I’m almost done writing Angel Omega, the second book in my Dark Omegaverse series, so I’ve put it up for preorder on Amazon! I’ve also discounted the first book in the series, Rebel Omega, to $.99 so folks can cheaply read the first one before committing to the second. These books are extremely spicy post-apocalyptic omegaverse with shifter Alphas and omegas with magic powers. Angel Omega can stand alone, but you might enjoy it more if you read Rebel Omega first.

Here’s the first chapter, in the hopes it’ll convince you to read the book(s). I’m going to Big Ohio Book Con this weekend, where I’ll have printed copies of the first chapter, as well. If you’re going to BOBC, stop by my table! I’m in the pink aisle, right behind the Black Cat Books table. I’ll also have copies of my first TTRPG, Monster Mixer!

Angel Omega Chapter 1

Nell

The population at the compound has grown to nearly two hundred people, and today it’s increasing by one more.

Darla carries my basket of supplies and leads me through the courtyard swarming with betas waiting on dinner. The evening meal is the only one that everyone in the compound shares, prepared and served by those living in the main house, an opportunity for everyone to come together nightly. The intention is to keep the community strong, but with so many people, lately it seems less like a community and more like a mob.

Being an omega, I’m not tall or strong enough to push through a crowd like this on my own. I’m not blessed with super-speed like my friend June, either. Luckily, though, I have Darla, one of the biggest, scariest Alphas here, to clear the way for me. She doesn’t even have to lay a hand on anyone; they sense her looming presence and step out of the way without a word.

A few betas nod and greet me as I pass. I offer them quick smiles and waves, hoping nobody will try to corner me when I’m in a hurry. When you’re the village healer there’s always someone with a rash or a boil they want you to look at, even when you’re pressed to get to an emergency.

Fortunately nobody tries to stop me on our way out of the courtyard and into the trees. The forest is dark, and I’ve never liked the outdoors in the dark, but I’m not afraid because nothing will harm me with Darla here. A few hundred feet from the treeline, we come upon a small one-room cabin. It’s recently built and still smells faintly like sawdust. It has one window through which firelight softly glows.

Darla pounds on the door and a young man opens it and peeks out. His eyes are wide with panic, but when I step forward, his face visibly relaxes. He swings the door wide and I enter, Darla close on my heels.

The patient rests on a woven rug in front of the fireplace, propped up on several pillows, surrounded by blankets, her enormous belly protruding. The skin on her rounded stomach ripples with a contraction and she groans, turning to me with big, watery eyes and a mouth twisted with pain. “The baby’s coming,” she says, her voice tight.

Smiling, I drop to the floor beside her and take her hand, giving it a squeeze.

Darla places the basket of supplies at my hip. Then she turns to the young father. “Jax. We should get clean water.”

He hesitates and casts a longing look at his wife. She nods, wincing as another contraction hits. “Go.”

When they’re gone, I move between her legs, widening the space between her thighs with gentle hands on her knees. “The baby’s already crowning,” I tell her. “And your contractions are coming close together. You’re doing a great job, Everly.”

She grits her teeth. “I don’t know how anyone does this more than once.”

“If I help you, do you think you could stand? Gravity can help.”

Everly exhales a long stream of breath. “Yeah, if we do it before another contraction comes.”

She staggers to her feet and I let her lean on me to rise. She’s a hugely pregnant beta, and I’m a tiny omega, so I’m not a whole lot of help, but we manage to get her on her feet before the next contraction. She leans against the fireplace as I quickly slide pillows and blankets underneath her.

Everly whimpers as the next contraction begins.

“Push,” I tell her, placing my hands between her spread ankles, palms up. “The baby’s ready to come.”

“It hurts so much,” Everly cries.

“The pain will be over soon, but you have to push.”

“I don’t think I can do it.” Her voice is weak and quavering.

“You can’t give up, Everly. Your baby needs you to be strong. Now push!”

She nods, breathing hard, and squeezes her eyes shut as she bares down. More of the baby’s head slips out, and then the shoulders, and the next thing I know I’m holding a slippery infant in my hands.

By the time Darla and Jax return with buckets of water from the well, Everly is on the bed in the corner, her baby swaddled in her arms. I’ve wrapped the placenta in one of the soiled blankets and I hand it to Darla, who curls her lip. That makes me giggle.

“Such a big, strong Alpha,” I tease her.

Darla grimaces. “Bodies are gross.”

I shrug. “You’re not wrong.” I pull a few items from my basket and take them to the bed, where I have to distract the elated parents from their newborn for a few minutes to give them the items and explain how to use them. “And absolutely no sex for at least six weeks,” I tell them last of all. Jax frowns but Everly nods and holds the baby tighter.

I brush my fingertips over the baby’s tiny, perfect, hairless head. My heart swells in my chest and I sigh with longing. I’ve wanted children of my own for as long as I can remember, since long before I presented as an omega. My mother is a beta, but she knew my father was an Alpha, so she wasn’t surprised when her tiny daughter obsessed with babies turned out to be omega, too. We’re made to breed—well, most of us, anyway. June was reluctant to start a family, but now that she’s found her Alphas, she’s expecting their first, and the whole compound is excited about it.

Of course, now that June and I live at the compound, we have enough resources to actually care for children, so babies have become a blessing rather than another mouth to feed.

Darla and I say our goodbyes to the young couple and I remind them once again they must abstain from sex for six weeks. Then, we go further out in the forest and Darla uses her massive, partially-shifted hands to dig a hole in the earth so we can bury the placenta. Darla is one of the oldest Alphas at the compound and one of the only ones who can shift parts of her body back and forth from beast to human at will. I’ve always thought of her ability to partially shift as useful, but at the moment, my omega sits up and takes notice in a way she hasn’t before. Darla’s ability to shift only her hands is a sign of her control over her beast, and my omega likes that. She feels safe and protected in Darla’s presence, and a feeling of contentment sweeps through me.

