Once, I tried signing up for a dating site, but I bailed almost immediately. A few omegas messaged me, saying they’d love to top an alpha. They made it sound like I was their ultimate fetish. That wasn’t what I wanted.
Slowly, the realization set in. I was destined for a different life. Isolated from others. Unnatural.
One scientist told me that after the Great Pandemic, when the aliens modified humanity’s genetics, they originally intended to create a true hermaphrodite, as they were themselves, to speed up the repopulation process, but it didn’t work. They even had a name for people like me.
They called the experiment ‘sigma’.
Deep down, that’s what I called myself. A sigma. An alpha and an omega in one. A fusion of two natures.
But I kept it all inside. A secret. Something I buried, sometimes even from myself, convinced I was just an alpha, because that’s what everyone saw, and that’s what I tried to be.
Even if it never felt right.
At least I looked like a regular alpha, which meant I didn’t have to explain myself. Sure, I wasn’t the tallest alpha at 6’4"—I was at the lower end of alpha height. I wasn’t super muscular either, more wiry and lean. But I still fit within the general alpha standards. Most people left me alone.
Sometimes I got, "Hey, maybe you should bulk up a little?" But that was it. I was free to just… exist.
My fingers moved across the T-shirt I held in my clenched fist, my gaze drifting over the two boys’ faces. A family of my own. Would I ever have somebody to love a freak like me?
Maybe… I’ll worry about it tomorrow.
For now, a smirk flickered on my lips. I already knew what I’d be wearing tomorrow on my first day at work.
If my father expected me to show up in a suit, he was in for a big surprise.
PROLOGUE: WINTER
17 YEARS AGO
My heart was pounding. My hands were sweaty, clenched into fists, as I tried to control the trembling in my body. I had never dared to do this before, but there had to be a first time for everything. I was already in my last year of high school and had never even kissed anyone.
I was sick of it. I had to try, take the risk, and taking risks was something I really hated.
The coding club meeting was wrapping up. Logan slipped his tablet into its case and tucked it into his backpack. My eyes followed him closely as the teacher and the other students got up and started heading out. I made sure to stay right behind him.
By the time we made it down the stairs and out to the parking lot, the crowd had thinned out a bit.
This was my chance. It had to be now or never. I watched Logan’s tall, wiry figure. He had this cat-like grace to the way he moved, and his hair was dyed blue—I liked that kind of slightly rebellious look, so different from my own, geeky and unassuming. He was kind, funny, and he seemed to like me. I could fall for him, maybe. He could be my opportunity to finally understand what it felt like… to be in love?
I’d picked Logan after watching him for a while. He was a little lost in a world of betas and omegas obsessed with math, programming, and chess, but since he liked those things too, maybe we were vibing on the same wavelength… possibly this could beit?
"Logan!"
I immediately cringed at how shaky my voice was, way quieter than I’d planned. But of course, he still heard me. He was an alpha, after all.
He stopped and turned around, wearing a polite smile, the kind a salesman might slap on their face. I had no idea if it was genuine or not.
I cleared my throat.
"Listen, I was thinking… We've known each other for a while now, and, well, you know—" I trailed off, furious with myself. I had rehearsed this perfectly at home, but now my mind was just… utterly blank.
"Uh… I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go to the movies with me?Our Alien Genesis Part 3is out. I heard it’s really good."
At first, Logan just looked surprised. Then, slowly, understanding dawned on his face. He opened and closed his mouth, like he couldn’t quite believe it.
"Are you asking me on a date?"
"Uh…" I had to say it. Now or never. "Yeah. If you want to, I mean. If… if that sounds good to you?"
