Prologue

W hen I first laid eyes on Benjamin Davinson, I thought he was rather handsome.

You know, in that pretty rich boy way where he didn't have dirt sticking behind his ears or to the bottoms of his feet like I did.

Benjamin had perfectly tamed blond hair that darkened at the roots. His eyes were almond and cool. He was pretty, in a way. I remember that I thought it was odd that considering he was pretty was one of the first things that came to my mind. Men after all weren't supposed to be pretty exactly. Most certainly, alphas weren't.

Alphas, even in my small education up to the age of fourteen, I knew we were supposed to be strong and capable and most of all, if anything extremely attractive.

But never pretty.

I didn't know what else to think though as I stared at him. An alpha.

Not only was I looking back at a mystery I never thought I'd be a part of, but it was odd. I was slightly dirty and uncomfortable, but his family looked at me like I was the most perfect person they ever laid eyes on.

For a while, I felt that way. I wanted to feel that way.

They bathed me in pretty bubbles I had never had before let alone smelled such beautiful scents. They dressed me up and even my brother Peter looked at me in the sitting room they had me in that first time like I was an entirely new person. I probably never wore a dress in my entire life until the Davinsons dressed me up like a doll.

Or like an…

"An omega?" Peter asked, raising his eyebrows.

Benjamin remained sitting on the sofa in front of me. His elbows were balanced on his knees. He stared at me. It was as if he couldn't look away.

Eventually, I had to, and he smirked.

"Yes," Mr. Davinson spoke up, directly to Peter though it looked like it pained him to do so. When he arrived at the large house with me, he directed for the beta to be led inside. The beta. I had never heard such a direct accusation of designation before. "Your parents seemed to have an inkling–"

"Our parents are gone," Peter quickly said.

A silence spread over the room, but Mr. Davinson let it hold only as long as he wanted to. "That is correct, however, the subject was brought up that Miss Spangler may perhaps designate as an omega a few years back before your parents… left us."

Peter shifted his jaw.

"Miss Spangler holds traits and so should she designate–"

"You want her," said Peter, figuring out what was happening here much faster than I was.

Mr. Davinson smiled a devilish, gleaming sort of smile. I couldn't miss the tick of his jaw at being cut off again. No wonder he made such money in business. It was still a rather charming smile. "My son is quite taken with her."

"She hasn't even fully presented yet."

"But should that happen and it likely will, we'd like to keep what was promised to us close by," said Mr. Davinson.

Slowly, Peter looked between me and the rest of the Davinson family sitting quietly as the conversation went on. Promised. Promised as in, give me to the alpha? I could hardly believe what I was hearing already. I couldn't be an omega. My brother was a beta. My parents were betas.

Betas rarely produced omegas. Ever. It wasn't heard of. It was nearly a thought of pure insanity.

But it seemed that my father, before he left, thought otherwise.

Though, my father had never really taken much interest in me when he was around. Sure he sat at the dinner table with me–when there was dinner. And he nearly never messed up my name. But Mr. Davinson didn't seem insane. He looked the opposite.

"We would of course treat Miss Spangler with all the privileges and love our family has to offer," Mr. Davinson insisted with a small chuckle if ever treating me otherwise was unheard of. "We are a well-known and highly regarded family within the community, as I'm sure you know."

Peter was still staring at me, but he nodded.

It felt like everyone's eyes were on me and I wanted to shrivel in the spotlight on my too-new dress and too-clean skin.

"What we are trying to say is though we already had an agreement in place to create a safe and stable environment for Elena and Benjamin together, we have a bit of a proposal. Think of this as an opportunity. You will want for nothing– either of you. This could be considered one of the best things that likely could happen," said Mr. Davinson. "I can imagine it's been hard being on your own, taking care of a young beta, Mr. Spangler, but an omega?"

He was right.

If I was an omega–and that was a big if–I couldn't imagine what Peter would have to do. He would have to call Omega Services surely. Then, who knew what would happen?

Most omegas went to special omega schools if they could afford them. If not, the stories I had heard in the news of omega's being forcibly claimed just walking out and about alone…

This was a dream.

How could it not be?

Mr. Davinson was right. This was the answer to all our prayers and hopes and hardship we'd gone through to pay for groceries let alone live life comfortably.

"Fine," said Peter with a nod. "Only if she agrees."

I did.

The Davinsons continued to smile.

But Peter wasn't done just yet. "But with a few conditions."