It was said that in the beginning, Gaia, the Mother of the Earth, used her will and her body to create the world and all that inhabited it. From her came the land and water, her will shaped the currents of weather and climate, and her spirit was infused in all living things and made them flourish. Everything existed because of her, born of her love and wisdom.

Mankind was said to be an accident, but one that Gaia capitalized on. From those independent, willful, and at times, destructive beings, she formed a new breed of creature. Born from the spirits of beast and man, merged into a single essence, they were intended to be the guardians of all she had crafted. The foremost of those creatures, created from man and wolf, would be the most prominent and powerful. Torn between both worlds, these werewolves would create a society, a merger of their and Gaia’s wills, based upon the precepts of their nature.

Kyle wasn’t sure what exactly prompted him to start thinking about the old tales. He sat up, grunting in annoyance as sand fell from his back tumbling inside his shorts. He was quick to brush the remaining sand off before even more of the annoying stuff trickled into other more uncomfortable places. It was bad enough he’d let himself doze off on what should have been a short break, let alone having to fish sand out of his underwear later.

“There you are! You were supposed to be back fifteen minutes ago, Kyle,” the familiar voice of his friend, Lily, chided him.

Craning his neck, he caught sight of her standing just inside the line of trees, past the beach he had been sprawled on. Her dark eyes were next to impossible to see in the shadows created by the trees, but he could certainly make out the amused smirk on her face clear as day. She’d changed her clothes at some point during his impromptu nap. Her grubby work clothes were gone and in their place she wore a skirt and blouse combination that showed off her hard-earned figure. Her deep brown, almost black hair was pulled back into an intricate plait he recognized as unique to her and her sisters.

He grunted, tossing the rough mixture of sand and pebbles he held in his hand toward the water. “I didn’t realize I had a schedule I was supposed to keep to today.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me you forgot what day today is?”

He had forgotten for a minute there, but her reminder had him wishing he’d stayed asleep and somewhere he wouldn’t have been found quite so easily. Not that there was anywhere for him to hide for long around here. The collection of packs that made up the Sept of the Green Isle had lived for generations on the island surrounded by a freshwater lake, in the heart of the North American continent. Kyle hadn’t left the island more than a handful of times. Like most of the longtime residents of this part of the sept’s territory, he knew there weren’t many places around here where he could have hidden for long.

“I didn’t, but it’s not like I’ll be missing a lot,” he grumbled, still refusing to move from the beach.

He wasn’t looking, but he’d bet tonight’s dinner Lily was rolling her eyes. “You always say that. Maybe if you actually acted a little interested instead of like you’re being tormented, this Showing might do you some good.”

Kyle said nothing. He picked up a rock and threw it as far as he could across the lake. They both knew he despised the Showing. He had no choice but to accept the fact that the werewolf world was split into two types: omegas and alphas. Alphas got just about everything they wanted: the best food, supplies, the best pack territories. Hell, they could strike out on their own and form their own packs. Omegas, however, were supposedly the “caretakers of Gaia’s guardians,” and the older he got, the more that description sounded like “servants of alphas” to Kyle’s ears. Omegas couldn’t form their own packs, meaning they were stuck with whatever pack they’d had from birth. That is, they were stuck until an alpha came along and took them in. Sure, an omega could fight as well as an alpha, but something in the smell and spirit of the omega separated him or her from their more dominant peers.

He knew there was nothing that could be done about it. You were born one way or the other, and you accepted your lot in life. Just like he had to accept he was technically packless. The pack he’d originally belonged to had all died years ago in a raid by a rival sept. Kyle had no pack, no alpha to lead him, and thus he had no real status, save for the respect he’d garnered from being apprenticed to old Mags. If it hadn’t been for the old woman, he’d probably have been a chew toy for any angry alpha wanting to vent their frustrations on an unprotected omega.

Lily hopped down onto a rock before dropping to the sand beside him. “You could try it, just this once.”

He rolled his head back to look up at her, squinting against the bright sunlight. “And for what? So I can be passed over again? I’m an omega with nothing to offer any alpha who wants another addition to their pack, and you know it. I’ve got no family, and being that I lack the parts, I’m not popping out any kids any time soon. All I have is the fact that I’m damn well learning from the sept shaman.”

Lily crouched beside him. “Well, you aren’t getting any younger either.”

He glared. “Thanks for the reminder.”

