The Only Exception

Hello my beautiful readers!

This chapter is brought to you by my sick bed, (which I've been in for a few weeks now T-T) so there's probably gonna be errors. Anyways, we will be briefly be meeting Ben's family in this chapter and he's got a lot of siblings so I thought I'd lay them out a little more clearly here. I also better defined some of the concepts I'm using in my universe for this story and in my others in this series (True Nature, Ice Melts, When it's Hot) Please let me know if I should add these explanations to my other stories and if there's anything else I can expand upon. So, without further ado, for anyone who's interested:

Parents:

Father Allan Beta

Mother Alaina Beta

(Both parents are mentioned by first name only in True Nature, and Gabriel is the main healer that deals with Cain and runs the hospital and being that he's Ben's favorite, he's the one Benjamin refers to and trusts the most)

Siblings:

Sister Elsie Beta 30

Brother Gabriel Beta 29 (Ben's favorite)

Brother Titus Beta 27

Twin Sisters: Aliska Beta and Bathilde Alpha 26

Benjamin Omega 23

Little Sister: Liliana Omega 18

***In my universe, children do not typically move out from their parents home until they've mated, regardless of being of age. Especially omegas.

**Alphas and Betas can bond bite but they cannot mind connect.

**Alphas and Alphas can't mind connect or bond bite. Alphas can only mind connect with omegas.

**Omegas can mind connect and bond bite with Betas and Alphas, (not Omegas) Most prefer Alphas

**Betas can bond bite and mind connect with each other and Omegas

Mind connection: To fully mind connect one partner must be in their cycle and both parties must bite their mate before completion. Bite must be on scent gland. Mind connection allows mates to feel each others feelings, it enhances their scent to each other over others, it gives mates, especially Alpha's, the ability to know where there mate is at all times and grants the ability to completely read the mind of their mate if the mate in question allows it (this can be controlled for personal privacy), offering the ability to have silent conversations between themselves and/or their wolves.

Mates: Royal families choose mates for their children and lock them in a royal contract, starting a bond attachment in the omega from birth and for the alpha when the omega comes of age. Royal families nearly always choose the perfect match for their child and usually base the final decision on strengthening relations with other packs but the alpha's can still chose to ignore the contract while the omega cannot. In the case of beta's, they aren't typically chosen as royal mates because of their inability to mind connect with other alpha's, not to mention most ruling alpha's want an omega.

**If a ruling alpha deliberately chooses a beta as their mate then it is done with the intention of not wanting to be fully connected to their mate**

**Everyone else in the pack either happens upon their true mate or they choose a mate for themselves based on mutual agreement, unless the pack royals choose to force bonds (which is is a popular choice with violent pack royals) Those struggling to find a mate on their own can request a mate evaluation.

Mate evaluation: When the king or queen of the pack selects several candidates from their own, and other packs, that wish to court omega's or beta's that haven't found their true match yet and do not wish to wait anymore for a chance fate. The omega or beta get to choose who they like or if they prefer a new set of choices before finally settling down. Very few omega's ever need to put in a request because they are so highly valued. Most alpha's and beta's want an omega.

Pregnancy: all male omegas and all females, aside from alphas, have from the time they come of age until age thirty to have pups. So, a fertility window of 12 years. Alpha's and male partners that are not omegas do not have a timeline for creating pups. Pregnancy lasts for six months.

Exception: Fertility window can begin early if forced

There are small exceptions to some of these "rules" which make sense in the contexts of each individual story but is probably irrelevant if you're only reading this one and not the other two.

Hope you are well, unlike me! And please comment! I'll never stop asking! I appreciate them so much :)

Much love! Xx

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Ben's Pov:

"So. I heard you came home late, for the sixth time in a week. Should I be worried?"

I rolled my eyes at my favorite older brother, Gabriel, but couldn't exactly do more when he had a needle sticking in my arm.

"Lili caught you. You know how nosy she can be," he offered with a shrug. "Momma wants to know if you're still going to the mate evaluation tonight and your new habit of being out late constantly has her worried. I'm pretty sure she would have noticed anyways, without Lili's help," he cautioned when he noticed my glare. I was of age, what right did my baby sister have to tell on me? "Now momma thinks you're gonna skip out and making her worry like that is just not like you," he continued without letting me interrupt. "You told all of us that this is what you wanted, after that failure with the rouge. Have you changed your mind?"

