I Was The Only Omega In The Beast World Chapter 122: CP: 122 Family Purposes

Alex looked at his mates.

Naga nodded. Leo gave a small shrug that ant your choice. Zale looked concerned but supportive. Drakar was watching with obvious interest.

"Alright," Alex said. "System, can we open a viewing portal? Sothing safe that just shows the Beast World without actually transporting anyone?"

[Absolutely! Opening imagery window in 3... 2... 1...]

The air in the center of the room shimred, twisted, and split open into a window between worlds.

Through it, Sally could see:

The volcanic citadel where they’d been yesterday. Dragons flying in the distance, so in beastn form,their scales catching sunlight. The black obsidian paths, the rivers of lava, the impossible architecture carved from living rock.

But more than that—

She could see Granite, massive and bear-like, trying to wrangle six tiny snakelings who were currently staging what appeared to be a coordinated escape attempt.

Siddy had sohow gotten into a basket of fruit and was defending his prize from his siblings.

Sterling was climbing Granite’s fur like it was a mountain.

Jade was organizing the others with tiny hisses and gestures.

Ripple was pressed between two obsidian stones.

Onyx was asleep on a warm rock.

And River—calm, observant River—was watching the whole scene with those ocean-blue eyes, occasionally flicking his tongue as if comnting on his siblings’ chaos.

"Those are my children," Alex said softly. "That’s the family I’ve built. That’s the world I’ve been living in."

Sally stared through the portal for a full minute.

Then she turned to Alex, eyes shining.

"I want to go," she said.

"What?"

"I want to go. To the Beast World. I want to et my niblings. I want to see this world. I want—" Her voice cracked slightly. "I want to be part of your family too. Your real family. Not just the Earth version. The ACTUAL family."

"Sally, it’s dangerous—"

"So is Earth!" Sally interrupted. "So is living in this apartnt alone while you’re at school and work! So is pretending everything’s fine when our parents are dead and we’re barely keeping our heads above water!"

She grabbed his hands.

"You found sothing, Alex. Sothing real. Sothing that makes you happy. And I’m not—I’m not going to let you keep that separate from just because it’s weird or scary or in another dinsion. You’re my brother. You’re the only family I have left. And if your family is there—" She pointed through the portal. "—then that’s where I want to be too."

"You’re sixteen," Alex said weakly.

"And you were nineteen when you fell through," Sally countered. "Age doesn’t matter when it cos to family. You taught that. After mom and dad died, you beca my parent even though you were barely an adult yourself. You sacrificed your whole life to take care of . Now let choose to be part of yours."

Alex looked at his mates, helpless.

"Your sister is very determined," Naga observed.

"She’s family," Leo said simply. "If she wants to co, we make room."

"The sanctuary will need people," Zale added. "Soone has to help with the babies while we’re building. She could be useful."

"See. Even your boyfriends agrees," she said. "Please, Alex. Don’t make stay here alone. Don’t make spend the rest of my life wondering what you’re doing in another world. Let co with you."

Alex felt sothing crack in his chest.

She was right.

He’d been so focused on protecting her, on making sure she had a "normal" life, that he hadn’t considered: maybe normal wasn’t what she needed.

Maybe what she needed was the sa thing he’d needed.

Purpose. Family. Belonging.

"Okay," he said.

Sally scread—actually scread—and threw herself at him in a hug that nearly knocked them both over.

"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Oh my god I’m going to another dinsion! I’m going to et SNAKE BABIES! I’m going to live in a world with MAGIC! This is the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

"You haven’t even seen it properly yet," Alex said, but he was smiling.

"Don’t care! Already the best!" Sally pulled back, eyes shining. "When do we leave? What do I pack? Can I bring my books? What about clothes? Do they have WIFI? Wait, stupid question, they probably don’t have wifi—"

"We leave in about eighteen hours," Alex said. "And you should pack... hmm. Actually, I have no idea what you should pack. System?"

System showed in the holographic panel.

[PACKING LIST FOR INTERDINSIONAL RELOCATION:]

[• Clothes (practical, durable - the Beast World has limited human-style fashion)]

[• Books (entertainnt during downti)]

[• Basic toiletries (they have equivalents but yours are probably better)]

[• Photos/ntos (for emotional comfort)]

[• Phone (won’t work but you can use it as a cara)]

[• Any dications you need]

[• Snacks ( in case you wanna munch onto sothing )]

[• DON’T bring: anything electronic that requires charging, anything you can’t carry easily, pets (unless they can handle interdinsional travel)]

"Got it," Sally said, already ntally cataloging. "Clothes, books, photos, toiletries and so of my favorite snacks. Easy. I’m basically bringing my whole life. This is FINE. I’m FINE. I’m going to another DINSION this is FINE—"

"Sally," Alex said gently. "Are you sure? Really sure? Once we’re there, you can’t just co back whenever you want. The portal only opens every seven days."

Sally stopped her manic planning and looked at him seriously.

"Alex," she said. "What have I got here? This apartnt where I’m alone most of the ti? A school where I barely have friends because we keep moving around for cheaper rent? A life where I’m waiting for you to co ho from work, from school, from wherever you are, just so I’m not alone?"

Her eyes were bright but steady.

"Or I could have six niblings who need an aunt. Three brothers-in-law who clearly love you. Friends like Skye who need people who understand. A dragon who respects pizza boxes. And maybe so handso boyfriends for myself. "

And finally YOU. I get to see part of your real life instead of the edited version you show every few days."

