Pheromone Paradox

"You two! Get out of my sons' lives!" A middle-aged woman, face blazing with anger, hurled a thick stack of money onto the table in front of the two omegas. "How dare you become my sons' pairs!" The omegas were stunned and frightened by the woman's fury. "My sons deserve classy omegas," she sneered, her gaze sweeping over their unknown backgrounds, "not the likes of you." "Now get out and never show your faces again!" With that, the middle-aged woman turned and left, her bodyguard trailing behind her. "Dad! Dad!" Audrey's voice was sharp as she shook her father awake. Eezar blinked himself out of sleep. "What's wrong, my dear?" "Cyril! He took my pencil – my favorite one!" A weary sigh escaped her father as he rubbed his temples. "Just give it to him, darling. I'll buy you a new one." "But Dad, it's my favorite pencil! You bought it for me and it's lasted forever! I don't want a replacement!" she protested, her voice thick with frustration as she looked at her still-drowsy father. "Cyril always gets whatever he wants, and that pencil was the last thing that was truly mine!" "Sweetheart, let him use the old pencil, alright?" Eezar's tone was placating. "You can have a brand new one. Just this once, can you be the bigger person?" With a dramatic huff, Audrey muttered, "Yes.... Yes..... Yes.... I'm always the one who gives in!" before stomping off towards her room. Eezar watched her retreat. Collin emerged from the kitchen doorway, having heard the exchange. "Sorry about Cyril," she offered quietly. "It's fine, really," Eezar replied, though his gaze was distant. "He's an omega. Audrey's a beta; she's strong." "But sometimes," Collin hesitated, "I wonder about Audrey. Are we leaning on her too much?" "She's capable. Don't worry," Eezar insisted, though sweat beaded on his forehead. Collin reached out, touching Eezar's skin. "Are you feeling alright? You're not feverish, but you're sweating." "Just... that incident," Eezar murmured, a shiver running through him. "It came back to me. I even dreamt about it." "We'll face it together," Collin said, her voice firm but low. "For now, though, we have to push that away. Focus on Audrey and Cyril. And pray we never cross paths with them again." "You're right," Eezar agreed, shaking his head as if to clear the thought. "I need to stop dwelling on it." Audrey’s POV I tidied up my textbooks and equipment, all messed up by Cyril. That was just how he was, and it was rare for our parents to intervene. Cyril had always been a target for bullies because of how pretty he was; I was always the one stepping in to protect him, even from kids older than us. But everything escalated once word got out that Cyril was a Dominant Omega. It was then, grappling with the reality of what that meant, that I truly started to grasp that this world wasn't simply divided into men and women, but into Alphas, Betas, and Omegas. Because I was a Beta, my parents entrusted Cyril to me. Yet, because he was a Dominant Omega, their attention was always fixed on him. I honestly thought he was incredibly spoiled. Their reasoning was always the same: because he was an Omega, he was weak, easily bullied, easily kidnapped, and for countless other reasons, I, the Beta twin, had to protect him. After all, they argued, no one would bully me, and I was clearly stronger than my twin. I felt like I could only follow my parents' requests. Maybe this was their way of showing concern for me; I was the strong child, the older sibling who always had to give in. Besides, their attention was always going to be more focused on Cyril anyway. I lay on my bed, looking at the bright blue sky outside the window. Getting up, I turned to my mother in the kitchen. "Mom, if there are Alphas, Betas, and Omegas in this world, which ones are you and Dad?" Mom paused for a moment, then turned to face me. "Why do you ask that, Rey?" Rey – that was my nickname. Cyril is Reil, but I never felt like using it when I was annoyed with him. "I'm just curious," I said. "Since I'm Beta, and Cyril's... well, Reil's an Omega... what about you two?" My mother was silent for a moment, thinking, before she stroked my head. "To understand that, you first have to know what Alphas, Betas, and Omegas truly are." "Ugh, seriously?" I muttered under my breath. "Sounds like a lecture. A long, boring lecture." My mother's response was a soft chuckle. My mother went over to the sofa and sat down, then patted her lap, inviting me to sit. I settled onto her lap, and she began to explain. "The first thing you should know is about pheromones," she said, looking at me. "Pheromones?" "Pheromones are like a person's unique scent. It's that scent that determines if someone is an Alpha, a Beta, or an Omega." "A smell? What kind? Like food?" I asked, totally lost. Truly having no idea. "Hmmmm..." My mother considered. "Most pheromones smell like nature. Like flowers or grass, or sometimes like the sea or a forest." "Forest pheromones? Forests smell? Forests have a scent?" "Yes, sometimes pheromones smell like plants. Only Alphas and Omegas can sense these scents. Betas, on the other hand, can't." "Then…… Why do Betas exist?" "The world," she said, her voice turning a little serious, "is out of balance." "How?" I pressed. She picked up a pencil and piece of paper she'd seemingly had ready. As she sketched the symbols for Alpha, Beta, and Omega, she explained, "You see, Alphas and Omegas have these pheromones. Sometimes, they can surge – during strong emotions, or something called a heat or rut. When that happens, their pheromones can become incredibly powerful, almost overwhelming. They can affect everyone around them... except Betas. Because Betas aren't affected by these strong scents, they're the only ones who can safely approach an Alpha or Omega who's losing control, sometimes with special medicine, to help calm them down. Unless, of course, the pheromones are from a very, very rare case, like an extreme dominant Alpha or Omega. Does that make sense so far?" I just sat there, absorbing her words. Seeing my blank look, Mother asked, "Am I explaining this okay? Is it too much?" "Wait, wait!" I stopped her, thinking hard for a moment. "What exactly are heat and rut?" "Oh, those are... well, they happen when Alphas or Omegas are in a certain phase," Mom said quickly, cutting me off. "Don't worry about that now. You'll figure it out when you're older. Hey, listen! The cool thing about Alphas, Betas and Omegas is they get special powers!" "Special powers?" I leaned in, suddenly very interested. "Yep! Though it totally depends on how strong their pheromones are and for Betas it’s their magic." "Like what, Mom? Give me an example!" "Okay, so Betas," she explained, pointing at the drawing now, "they’re more about practical magic or abilities we use every day. Loads of Betas have skills with machines or crafting – they can make awesome magical gadgets, just like this stove!" "Whoa, that's actually really cool! A Beta can do that?" My eyes lit up. "Right?! But Alphas and Omegas have their own cool stuff too. For Omegas, a lot of them can use their power to heal people, like curing sicknesses or helping with what's bothering someone mentally. Again, it's all about their pheromone strength. Some Omegas are even super strong with sealing things or can be amazing support types." "And Alphas?" Mom's explanation continued. "They're mostly focused on abilities for fighting or protection. It's often why Omegas make such good partners for them." "Oooooh," I breathed out, nodding slowly. "Okay, I think I get it now – Alpha, Beta, Omega!" Mom's smile widened, "Exactly!” "But what are all these different powers actually for?" I wondered aloud. "Well," she said, pulling me a little closer, "our world isn't perfectly safe, Rey. There's still evil and shadows that hide." She gave me a quick, light tickle, earning a burst of laughter from me. "So, our powers, our abilities... they're here to keep us safe and to push back against that darkness," she concluded, giving my nose a final, gentle squeeze. "So, Mom," I piped up, "why are there girl Alphas and boy Omegas? Is it different?" My mother blinked. "Well, Rey, that's a topic we can discuss maybe... when you're in elementary school? Or even later." H She let out a soft laugh. "Not exactly! It's just... not for right now. Get it?" I gave a small nod.