6. Waking Up to a New World

They are gone…

Alice passed her hand over the smooth skin of her abdomen. No traces of a scar left. She twisted around to check the changes in her back. She was naked in the little room where she had first left her clothes, inspecting herself in the mirror. The spider veins in her legs were gone, and the mole she'd had on her calf was also gone, but she still had some familiar sunspots. Good. She didn't know how she would feel if her skin turned into a blank page. She pinched the skin on her left arm but didn't feel any pain. The numbing agent that the machine administered to help with the process hadn't cleared yet. Daniel had warned her that when the anesthetic faded, she was going to feel extremely hungry and exhausted. Right now, both her mind and her body were muted.

Bruno entered the small room, holding a bag.

"Asked Marina to bring you some clothes. We didn't expect the—wow, look at you!"

Her husband dropped the bag on the floor and rushed to her side, embracing her.

"Shoo! I need a bath. You're gonna get all smelly."

"I don't care." He kissed the top of her head, and rocked her in his arms. "I missed you so much, meu amor."

Something in his voice told her he was still upset about what had happened while she was knocked out.

"I'm sorry it took so long." She looked him in the eyes through the mirror.

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault." He caressed her cheek.

"I still don't understand what all of this means."

He didn't reply, and just bent down and hugged her closer, rubbing his cheek on her neck and caressing her shoulder with his lips.

She had been in that awful machine for seventy-one hours, they said, and changed into something other than a beta or an alpha. She was still half asleep when they opened the Tube, but the look of concern on their faces when they helped her up had made her worry she had turned into something from a horror movie.

She was happy to see she hadn't turned into a half-human, half-fly monstrosity, but the way they treated her told her something wasn't right.

And when Bruno explained what happened, she felt shock pass through whatever medication had dulled her senses.

After taking her out of the Tube and giving her half an hour to recover, Daniel had asked Bruno to leave the office so he could run some tests on her—something that would be difficult to do with an overbearing alpha looking over his shoulder. Bruno had stood his ground, irritated with Daniel and refusing to leave, but when Alice politely asked him for the space, his shoulders had dropped and he'd left the room.

Both she and Daniel were surprised at that. Bruno hadn't followed directions by anyone other than a stronger alpha since his own transformation.

Daniel instructed her to put her arm in the blood machine again, and took another sample. He tested her reflexes and her eyesight, checked her lungs and her blood pressure.

"Are you going to put me on a giant wheel and make me run, too?" she asked after he looked down her throat.

Daniel laughed, then surprised her by calling another doctor, Dr. Sarah Hall, and putting her on speaker phone.

"Congratulations on having the longest conversion time so far," the woman said politely.

"Doesn't feel like something worth celebrating." Alice was still numb, but could smell everything more acutely. Her own smell, a mix of sweat, grime, and hospital disinfectant, was very unpleasant.

"I can assure you it is," Dr. Hall said. "How do you feel?"

"The same, I think… just smellier."

Both doctors laughed.

"All tests are normal except for her iron levels, which are unusually low." Daniel had his laptop on his desk, next to his computer. Alice wondered why he was using the smaller laptop instead of the bigger computer.

"That has happened before. The values should correct themselves, but we should set up a test date in around two weeks."

Alice let out an involuntary whine. More tests? She'd had enough of hospitals to last her a lifetime.

"Alice doesn't like needles," Daniel offered to the other doctor.

"Understandable," Sarah replied in a gentle tone. "I have someone here who would really like to talk to you, Alice. Another omega."

"Really?" She would love to talk with another omega. Maybe they could explain what on earth an omega was.

"Hey, there!" A cute, cheerful voice filled the room. "Welcome to the club, sister."

Alice hesitated. She didn't think she ever heard such cheerfulness coming from a speaker before.

"I'm Zoey, the second omega to pop up. I bet you have a ton of questions about this whole omega thing, right?"

"Yes! How many of us are there? Daniel said I was an exception, but I have no idea what that means. And what is an omega anyway? How are we different? What are we supposed to do? And my husband reacted in a really weird way when I asked him to leave. Is that normal? Did I do something wrong?"

"Whoa, girl, hold your horses! One question at a time. Let me see…" She paused. "You are the fifth omega to pop up. I was the second one, Kasumi was the third, and Saanvi was the fourth," Zoey eventually replied with enthusiasm.

"Who was the first?" Alice asked.

She felt Zoey hesitate.

