Chapter Text
The sky reminded Tally of the color of Sarah's eyes. Azure with a hint of wispy white. They had changed after she had returned, bursting forth from the ground right at the moment Tally prepared to meet the Goddess.
Sarah had unleashed a blinding discordant sound that wrenched the Camarilla to vapor. And then those eyes the color of beachy sky had immediately tracked to her. Tally could feel the protective gaze the moment it settled upon her, silently checking for wounds.
She could still feel the moment that their bond clicked into place. The moment her Omega had purred and tried to drive her to her knees until the faintest shake of Sarah's head stopped her.
The former general had kept a watchful distance through the months that followed, until Sarah's newfound power had burned through their enemies' ranks until they were nothing more than a memory.
Since the end of the war, the members of the Bellweather unit had made choices that put them on divergent paths. Abigail was stationed at the Hague, a power move brokered by her mother to help her daughter climb the chain of command. Adil had gone with her and they were expecting their first child in a few months. Raelle had taken the discharge she had been offered and she had set up shop in Salem town with Scylla, running a small clinic and sometimes teaching lectures on off-canon fixing techniques at Fort Salem.
Tally had taken Major Verger's position at War College, teaching students how to recognize dangerous off-canon work and putting the final touches on soon-to-be commissioned Knowers. It had been a surprise to her that she had been offered the position at all.
Sarah had come to her on a bright day at the end of May. Tally had been lazing on the great lawn, embraced by soft grass and content with the sun warming her skin.
"I don't think I've ever seen you so relaxed," a rich contralto had sent warmth rippling up her spine.
"General–" she had started, but a raised eyebrow framing mycelial tinged eyes had stopped her.
"It's Sarah , Tally. I think you know that by now."
Tally's face had bloomed as the former General sat down next to her and stared out across the lawn at the society she had helped to build. The witches she had returned from the dead to save.
"Petra tells me you're considering taking a discharge. Moving back home."
Tally looked down at her hands. She had thought with the rekindling of their bond that this pull between them might take root and blossom. But Sarah had kept her distance, and Tally had decided that she wouldn't wait forever.
"I've seen enough war. Goddess, Sarah, I don't know how you've done this for 300 years."
She took a deep breath.
"After so much death, I'd like to try and see a little more life in this world."
Sarah had nodded and paused, and Tally had felt the weight of Sarah's next words before she said them.
"Magda Verger is retiring. Petra asked me for a recommendation to replace her at War College. I gave her your name. "
Sarah had turned her face and those ghostly eyes had regarded her with such longing.
"I'd like to ask you for something entirely selfish, Tally."
And the Knower felt the pause before Sarah spoke again as an ever-expanding sense of promise.
"Anything, Sarah."
The woman had taken Tally's hand and run her fingers gently along the lines in her palm. Sarah's voice had been so soft. Fragile in a way that only the most precious things are.
"Take it. Stay here. For me."
"Sarah?"
Sarah seemed to be gathering herself for the words she seemed to be weighing.
"You once told me we had a connection--and we do, as much as I tried to deny it. Tried to protect you from it," Sarah whispered, face open and vulnerable.
"Tally, there are so many things I've denied myself. But I would like the chance to explore this….thing between us. So, stay ."
And Tally had. And between them, that connection had blossomed into something vibrant and blessed. Tally spent her days teaching, and her nights in Sarah's arms. And finding her way into Sarah Alder's love had been everything she had hoped it could be.
Which made her current predicament even worse.
It was Raelle who had first pieced it together. She had visited her friend and complained about the uncomfortable achiness settling into her body. The fever that chilled her overheated skin felt.
"Tally, it's heat."
The red-head's eyes had grown wide as saucers and she had backed away to the Fixer's surprise.
"I have to-" the Knower stammered pointing towards the exit, all but running as Raelle called out to her.