His twenty-fifth name-day was approaching in a few moons. It was bad enough being an omega with nothing but the association of some half-crazed old woman who spoke to spirits. His chances of being plucked from obscurity by an alpha had begun to shrink the moment he’d hit two decades of age. Since then they had continued to dwindle to almost nothing. It wasn’t like he was necessarily losing time to breed or anything, but being male didn’t matter; tradition stuck.

“The Showing isn’t that bad,” she told him, jabbing him with her elbow.

“You’ve got a pack and you’re only twenty this year. Of course it’s exciting for you,” he told her, refusing to give in to her supposedly playful gesture.

“It’s just a party. Are you really that opposed to having a bit of fun?” she asked.

He snorted derisively. “A party? That’s what they want it to look like. They want everyone to treat it as a party instead of the meat market it actually is. It’s just an opportunity to gather all the poor omegas together to show off what the sept has to offer any alphas who might be looking to expand their packs. Then the alphas stand around with their drinks and plates of food pretending they’re just there to celebrate. When all they’re really doing is looking out for a body or two to increase their personal power. Oh boy, what a party that is.”

“You’re so cynical. It only happens once a year, and sometimes there’s even a Joining,” she told him.

He knew where she was going with that. “Lily, c’mon. It’s pretty much the same alphas who come here every year. If one of those alphas was going to experience that magical attraction to me, it would’ve happened already.”

She frowned. “Well, maybe if you didn’t stand around looking like you’ve been chewing on lemons they might get close enough to find out the truth about you.”

“We both know I only attend these things because I’m technically a member of the sept and an omega. Everyone knows I’m going to end up being just like Mags herself: an unclaimed omega who has to use whatever he can to be considered important enough not to be used and abused,” he said.

Lily grinned. “For someone who complains about meat markets and not being used, you certainly don’t object to sleeping with some of the alphas.”

He couldn’t help the snort that escaped him. “Just because I’m an omega who’s going to remain packless doesn’t mean I can’t get laid every now and then. I get horny, just like everyone else.”

“Well, maybe this year you’ll whore it up with some alpha who’ll finally realize you’re the omega of his dreams,” she said, her tone teasing.

Kyle laughed. “You’re always the eternal optimist, you know that?”

Lily shrugged. “I’m a romantic. What can I say? Plus, I hear there are supposed to be some different alphas this year. You can’t tell me you aren’t at least a little curious.”

He shook his head. “Anyone new is going to barely give me a second glance, at least when it comes to being part of their pack. Sure, the ones who wanna behave themselves or are only choosing non-breeding members will give me a quick look. But to actually be considered good enough to become part of a pack? Gaia knows I have more chance of suddenly turning into an alpha.”

“Wouldn’t that be something? Then you could start your own pack. You could be grumpy with them all day long if that’s what you want, instead of sitting on the beach trying to bring my good mood down,” she said with a light laugh.

He eyed Lily, feeling cautious for her. But knowing her good mood would almost certainly ignore that. “Just remember: omega or not, you have a choice. If some asshole or old mutt wants you, you can always say no. You don’t have to go with the first alpha that comes barking up your tree.”

She shrugged. “Unless one of the elders overrides me.”

“You’ll still have a choice,” he told her, and he actually believed it.

Unlike him, whose days of having a choice in the matter were just about done. During his first Showing, some far off alpha from another sept had shown up and tried to take Kyle as a part of his pack. Even in those days, Kyle didn’t have a pack to back him up and there wasn’t much to keep him on the island as part of the sept he’d known all his life. He firmly believed he was supported in saying “no” to the alpha simply because the elders had detested that particular alpha, and didn’t want to give the neighboring sept anything they didn’t absolutely have to. If another alpha tried to push the issue with Kyle, he knew full well it was unlikely he’d have the same luck again. It was another admittedly more private reason that he feared going to the Showing.

“My sisters got chosen before they were even seventeen,” Lily told him, voice suddenly quiet.

He cocked his head. “Yeah, and? They were chosen during good years. It’s been really sparse around here recently. Mags says it gets like that sometimes when the septs are doing more fighting than anything else. You said yourself they were bringing in some different alphas than we’re used to seeing. Maybe your prince or princess charming is in that new group.”

Lily absently flipped over a small rock, letting it tumble down the pile she’d been building. “And what if they aren’t?”