"Sophie was the first. But we don't talk much with her lately. Her alpha…" Zoey's words trailed off, and Alice felt a deep sadness coming through the line. She was surprised. Why did she feel sadness?

"So you talk to each other? Can I talk with the others too?" Alice asked, changing the subject. She wanted to know more about the first omega, but she dropped it for now.

"Yes. We have kind of a chat room where we can talk and share pictures. It's really useful 'cause we keep getting surprised every day. It's good to have someone to talk to who is like us, you know?"

"Sounds wonderful." Alice smiled, eager to talk with them away from doctor ears.

"Great! Let me tell you everything you need to know for now about being an omega."

Zoey had given her a lot of information and surprises, and it was all still running through her mind.

An omega…

Alice didn't even know what that was supposed to mean. She did feel different. Her sense of smell was more acute. Her mind was still numb but she was processing information faster. The colors around her were more vivid. Her body had changed too: her hair was fuller and a bit longer, and the few white hairs she'd had were missing. Her skin had perfected, the wrinkles on her forehead gone. She looked like she had a photo filter. But these were things she was already expecting, as her beta friends had shown her after their own changes. Her hips felt rounder and her breasts did seem firmer than before. "Do these look different to you?" she asked her husband.

He gave a childish grin, put his arms around her, and grabbed her chest.

"Give me a few minutes and I'll let you know," he said with such a big smile that she couldn't help but laugh.

"You are such a pervert," she joked.

"No, not a pervert. I need to fully analyze if there have been any changes, for science."

She pushed his hands away, turned to face him, and put a hand on his cheek. "Am I pretty?"

He looked her in the eyes with so much love that for a moment there was only him, and the rest of the world was just background noise.

"You are beautiful, but that isn't the machine's doing."

He kissed her gently, his hands trailing down slowly to grab her butt. She squirmed when he lifted her off the ground by her ass. Some of the numbness was fading already.

"Put me down, Hercules. I want to get dressed."

He made a little disappointed sound, like a puppy that had lost his toy, but he eased her back to the ground.

She opened the bag and started getting dressed. Marina had sent her a comfy sweatshirt and jeans, and clean underwear. She'd even sent her favorite pair of old sneakers for her to wear, instead of the uncomfortable shoes she'd worn here.

Alice stood, stretched, and looked at her husband with a smile. Then the smile dropped.

"What?" He came close to check if everything was okay, a concerned look in his eyes.

She stood in front of him, back straight. She put her right hand on the top of her head and moved her hand forward until it hit his nose.

"I'm not taller!" She looked up at him with a mock angry pout. "I was supposed to get taller like everyone else. I want my money back."

Bruno laughed. "We are not paying anything, remember?"

"Then let's pay Daniel something, then demand our money back."

He laughed louder and hugged her.

She melted into his arms with a sigh. Alice knew that as long as she had him, everything would be okay.

The next day, Bruno requested that all their closest friends and family come to their house. It was a lot of people, and they crammed the living room, standing awkwardly next to each other.

"I'm sorry about this," Bruno announced. "I didn't enjoy giving you all an alpha command to come here today, but it's really important."

Alphas commanded attention when they spoke, being natural leaders, but everyone was having trouble focusing on him because their attention was drawn to Alice. She stood near Bruno, leaning against a bookshelf, dressed in comfy clothes and still a little numb from the procedure.

"Do you want to sit down, Alice?" Hugo, her brother-in-law, asked for the third time. Everyone seemed to be concerned with her comfort. She had expected this after Zoey's talk yesterday, but it didn't make her feel any less awkward.

"I think by now you've all noticed that Alice wasn't turned into a beta or alpha." Bruno looked around the room. Everyone turned to him expectantly. "She is an omega."

Several people raised questions. Others asked her if she was okay, as if being an omega was a kind of sickness. Others just looked outright confused. Their emotions started to filter in, past the drugs still in her system. Her heart beat faster, and she started to fidget.

Bruno raised his hands to calm them down. Everyone went quiet at the silent command.

"An omega is a very rare dynamic. That's why we haven't heard of it before. In fact, it is so rare that there are alphas out there trying very hard to get their hands on one."

Daniel spoke up from the back of the room. "There were some unlawful attempts to interfere during her conversion, to retrieve more information about Alice."

Everyone in the room looked at her with concern. She smiled at them as if it was no big deal. She didn't want anyone to worry.

"So I apologize in advance, but I have to make sure Alice stays safe. I am going to give an alpha command for you all to follow a very clear set of rules. As I am the strongest alpha in the country, no one should be able to command you otherwise."

