Alpha’s Claim The Ties That Bind Us Novel – “Eat up, Omega. It’s a big day for you and you’ll need your strength.” I mentally roll my eyes as Nanny shoves a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. We all call her Nanny because when we make the mistake of using her actual name, we get a switch across our backs. I’ve lived in a house for orphaned girls since I was eleven and today is the day I get out.
Seven years in this dump and all I’m leaving with is a bag with two t-shirts, a change of panties and a slightly clean pair of jeans. It’s been hell living here. There are forty-two girls living here, all between the ages of five and eighteen; we practically sleep on each other’s laps; there is so little space. Nanny gets paid per girl, per day, from the local Alpha so she takes in as many of us as she can. I look up from the table to see Nanny peering down at me. She has a constant look of disgust on her face, almost like someone has smeared something nasty under her nose and she spends all day smelling it.
She’s an old Gamma, not suitable for mating or breeding so she gets to do whatever she wants. If you ask me, she’s lucky. “It’s my birthday today; I have to go and get my marks done.” I tell her as politely as I can. I might be eighteen but if Nanny notes even a little disrespect in my tone, she won’t hesitate in beating me black and blue before I leave the house. “No point; we all know the mark you’ll get. Omegas are good for one thing only; I should just send your flat ass over to the breeding centre and have it done with it.” I have to clench my hands under the table to the point my nails dig into my palms as Nanny growls down at me.
I hate that she always speaks to me when I’m sitting down; it makes me feel like I’m an inch tall while she sneers down at me. Part of me can’t wait to get out of here but I know what my future holds. A breeder. The second I was born and was declared an Omega, my fate was set in stone. “I still need my marks, Nanny. It’s the law.” The two girls next to me snicker but quickly stop when Nanny slaps her meaty hand down on the hardwood table. “Fine but then you go to the breeding centre and get me my money back—a waste of decent cash for you to be marked.” I shiver as Nanny growls at me; she reaches into her stained apron and fishes out a handful of gold coins.
She hates having to pay for our marks but the Alpha pays her with the intention that each girl is sent on her way and into the world with everything she requires. Nanny doesn’t hand me the three gold coins; she tosses them onto the table and barks a laugh when I dive for them. I don’t bother with the oatmeal; my stomach is in knots, so I push up from the table with my coins in hand and walk from the dining room. Today is supposed to be a special day. Every girl is excited for her marks, even the Omegas. It declares our role in the world to everyone who sees our marks.
The marks themselves span the entirety of our back and down onto our arms so they end just past our knuckles. The world is split into four parts: Alpha Frank runs the city, which is where I am now, and Alpha Anthony runs the breeding centres, which is where I’ll go next. Alpha Lucifer runs no man’s land; it’s the biggest part there is to control and has smaller, less powerful Alphas dotted through the land. Alpha Ford runs the furthest Pack they control all our needs, like gas, electricity, and food—anything we need to live comes from Alpha Ford and his Gammas. “You good?” I push off the wall as one of the only girls I can actually tolerate walks towards me.
She got her marks last month and is due to join Alpha Ford any day now. There are so many Gammas that there are limited spaces for them. Poor Sarah has had to wait for a place to open up for her; it means that after turning eighteen and getting her marks, she’s had to come back to this hellhole.