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Biology
Everyone has the same basic internal structure. Alphas, betas, and omegas of all primary genders have wombs, ovaries, etc in the same configuration, although in alpha and beta males they are ‘vestigial’ and merely have to do with hormone production and regulation. Alpha females can get pregnant, but it is much harder to do so than for an omega or beta female, as it would require something like IVF with a donated egg.
There is a much higher rate of intersex people in this AU, it is seen as totally normal and people who are born with both sets of outward genitalia tend to present as betas but that isn’t always going to be the case. Something like ⅔ of intersex people will present as beta.
Alpha/Beta/Omega males have cocks that are in sheaths and you can't really see them unless they get hard. There’s no difference so far as size goes! Males have small testes that are drawn up close to the body, and a female alpha’s ‘ovaries’ are testes - it is a lot harder for a female alpha to get someone pregnant because of them being internal!
In alpha females the presentation hormones cause their clit to change a bit and it's a lot like when a trans man goes on T and the clit gets larger and stiffens when aroused. It will get big enough for penetration after puberty is finished, but definitely not as large as a male alpha, and their knot is smaller.
The only way to tell someone’s primary gender before presentation is through invasive exploratory surgery, and obviously this is incredibly frowned upon as cruel and unnecessary. Someone being obsessive over what a child will present as is seen as backward and creepy.
Pheromones & Social Niceties
People have scent glands on both sides of their neck, just by the curve of their shoulder. They’re invisible in children, and get a little bit darker as adults. There are also glands on the inside of the wrists, and they can be pressed on to force out pheromone filled liquid that can be used to brush on a person or object to impart emotions or as a possessive gesture. Scent glands can get swollen when someone is in heat/rut, and become very irritated during presentation because before they aren’t doing a whole lot.
Scruffing (firmly grabbing someone by the back of the neck and pressing on their scent glands) can cause someone to calm down against their will, and is a little controversial in the modern day. Touching someone’s neck at all, especially their scent glands, is an incredibly intimate gesture and should only be done by those who the person trusts.
Traditionally, a handshake would involve clasping wrists, because you would be able to press their scent gland and it would be a test of whether the other person is being genuine and isn’t a threat.
Outside of the pack, it’s generally understood that you should rein your emotions in and try to control your pheromones to not express them in a large area. Some are better at this than others, and older teens and young adults have more trouble. Pheromone suppressing patches exist to go over scent glands, and it isn’t uncommon for people who find it difficult to control their own scents to wear them at work or while traveling - it’s definitely not recommended to do so constantly, as your glands need to breathe and can get backed up and even infected if they’re always taped down.
Someone close enough for conversation will usually be able to read your pheromones without a patch to suppress it, and some people will become offended if you mask completely - it comes off as disingenuous.
Masking your emotions in a specifically vulnerable situation, like in a doctors office or with a therapist, is very much not recommended - how can someone know if your emotions match your words, or how much pain you're in for treatment?
Since controlling it isn’t something everyone can always do, public places and businesses tend to regularly clean and use aerosolized scent neutralizers. Public transport like trains and buses get quickly sprayed down and cleaned two or three times a day. You can kind of tell when you’re not in a great part of town if this never gets done, and the scent can be cloying and hard to actually smell anyone around you.
Similarly, you can tell whether you’re in a nice hotel or not based on whether or not you can smell anything in your room when you check in. There are rules and regulations about this sort of thing, and there are special chemicals used to strip bedding and carpets and such of other people’s scents, as well as other surfaces that should be wiped down in hotels and restaurants. Of course, since there are always exceptions to every rule, there are definitely going to be some people who are into sleeping in a bed that hasn’t been cleared of scents.
Conversely, there are artificial hormone sprays and perfumes on the market, which are often used in medical situations when there is no one able to produce the pheromones needed. Families will often donate used bedding and towels for children without families in a hospital or other similar circumstances.
There are always going to be people who just plain prefer to be alone, and they’ll resort to chemical sprays and such in order to fill in that biological gap needed to get through heats/ruts/emotional situations. It isn’t anywhere close to as good as human contact, but some people believe it is better than nothing.
