Branded By Shadow (Olympian Alphas #1)

Prologue

The Olympian Houses

Once, humanity lived as one. No hierarchies of scent, no biological imperatives, no bonds that burned beneath the skin. People loved, fought, and died as equals.

Then a Greek bard was struck by tragedy, and refused to accept it. Orpheus descended into the Underworld to reclaim his bride Eurydice from death itself. For the gods, his devotion was both challenge and opportunity. The two tragic lovers turned into pawns in their grand game.

And so, Orpheus became Alpha to the first Omega, Eurydice. And when they emerged, changed forever, the gods granted all humanity the same gift. A blessing and a curse wrapped into one.

Now, Alphas, Betas, and Omegas walk the earth. Most carry the change only in their biology. Heat and rut, bond and claim, the primal pull of chosen mates.

But some bloodlines inherited more. Olympian Houses descended directly from the Greek gods wield powers that transform the gift into something dangerous.

They are aristocracy among the transformed.

They claim their mates the way gods once claimed mortals.

With power, obsession, and patterns written in divine blood.

The world was ordinary once. It will never be ordinary again.