I closed my eyes and counted to ten, trying my hardest to keep from blowing up over my big brother's queries. It was low of him to mention Cain, the rogue, in this context and beyond that, I would not discuss Adam with anyone. Especially not with my siblings. It was uncomfortable enough that Liliana, the youngest in my family, had already met her mate. She was lucky and met her perfect match the literal day she came of age and her mating ceremony was happening in three months time. It sucked for me of course, as I was the last one out of my 6 bothers and sisters to find their mate, but I was happy for her. Although, her finding her mate already meant even more pressure on me to settle down. I was already twenty-three after all, with a nearly worthless womb. No one could know about the man I'd run out on three weeks ago, not if I wanted a shot at finding a mate. I was already a walking liability without adding my complicated feelings for the human.

Not even my favorite brother would understand. He would probably be disgusted with me anyways, if he knew the truth. I could never explain how I was going mad trying to find a new dungeon and Dom because I was too ashamed to face Adam. I was too ashamed to beg him like a whore for punishment after how I'd rejected him. Well... I didn't really answer him if I'm being honest. I made up an excuse, ran away and spent the next few weeks trying to find a replacement for him. Maybe my brother would at least give me credit for that.

"When will I get the results?" I asked instead of spilling my guts while I watched him bandage my arm.

Gabe sighed a little, annoyed that I wasn't sharing almost everything with him like I use to when he still lived at home, before he met his mate two years ago. "We're having a slow day so probably five minutes," he finally answered as he labeled the tubes of blood he'd drawn from me.

"This is so humiliating," I finally muttered. "I didn't realize that agreeing to the evaluation meant I'd have to provide my exact fertility status. I mean.. the Queen already knows a ballpark estimate.. she could just tell that to whomever she picks for me. I don't want a bunch of random alpha's to know."

Gabriel patted my shoulder sympathetically, "You know our Queen doesn't just decide for you. She just presents you with options. You still have a choice." He reminded me. "And I get why a potential mate would want to know before getting involved but doing it this way is a little fucked," he agreed.

I wasn't sure if Gabe really thought that way but I knew I'd never find out. My big brother was insanely overprotective of me, more so than he was over any of my other siblings, and I knew my discomfort had just triggered some of that protection. I smiled at him in appreciation as I stood to leave, hoping to soothe him.

"I'm still going," I finally answered, noting how his shoulders relaxed with relief. "Does anyone need a break? I know you said it's a slow day but I don't want to just sit around and I'm off for a couple more hours."

I don't want to go home and think was more accurate but I wasn't going to tell Gabe that. He'd just ask a million questions and freak himself out.

He smiled, "You're always so helpful.. I don't know why-" he stopped himself and turned a bit pink.

I tensed, realizing he was about to say "I don't know why you don't have a mate." My brother thought I was a perfect omega, despite the incident, and he didn't understand my breakup's at all, unable to see how anyone could reject me. If only he knew how I let a human touch me, despite everything in my past. I'm sure he would judge me then. He would never understand how I'd run to one constantly after last time, just for the human in question to treat me like shit. That's how he would see it anyways, even if he knew that's how I asked to be treated. Would Gabe still try to mother me if he knew about Adam? Or would he finally see me for what I was? A disgusting, pathetic, unfit omega who probably should have been banished a long time ago.

"Why don't you go check in on the rogue?" Gabe suggested, knowing that I deeply cared about his fate, for it was tied to that of our lost prince. "The Prince is having another bad day so hopefully he'll awaken soon. Besides, I don't trust that Shadow Beta very much. She might steal the rogue out of the hospital when I let my guard down."

I shrugged and nodded, leaving immediately so that I could be done with our little talk. The beta, Sophie, was actually really chipper and nice. We talked easily whenever I'd check on Cain and she was always giving me some kind of treat, be it a sugar cookie or a chocolate cupcake. The girl loved her sweets! So, it came as no surprise when she one day revealed that her other half ran a small bakery within the boundaries of

MoonRise Pack. Sounded like a match made in heaven if I ever heard of one and I had to make an effort to fight my jealously. If only the moon goddess had made things as simple for me. Or maybe she had but I'd gone and ruined it?