A very rare subsection of the populace, always omegas, have ‘hormone synesthesia’ and can see people’s pheromones/emotions as colors or sounds.
Scent Marking & Nesting As Child Care
Children’s pheromones are very light and you have to be very close to them, basically holding them, in order to sense/smell them. Likewise a child can’t really detect adult pheromones except for those of a caregiver who is giving out the sort of scents that would calm/comfort an upset child or let them know they care about them. This is an evolutionary development in order to hide young from danger, and putting them in a nest filled with their family’s scents both makes them feel safe, and would conceal them from predators or rival packs.
Scent marking a child is incredibly important for their development both physically and psychologically. An unmarked child is essentially being malnourished, and might have physical issues like stunted growth or psychological issues like nervousness and depression. Likewise giving a child a nest and sharing the nest with them regularly is important, especially giving them clothing and bedding scented by all the members of the pack/family. Bathing together and grooming is a family affair, and involves scent marking and comfort afterward so everyone knows they’re cared for. This continues into adulthood, and groups of friends will go to a bathhouse together as a social bonding exercise.
A child who never receives any of these things can be very psychologically damaged, and might even have trouble presenting in puberty, much like how stress, poor nutrition, and too much exercise can result IRL in an afab person not getting their period. Late presentation is a serious concern, both physically and socially.
A young adult who hasn’t presented will be unable to use scent to read/respond/impart social and emotional cues to the people around them. They are more reserved and have difficulties expressing themselves or understanding how the people around them feel.
Pheromones carry with them a great deal of emotional information, such as whether someone is interested, happy, comfortable, or aroused, as well as stressed, afraid, in pain, or disgusted. If you can’t share or read those pheromones, it can make social situations uncomfortable and overwhelming since people tend to use those a lot without verbally explaining them.
Adults can produce and emit specific pheromones at will if they want to, in order to comfort or soothe someone, as well as the opposite to threaten and show aggression to drive off a rival or someone they see as being aggressive or rude towards them or their pack.
There is a very controversial practice in fostering/adoption situations, where organizations will promise to ‘scent match’ a family with an infant or child. This is mostly a scam, as children’s scents are almost undetectable as infants and will change a great deal as they grow up. While relatives do have similar scents to one another most of the time, there is no difference whatsoever in scent marking and bonding with a child that doesn’t share a similar chemical makeup to their pheromones.
Purring/Chirping/Growling
All genders can purr, in order to show happiness/relaxation as well as to soothe pain and discomfort. Alphas can growl, and it can have the same relaxation effect for someone under their protection or to threaten and scare off someone they don’t want to be there. Children have quieter vocalizations, and can chirp and yip to gain someone’s attention/ask for help/show happiness.
Like in cats, purring is also used when someone is in pain as a self soothing act. When someone else is in pain, another person can purr for them, especially when combined with close physical contact so that they can feel the vibrations in their own body
Nesting & Bonding
Nesting instincts are universal for all presentations, causing the need to surround oneself with comforting things and the scents of your packmates to feel safe. Being deprived of a nest can cause anxiety in adults, and even more extreme difficulties for children. Nesting, like scenting, is a bonding experience that is important for a child’s development. While a family nest full of your caregiver’s scents is best, any child can be put into a nest to feel safe if they find themselves staying with another pack or in tragic situations where a child has lost their family or been abandoned.
Bonding is done primarily through caregiving, particularly between family members. Scent marking, grooming, physical affection, and tending to a pack member's emotional and physical needs like soothing pain and fear and feeding them are vital to what it means to be a pack.
A pack can be any size, from two people to many, and it is common for multi-generational families to live close together if they can’t share a house. A pack doesn’t need to be romantic, it can be partners and/or friends of any configuration so long as they care about one another and want to be together.
Alphas instinctively want to create a safe zone to put their more vulnerable pack members in so it’s easier to protect them - if they’re all in one defensible location, the alpha will feel safer and more comfortable. They have urges to cover their beta and omega pack members in their scent, and hide them under layers of blankets and pillows to conceal them from danger, whether that makes any logical sense at all.