Almost everyone nodded, but there were two faces showing concern. Hugo, Bruno's younger brother, and Gabriel. They were both alphas, but Hugo was less powerful than Bruno. However, if she was honest, Alice couldn't say if Gabriel was higher or lower than Bruno. She used to think that Gabriel was stronger, but now she felt something had changed in her husband, and that he was taking the lead.

Still, it was hard to give orders to other alphas. Only the ones in the new court system could clearly command others stronger than them.

"First," Bruno began, "I command that no information about Alice is to be given to anyone—alpha, beta or unchanged—without my express permission."

Everyone nodded. Even the two alphas.

"Second, no one is to take photos of her with a mobile phone, or any device that could possibly be hacked. I also want everyone to delete any photos you may have of her from your devices."

As one, everyone took out their phones. Alpha commands could be creepy.

"But I don't want to lose the photos I have with everyone. That's not fair." She half whispered to Bruno, too upset to keep her voice low.

"It's okay." He squeezed her hand. "We have backups."

She took a deep breath, and leaned against the shelf.

Bruno looked at her and hesitated. His lips were pressed into a thin line, and his eyes were filled with concern. She could feel the apprehension coming from him. She wasn't going to like this next rule, and he knew it.

"Wait…" she quietly pleaded with him, afraid of what was coming.

"Third, she is not to be alone anymore when she's not at home. She can only go out accompanied by someone."

That raised a few voices of concern, but most nodded to their alpha.

"What?" Alice grabbed Bruno's shoulder to turn him to her. "You can't do that. I'm not a child."

Bruno held her hands and looked her in the eyes. "This is to keep you safe. Please understand."

She pushed his hands away.

"Don't take away my freedom with safety excuses. First you demand that I leave my job, then there was that stupid claim list thing. Now you want to have me babysat everywhere I go?"

Bruno grabbed her hand again and pulled her out of the living room. Several people got up to follow them, concerned, but Bruno stopped them with a clear command.

He took her to their bedroom and closed the door behind her. Then he enveloped her in a tight hug, and buried his face in her neck.

"I'm sorry, I know you don't want this. I don't want this either," he begged her.

"Then don't let it happen. I'm your wife. You can't treat me like a child."

"I know, meu amor, I know. Please understand. You didn't hear them, those men chasing after you like wolves. Demanding, giving orders to me. To me! Your husband. They don't care about what you want. They will take you from me if they can."

She couldn't take it. His pleading tone, his worry, broke her heart. Her world was crumbling around her like a sandcastle. The world kept taking from her, and she had little left to give.

The sound of his voice soothed her, but she was not happy.

More unexpected changes came in the following weeks.

The first big change was Alice's husband's promotion. Much like what had happened in France, the government was entirely abolished, and he was promoted to First Chair for the Portuguese territory, in charge of the council of alphas that would now fully run the country.

Unlike France, however, there were no riots. Most of the population was already converted, mostly to betas, and they followed alpha commands blindly. The few unchanged humans who remained were either too young to care or too old to do anything about it. And other alphas deferred to Alice's husband now, as if his promotion had resulted in his having an additional power over them.

Alice was beaming when she started working with him, but was rather upset at finding out she would have no paycheck.

"I can't have you on the staff list here. It's for your safety. But don't worry, I'll find another way to repay you," Bruno had told her.

The next change was moving into a new home. That, she didn't mind. Their apartment was cramped and old, and had way too many problems that only a ton of money could fix.

"This is just a temporary place, while I look for a safer house," Bruno had said. "This one is secure, but it's not what we want yet."

Alice turned to her new friends, filled with questions about her husband's newfound security obsession.

Alice: Is this normal? We are going to be moving twice! The new house is nice, and I don't understand why we need another one.

Zoey: Only twice? You are lucky! I'm moving for the sixth time, this time to Washington.

Saanvi: We moved at least four times already. Everywhere is just not safe enough, not private enough.

Zoey: You just can't satisfy an alpha when it comes to security.

Saanvi: True…

Alice: Getting tired of cardboard boxes already, and I haven't even unpacked.

Saanvi: LOL

The third and most surprising change was her omega characteristics. Zoey had warned Alice about how omegas could feel other people's emotions, and Alice had thought it would be a subtle thing. But as soon as the conversion drugs flushed out of her system, her perception of the world started to change. The emotional waves of the people around her overwhelmed her until she had to hide at home. She hated to be in crowds, where she was hit on all sides with a barrage of conflicting emotions. It pushed her to the point of pain, and it took a while for her to learn how to manage it.

