Chapter 23
Omega, what have you done?
Mordecai
Alpha God of the Hunt
Thousands of years before the Night of Falling Stars
I gallop through the dark and eerie forests that are my ancestral lands, and I leave nothing but silence in my wake.
Mist curls over the ground; very little light reaches the forest floor.
Everything flees before me, bounding for their lives.
Nothing can touch me, hurt me, or kill me.
My power stretches across the expanse of the forest, through clearings and into the sparse wilds.
I am the Alpha God of the Hunt. Ancient even among gods. Feared. Almost forgotten.
Bored.
Something is missing, has been missing for more years than I can count. The contentment I used to feel has been leaving me at odds because all the familiar pursuits doesn’t bring back the peace. I have chased many answers to this riddle, but only one truly resonates with me.
There is no one to share the world with. No one to hunt with, no one to walk side by side with. Not a soul to spend an hour talking or listening to silences with.
The gods fear me, those that remember I exist. The ones sitting in the Hall of Petitions have heard of me, but few have even seen me. Years ago, I stepped into the forests, and most think of me as nothing more than a myth.
I guide my horse without reins or saddle, just using movements of my legs.
The horse isn’t an ordinary one. Even among gods, I recognise a spirit of the forest. They decide to help me on occasion, but it’s a wary tension.
Only the bravest of souls will come to spend time with me, and most rarely more than once.
I suspect he’s here more out of curiosity than any sense of familiarity.
The silence is interrupted by a freezing breeze.
If I’m a recluse, then the Alpha God of Winter is a myth, but his temper these last few years has been a sight to behold.
I don’t know what has got him so riled, but his winters have been frigid.
Except this one just past, it was surprisingly soft, almost gentle.
The horse stops and shivers, a sign that it’s starting to panic. Something walks in the forest towards me.
I’m more curious than perturbed. I leap off the horse, and it disappears with the ice breeze.
Winter is lingering longer than usual, but it lacks the bite of temper it normally has.
I turn in the cool air until I sense the direction the disturbance is coming from.
The walk is short and long; time bends; the forest parts; and there she is.
Her hair is silver. She’s old, and I bow respectfully to her, recognising her ilk as one even older than mine.
“Omega.”
“Do you know me?” she asks in a voice that is both ancient and young, innocent and terribly wise.
The question rattles the answer loose in my mind. “All-Seer.”
She inclines an ageless, beautiful face. “I would tell you a story, young Alpha of the Hunt, then ask a favour, a sacrifice, and I will give you a promise of something far more valuable than anything you’d ever dreamed.”
I wave my hands, and my black armour turns to robes. A wooden table with granite cups filled with the purest water appears. Bowls of berries and seeds sit on rock slabs. I sit on the wooden throne and steeple my fingers.
“I will only promise to listen and consider what you say.”
She smiles and eases into the delicate chair made of vines with flowering purple blooms.
“This is lovely; I had no idea you would be so hospitable.”
“I still remember the old ways,” I murmur. “As long as you come in peace, my table will nourish a weary traveller.”
She bows her head, and the air around her fills with almost bitter regret.
“When we created humans, we did so knowing that we could reach out to them through dreams, visions, and possession. We knew that we would be part of their world, and their prayers and lives would in turn become part of ours. It worked for a long, long time.”
“I remember. Humans were divided and given to the gods to care for. There are few humans, alpha, omega, or beta, who are born into my care.”
“Yes, I am aware. Which is part of why I am here.”
I cock my head to the side. “What is wrong with the world?”
“They are too far away; we can’t reach them, and things keep happening. Things are going to happen. Horrible, awful things.”
“Is it not part of life and death to face such things?” I throw back at her, smiling. She cocks her head to the side, her lips pursed. I am enjoying this. I wonder if she will visit with me again.
“Not like this,” the All-Seer says with a quiet concern that makes me shift and reach for the cup of water.
“You would change the future?”
“I can’t, no one can change it completely, but I can give them a way to change part of it.”
I stare at her. “And how did you get this past the High Council?”
She stares at me. “They think it is their idea.”
My laughter is harsh and unheard of in centuries. Birds explode from the trees, fleeing, but the omega sits still and waits until I finish.
“Bold of you, All-Seer, to manipulate the council.”