He laid his hand gently on her knee. “Look, you aren’t in the same position as I am, okay? You’re still young, you have a pack to back you up, and it’s a good pack too. We both know that unless a female omega can’t have kids, she’s always got a better chance of being picked up later in life than a male one. I don’t even know how to fight, I can’t have kids, and my pack died ages ago without anyone else taking me on. We’re two different pedigrees. It’s just been a bad few years and you know it.”

“How is it that you can be so optimistic about my chances but you just grumble and bitch when it comes to yours?” she asked him, smiling with one corner of her mouth.

“It’s not optimistic. Optimism is based on hopes and dreams. I’m being realistic here. Reality just happens to be comforting in your case,” he told her.

“I swear, if someone would give you half a chance, you’d be a great arbiter for one of the packs. You’ve always gotta be right,” she laughed, resting her hand on top of his.

“Well, it helps when I usually am right,” he told her with a completely straight face.

“Well fine, be right and a little more excited than you actually are,” she said, jiggling his arm.

“Can we settle on me being excited just for you, then?” he asked, giving in slightly.

She thought about that for a moment. “Alright, fine. Only if you actually stay excited, even when you’re standing on your own. You’re not going to stand there with a big glare on your face, scaring off anyone who comes too close. You have to be in a good mood the whole time, just for me, or it’s going to be obvious you’re faking it and you have to know that’ll just break my poor little heart.”

Kyle laughed. “We both know once things get started you’ll be too busy drinking and talking to anyone who’ll listen to even bother looking at what I’m up to. Some hot alpha will chat you up, and you’ll be looking at their chest or ass, and forget all about me. You did the same thing last year.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “It only happened like twice, and you can’t blame me! Some of those alphas are just…mmm. And as I recall, you stole one of those alphas from me last year.”

“I think it only counts as stealing if they took me into their pack. Sleeping with the guy doesn’t really count as stealing,” he told her dryly.

She continued to moan. “There I was, thinking I was wooing him when your little twink ass walks by. After that he completely ignores everything I’m saying and goes chasing after you.”

“Hey! I’m not a twink,” he complained.

She raised her brow doubtfully. “Oh yeah? And what are you then?”

He glanced down at himself. “I mean, I’m kinda a hunk, aren’t I?”

It was obvious she was doing her best not to burst out laughing and he scowled at her. He couldn’t very well help it if he wasn’t that tall for a guy; he was short, even by omega standards. It’s not like he was rail thin, with a boyish face and long eyelashes or anything. Sure, he had bright blond hair that practically turned white in the summer, and his eyes were as blue as the tropical waters he’d seen pictures of. He took care of himself, even if being Mags apprentice wasn’t usually physically demanding. He was stronger than he looked, even if that strength did come in a somewhat compact form. He knew he wasn’t ugly by any measure, but that only succeeded in getting him laid, since looks didn’t extend too far when it came to viability for choosing new pack members.

“Twinky hunk? Twunk?” she asked, her voice quivering with barely contained laughter.

“I swear to Gaia, if you get drunk and call me a twunk or some other awful name you come up with during the Showing, I will follow you around and glare at any alpha that comes close to you,” he warned her.

She threw her arm around his neck, hugging him close. “No you won’t. You’re going to smile and laugh with me, and I’m even going to make you get up and dance. Then some handsome alpha is going to come along and see that gorgeous smile you try to hide so much. He’s going to be so overwhelmed by the sight of it that you’ll both get that…tingly whatever stuff, that’s supposed to happen at a Joining, and you’ll be out of here, leaving me behind to take your place at Mags’ side.”

He pushed her, trying desperately not to laugh. “You’re ridiculous. And I am definitely not dancing.”

“Oh yes you are,” she insisted.

“There isn’t enough alcohol on this entire island to convince me to dance,” he said.

“We’ll see, now get your little ass up and let’s go,” she said, standing suddenly.

He caught himself before her sudden excited movement flung him back down into the sand. “What’s the rush? The Showing isn’t until closer to sundown anyway.”

She looked him up and down. “You’re covered in dirt and sand, Kyle. No one’s going to look twice at you because you’re going to be camouflaged if you don’t change out of those clothes. Now, let’s go get you presentable for the night.”

He pushed himself to his feet grudgingly. “Why are you putting so much emphasis on the?”

She hooked her arm in his and began yanking him back toward the village. “Because it’s the night. The night everything changes for you, just you watch and see.”

“I can’t wait,” he said dryly as he allowed her to drag him off, knowing a losing fight when he saw one.