It’s dark in the forest, but my eyes adjust to the dim moonlight, and I’m transfixed by the motion of Darla’s muscles under her shirt as she digs. When she turns to me to collect the blanket-wrapped bundle, I must be making a face, because she pauses. Our eyes lock and my nostrils fill with the scent of her: warm sandalwood and rich cinnamon, made more potent by the physical activity. Something in my chest unfurls and between my legs I feel strangely empty, clenching on nothing.

Darla jerks away. She takes the bundle from me and quickly buries it. She wipes her hands on her pants as she rises. “We should get back.”

I nod, but I don’t want to go back. I want to be wrapped in Darla’s scent, in her heat, pressed to the forest floor by her big body. My breaths are coming short and sharp. My center feels liquid and hot, like I’m full of boiling water.

“Nell…” Darla says, her voice deep and breathy. Her fingers curl and uncurl at her sides.

“What’s happening to me?” I ask. The words come out in a frightened squeak.

“You smell amazing.” Darla sounds like she’s fighting the shift, like fangs are trying to burst from her gums and her face is about to lengthen into a muzzle. “I think you might be going into heat.”

I gasp.

I’ve been taking herbs to postpone my heat as long as possible, but living so close with so many Alphas—with three specific Alphas, if I’m honest with myself—has made resisting difficult. I wanted to put on as much weight as possible before I went into heat. I wanted to be sure of the Alphas who have been courting me before I had to trust them to take care of me in my most vulnerable moments. I wanted to put off having my own pack and my own children so I can take care of others for as long as I possibly can. I wasn’t ready to give over to my omega nature and what that would mean.

Plus, going into heat for the first time is terrifying. I know some of what to expect thanks to June, and I don’t relish the thought of losing complete control over myself.

But my omega has decided for me. Now that I know other omegas, I know mine is unusually patient and docile. She’s gentle and quiet, rarely insisting upon anything, but right now she’s writhing just beneath my skin in a way she never has before. She wants to take control of me, of us, and do what we were built to do.

“I guess it was the baby,” I confess. My omega licks at my insides, whispering to me about how delicious Darla smells, and how if we made a child, the child would scent of us both, and our other Alphas, too. But the other Alphas aren’t here, and what’s left of my rational mind knows that’s not right. “What do we do?”

Darla shifts. Her age and experience are apparent in how smoothly she becomes her beast. Her clothes tear from her body and fur sprouts from her skin as her face lengthens into a muzzle and fangs replace her human teeth. Claws sprout from her fingers and she falls to all fours, barking sharply at me.

Even without words, I know what she wants, and my omega is compelled to obey. I slide onto her back, curling my fingers around the fur on her shoulders and gripping her sides with my thighs. She lunges and breaks into a run, her long strides devouring the forest floor beneath her huge paws.

We’ve done this before, a few times, in emergencies, but never like this. She’s usually careful, trotting along steadily to keep me securely on her back, but now she’s running for all she’s worth. It’s difficult to hang on, but I bury my face in her neck and cling with all my strength. My omega roils eagerly, excited to have all my Alphas together for my heat, ready to have them around me and inside me. Slick gushes between my legs and I whimper.

Darla speeds up, tearing through the forest and bursting into the compound clearing. She throws her head back and howls, long and loud, a triumphant sound. It makes my bones vibrate.

Then we’re running for the main house, taking the stairs in one massive leap. Darla’s claws scrabble on the tiles as she carries me to the room on the first floor where I’ve made my little nest.

When she skids to a stop, I slide from Darla’s back and find my footing. I open the door to my nest and step inside, immediately soothed by the familiarity. I crouch and start moving blankets and pillows into some mystical configuration only my omega knows.

Darla’s scent is joined by others and I look up to find her shifted back to human. I’ve seen her naked before—Alphas aren’t particularly self-conscious about nudity—but never through the eyes of my omega. Darla is so huge and strong, the nipples on her large breasts peaked into sharp points, the fleshy member between her legs suddenly longer and girthier than I remember. My omega licks her lips like she wants to eat Darla alive.

Beside her, the twin Alphas Hunter and River breathe hard, like they ran here from a distant place. The twins are clothed, but I don’t think they will be for long. These three have been courting me for months, but I’ve barely let them touch me. I’ve known since I first met them they’re my Alphas, I’ve known they’re my pack, but I’ve also known it might trigger my heat if I let them make contact. My omega has grown impatient, though. She wants to hold a newborn in her arms, and before that, she wants a pack she’s certain can care for her and all their offspring.

I guess she’s found these three worthy.

Hunter and River are almost as big as Darla, and considerably younger, closer to my age. They’re identical except for a scar on Hunter’s chin courtesy of the compound’s previous pack master, who is fortunately dead. The other big difference between them is that Hunter’s always scowling, and River’s usually smirking, and right now is no different.

All three stare at me with dilated pupils. They’re waiting for something, but I don’t know what. I’ve never done this before. Finally, I extend my arms to welcome them.

“You have to say it,” Hunter says, his voice a desperate, gravelly rasp.

At first I don’t know what he’s talking about, but my omega knows. I pull my dress over my head and toss it to the floor. All three Alphas rake their eyes up and down my naked form, my heaving chest, the slick pouring down my inner thighs. My nipples harden in the cool air and I let my omega take control.

“Alphas, please come into my nest.”