Likewise, omegas have the need to feel safe, and to make sure everyone in their pack is together so they can tend and care for them, particularly younger members who need extra protection. They tend to want to stockpile things that they find comforting, like favorite blankets and clothing, as well as snacks and drinks they want to have ready for when they or another pack member goes into heat or rut.
In the modern day, omegas aren’t thought to be lesser or weaker than alphas and aren’t seen as people who are required to stay at home and be protected, so some omegas can get irritated and frustrated when their mate or the alphas of their pack try and put them in a nest when they’re feeling anxious. When an alpha is in rut, it’s harder to get them to understand there isn’t actually anything dangerous though, so omega and beta members of the pack will get in the nest and let them do their thing for a bit to calm them down.
Having a pack is seen as important for one’s emotional and physical wellbeing, but as mentioned in pheromones and social niceties, there are always people who are loners and don’t want or need to draw a pack around them. It's seen as a bit strange, and people might try to talk them into joining them for pack activities and grooming without pressuring them to join their pack permanently, although some people are pushier than others about trying to talk them into it.
Presentation
Presentation for alphas and omegas usually happens between the ages of thirteen and sixteen.
A young omega will go into a ‘dry heat’ that has no sexual component and the pheromones they give off and their small chirping/purring vocalisations are meant to trigger a caregiver’s instincts to protect them and tend to them. They have all heat symptoms except for producing slick or getting aroused, it’s just a miserable time all around. Fevers, sweating, and cramps are the main symptoms, as well as craving physical contact and physical, verbal, and hormonal reassurance. A presenting omegas nest should have as many different kinds of fabrics and textures as possible, as they can distract them from their pain and discomfort by petting and rubbing up against them.
Ideally, there will be another omega there with them, who will go into a sympathy heat that likewise isn’t sexual. This is to cover the younger omega’s scent with an adult’s because of the vulnerability they might have to predators - human or otherwise.
An alpha caregiver, especially if they are the only alpha in a family/pack will often go into a protective rut when a child presents. This makes them incredibly territorial, and they will create barriers around their nest and keep anyone they don’t trust from approaching.
A young alpha will go into a ‘dry rut’ where they can become easily irritated and frustrated. They have some similarities to a dry heat in that they will sweat and have a higher temperature, as well as having sensory issues that require a very soft nest without a lot of textures because they feel oversensitive. They have no control over the pheromones they’re giving out, and are overwhelmed by the pheromones of those around them. Alphas in general are extra sensitive to omega pheromones and feelings and this can be very uncomfortable emotionally if there is a lot of strife in their household when they present.
Betas have a much easier time of it, and their presentation shows in gradually increasing night sweats without fever or pain. This is followed by their scent glands developing, and the ability to read and impart emotions through them. Betas tend to present earlier than alphas and omegas, around age ten or eleven.
Adult Heats & Ruts
These are basically familiar to anyone who reads/writes omegaverse!
Omegas and alphas go into heat/rut roughly every other month, unless they are on suppressants. It’s not recommended to take them for more than four to six months at a time, as it can cause a dangerous buildup of hormones that can cause imbalances sort of like a vitamin deficiency. It can cause lethargy, depression, and irritability. Omegas especially can have problems with mood swings and physical discomfort - imagine having PMS for six months straight and nothing helps to relieve it.
Going into heat or rut doesn’t make you so horny you can’t control it, and an omega doesn’t NEED a knot in order to survive, but getting knotted by an alpha or a toy will alleviate the hormonal drive that makes you want to mate. Alphas get incredibly painful hardons, and genuinely need to knot something whether its a partner or a toy in order to relieve the pain and make it go down. It's important for someone to make sure the omega or alpha has enough food and water, because if they do have a partner especially they’ll be very needy and won’t want to get out of the nest to eat or take care of themselves.
Going into heat or rut doesn’t make the opposite one trigger - it’s actually better and healthier for one of them to have a clear head so as to make sure they’re safe and comfortable. It is a lot more likely to happen however if you have a pack that can take care of them both. This also makes it incredibly more likely to get the omega pregnant, even if they’re on birth control, so condoms are a must.