As I rounded the corner I was surprised to find Sophie was not at her post and felt my heart begin to race. Either the rogue was dead or...

I quickly knocked on the door to announce my presence and nearly teared up with delight at the sight of Cain sitting up and speaking with Sophie.

"Thank god your awake!" I cried, as relief flooded my entire body, for now I knew our prince would finally be okay.

"What happened to you?" He asked, noticing the faded bruise on my face and the bandage on my shoulder. Injuries that were taking longer to heal than they should because nothing about me worked right.

"Nothing to worry about," I replied, waving off any concern he might have. I was never one to complain about the treatment of an omega against me and in this particular case, I almost felt like I deserved for Prince Fae to attack me. I did go out on a date with his mate after all. Even if I hadn't know about their connection or that he was our missing prince at the time, I still felt I deserved the attack. Or maybe I was just obsessed with punishment, especially now that I'd intentionally separated myself from my Dom?

"Do you have the key?" Sophie asked me, referring to how Cain was chained to his bed.

"Yes," I answered, producing the small silver key and handing it to her. "Did you get through everything?" I asked, wanting to make sure the alpha was up to speed.

"Just finished."

"Good. Cain," I started, turning to him, "No matter what happens you need to keep your wolf calm okay. No shifting or anything like that."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" He asked, looking like he might hit me and I took a tiny step back, letting Sophie step in front of me as the rogue continued to rage. I might be able to take an omega hurting me but I could never handle an alpha's attack. "Of course I wouldn't do anything to make things worse for Fae!" He nearly yelled, looking even more agitated at Sophie's protective stance over me.

"Cain," I started slowly, trying to pick the right words so that I didn't provoke the alpha further. "Anytime we mention you to Fae he gets... really scared... one time he even pissed himself." I winced, hating the memory of that particular day, the prince had seemed so broken and terrified but no one was allowed to comfort him, for he lashed out at anyone that tried. Two more besides me had already been injured, though none of us complained, for he was pack. "We don't know if he's scared of you or scared that you'll reject him because he won't talk about it," I continued. "No one knows how he's going to react to you actually being there."

Both Sophie and I watched as the alpha forced himself to calm, studying every line of aggression that eased back until he almost looked serene. A look I seldom ever saw him wear. "I promise, I'll be calm no matter what," he assured and I believed he would.

We arrived at the prince's room a few minutes later and I made sure to stay outside so that the omega wouldn't smell me. I didn't want to ruin their reunion with my scent. I hid behind Sophie as I peeked into the room, feeling proud of Cain when he immediately gathered the frightened little omega into his arms. I watched their reunion silently, with the rest of the staff, feeling an ache in my heart as the alpha soothed his little mate. I wanted that. Why couldn't I have that? Why couldn't I be an alpha's first choice? I watched for a moment longer but then the room and hallway suddenly smelled of pure arousal and a second later, the queen exited the room and shut the door from prying eyes.

"I want anyone assigned to this location to go home or find something else to do. I will not have any of the staff listening to my son reconnect with his alpha!" She ordered frostily, causing everyone in the near vicinity to drop what they were doing and leave immediately.

"Omega Kent," the queen addressed me right as I was making my escape. "Take a walk with me."

I followed the queen timidly, baring my neck obediently for the entire walk, terrified that she was about turn me into a rogue. She never said anything to me when she heard about my date with Cain but now that the alpha and her son were reunited, I worried that she'd finally found time to be angry with me.

"Calm down Benjamin. You know I'm not that hard on my omegas. Why are you frightened of me?" She asked when we arrived at a private

room on the next floor up.

"I'm sorry your majesty but... are you about to banish me?" I asked anxiously as I sank down to my knees before her.

"Banish you? Have I or my Luna ever banished one of our omega's for anything?"

"N-no my Queen but.. the Prince is very angry with me. He thinks I tried to steal his alpha but I swear I didn't mean for that to happen!" I pleaded, still unable to meet her eyes.