But the best surprise was her bond with Bruno, a unique link that passed their emotions between each other. It surprised them both the first time they had sex, how they could communicate with emotions alone. It was jarring at first, but it quickly became a comfort to have Bruno's love and care always available when she needed it. They quickly learned how to convey wordless messages to one another. It was the only part of being omega that Alice truly liked.

"Is that man going to follow us everywhere?" Naomi complained.

Alice, Naomi, and Marina were in a shopping mall, wasting time before their movie started at nine.

"I'm sorry," Alice apologized, feeling embarrassed. "Bruno insisted on my bringing a bodyguard."

"It's understandable," Marina argued with Naomi. "You've seen how people are reacting to Alice now. Do you want some random alpha grabbing her or something?"

They walked along one of the corridors, perusing the shop windows. It sounded like a casual thing, but it quickly became embarrassing for Alice. As they walked by the shops, several people watched them. They stopped to look at a window display, and when they turned around Alice came face to face with a small crowd, looking at her with curiosity. Naomi grabbed her hand and pushed people out of her way, dragging Alice with her.

"Don't they have to obey Bruno? Can't he just give a command to the country to leave Alice alone?" Naomi offered. She gave the people around them an angry scowl.

"I don't think that's how it works," Marina replied.

"I'm sorry," Alice apologized again.

"It's not your fault," Naomi countered. "I just wish there was an easier way of keeping you safe."

Alice grimaced. She didn't want to inconvenience her friends, and had refused to hang out with them outside the house so far, for fear of what they would think of Lemos, the bodyguard following her everywhere.

Naomi led them to one of her favorite makeup stores to get away from all the attention. But two minutes after walking in, a sales lady came up to them and offered to help Alice. Alice tried to politely turn the woman down, but she insisted on trying to help. The woman's feelings of curiosity and need to be close to her were chafing, and she had to get out of the store.

"Why don't we go for dinner?" Marina suggested. "Then we can go straight to the cinema."

Alice picked a restaurant, and as soon as they were seated, a friendly waiter brought over some entrées they didn't ask for.

Marina tried to explain to the man that they hadn't ordered yet, but he insisted they enjoy the food.

"It's on the house," he proudly said, smiling at Alice. She thanked the man and sank into her seat.

Other patrons would frequently get up to go to the bathroom or to the bar, or just walk around the restaurant as an excuse to get a better look at her. Naomi and Marina tried to shield her, but there was nothing they could do to keep people's asses in their seats.

"A gift from another table," the waiter said happily as he placed a round of drinks on their table.

Two alphas waved at them from another table, their smiles nearly predatory.

"Please tell them were not interested," Naomi told the waiter as she pushed the drinks back to him.

"Oh." The man looked at the alphas, anxiety and alarm suddenly in the air.

"It's all right," Alice said with a smile to the waiter. "We'll take the drinks."

"Alice?" Marina whispered to her.

Alice lifted her left hand at the alphas, and pointed at her wedding ring. One of the alphas let his smile drop, but the other man's smile turned more deadly.

He slowly walked up to them, showing off his build and making sure his expensive watch and gold chain were visible. He put both hands on their table and leaned down.

"I see you ladies are already committed, but I was wondering if you might be tired of beta dick," he said boldly, making Marina blush and Naomi gasp.

Alice looked him in the eyes and didn't back down. His smile slowly dropped, and the alpha nervously adjusted his shirt.

"Is there a problem?" Lemos asked the alpha politely, having materialized from nowhere. The man looked up at him, and Alice could feel his apprehension. Lemos was a big man and former military, and his presence tended to make lesser alphas shrink. Clearly this alpha was all talk, as he quickly apologized and went back to his friend.

Lemos nodded at Alice and made himself scarce again.

"Well, that's me not complaining about that man ever again," Naomi said, taking a sip of her drink.

After their meal, the waiter brought them a huge dessert platter with three spoons.

"I'm sorry about earlier," he quickly apologized.

Alice touched his arm. "It's all right. It's not your fault."

A smile brightened his face, and the feeling of relief and peace that came from the man made her feel better.

Bellies full, Alice and her friends went to the movie hall and found their seats, Alice ready to enjoy a little bit of respite from the attention other people were giving her. However, it quickly became apparent it wouldn't be that easy.

