Chapter 1: The Omega's Fate
***Cadiz***
The lights in the grand hall felt too bright. I stood in the corner, watching nobles in fancy clothes chat and laugh.
It was my twentieth birthday, but I didn't feel like celebrating. It didn't feel like my day at all.
I'd tried hiding in the library earlier, curled up between shelves that smelled of dust and old paper, but a servant had found me.
"Young Master Cadiz, they want you at the party. The guests are waiting."
So here I was, wishing I could disappear back into those quiet pages instead of standing under all these stares.
Cassius, my twin brother, stood in the center of everything. He looked perfect in his cream and gold outfit, his silver hair shining, his sweet scent making everyone want to be near him.
I stayed by the wall, wishing I could disappear.
"Thirty-seven marriage offers!" Father announced loudly. "All for Cassius!"
Everyone clapped and smiled at my brother. He was everything an omega should be… beautiful, sweet-smelling, wanted by everyone. Although we looked the same, I was nothing like him.
Cassius had sweet pheromones that smelled like honey and vanilla, and he'd gotten rare holy power when he turned sixteen.
Me? At twenty, I had no holy power, no scent, no value to anyone.
Just a failure.
"Where's the other birthday boy?" Countess Verona asked, looking around for me.
Father's smile got tight. "Cadiz, come here."
I straightened up and walked across the marble floor, feeling everyone staring at me. The walk from the wall to Cassius's side felt like miles of judgment.
When I reached him, he touched my arm gently. I could see pity in his eyes, which only made me feel worse. I didn't want his pity… I'd had enough of it.
The nobles didn't bother hiding their whispers.
"He hasn't bloomed yet, has he?"
"Tsk."
"Such a shame when his twin is so perfect."
I'd spent my whole life learning to ignore their words, but they still hurt. I took my place in the silence I'd practiced my whole life, the silence of a younger son who knew his role.
"Surely someone wants the other twin too?" Countess Verona asked.
The silence that followed was awful.
Father's jaw got tight. "There have been... inquiries," he said carefully.
Inquiries, not real marriage offers.
A nice way of saying nobody wanted me. But honestly, who would? Even I wouldn't want myself. I bit my lower lip, trying to make myself feel physical pain instead of the emotional pain that was tearing me apart.
"Actually, we did get one formal request," Father said.
I gasped and looked up at him. The whole room went quiet. Everyone leaned in to listen.., including me.
"From House Ashforde," he announced.
Shocked gasps filled the room. My palms started sweating. I held my hands behind my back, trying to steady myself. My heart started pounding….
Was it fear? I couldn't tell.
Everyone knew about the Ashfordes, a powerful family from the north. Their heir, Raizel Von Ashforde, was famous for hating omegas and turning down every marriage offer. He'd rejected three proposals just last season.
"Impossible!" someone whispered. "Raizel despises omegas!"
"He turned everyone away!"
"Why would they want him?"
I stood frozen, my heart sinking. Why would they choose me, the omega who couldn't even bloom properly?
"Which son again?" Marquis Blackwood asked sharply.
But everyone already knew the answer.
"The marriage would be with Cadiz."
Complete silence…
Then everyone stared at me, not with jealousy like they looked at Cassius, but with pity and disbelief. An omega with no scent being sent to the one man who swore never to marry. It felt like being thrown away.
Cassius looked worried and started to say something, but Father cut him off.
"It's decided. The Ashforde messengers leave tomorrow, and Cadiz goes with them."
Tomorrow.
The word hit me like a punch. Father probably couldn't wait to get rid of his embarrassing son. The nobles started talking again, finding my situation amusing. Father pretended to be proud while Cassius tried to protect me, which only made me feel smaller.
I clenched my fists and bowed like I was supposed to. "Yes, Father."
But inside, I was dying.
They thought I was worthless. They thought sending me away would make me disappear
Maybe it would.
Maybe it should.
The party went on around me. Father kept making toasts about our futures. When he announced Cassius would marry Aldrik Von Draven, heir to the greatest of the Alpha houses in the empire, everyone cheered loudly.
When he mentioned my arrangement with the Ashfordes, the clapping was much quieter.
"Interesting..." people whispered.
"After rejecting everyone, they chose him?"
"Maybe they wanted someone forgettable."
Each word felt like a knife cutting into me. I kept my face blank until Father grabbed my shoulder hard enough to bruise.
"Stand straight, Cadiz. Smile. If you embarrass this family, you'll regret it," he whispered in my ear, still smiling at the guests.
"Yes, Father," I whispered back, forcing a smile.
I moved through the night like a ghost, clapping when I should and answering boring questions.
Cassius danced and charmed everyone while I leaned against the wall and watched. Part of me wished I was back in the library with those dusty books that never judged me, that never whispered about what I lacked.
Then something weird happened.
The air seemed to shimmer for a second. The lights from the chandeliers bent and flickered. I caught my breath, but nobody else noticed.
The music kept playing. People kept dancing and talking. But I felt something wake up deep in my chest, like remembering something I'd forgotten.
A cold feeling ran down my spine and I pressed my back against the marble wall. The sensation faded and I tried to tell myself it was just tiredness or my imagination. But the feeling stayed, like a small fire under ashes.
Something inside me had woken up.
Tomorrow the Ashforde messengers would come.
Tomorrow I'd be taken away from everything I knew to a cold northern fortress and a man who hated people like me.
The thought scared me at first, but then I thought of a possibility. Maybe in that northern house, I could find a place where I could be anything except a stain on the family name.
I had nothing to lose anyway. Did I even have a choice?
I was being thrown away!