2. Zoe
Zoe
It's a whirlwind as we prepare to be moved from the university dorms to the Institute. We're sent there as soon as the ceremony finishes because the risk of Omegas getting stolen is high. We’re barely allowed the opportunity to say goodbye to our parents.
“See? You had nothing to worry about.” My father strokes a hand down my hair as my mother digs through her purse. “Now, make sure you pay attention in your classes, and study as often as you can. You want the best job placement possible.”
I’m not sure what I would consider the best placement, but my parents seem happy in their roles. My father works at a textile factory, and my mother is a seamstress. Anything is better than a broodmare of an Omega.
A hissing noise in the back of my mind causes me to freeze, but it’s gone before I can truly register it.
My father grabs my bag from the floor beside me and pushes it into my hands with a smile. “I’ve given you a few books to keep you entertained. I doubt much has changed since we attended. We were rarely allowed off campus.”
“Dad, I’m sure they’ve loosened the rules since then.”
He hums under his breath and shrugs. “Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I hope you enjoy your time there. Please write when you can.”
“I promise.” The train whistles in warning, and I pull them both toward me in one more hug. “Looks like it's time for me to go. I love you both.”
My mother yanks me into a tight hug. “Be well, my love.” She pulls back from me, her beautiful copper eyes, so similar to mine, shimmering with tears. She pushes a box into my hand. "Take this, and wear it every day, okay? Everything works out how it's supposed to."
I ease the box open and see a raw garnet wrapped in a silver chain nestled on a piece of black cloth.
"What is this?"
"It's yours now. My mother gave it to me, and her mother to her. It's been in our family for generations. Wear it every day, Zoe. Don't forget it. And remember whose daughter you are. We love you."
Remember whose daughter you are? How could I forget that she's my mother?
It must be the grief of seeing me go. I wasn't far from home when I was in university, but now I'm heading close to the capital of Kestia, Raeldell. The Institute is just beyond the city limits. I'll only see them once a year, if I'm lucky.
I wave at them as I board the train and make my way through the cars. When I spot Warren, I sigh in relief and slump into the seat next to him.
“Are you disappointed?” He doesn’t look up at my question. “It’s okay if you are.”
My best friend avoids my gaze. “I just thought… I prayed to him, Zoe. I prayed that Kashmyre would find me fit to be one of his.” We have lived in Kashmyre's province, Agria, for all our lives, and even went to university here, but I've never known Warren to be particularly devout.
He reaches over and grabs my hand, weaving our fingers together.
“At least one of us got what we wanted, huh?”
Outwardly, I agree with him, but inside? I'm not so sure. My mother gifted me a garnet necklace after I touched Ilota's stone, and a voice spoke in my mind, calling me an Omega. It also told me to tell no one.
It doesn’t have to worry about that.
The last thing I want is for anyone to think I’m an Omega.
I jerk awake as the train grinds to a halt. I must have fallen asleep on Warren’s shoulder.
“We’re here,” he says, voice thick and groggy. “Sleep alright?”
“I had the strangest dream.” I shove myself to my feet and grab my bag, making sure all my things are tucked inside, then grab a hairbrush and run it through my hair.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I was running through the woods, and I came to the edge of a cliff. I jumped, but didn’t fall. Instead, I soared through the sky before diving deep into the ocean. When I emerged, it was at the foot of a volcano.”
He swings his arm over my shoulders when I finish untangling the knots in my wavy brown hair. “Looks like the ceremony infiltrated your dreams. The elements of the Gods called to you.”
I don't tell him that the volcano erupted, leaving me alone and crying.
The whole thing left me so unnerved that I slip the necklace my mother gave me around my neck, just to feel a little closer to her.
We file off the train, all of us crowding on the platform. Looming ahead of us is the Institute. I’ve seen photos of it, but they do not do it justice.
In the center rises a chapel several stories high, its glass roof opening to the heavens. Beside it sit two buildings with domed tops, almost like conservatories. Smaller buildings circle the chapel, growing larger the farther they are from the center.
“The buildings around the chapel are the classrooms, and the Omegas live in the building in front of those,” Warren tells me. “Closest to the chapel, closest to the Gods. It’s so any intruders will have to get through the other designations before they can reach our most vulnerable.”
Omegas would not be so vulnerable if they were allowed to train, to fight. Their beasts are not all weak kittens, but even kittens have claws. Why the powers that be have declared they need to be wrapped up in cotton wool, I'll never know.
“So then the second circle houses the Alphas?”
My best friend nods in affirmation. “And then the outer ring is where we will live.”