She smiled.

"That’s not a hard choice, Alex. That’s the easiest choice I’ve ever made."

Alex felt tears prick his eyes.

"Okay," he said. "Okay. Then let’s go ho. Both of us."

[PARTY EXPANSION CONFIRD]

[New mber: Sally (Alex’s sister, Chaos Enabler, Future Aunt to Many)]

[Current party size: 14 adults 6 snakelings]

[Sanctuary population: Growing rapidly]

[This is either the best decision ever or the most chaotic. Possibly both.]

Sally spent the next hour packing with manic efficiency while explaining her entire thought process to anyone who would listen.

"So I’m bringing my romance novel collection because OBVIOUSLY I need reading material and also I bet I can introduce revolutionary concepts to the Beast World like ’enemies to lovers’ and ’there was only one bed’—"

"They live that," Alex said. "That’s literally how I t Naga."

"EVEN BETTER. I can compare notes. Research. This is ACADEMIC—"

She shoved another stack of books into her bag.

"And I’m bringing photos of mom and dad because they should see the other world too, even if it’s just in pictures. And my favorite hoodie because emotional support clothing is IMPORTANT—"

Naga watched this with the fascination of soone observing a completely foreign species.

"She has a lot of energy," he observed.

"This is her excited," Alex said. "Wait until you see her angry. Or caffeinated. Or both."

"I heard that!" Sally called. "And it’s TRUE! I’m a DELIGHT when caffeinated!"

Leo was helping her organize, his warrior efficiency clashing with her chaos in ways that sohow worked.

"This book or this book?" Sally held up two novels.

"Both," Leo said. "If you’re going to live there permanently, you’ll want variety."

"See? Lion-boy gets it. I like lion-boy."

"My na is Leo."

"I know! But lion-boy is more FUN—"

By midday, Sally had packed what she deed "essential items" (which included, inexplicably, a stuffed unicorn she’d had since childhood "for emotional support") and was vibrating with anticipation.

"How much longer?" she asked for the fifteenth ti.

"Twelve hours," Alex said.

"TWELVE HOURS. That’s FOREVER. How do I wait TWELVE HOURS when I’m going to another DINSION—"

"We could watch more movies," Skye suggested. He’d spent the morning helping Sally pack and had apparently been adopted as her official Beast World guide despite being from the Beast World for exactly zero days.

"YES. Movies. Educational movies about found family and adventure. I’ll make a list—"

They spent the afternoon in a strange limbo—part Earth farewell, part preparation for the journey ahead.

Sally insisted on ordering more pizza ("my last Earth pizza for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG"), took approximately three hundred photos of the apartnt ("for mories"), and wrote a very long note to her school explaining she was "transferring due to family circumstances" (not technically a lie).

"What about your friends?" Alex asked.

Sally shrugged. "What friends? I told you, we move too much. I had friends at the last school, and the one before that, but we kept having to leave. I’m tired of temporary friends. I want permanent family."

She looked at him seriously.

"That’s what you have there, right? Permanent family?"

"Yes," Alex said. "Very permanent. The mate bonds are for life."

"Good," Sally said. "Then that’s what I want too."

As evening fell, they gathered one last ti in the small apartnt that had been Alex’s entire world for so long.

Sally sat between Skye and Drakar on the couch, explaining the plot of her favorite ani while they listened with varying degrees of comprehension.

Naga, Leo, and Zale were pressed close to Alex, instinctively maintaining contact now that they knew they’d be returning to the Beast World soon.

And Alex looked around at this strange, impossible collision of his two worlds and felt sothing settle in his chest.

This was right.

Taking Sally with him was right.

She deserved to see what he’d found. To be part of the family he was building. To have the choice he’d never had.

[Eight hours until portal reopening,]

System announced.

[Recomnded: sleep now, travel rested. The snakelings will be VERY excited to see you and you’ll need energy.]

"Sleep," Alex said aloud. "Everyone should sleep. Tomorrow we go ho."

"Ho," Sally repeated, testing the word. "I like how that sounds."

They arranged themselves for one final night on Earth—Sally in her packed bedroom, Skye on the couch, Drakar maintaining watch, and Alex squeezed between his three mates in the too-small bed.

"Are you sure about bringing her?" Naga asked quietly. "The Beast World is dangerous. She’s young. Human. Vulnerable."

"So was I," Alex pointed out. "And you kept alive."

"You were pregnant with my children," Naga said. "I was biologically compelled to protect you. Sally is just—"

"Family," Alex interrupted. "Which ans you’ll protect her anyway. Because that’s what we do. We protect family."

Naga was quiet for a mont.

Then his coils tightened gently.

"Yes," he agreed. "We protect family."

"All of it," Leo added. "No matter how chaotic."

"Speaking of chaotic," Zale said. "Do you think she’ll get along with the snakelings?"

"She’ll either be their favorite aunt or they’ll drive her absolutely insane within a week," Alex said.

[ Maybe, ]System said.

[But it’ll be entertaining either way.]

Alex closed his eyes, feeling the steady breathing of his mates around him, hearing Sally’s excited whispers to Skye through the walls, sensing the weight of tomorrow’s journey settling over them all.

Two worlds.

One family.

And tomorrow, they’d all go ho together.