatomy is a bit different than that of an average male or beta. Which you will have experience with soon after your nuptials.”
His cheeks reddened, and I looked down at my cup.
He grew quiet then, as my mind absorbed all the information like a sponge, moving aside the knowledge that I would know, days from now, exactly what the claiming entailed. He was right. I’d find out for myself soon. I was both curious and fearful of what it would be like. But more than anything, now that I knew what claiming was, I was confused about the more-than-one-mate thing. I took a deep breath, risking the question.
“You mentioned more than one mate. How does that work in a claiming?”
“In the case of another potential mate, the omega would be claimed just like with the first. She can choose as many mates as she wishes, in theory, with or without claiming. Which makes sense from a propagating point of view. There are so few omegas!” He raised his hands in the air. “To protect them and insure they lived long, reproductive lives, it would be highly beneficial to have as many true alphas around her.”
That would make sense, yes. But…
He went on. “But nature’s plans and man’s sometimes aren’t matched. Social mores and traditions seem to subvert nature’s best interest. Meaning, because House Trajan’s ways are by royal line, one mate—”
“Yes, I see. Well, one mate is enough for me, thankfully.” I laughed nervously.
“Any other questions?”
I thought for a minute and shook my head. “I had so many, but you have answered a lot. May I come visit you again when I think of any?”
“Of course, child. As your healer, you will be a priority. Being Omega, your health can be fickle around estrus and when you decide to breed. In fact, I’d like to see you in four days.”
He meant after Lysander claims me, I thought.
“All right,” I said. “Well, I best let you get back to your day. Thank you so much for finding time to meet with me this morning. You have been a font of information.”
He took my hand in both of his and patted it. “Of course. You will do fine here, I assure you. From what I see before me, you have handled all of this with aplomb. That can’t be said of many women.”
I shrugged. “Well, I am a bit of a believer that nature knows more than we do.”
“Oh, you are a woman after my own heart.” His mustache danced as he smiled. “Now, let us go assure that alpha outside that I haven’t compromised you.”
Laughing, I followed him out as he opened the door. Fadon was in his usual stance of crossed arms and splayed legs. He looked me up and down as if he expected me to be in parts instead of whole. I couldn’t help but giggle.
“Finished?” he bit out.
“We are,” Orion said, seeming to ignore the bite from Fadon’s question. “She is healthy and quite a delight.”
Fadon grunted. “Since I’m here, Jon’s condition. Will he be able to attend the wedding ceremony?”
“I will give you my answer tomorrow when I check over him again.”
“Very well. Thank you for seeing us, Orion.”
The latter raised a hand and smiled. “Not at all, Captain. My lady, it was an honor.” He bowed his head at me and went back into his surgery.
Fadon touched my lower back as we went down the stairs. He was not one to converse much, so when he asked me if Orion had answered all my questions, I was surprised.
“He did,” I said, looking over at him.
Fadon rubbed the back of his neck, which made him seem more relatable, somehow. Or was he nervous?
