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Luther had known he was an Omega for over a decade, and had been on scent blockers and suppressants for almost as long. Revealing his designation would have put an end to his dream of becoming a knight of The Order. And so to the other knights Luther was just a Beta, like the rest of them.
Things did not change when he found Lion, not at first. The Lion would undoubtedly become an Alpha, that much was obvious as soon as the boy hit puberty. Even before he differentiated, other members of The Order frequently deferred to Lion despite his young age. The prospect of caring for an Alpha as an Omega was daunting, but Luther remained convinced that he could manage it.
Eventually Lion hit his first rut and came running to Luther, seeking a trusted caretaker to assuage his fear and confusion rather than out of any base desire. Luther, who had been taking extra doses of suppressants in anticipation of this moment and could barely smell Lion’s immature pheromones, soothed his charge and opened a new box of suppressants for him.
With both their instincts firmly contained, Luther could sit back and watch as his liege grew into his own man. Their true designations became easy to forget, even as the Lion rapidly surpassed Luther and the other knights in all aspects, both physical and mental. Instead of growing resentful or cowering before the Alpha, Luther smiled the smile of a proud caretaker. He knew that Lion was special, destined for great things, and he could not wait to see how he would transform their world into something better.
The day the Emperor arrived on Caliban was the day Luther realized the true extent of Lion’s destiny. If he had known sooner, he would not have taken those halcyon days as fellow knights for granted.
Lion was taken away from him, taken away by his true father. Given a new, better legion, and sent off to conquer the galaxy. And Luther was left behind, the Lion leaving his life as abruptly and unexpectedly as he had entered it.
Then Lion returned. Not as the leader of Caliban, but something greater. A Primarch, the First Son of the Emperor, ready to usher his home world into the Imperium of Mankind.
And as befitting his rank and stature, the Lion was an Alpha through and through. Gone were the scent blockers that implied some level of equality between the leader and his people. Gone were the suppressants that kept the Lion tamed before Betas and Omegas.
Standing at the front of the crowd that gathered to greet the Primarch, Luther almost fell to his knees as the overpowering scent of Alpha flooded his senses.
This was Lion as he was always meant to be, the true Lion he had kept locked away for years out of cowardice and convenience. How could he have ever believed that he could control this majestic creature, given it orders as if he were its superior?
Luther knows his place now. And he wants the Lion, yearns for him, as any Omega would yearn for such an Alpha.
(A small part of Luther, almost completely obliterated before the scent and presence and awe-inspiring beauty of the Alpha before him, was terrified by the immediate hold that Lion had over him. His son, his brother, his comrade, his king? None of it mattered anymore, because one was an Alpha and the other was an Omega. And this part, small and insignificant as it was, was resentful of the fact that he was nothing more than his instincts after all.)
Standing high above the crowd, the Lion’s gaze suddenly focused on the row of knights assembled before him. His sensitive nose caught a strange scent, one that reminded him of the beasts in the jungles of Caliban.
It made him want to ignore his duties as a Primarch, to throw off the cloak on his shoulders and leap to the ground. To find and conquer the source of that scent, until it belonged only to himself.