Page 46 of The First Omega Made

I couldn’t relate to the sense of homecoming Noel might have felt. He’d grown up so long before me that he recalled polar bears and elephants still existing. He’d likely been alive when the last panda was. And while I didn’t recognize any of the flora that stretched into the distance and crept between earthen-hewn buildings, it was a greener time period. For such a technologically advanced species, they’d stayed relatively true to their roots when it came to coexisting with their own ecosystem.

“You trust them with your young, life seed?” the magenta one asked.

Noel glanced back. “My name is Noel, and I trust him not to let harm come to him. I do not trust him to keep him from escaping into the air vents to hunt vermin. But, I do trust him to keep him happy.”

A strange look overcame the omega, uncertainty as they parsed over Noel’s words. He was relatively juvenile in his Naleucian, haltingly so. Even studying it hadn’t stuck like facts had. Perhaps it was something to do with his upbringing. My brain chip had accommodated it easily. Which, its continuing survival amid my changes, was one of the many mysteries of what we were.

“We trust our mates and our crew. They are our family.” I stared the magenta one down as they pursed their lips.

“Forgive us. I am Wilani, and my companion is Zurok. But your alphas and betas do not make you wear collars or restrict you?” The green one put a hand on the magenta’s and gave us a sweet smile.

“They can try to. Doesn’t mean I’m going to listen, or we’re not going to kick someone’s tail so hard it falls off.” I huffed, and Noel glanced at me before nodding in agreement.

“You each only have the one mate?” Wilani tilted his head and stared pointedly at my mark.

“Yes. The orange-striped alpha is my mate. Sarge. His mate is Vil.”

“We understand the life seed’s mate is a hybrid, but you have no beta for your young?” Zurok pursed his lips.

“There is a beta that participated in my conception, yes, but he’s not a mate.” I offered a grin that made them blink in surprise.

“And both of you bore hatchlings?” Wilani covered his mouth.

“Yes. Do you think we’re being held prisoner or something?” Noel’s tail twitched.

“In a way. We’ve not seen alphas or betas in many solar rotations. We continued to send out envoys of our most genetically stable, but nobody returned. What species made these possible?” Zurok glanced at the ship nervously.

“Humans, the most intelligent life-form in D-11A0B, and Tal of E-490F. Though, the Tal already had parts of Naleucian DNA in them.” Noel’s soft voice cut through the fretting.

“And they’re not aggressive, or—”

“Every single male on that ship behind us is made of a team sent to D-11A0B. Nirem and Raziel for the alphas and betas or hybrids. Those that are made of Noel, the life seed, aside from me, are not complete. There is another with omega-potential on our ship. We have betas and alphas unmanifested. I know where more like Vil are. They are kind, stable, and…” I waved my hand around before Noel answered for me.

“Horny.”

“That! They are good people.” I really hoped they weren’t going to kill us. We’d traveled so far in hopes of finding them.

“I see no others, nor do I smell any others aside from omega here. Where are your alphas and betas?” Noel, asking the real questions, stared them down.

“One by one, we sent them out in search of our research vessels that never returned. We lost so many to the Colthraxians that our attempts to make us poisonous to them were our own undoing. We lost so many eggs. We lost so many alphas and betas. But most importantly of all, we lost omegas. We’re here to be protected, waiting for them to return, to bring new life and blood.” Zurok gave us a pleading look as the straggling few omegas behind them approached.

“It will please you greatly to know that we’ve encountered Colthraxians. After I mated, the venom concentrated in me, and we were able to kill one who infected Sarge.” Noel wove a lie for them, one where Sarge was damaged in stasis and overtaken by a Colthraxian and purged—revived to live again. Doubtful looks passed around.

“Sarge is my mate.” I lifted my head with pride. “I am a doctor, and Noel is highly educated in the field.”

“The fact we have compatible species, and a living life seed is all we could have ever prayed for.” Wilani wiped at his eyes. “Once the Colthraxians are no more, we can restore ourselves.”

“The Colthraxians are all but gone. The last remaining ones are desexed and have agreed to never breed or swap bodies. There’s very few left.” Noel held his head up straight.

“The Leminiscate Resolution?” An omega male with black scales inundated with blue stripes stepped forward and took Noel’s hands. “You purged him? Or did you just fuse him?”

“What happened?” I found my throat dry.

The omegas looked at one another, shame mottling their faces. Then it hit me, a sweet smell I had become so accustomed to. Noel sensed it, too.

“We’re all…” The black scaled one took a deep breath and swallowed. “We’re all like your mate, manufactured omega.”

“Doc. And what do you mean,like my mate?” I stepped back and Noel’s face fell.

“Doc. Of course.” The black one nodded. “And I am Sylf.”

Zurok scoffed and said what I knew was coming. “We’re all Leminiscate Colthraxians. We are desexed and have agreed to not move bodies or reproduce. Please, life seed Noel, show us how to fuse with our hosts. We wish for the age of Colthraxians to end, and to restore the Naleucians. Hopefully, your crew and resources will aid that. We wish to bear Naleucian young.”

I winced and pinched the bridge of my nose, exhaling a long breath. We’d landed on an isolated planet with a failing population with an entire harem of horny, breedable omegas. Every unmated male on our ship was about to discover the limits of their prowess.

“There needs to be some talking and negotiations, but I think you’ll find every unmated male on that ship a very willing and eager participant.” I shuddered.

“Horny space lizard whores,” Noel said, and I wholeheartedly agreed.