Page 1 of Bonded By Christmas
Chapter One
Lacey
The Christmas spirit is alive and well in the club. The stage is lined with string lights, and the floor has several trees decorated in random aesthetics.
Not to mention the holiday music blaring through the speakers.
I almost laugh.
It’s so loud, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was scaring away customers rather than bringing them in.
Not that I’m complaining.
There’s something about the season that makes it my favorite time of year, despite the dismal weather.
If I didn’t need to earn a paycheck, I’d probably hibernate winter away. Nah, I wouldn’t want to risk missing my all-time favorite holiday.
Then again, I wouldn’t mind not having to walk to work when it’s thirty something degrees outside and sleeting in Boston.
I could have gone in through the employee entrance at the back, but the front door was closer, meaning less walking time in the frigid conditions. However, it does mean I have to weave through customers to get to the dressing room, since I refuse to enter through the front of the pheromone clinic.
Tasty Treat is open twenty-four hours a day, only closing a few days a year.
The business has two sides, but we share employee-only areas.
The first side is the club, which features multiple stages for dancing and private rooms for a more personal experience.
The other side is the scent bar. Okay, that’s just what most of the customers call it. The official name is Tasty Treat Scent Clinic. It makes it sound more medically official than we really are.
Scent clinics are a brand-new endeavor that popped up out of necessity less than a year ago, but our location has only been open for six months.
Alphas and omegas used to have almost equal birth rates. A few hundred years ago, that started changing. The difference is so staggering now that nearly eight alphas are born to each omega.
Alpha and omega biology is complicated—even scientists don’t understand all the ins and outs and whys of how our systems are set up the way they are—but the truth is, we need each other. With the downturn in omega birth rates, packs have become the norm, but even that isn’t enough.
Alphas who don’t have regular contact with an omega can end up feral. They lean into the hyper-aggressive stereotype that defines their designation. They’re more likely to pick fights, have violent outbursts, and ignore rational thought, but soaking up omega pheromones can help pull a feral alpha back from the edge.
There just aren’t enough omegas to go around, and not every alpha finds the one for them. At least not before the decay starts to set in.
Once an alpha exhibits signs of going feral, they’re on the countdown to rabid. Basically, if a feral alpha ignores theirbiological needs for long enough, they pass feral and enter rabid territory.
Rabid alphas have all the symptoms feral alphas have, but as it gets worse, they can start to lose touch with reality completely, even failing to recognize family or friends.
It’s a heartbreaking process, and only one thing brings them back—bonding a scent-matched omega.
Scent bars, also known as pheromone clinics, are one solution to help avoid letting things get that far.
Feral alphas come in to spend time with unbonded omegas. They sniff scent cards with fabric swatches to determine which employee appeals to their senses the most, and even having access to omega pheromones a few hours a week helps keep them from tipping over the line into rabid.
It’s not a permanent fix.
They still need to find and bond their own omega, but it does save them from further mental decay.
On the opposite side of that equation, omegas who ignore their instincts long enough can end up touch-starved. My designation needs access to alpha pheromones, just like alphas need access to ours.
It’s the perfect job, considering how much I crave physical affection and cuddles.
Also, I’m a terrible dancer.