The outer ring of the circle has the most buildings and is by far the largest of the three rings. There are almost fifteen Betas to one Alpha, and one Omega to seven Alphas.
It’s hard to slice a pie into three equal pieces, and sometimes it feels like the Gods gave up trying.
“Betas, if you would,” an unfamiliar voice calls out, separating us from the Alphas who were on our train. “Please gather here in the courtyard.”
The Alphas follow a handsome woman with dark hair, keeping their distance from us as they pass through the exterior ring of campus.
Between each circle is a courtyard with benches, flower gardens, and even a few small streams. We gather around the man who called us over. There must be at least seventy Betas here, and there is no telling how many were in the other three ceremony days.
“My name is Tobin, and I’m your ambassador. I’m a fourth-year Beta here at the Institute.”
Like university, we will stay here for four years. We enter university in our eighteenth year, so, barring any delays due to poor performance, all first-years at the Institute are between twenty-two and twenty-three years old.
“Welcome to the Institute. During your four years here, you will learn precisely how vital Betas are to our society. We do not get the glamour of the Omegas or the glory of the Alphas, but we are the backbone. Without us, there would be no clothes on our backs, food in our bellies, or schools for our children. When Alphas enter rut, and Omegas go through heat, it is Betas who keep them safe and fed for the week.”
He looks out at the crowd of us gathered and holds his hands out wide.
“I’m sure more than a few of you are upset about your designation.
That’s perfectly natural. You don’t grow up reading stories about Betas.
But I promise you, before this year is up, you will be grateful to be one.
You will be glad this is your lot in life. ”
He claps once, jarring me. “Now, let’s head to the administration building. We’ll get your class schedules and room assignments. Because there are so many of us, many of you will have to double up while the next building is being finished.”
On the southern side of the outer circle, I see a half-finished building, a twin of the others, under construction.
“He’s passionate, huh?” Warren keeps his voice low, but his words don’t go unnoticed. A pretty woman with thick dark hair that falls past her shoulders snorts a little laugh.
“Yes, we’re so lucky to be Betas, apparently.
” She slows her gait to fall into step with the two of us.
“It’s a lot of bullshit, of course. They just don’t want us to hate our designations.
Happy workers are productive workers.” She holds her hand out to me.
Vine-like tattoos stretch up her fingers and across her forearms. She's lovely and delicate, dressed in a fashionable skirt and heeled shoes. “I’m Vivian. You can call me Viv.”
I vaguely recognize her from my ceremony. I wasn’t really paying attention to anyone but Warren.
“Zoe.” I take her hand in mine and pump it once. Warren introduces himself as well, and she beams at us.
“It’s good to meet you two. I hope you don't mind, but we're going to be best friends now. I was worried the only person I would know here would be my brother, and I need more company than that knucklehead to thrive."
There are four universities, one for each God and province, and four ceremonies, each divided by first name, a tradition that has been in place for the past thirty years.
It’s the opposite of the way our surnames have grouped us for the entirety of our schooling, and is done to facilitate mixing of the provinces for unity or some bullshit.
I know for sure Viv wasn’t at our university. Both Warren and I attended the one dedicated to Kashmyre.
“Why wouldn’t you know anyone else?” We pass through the entrance of the academic hall, and the crowd stops moving. This must be where we wait in line for our assignments. I turn to face Viv. “What about your classmates?”
“My brother and I were homeschooled by our grandmother for university.” She pulls the zipper of her bag open and closed.
“But I promise we’re not weirdos. Our parents are both Alphas Blessed by Oren and very devout followers.
They did not want us to attend Aenella's university.
We were raised in Eatolis because they're both in the military and stationed there.”
“Where is your brother now?” Warren asks. He looks around the crowd, as if trying to locate someone who looks like Viv.
“He designated as an Alpha. Blessed by Oren, to our parents’ delight.
” She rolls her eyes and wrinkles her nose.
“His beast is an Argentavis. They’re massive birds of prey that went extinct millions of years ago.
Of course, my parents were over the moon.
A rare, powerful beast like that will get him to the top of the list for job placements.
After seeing him shift at his ceremony yesterday, they expected me to designate Alpha as well.
Imagine their disappointment. Not that they'd ever say anything about it. They're actually pretty great."
I have no siblings, so I have no idea what it must be like to be compared to someone like Viv is describing. It must be awful, knowing that the person you’ve done everything with is now being pushed onto a path that your parents value more than your own.
“They just don’t know the wonderful side of being a Beta!” Warren spreads his arms, imitating Tobin.
A throat clears behind him. We all look at an older Beta man with dark, hooded eyes sitting behind a desk. “If you’re done, I’d like to give you your room assignment.”