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I let a small smile through and nodded. “Yes, I’ve finally met someone.”

Heather took a sip of her cappuccino, grimaced, and then added more sugar. “Okay, well, dish! Tell me all about her. Beta, I’m assuming? Or maybe even another alpha?”

I shook my head.

“Wait,human?Really? I thought that couldn’t really… work.” Her eyes flitted down towards my crotch and I let out a low growl.

“Please don’t insinuate anything about my genitals, Heather.And no, she’s not human. She’s an omega.”

Heather’s face remained blank. “Omega? What’s that?”

I gestured towards her phone. “Ask Julie.”

She picked it up, her tone lightly mocking. “I’ll ask Julie, then.” She sent her a quick text and then set her phone back down. “Well, what’s her…”

It began to ring and she answered. “Hey, what’s up?… Yeah, I ran into Archer at the coffee shop, he says he’s dating an omega. What’s…”

She winced and pulled the phone away as Julie began screaming.

I hid my laugh and took a sip of my drink. Since Julie lived in Eau Claire, she was likely out of the Maiingan Hollow gossip loop, and hadn’t heard the news of Marlowe’s existence yet.

Heather handed me her phone. “She wants to talk to you.”

Putting my drink back down, I took it from her and prepared myself for the onslaught. “Hello Julie, how are you…”

“An omega? I thought they were extinct! How the hell did you find one? Are you sharing her with your whole pack, like in olden times? How does she smell? Sorry, I’m just so curious and also happy for you! You need to bring her by, we have to meet her!”

Her enthusiasm was contagious, and I smiled. “Her name’s Marlowe, and it’s a long story. She’s actually out of town at the moment, and I will be soon as well. But when we return, why don’t we have dinner? I’d actually love for her to meet you two.”

Heather beamed while Julie continued. “Yes, of course, we have to meet her! Just let us know when you’re all back. So happy for you!”

“Thanks, I’ll talk to you later.”

I hung up and handed Heather her phone back. “Well, there you have it.”

“You can’t tell me anything right now?” she asked. “I’m so curious! At least explain what an omega is and why they’re so special.”

I looked around the cafe quickly, then lowered my voice, giving her more or less the same speech I’d made to Marlowe the first night we’d met.

“So… she’s like a living sex doll?”

“No,” I sighed. Marlowe had come to a similar conclusion after our first talk, so something must have been amiss in my explanation. “Not like that. Ask Julie, she’ll know.”

Julie was also a professor, but she was an anthropologist, andcould likely describe the sociological significance of omegas to humans like Heather much more accurately.

“Okay,” she said, somewhat unconvinced. “So she’s a girlfriend to your whole pack? And she likes that?”

“Yes, and yes.”

“Hm, well, kudos to her then, even one cock is too much for me.”

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Good to know, thank you.”

She stretched, picking up her drink. “I’ll leave you to your work then. Congrats on the new girlfriend, I’m looking forward to hearing all about your very interesting lifestyle soon.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’ll like her, I promise. She got her graduate degree from Stanford, she’s bright, she’s funny…”

“Beautiful?”