Tally had steadfastly avoided Sarah after that, filled with an uncertainty she was sure her lover wouldn't understand. The Knower's Omega had whined and whimpered for a full week, until she had fled her lover's constant presence within Sarah's wards at Fort Salem. Tally knew it would only be a matter of time before Sarah came to her.
She heard muffled footsteps approaching and she felt it the moment Sarah’s scent wafted her way. How it caused a ripple of goosebumps and a low ache to settle in her abdomen.
"Raelle told me I might find you here."
Tally took a deep breath and tried to gather herself before she plastered a fake smile and turned toward Sarah.
"Sarah….you didn't have to come out here. I just needed some fresh air."
Sarah Alder had developed a legendary poker face, but Tally, ever the Knower, could feel the frown that settled into the older woman's bones as she sat down next to her. The former General gazed into the distance and the redhead could feel the concern radiating from her lover.
Sarah sighed, "Care to fill me in on why you've been avoiding me?"
Tally began to protest, but she was silenced with a look. Gently, Sarah pressed on, "I thought at first you were just busy wrapping things up with the year at War College. But, you've canceled lunch for a week. And the last few days, you've been leaving before I get up and coming home after I've gone to bed."
Sarah took Tally's hand in her own and gently squeezed before turning to face the younger woman and cupping her cheek.
"Just tell me, sweetheart. Trust me."
Tally's brow furrowed, "Raelle told you."
Sarah shook her head. "No. I wouldn't let her. She told me where you were, that's all."
The older woman hesitated before she continued in a soft voice.
"I have a pretty good guess, love. But what I don't understand, is why you won't talk to me about it. You're safe with me. I hope more than anything else, you know that."
Tally nodded, a deep blush staining her face. As she tried to turn away, Sarah's palm gently applied pressure until their eyes met. And though Sarah wasn't a Knower, she could feel that the shame and embarrassment Tally felt ran deep.
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, sweetheart. You can share this with me."
The younger woman took a breath and her words tumbled out in an unsteady whisper.
"Raelle pieced it together before I did. I just thought I was tired. But then the aches came on, and our quarters just smelled SO GOOD. And then I realized it was your scent. It made me feel…"
Tally's blush deepened and she paused before she continued.
"My heat's coming on. I'm on suppressants, we all are, but–"
Sarah wiped a tear as Tally stopped. The former general pulled the younger woman into a comforting embrace and let the silence settle around them. She was content to offer physical comfort until she heard a small, shaky apology.
"I'm sorry," Tally offered, sniffling dejectedly.
Sarah pulled the younger woman into her lap and rested her forehead on the Knower's temple. Her eyes scanned the younger woman, and she gently opened her side of their connection, wordlessly knocking on the door to Tally's mind.
As Tally tensed and shook her head, Sarah's concern flared and even through the loose barrier she had helped the Knower construct she could feel the red head's fear and shame.
"Sweetheart, you have nothing to be sorry for. Talk to me, love. Tell me what's wrong."
"I want you . I don't want some Alpha's knot."
Sarah looked at the Knower in confusion.
"Tally, I know that. Sweetheart, is that what you think? That this means something about us ?"
Sarah felt the younger woman nod and the former General felt a flare of hatred for Tally's mother. May Craven led a rather vocal faction that believed Omegas like Tally should be home, away from war. That they should be obedient and submissive to Alphas and focus their lives on servitude and expanding their lines. Ever the Alpha, May Craven had forbidden Tally from answering the Call. May had blamed the former General for the death of her Omega sisters and the dwindling of the Craven line. Conscripting her daughter was the last straw.
Sarah had signed the Accords and had been an Omega leading witch society for three centuries. And during that time, Sarah had mandated that all witches were to use suppressant seeds to curb heats and ruts. In the society she had built, Alpha dominance had been reined in so that all witches were on equal footing. She often wondered if Alphas like May Craven hated her not because of the Accords and the dangerous service they required, but because they had been made to submit to an Omega Sarah Alder.
