Omegaverse (OV) is a fiction genre set in worlds where there’s a biological hierarchy of alphas, betas and omegas—defined by fertility characteristics related to werewolf genre elements such as knotting and estrous cycles. Omegaverse themes can be traced back to the Supernatural fandom with a werewolf MM writing prompt in 2010.
There are 3 types of men: alpha males, beta males, and omega males. Alpha males are like any ordinary guy with the exception of their cocks, they work just like canines (the knot, tons of cum, strong breeders, etc)…
…The beta male, is an ordinary guy without the special cock. Omega males are capable of child bearing and often called b*tch males.
from the original prompt
Omegaverse later expanded to heterosexual fanfic and books. Most OV stories focus on transfer of power and consent based in mythical biology rather than typical social norms. Alphas are associated with dominant masculinity and omegas represent idealized femininity and fragility.
OV canon features a number of tropes that often include but are not limited to:
- Knotting
- Heat cycles
- Scenting
- Biting and marking
- Pair-bonds
- Breeding
- Nests
- Copious fluids (slick)
- Purring/growling
- Sexual dominance/submission
One is knot enough
I was introduced to omegaverse in 2017 via my Kindle. I had been reading an erotic alien romance and Amazon suggested I might like a Nora Ash novella called Taken by Darkness.
The algorithm was correct, I loved it. I immediately started searching for more on Wattpad and read my first MM/Mpreg story there. I was hooked and started reading lots of MM PNR novels in addition to any OV books I could find.
Some Omegaverse books are sci-fi, set in a post apocalyptic world where civilization has broken down and something has changed human biology to the A/B/O dynamic. They often contain dubious consent and primal themes.
Dystopian OVs to get you through quarantine
Choosing Her Alpha by Isoellen: I first read this dystopian Cinderella retelling on Wattpad. Excellent world building and a fairly mild power exchange for new OV readers.
Omega’s Deception, book one in the Omegas of Pandora series by Lillian Sable, is set in a dystopian world where rare omegas have no rights. To avoid becoming an alpha’s property, Ianthe takes suppressants to chemically castrate herself and present as a beta.
Working in the slums doesn’t earn enough to take care of her sister and sickly younger brother so she makes a desperate choice and takes a job at Eros house, where she meets alpha Legion. Who doesn’t appreciate her deception when the truth is revealed.
This is a fairly popular storyline in omegaverse books: an omega hides their dynamic through inhibitors or magic spells, inhibitor fails and omega is revealed to an alpha who then does everything they can to mate or bond the omega.
I personally love this trope of the chemically hidden/magically suppressed gender and subsequent reveal and would love to read some transgender omegaverse interpretations.
In Lizzy Bequin’s Quarantine Omegas series, radiation from an unknown attack has forced humans to live inside a walled off city (feeling a bit too familiar, tbh, Lizzy). Lily works as a research scientist and enters the Zone to find her friend Eva, lost on a previous mission. But her boss betras her and uses her as bait to catch one of the feral, mutant alphas who roam the wildness. When her protective suit is taken and she’s exposed to the contaminated air, Lily transforms into an omega and instantly goes into heat.
This OV book is also a reverse harem: poor Lily has not one but three alphas chasing after her. It’s also a very sexy, primal story with heavy predator/prey tropes and really interesting sci-fi world building. There are three more books in the series.
Some other excellent OV books that follow the aggressive alpha, dubious consent, alternate/dystopian world storyline:
- The Controllers by L.V. Lane
- Myth of the Omega by Zoey Ellis
- Alpha Barbarians by Leann Ryans
- Andorra Sector by Lexi C. Foss
Badass omegas
In Sharilyn Skye’s The Omega Rule, the main character Eve takes the initiative to approach an alpha with a contract and a plan. Of course she doesn’t tell him about the secret war she’s fighting at home in the former state of West Virginia.
This book was well written, as were the the other two books in the post-apocalyptic Omegas of New South series. Lots of great character development and world building but it’s also a love letter to Appalachian culture that is romantic and unflinching.The contemporary Sweetverse books by Kathryn Moon also flip the script on OV stories. Both Baby and the Late Night Howlers and Lola and the Millionaires are reverse harem stories that explore found family and polyamorous pack love that the A/B/Os build for themselves.
In these comfort-focused books, alphas form packs and seek out an omega and sometimes betas to ground them. Their bites create empathetic bonds that can help people heal from prior trauma. The sex is deeply romantic and consensual, and everyone is bisexual (jkjk).
Scent is very important here: omegas find potential packs flipping through a scent book. Everyone’s scents sound delicious, like Matthieu’s velvet and rain. Lucky for fans, Moon makes her own candles based on the characters and they are honestly great.
One of the more delightful OV books I’ve read this year is called the Alpha of Rickett Hall by Merel Pierce. It’s regency omegaverse. Yes, that’s correct. Take a romance novel about a man coming home from war missing a leg, add a young woman of moderate fortune. Then add omegaverse conventions, and now he’s a gruff, powerful alpha with PTSD/depression about his disability and she’s a compassionate nursemaid omega and they’re so polite and formal with one another despite her heat and his purring and growling.
One of the funniest and most delightful omegaverse books I’ve read doesn’t feature wolves, but it does have dragons. Clutch by Piper Scott is an adorable MM/Mpreg story about a Grindr date gone very wrong, a big surprise, and how an accidental couple becomes a family.
Equally excellent but on the other end of the angst spectrum, FF/Fempreg and dark omegaverse book Of Iron and Gold by Lexa Luthor brought lots of amazing drama in an epic fantasy setting. An omega princess wants to rule alone. An alpha slave yearns for her freedom.
The best OV book I read in 2020 was Stolen by the Wolves. It is an epic, heart-rending, Viking omegaverse novel set in early medieval Britannia and the Dark Ages of raiding Norsemen.
This incredible story reimagines historical figures like Causantín, King of the Picts and Vikings such as Gofraid of Lochlann, Ivar the Boneless, and Olaf the White battling in a world where Alphas or “Vrygen”, are raiding the country for mythical omegas: “Vanirdøtur maidens.
Omegaverse canon is woven so skillfully into ancient Norse mythos that the story reads like historical fiction instead of an erotic romance. Thrain Mordsson and Princess Tamsin of Strathclyde are the main characters in book one of a planned six-book series.
I’m avoiding details of the plot because it’s a wild ride you should read yourself, but I loved alpha Thrain. He’s somehow both a cold-blooded, murderous asshole you’ll hate and yet also a protective, cuddle monster? I’m not sure how Lyx did it, I suspect witchcraft was involved. Book two, Taming the Wolves, was also incredible and so spicy.
Another fantastic regency omegaverse you don’t want to miss is The Omega’s Gambit by Flora Quincy. This book is such a lovely mashup of historical romance, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, and A/B/O dynamics.
Is this your first taste of the omegaverse genre or are you already a collector of A/B/O romances? What are your favorite OV reads?
This article is an updated version of a Twitter post from anaïsisreading.
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