Chapter 2.

The engagement period between an omega and an alpha was a somewhat complicated situation. Because of their traditions and the history of conflicts between the different packs that exist, before celebrating a wedding that unites an omega and an alpha, a long period of courtship must take place, to make sure that the two were compatible, and furthermore, that the omega was a worthy and pure mate for an alpha.

In their society, there are three types of genders: alphas, betas, and omegas. Most people are betas, ordinary people, who have no pheromones and cannot sense them. Above the betas are the alphas, powerful beings with strong pheromones, who are destined for greatness. And below the betas, as the weakest beings in society, are the omegas, delicate and sweet beings, who serve only to be the companions of the alphas, with whom the alphas can bond, and who have sweet pheromones that attract both betas and alphas to them.

In the past, when all the packs were at war and everything was in chaos, those who suffered the most were the omegas. Being so delicate and defenseless, they were easy prey for any beta or alpha who wanted to take them and abuse them. So during these wars, many omegas were abused and branded, something that took away their only value to society, as an impure omega has no value to an alpha, and due to the aftermath of the wars, courtship periods were created.

Before a wedding between an omega and an alpha, there is a period in which both the alpha and the omega spend time together, getting to know each other, and approving the other as their life partner. This is because a wedding between an omega and an alpha is not like a wedding between betas, since when an omega and an alpha married, they were to bond for life, to become mates, so both the alpha and the omega must be sure that they want to marry their fiancé since if they both get along badly, after their wedding there will be no escape but death to their union.

Because of this, the courtship periods are not only done to find out if the newly betrothed couple is a good match for each other, but also as a test, in which the alpha must check if the omega is pure and virtuous, to find out whether or not it is worth marrying his betrothed. While the omegas do not have as much say in the engagement since even if they do not like her betrothed, they must marry the alphas out of obligation to their parents and their pack. The courtship period was created so that an alpha could know if omega was a virgin and submissive enough to accept the betrothal, and in that society, omegas could not have a voice or a vote in their fate, only being able to bow their heads and silently accept their fate being decided by others.

But in more optimistic situations, as was most often the case, all alphas and omegas understood the importance of the courtship period. So omegas had to strive to make their best impression for their alpha, proving that they were pure and virtuous beings, as it was their obligation to marry. While the alphas only had to decide if the omega's personality and appearance seemed right to them, since if the omega had a difficult character or was unattractive, they could reject them and choose a new mate. Because a rejected or tainted omega had a terrible reputation, so if it was known that they had been rejected in a courtship period, it was unlikely that they would be able to get a new marriage proposal. An alpha could seek a new mate if he didn't like the omega to whom he had been engaged, but if an omega was discarded his hopes for marriage were most likely over for good.

And under those conditions, all alphas and omegas sought to obtain a profitable engagement and marriage, since a good marriage could be the best alliance between families, to obtain more wealth or a better position in the herd. In Alexis' society, it seemed that love between an omega and an alpha meant nothing, and was only a means of exchange for more important things.

In this way, Naiya, who was Alexis' younger sister, had obtained a profitable engagement with the omega son of a powerful family from a distant herd, the Kuznetsov family. They came from a city on the other side of the mountains, near the cold northern beaches, from a city that Alexis had never heard of but seemed to be very powerful. Through letters, Alexis' father got that juicy engagement for Naiya, and finally, after several months of waiting, the engagement had been accepted by the omega's family, and the courtship period began that way.

The Romanov family, which was where Naiya and Alexis came from, was a generally alpha family, all their ancestors had had those characteristics, and they were always the leaders of the city and their pack. But just as there are families of alphas, there are also families of omegas, such as the Popov family, which is the family where Maddie comes from, which is a family that generally has omegas. And likewise, the Kuznetsov family was a family of omegas, and it was the family that Naiya's fiancé came from.

So as profitable as the reunion and marriage of his sister with the Kuznetsov family could be, Alexis as the leader of his pack had to take care of that union, since it meant a strong and very important alliance between both cities, an alliance which Alexis could not waste and had to secure for his next projects. And although it seemed somewhat painful to him, Alexis could not procure his sister's happiness, for even if Naiya did not like her betrothed, she would have to marry for the sake of her city and her pack, and Alexis had to make sure of that.

"Do you think your sister has met her fiancé yet?" Maddie asked as they continued on their way in the direction of the Romanov mansion.

"I don't think so" Alexis answered truthfully: "Following the traditions of courtship time, she should meet her fiancé at dinner, when both of them should be introduced in front of their two families. And until we arrive the dinner won't start, so I don't think they have seen each other so far."

"I hope not, I really want to see your sister and her fiancé meet for the first time, it's surely going to be something very romantic..."

Maddie could tell she was very excited about Naiya's new engagement, like any omega, Maddie was very excited about weddings and new engagements, so she wanted to see the whole process of the courtship period for herself, hoping to see the new "love story" emerge of Naiya and her fiancé.

"I don't know if it will be romantic, but I guess it will be interesting" Alexis replied.

That was the first courtship period Alexis would be able to witness as a spectator, as not including his own courtship period with Maddie, Alexis had never been able to see the courtship period and all the ceremonies between an alpha and an omega, so she also couldn't deny that he was curious about it.

After a couple more minutes traveling in their car, driving through the streets outside the city, they finally arrived at the Romanov mansion, the mansion of Alexis' parents. That was one of the oldest houses in the city, a historical monument, with large gardens full of cherry trees, with its white facade and a house of traditional architecture, the whole mansion was striking for its big size, in which there were many rooms and wide spaces.

The Romanov's house had its history since in past times it was the home of the whole pack, when they settled in that place, Alexis' ancestors built such a big mansion intending to have the whole pack living together, since at that time because of the wars and all the social problems that existed, the best thing was to stay united to survive.

But over time, when the hostilities between the different packs ended and everything began to modernize, the herd that led the Romanov family began to leave the mansion, building their homes in what was the city that everyone knew today. And so, over the years, the mansion came under the ownership of the Romanovs as their home, being a symbol of their power and the history of the entire herd.

Getting out of the car and helping Maddie out as well, Alexis began to make his way inside the mansion, crossing the large gardens that surrounded their home, carrying along with Maddie the bottles of wine he had bought in town. Even though it was a small gathering, even from outside the mansion Alexis could already hear music and see all the lights on, surely his parents had prepared a large reception dinner for their guests.

Calmly opening the door to the mansion, Alexis let Maddie in first, then went inside himself and headed for the mansion's dining room, where all the dinner attendees were likely to be. However, upon arriving at the mansion's dining room, Alexis turned pale, stopping walking and staring ahead in disbelief.

Seeing her son and his fiancée enters the party, Alexis' mother quickly approached them, angrily claiming: "Where were you? Dinner should have started 20 minutes ago, I don't want to keep our guests waiting..."

"Excuse me Mrs. Inna, Alex and I entertained ourselves a bit buying gifts for the occasion," Maddie said with a smile, showing the bottles she and Alexis were holding.

"Still it was very reckless, this is a very special occasion, you should have been more careful with the timing," Inna said with annoyance, looking sideways at Alexis.

However, Alexis could no longer listen to his mother or heed her claims, for at the back of the room, near one of the dining room windows, Alexis saw that omega, the boy who always haunted his thoughts. Like a ghostly vision, the young man with golden eyes and brown hair was looking at the moon, but even with his back turned Alexis could recognize him, it was the omega of his dreams.

Alexis finally had in front of him the person he had hurt the most in his life, but whom he could never forget.