Tally had internalized her shame. At being an Omega. At being an Omega attracted and bonded to another Omega. And because of that their burgeoning relationship had been slow to turn physical.
Sarah remembered with pride the first time Tally had let go with her. They had kissed and touched each other for what had felt like hours. Tally had ground her hips down into hers as Sarah had teased a nipple with her thumb. The younger woman had cried out, " Sarah ! I want–"
Bringing their foreheads together, Sarah had insisted, "Anything, sweetheart. All you have to do is ask."
Tally whimpered and rolled her hips again, "I want to feel you on top of me. I want you inside me…. Sarah !"
There had been a desperation in the Knower but through their bond Sarah had felt the nervousness nipping at the edges of her desire. The former general had soothed her as she pressed Tally onto her back and lowered her body on top of the younger woman. She felt the Knower relax and pull Sarah into a searing kiss with lips and teeth and tongue.
A gasp as Sarah pressed inside her.
A stuttered moan as she circled her clit.
A high pitched panting as Tally climbed toward a climax so earth-shaking, Sarah felt it rip through their connection and push her into ecstasy.
Blinding euphoria.
Sarah only hoped the young woman would trust her with this new aspect of their physical relationship.
"Sweetheart," the General said in a soothing tone, "We've talked about the lies your mother fed you. I can only imagine what she taught you about your heats. But love, we're not bound by our biology any more. Heat isn't the forceful subjugation it was in my time."
Sarah paused and silently asked Tally's eyes to meet her own.
"It can be a gift, sweetheart. Truly."
Tally sniffled, bunching her hands into the older woman's shirt. The Knower let some of the tension drain from her body and fully relaxed into Sarah's embrace.
"I've never had a heat before, so I'm not really sure what to expect," Tally admitted, blushing.
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," the former general cooed.
Sarah coaxed the younger woman into a chaste kiss, offering Tally physical reassurance. The Knower whimpered as Sarah pulled the younger woman firmly against her as she ended the kiss. She drew Tally's head to the crook of her neck, where her scent was strongest.
"I was promised to an Alpha," the younger woman confessed. "When I was 17. Mom took me off suppressants but I managed to scrounge some. I guess she hoped to have me bred before I had time to answer the Call. She said all I needed to know about heat was all I needed to know about life--my greatest calling was to yield to my Alpha."
Tally's voice broke at the end and Sarah felt her heart constrict.
"Tally, love, what you want matters. You decide what happens here. If you just want a safe place to spend your heat alone, then that's what we'll do."
There was a long pause before the redhead admitted in a quiet voice, "I trust you. But I feel–" Tally huffed, frustrated by her inability to express the complexity of her emotions. "I want to share this with you, but…what if…"
Tally huffed.
"Doesn't an Omega need an Alpha to tend their heat? To quell those needs?"
Grasping Tally's hair firmly, she pulled her lover back and caught her gaze, crystalline eyes smouldering with promise.
"I can give you everything you need, if that's what you want. I can soothe that ache you feel right now, deep in your belly. And I don't need a cock to fill you up and knot you," she rumbled deeply.
Taking a breath and releasing her lover's locks, she added in a more subdued tone, "But only if that is what you want. Ok?"
Tally nodded.
"I want to share this with you," the younger woman confessed.
Sarah kissed the young woman's exposed neck and said quietly in her ear, "Alright. Let's go home, then? We can talk it through. But I want to make this entirely clear to you."
Sarah drew her face up again until crystal eyes met brown.
"This is entirely about your pleasure. Understand?"
A shaky nod before the older woman continued.
"We're both still learning what type of touch you like. What makes you feel good. I want to talk explicitly about things you want to try." Sarah's grin grew wider and Tally's pulse raced as she added, "And I've got a few ideas you might enjoy.
Mostly though, sweetheart, I want you to feel safe enough to let go. It's not about submission . It's about trust . I want you to be able to give yourself up to those feelings, and allow me to give you all the pleasure you can stand."