Page 15 of Ulfar

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As we walkinto the village, heads poke out of their houses and my neighbors throw up their hands in greeting. Sarah takes in everything with wide, awestruck eyes as I point out every one of them in turn.

“Ulfar, is that you?” A familiar voice comes from behind us, and I turn to find my friend Orri standing there with his heart-mate, Isabella.

“Aye,” I say, forming a fist at my chest to greet him. “This is my female, Sarah.”

Orri gives me a smirk, and I know exactly what he’s thinking. It wasn’t too long ago that I sat with him in the birthing ward while he waited for his mate Isabella to give birth. I teased him then and told him I would never get so worked up over any woman, omega or not.

Now he’s going to rub it in, and to be honest? I deserve it.

“You look well,” Isabella states, smiling up at us with a child in her arms.

“And you,” I echo with a nod of my head. “How is little Lyra?”

“A handful as ever,” Orri says with a grin. “But an adorable handful.” His eyes turn to Sarah, and I feel her tense under his gaze. “Won’t be too long until you have one of your own, eh?”

Orri’s words echo through the air. It’s a lighthearted sentiment, but I know it holds all the weight in the world for my omega.

Sarah nods. “Yes. I’ll be going in for my checkup soon to make sure everything is progressing smoothly.”

“Don’t you worry,” Isabella points out. “They’ll take really good care of you there. I was scared too, but they know what they’re doing. You’ll be fine, I promise.”

In the distance I hear the sound of children playing nearby, their giggles and laughter carrying on the breeze. The scent of freshly cut grass and blooming flowers envelops me, filling my nostrils with their sweet fragrance.

We make our way through the village, and I can tell Sarah is in awe of the place—especially all the happy, content omegas.

“You look surprised,” I say as we walk. “Did you expect something different?”

“I just always thought omegas would be...” She chews her lip, considering the words. “I don’t know. Lesser.”

I snort. Just what were they teaching them at the ISA? “You’ve got it all wrong. Omegas are our greatest treasure here. They keep our society stable. Keep us flourishing. Without them...” I trail off, remembering the dark times. Remembering how hard it was when we realized the alpha serum had affected our ability to bear children. “We would have died out.”

“Wow,” she says after a time. Her voice is hushed, thick with untold emotion.

“Yeah,” I echo into the silence. “Wow is right.”

As we walk, people stop and bow to us in greeting. We pass by a young omega woman who is singing softly to her child as she rocks it back and forth in her arms. The child’s eyes flicker open, and it gurgles happily at its mother’s song before drifting off into peaceful sleep again. Sarah watches them with an expression of wonder on her face, and I can’t help but feel my heart swell with love for my omega mate as I see her so enchanted by this beautiful moment.

“Here we are.” We stop in front of my home, the one I built with my own two hands. It’s modest, but it’s mine. It’s where I feel most at peace.

And hopefully one day, she can too.

We step through the door to the cottage I built and I’m filled with pride. I want her to feel at home here, wanted, loved—even if this isn’t the life she ever expected for herself.

As we walk through the sparsely decorated rooms, I point out the furniture and tools I crafted by hand. She seems impressed by my workmanship, and it fills me with pride to be able to show off my skills in this way.

Finally, we reach the room where I display my wall of trophies from battles past. She clings to me as I point out each one in turn, telling her of the exploits of my past. She listens intently to every word.

It’s the most decorated room in the house—everything else has been trimmed down to near-spartan efficiency, providing only what I need to rest and prepare for the next mission. Nothing more, nothing less. But now that I see Sarah here in my space, I realize it was missing something all along:

Her.

Every battle, every prize was to prepare for my future. To cement my status as alpha and show that I could provide for my future mate, whenever and whoever that may be. And now she’s standing right in front of me.

My heart cries out at the thought of losing her. I would cross the galaxy, fight the most formidable foes if it meant being able to see her again. And that’s when I realize: She’s my heart-mate. She has to be.

And if I don’t tell her how I really feel, I’m going to lose her forever.

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