"Ben," the queen paused to place a reassuring hand on my head. "My pup has been very distressed. He's not in his right mind. I'm sure he didn't mean any harm when he attacked you. Now that his alpha is back I'm sure he won't hold anything against you. Fae is such a sweet boy. If he can forgive his blundering fool of a mate then I'm sure he can forgive you and even if he doesn't, I wouldn't let him punish you."

"Forgive me for questioning you but.. why not, your majesty?" I asked quietly, honestly shocked that Queen Emma would chose to protect me against her son.

"Benjamin, can't you see that you are a big part of the reason as to why my pup is even alive and here with us today? If anything, my Luna and I are forever in your debt, little one," the queen informed me, with a subtle bow of her head.

"Oh," I answered, feeling dumbfounded as I flushed with pleasure.

I'd been determined to find a way to save the prince before I even realized that he belonged with us. The conditions that the poor omega was being kept in were unbearable to witness. I could have never left him in need but in the end, I'd actually done very little. Cain, his alpha, and my queen and her army did most of the work themselves. Even the Shadow King did more to help than I was able to do but apparently, my queen did not see it that way. Her praise felt good. So good, that it almost made me brave enough to ask if I could cancel my request for her to find me a mate. After watching Cain and the prince together, I missed Adam more than ever and my wolf whimpered pathetically over the loss of his presence. He didn't want to entertain another wolf, he just wanted the human to touch us again.

"Please stand Benjamin. There's no reason for you to put yourself below me. Besides, I wanted to speak with you regarding your mate evaluation tonight. There's.. been some difficulty but I think my Luna and I have procured nearly adequate candidates for you. I just have to double check now that we know your test results. Though, I am sorry to say they are a tad older than is typical for an omega of your age."

"Oh." I blushed again, this time in humiliation and anger. I didn't want some old dog to touch me. The idea of crinkly old skin rubbing against my body, of someone like that being inside of me, made me feel ill. I was only twenty-three for crying out loud! But I didn't say that. I knew the queen wasn't in habit of forcing omegas to mate. It would still be my choice in the end, like Gabe said.

I might as well go along with it, I mused. My queen and her luna did try for me and going would show that I appreciated their efforts. Plus there was the added benefit of pleasing my family because Gabe was right, I wasn't in the habit of making my mother worry. She did that enough on her own.

"I'm sorry darling. I know that you probably didn't want to hear that but unfortunately you only have nine months left until your womb grows cold. The alphas your age want large families and we really don't know if your condition will allow you to carry even one pup to full term."

"I thought I had a year," I stated, feeling confused and depressed all at once. Nine months... that meant I only had two months to find a mate and even then, our cycles would have to align on an incredibly tight timeline in order for me to conceive at all. Forget about planning a nice, romantic mating ceremony. There wouldn't be any time! Only my true mate could make these circumstances work and I didn't have one. This was hopeless.

"That guess was off. This is why it was a good idea to go ahead and get tested. I know you've resisted but isn't it better to know the truth about your situation?"

"I'd like it better if that truth didn't have to be announced to every eligible alpha," I answered quietly, not wanting to express my true rage in front of the queen.

"I'll keep looking, alright? Maybe we can find you a nice beta your age now that we know your exact status? I know that's not what you asked for but if age is an issue, we could try. Beta's are usually less picky about this sort of thing. But for tonight, would you at least meet them? Everyone will be attending a group dinner together in the neutral zone. You can size them up and let Beta Peters know which one, if any, you'd like to see again."

That got my attention. "The neutral zone?" I asked as my heart began to race. There were only two restaurants in that area and one of them belonged to Adam's mother.

"Yes, a cute little place called Annie's. We've been working with her for years. It will be a private event. No human's besides her and her staff and no other wolves observing to make the dinner uncomfortable. I know how sensitive my omega's are about having to find a mate like this. And don't worry dear. The humans are professionals. They won't hurt you and you won't be alone. You will have five alpha's with you, so long as none of them change their mind, in addition to Beta Peters and the other omegas and their prospects and chaperones. You'll be protected. I will never let another human hurt you again, okay?" The queen asked, misunderstanding my reaction as fear due to "the incident." Little did she know that I would potentially face my Dom's mother while entertaining five ancient alpha's. Definitely not how I wanted to do that. Fuck.. how would I survive the night?