The Omega

Chapter 6 - Revelations, part 2

Alec was as white as a sheet as he listened to Magnus' words. His pallor was well past his normal porcelain pale complexion. He had no color in his cheeks and his eyes were out of focus. He looked as if he would fall from his seat had Izzy not been holding him up. A shocked silence filled the room.

Magnus moved to Alec, kneeling in front of him. Holding Alec's hands gently in his own he brought them to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to each one.

"Alexander, darling." Magnus said softly. "I think you could use a bit of a lie down. You don't look well. Would you like me to help you back to bed?" Magnus asked gently.

Alec blinked, once, twice, his crystal blue eyes coming back into focus. He sat straighter in his chair, looking at Magnus.

"Tell me about the children. Surely some of them survived." Alec said. "You said the omega fathers and children were killed and their mates were either murdered or sent into exile. What happened to the children that escaped? They're had to have been some. There just had to." Alec said, pleading.

"Most of them were killed, sweetheart. But there were a few that managed to get away." Magnus said. "Alexander, honey, I think we should stop for now. I think you've heard enough for today."

"No." Alec said. "Keep going. I need to know the rest."

"I really don't think that's wise. I can see the distress in your eyes and the paleness in your beautiful cheeks." Magnus said, gently stroking Alec's pale cheek.

"Please. Finish it. I have to know." Alec said.

"Are you sure, love? I don't want you to push yourself too far." Magnus said, pressing a soft kiss to Alec's forehead.

"I'm sure." Alec said.

"Alright. But you have you tell me when to stop." Magnus said, moving into a sitting position on the floor in front of Alec.

"After the Clave wiped out the male omega families, they decided that it wasn't enough. What happened next is what the downworlders refer to as The Great Purge." Magnus began. "Shortly after the male omegas were 'dealt with', the Clave started killing off the female omegas and their families as well. The Clave didn't want to chance the female omegas producing more male omegas than what were already presenting. They thought that if they eradicated all of the omega families and their children the omega race would invariably die out."

"How could the Clave do that?" Izzy asked, outraged. "These were Shadowhunters. How could they do that to their own people, and nobody not know?"

"In the beginning, they didn't know. Male omegas were so rare, it was easy to cover it up. It was made to look like accidents. Tragedies. Omega houses were burned to the ground, presumably with the family still inside. But later, during The Great Purge, they did know, Isabelle. Or at least suspected. While the Clave sanctioned the missions, the Shadowhunters that weren't involved, began to put the pieces together. It didn't matter that the murders were being covered up. There weren't a lot of omega families. But they knew something wasn't right when all of the omega families suddenly started dying in some sort of tragedy or accident." Magnus said.

"And the children who escaped?" Clary asked.

"They were taken in by downworlder families, mostly omega families and kept hidden. Believe it or not, most downworlders aren't your enemy." Magnus said.

"How did they hide them from the Clave? Omega pheromones can be scented from miles away when in heat." Jace said.

"Omegas present in all the Shadow World races, not just the nephilim." Magnus said. "But, as an extra precaution, wards were set up by warlocks. I can't tell you how many wards I myself have put have up over the years, blocking omega pheromones from detection. Just as I did the moment that I carried Alexander through my portal. I've blocked both his omega pheromones as well as your location. As to the children that escaped, most of them did the same thing. As they came of age, the ones that found mates took their mates family name, and just weren't listed on the families family tree. Neither were their children. Wards were placed around the family's home to keep them all safe. If the Clave was to discover that a Shadowhunter family was harboring an omega, it would have meant death for not just the omega, but the entire family. And for the Shadowhunters that had omega mates, as their mates were hidden, it just appeared to the Shadowhunter world that they had just never found a mate." Magnus said. "As for the omegas that never found a mate, they generally stayed with the downworlder family that took them in. Most were taken in by warlocks, as we could best protect them. I took a few in myself, that's when I created my heat suppression potion. So the unmated omegas wouldn't suffer through their heats."