Some people kept turning in their seats to look around, likely searching for her. The flashing lights and loud sound were probably making her harder to find, but she could still feel eyes on her. And there was a sense of lust around her that kept increasing as the film went on, and it bothered her. She was relieved when the film finally ended and they could leave.

They let most of the audience leave before getting up. Near the exit, Alice noticed she had forgotten her scarf and went back to fetch it.

"It will only take a minute," she told her friends. Retrieving her scarf from her seat, the sense of surrounding lust returned. She turned to the exit but there was an alpha there, watching her. He flexed his arm muscles, like a predator ready to grab his prey. Alice slipped out of the row of chairs and walked down the stairs, but the alpha got in her way. He took up all the space on the stairs, giving her no way around him.

"What's your name?" he asked her in a polite voice.

"None of your business," Alice replied, her heartbeat increasing. Bruno's worry came through their bond in reply.

"You shouldn't talk like that to an alpha, love." He chuckled. "It can get you in trouble. Tell me your name, please."

He tried to look relaxed, placing his hands in his pockets and giving her a polite smile, but she was very aware of the lust he was feeling. She would probably be able to see it if he wasn't wearing tight jeans.

"I'm not interested," Alice replied. Why were the lights still down? She crossed the chairs to the other side in the dark to get away from him.

"Wait!" he commanded, but she ignored the order. That took him by surprise for a second, but he redoubled his efforts. He raced to the other staircase.

"Tell me your name! How many men do you have on your list? Are they betas?" He blocked the way to the exit again and tried to grab her arm. Alice quickly backed away from him, and suddenly a freight train pushed the alpha all the way to a wall. Except it was not a train. It was Lemos.

"The lady said no," Lemos told the alpha as he pushed him against the wall. "Mrs. Lopes, please join your friends, I'll be there in a second."

Alice left the theater in a hurry, and joined her distressed friends outside.

In the following months, Lemos's presence became almost second nature to Alice. He was a good man who respected her and Bruno, and who liked his job. Alice learned to trust him and his decisions towards her safety. He was always discreet, drove her wherever she wanted to go, and was always respectful of her personal space. It made her feel safe enough to return to dance classes with Naomi, and to go to the pool. He made her life easier, and she started to open up again.

In the first months after being converted, it became obvious to Alice that everything her friends had said about an increased libido was true. Bruno's lust had increased tenfold when he was converted, and now she had the stamina to keep up with him. But although her sex drive had increased a lot, she still didn't experience that urge that all betas and alphas apparently did. When she asked her omega friends, they assured her it was normal, and that her sex drive would even out eventually.

When summer started, however, the weather got too warm for Alice's comfort. She complained about the heat more than her husband did, and alphas were always hot. As in, literally hot to the touch.

The first thing she thought was that she had a fever. She took her temperature and it was unusually high. Her skin, always cold to the touch, felt like it was on fire. Not wanting to concern Daniel and her husband, she turned to the chat room she had with the other omegas.

After a few minutes, a few laughing emojis showed up. She just replied with a series of question marks.

Zoey: It's normal, don't worry. Your husband is really going to enjoy that, however.

Alice: What on earth do you mean? I never felt so hot in my life.

Zoey: It happens from time to time. That need that alphas have? It's how it evens out—your body gets hotter and your libido goes through the roof.

Kasumi: Get some protection on your mattress. It's gonna get wet.

Alice: How long does this last?

Zoey: Depends… One time I spent a whole week grinding my husband down. Poor man couldn't walk straight for days.

Alice: A WHOLE WEEK?

Kasumi: Don't worry, it usually lasts a day or two. Then you return to normal.

Alice: A day or two doesn't sound as bad. So, I'm going to jump into my husband's arms and shag him silly, is that it?

Kasumi: It's not his arms you're gonna jump!

Zoey: lol!

Well, that was unexpected. She already felt lewd with how much sex she and Bruno were having since she was changed. How was she going to tell Bruno it was going to get worse?

When Alice got the courage to explain what her friends had said, he was very happy. Turned out that men will be men, and the threat of "not being able to walk straight" just made her husband grin like an idiot.

Bruno even volunteered to take time off work so he could "dedicate himself" to taking care of her. She fumed. It was incredible how she could love someone so much, and not like them at the same time. Alice was feeling shy enough as it was, and didn't want to parade around how much sex they were having.

When the full force of her lust hit her, her cheeky jerk of a husband had the gall to actually call in sick and missing work, just so he could spend a whole day with her in bed.