“They needed a kick up their asses. I just presented them with an option that works in everyone’s favour.”
“I see. So, your decision is to…” I trail off waiting for her answer.
“We’re sending an omega goddess to live on Earth. She will be born when things are going wrong, and she will reset a small thing that will allow the world to find balance again.”
I stare at her because I’m sure I just heard her wrong.
“You’re sending a god to Earth? That will strip them of their powers; they will be human.”
“Yes.”
“There is no one who would agree to do that,” I say flatly and confidently.
“I’ve found one already.”
I sit up straighter. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I’ve found her. She’s going today.”
I shake my head. “Then I will send prayers to the council for her soul.”
“I don’t think you will. My favour, Alpha, is that you meet with my travelling companions and hear what they have to say.”
There’s an ominous feel in the air, and two cloaked people appear in front of us, as if they were there the whole time.
I can’t see their faces, but the taller one slowly pulls his cloak back, revealing red hair with fire licking through it.
His features are almost feline, his eyes dancing with light.
“This is—”
“The Alpha of Fire. We’ve met. His temper is so legendary that he’s no longer allowed near the council. How many times have you been banished?”
The alpha throws his head back and laughs. Flames drop to the forest ground and try to ignite it, but I bank it as quickly as it starts.
“Too many times and not enough. They don’t let me play anymore.”
“I’m not surprised.” I look him over intently, fascinated with seeing him after so many years.
“I’m going with the omega,” he says casually.
My eyebrows raise. He is abdicating his power? Willingly? Why?
“I’ll bite. Why are you giving up all your godly powers, your home, and everyone you know?”
He’s smug, and I hate it. But his smile spreads across his face, and he looks at his companion. He tugs the hood back; it falls slowly, but I forget about it and him immediately.
All I see is white. It’s a colour I never see in my world. Her hair, her skin, she’s pale, her eyes a luminous grey. Pink lips and an innocence that has me ready to uproot every tree in my forest for her.
My world shifts as her wild forest scent hits me. I stand up, walking around the table without thinking. She doesn’t step back; she doesn’t cringe or tense. She doesn’t fear me.
“Omega,” I whisper. “What have you done?”
Scent matches are like soulmates. They are one and the same. Humans pray for them all the time, but gods seldom have them.
She is mine, made for me. Or I am made for her. I want to kneel down and give myself to her. I can’t look away.
“This is the Luna Omega.”
My gasp is like thunder in the silence.
A myth older than fire and hunt. Older even than winter. Only the All-Seer could find and bring her out. Let alone assemble the three of us.
The wind blows, and those startling and wise eyes look away, as if she’s searching for someone else.
“Wait!” I suddenly snap. Wanting her eyes back on me, needing to know and understand what’s going on.
The forest gets darker; the trees reaching out with branches closing us in.
“You’re going to fall? You’re giving it all up? No!” I reach for her and lay a finger on her wrist before I recall myself, afraid I might hurt her.
She looks up at me without smiling, without a protest.
“It’s not your decision, Alpha,” the All-Seer says calmly.
“She’s my scent match, so how is it not my decision?”
“She is a goddess; she can choose her path.”
“But—”
I look at the other alpha. He’s got an expression that almost feels like compassion and understanding.
“We can lose her forever or go with her and help.”
My hands shake. Give it all up or give her up? It’s impossible to fathom.
“This is the sacrifice I ask of you. Either way you decide, I will have one. I am sorry, Alpha,” the All-Seer murmurs.
“No,” I say in protest, not to them but to the panicked voice in my head.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to go, but I felt it was only fair to offer you a choice before I send your scent match away.”
“No!” I snap again, glaring at the seer I’m starting to hate. “I’m not staying here.” I turn back to the goddess. “I’ll go with you.”
The goddess lifts eyes to me. They are wide and full of emotion. Shock, sorrow, surprise, awe. Too many and too fleeting to read. “You would come with me?”
I lean towards her, taking up her small hand. “I would follow you wherever you lead, Omega. For now and always, I am yours.”
She squeezes my hand, holding it tight, but I can feel the tremble that goes through her.
“So, the three of us, huh? It’s a whole party.” The Fire Alpha smirks. “Told you he’d join us.”