Alice had never felt so lustful before. She was caught up in a haze of pleasure and love, and Bruno was really enjoying himself. At least, until Daniel knocked on their door the next day, concerned over why an alpha would be sick.

Bruno's first reaction was to laugh. Then he invited Daniel in and offered to get him a drink.

Alice sat awkwardly with him in the living room, a scarf covering the bite marks Bruno had left on her neck and shoulders.

"You look kind of flustered. Are you feeling okay, Alice?" Ever the doctor, Daniel put his hand on her forehead and neck. "You're burning!"

She shuffled away from him, cheeks reddening with embarrassment.

"No, it's nothing to worry about. I'm just… it's an omega thing."

Daniel looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"You see, it's… The other omegas explained it's normal, and it happens from time to time."

"What happens?"

"We get a little hotter, and we want to…" She tried to find less embarrassing words. "We get more… It's just a little—"

"She wants to fuck," Bruno yelled from the kitchen.

That jerk! Her cheeks exploded red again.

Daniel looked stunned for a moment, then leaned back on the couch, hiding his mouth behind his hand.

Alice threw a pillow at Bruno when he walked into the room, holding beers.

"Hey, careful. These are our last ones." He was grinning.

"So," Daniel said, trying to keep a neutral expression. "your body temperature has increased, and you are feeling a higher-than-usual libido?"

"Yes," she said sullenly.

Daniel took a sip of his beer. A smile appeared on his face briefly.

"So you could say—" He started half laughing.

"Daniel—" Alice warned.

"You could call it—"

"Daniel, don't you dare."

"You could say that—"

"Don't you dare say it!"

"That you are going into heat?"

Both men laughed, trying not to spill their beers.

Alice hid her face behind a pillow. She was never so mortified in her life. "Jerks. Please stop with the stupid wolf analogies." She threw the pillow at her husband.

"Hey, Daniel's the one who made the joke."

Daniel tried to control himself again. "I'm sure this is"—he took a sip from his beer— "a perfectly normal omega characteristic," he finished with a smile.

"I hate you guys so much right now."

The three of them held their laughter for as long as they could, but when one cracked, they all laughed like maniacs.

When Alice's birthday came along, Bruno surprised her with a birthday party in one of their favorite restaurants. She was still reluctant to be in crowded spaces, but she was happy to find Bruno had booked a private room.

All her family and friends yelled "Surprise!" as soon as she walked in, but what really made her jump was the sudden blast of happiness and joy.

They ate delicious food; Alice overindulged in cake and wine. She opened wonderful presents, and was in high heaven when her husband gave her an envelope.

"What's this?" Alice asked him.

"Open it and find out." He laughed.

Inside the envelope was a printout of a conversation between Bruno and Kasumi's husband, Ichiro, with plans for a visit to Japan.

"Japan? Really?" she asked, dumbfounded. "We are going to Japan?"

"Yes, meu amor. It's the first of many places," he told her. "I'm also in talks with Zoey's mate, Michael, for us to visit the States next."

"When?" She nearly jumped. "When can we go?"

"Either the end of October or early November. You know we have to settle things here before I can leave the country."

"Of course. I'm so freaking happy! Is this for real?" Alice jumped into her husband's arms and kissed him. "I've never been outside of Portugal."

"I know." Bruno hugged her back. "But we are doing this. We want all the omegas to meet, so I thought Japan would be a great place to start. We always wanted to go there."

"Thank you!" Alice gave Bruno another passionate kiss, already planning on spending the whole night showing him just how much she loved him.

Bruno looked around the room and pulled her to a quiet corner, far from everyone else.

"And I was thinking…" he whispered. "If you would like to try again. When we return from Japan or from the States, we could try for a baby again."

"I like that idea." Alice had a different kind of smile on her face now. She felt the love, the warmth, coming from him. She was so happy right now that the skin above her heart radiated heat. The future held so much promise for them both.

"I know this has been hard for you," Bruno said softly. "I know that you've been having a hard time since the conversion. But I want to make it up to you. I want to make you the happiest woman on this planet."

"It's alright. As long as I have you, I'm okay."

It was true that she had been having second thoughts since the conversion. The attention from people everywhere she went; alphas sniffing after her; feeling other people's joy and pain like her own—it had all been devastating for her. But Bruno made up for it all. They were in this together, and together they would win every battle that life threw at them. As long as she had Bruno, she would be happy. As long as she was with him, she would be okay.

They hugged and sat quietly in their corner while their friends got drunk.