Trust No Alpha

The Omega Misfits #1

by Wendy Rathbone

It’s a world gone mad. The Alphas are out of control.

When you discover you’re not who you thought you were, the nightmare begins.

KRIS

At age eighteen, life as he knows it is over for Kris. A secret to his nature he was not aware of has been revealed.

Now, kept as a prisoner in a locked room in the mansion of his wealthy father, Kris is at the mercy of Alpha laws and Alpha domination.

Things take a turn for the worse when his own litter mate threatens him, and his father starts behaving strangely around him.

Escape is his only hope. But where can he go in a world that allows him no rights?

THORNE

Marked as a dangerous Alpha, and living a secluded life alone and unloved, Thorne still grieves for the mate whose death he feels responsible for.

Years have passed, and he refuses to even try to function in normal society.

One day he discovers a young man on his property, disheveled, desperate, and scared. He acts like a runaway Omega, but he doesn’t smell like one.

What is this boy? And why does Thorne feel an immediate need to protect him? To bond him? To make him his?

A non-shifter, Omegaverse love story of rescue, first time, fertility issues and an HEA. Standalone read. 65,500 words. (While Omegas are birth-fathers in this universe, there is no on-page mpreg in this book.)

Genres: Omegaverse, M M Romance, Romance, Fantasy, LGBT, Paranormal, Contemporary

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 12, 2020

About the author

Wendy Rathbone has had dozens of stories published in anthologies such as: Hot Blood, Writers of the Future (second place,) Bending the Landscape, Mutation Nation, A Darke Phantastique, and more. The book "Dreams of Decadence Presents: Wendy Rathbone and Tippi Blevins" contains a large collection of her vampire stories and poems. Over 500 of her poems have been published in various anthologies and magazines. She won first place in the Anamnesis Press poetry chapbook contest with her book "Scrying the River Styx." Her poems have been nominated for the Science Fiction Poetry Association's Rhysling award at least a dozen times.

Her recent books include:

"Pale Zenith," science fiction novel

"The Foundling," male/male romance novel

"None Can Hold the Dark," sequel to "The Foundling"

"The Secret Sharer," science fiction romance novella

"Unearthly," omnibus collection of 7 out-of-print poetry booklets

"The Vampire Diaries: The Myth," available from Kindle Worlds

"The Vampire Dairies: Deep In the Virginia Woods," available from Kindle Worlds

"My House Is Full Of Whispers," erotica short story collection

"Letters To An Android," science fiction novel

Upcoming very soon:

"Risque Science Fiction," short stories by Wendy Rathbone

"The Red Fountain, Where Vampires Come to Drink," short stories and poetry by Wendy Rathbone

Look for more novels and short story collections coming up in 2014.

She lives in Yucca Valley, CA with her partner of 32 years, Della Van Hise.

Reviews

[annob [on hiatus] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such an odd thing of a book, where I often went from being annoyed of its ridiculousness, back to being glued to the story a few pages later.

The core plot ideas were a perfect match to many themes I'm drawn to; the solitairian, the oppressed, societal rejection, escape from a bad situation, found family of two.

My issues was mainly with the execution of the plot. The side characters' personalities were stereotypical and their behaviour OTT. Too many interactions existed to tell the reader quite frankly obvious details, for example triplet brothers in dialogue reminded the other "I'm eighteen". Aren't ...triplets born on the same day always *the same age*? Not really big things per instance, but the abundance of these minor issues reduced my reading enjoyment.

And yet, there was enough of the good stuff to made me finish the book, and likely read more of the series. Fingers crossed the writing style will get better as the series develops.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow this book had a lot going on. I know that these types of books are always going to have so different biology stuff happening but I just didn't like how much biology played a role. It almost seemed like the only reason why Kris wanted to be treated like a human and not just a thing used for breeding was because he was half alpha. I just think I don't like stories where one segment of the population is basically treated as pets and have absolutely no rights. I think it just pushes this genre into areas I'm less comfortable with and I'm less happy with the dynamics of the relationship in those circumstances as well.
The pacing in this story also some issues. I was waiting for them to just fall in love and then it seems like just did??? without having any of the conversations really associated with it, which was super confusing. And, all of the action was basically crammed into the last 20% when it could have been spread out much better.
Also, I am willing to suspend a lot of my disbelief when it comes to fiction, but I could not believe that his brother would start acting like he did when he found out Kris was half omega. It was super weird tonally and it didn't fit the way a normal person would have reacted. Him and their father were just complete caricature of evil people and it wasn't realistic in the least.

[Lelyana's Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trust No Alpha was a bittersweet read. Adorable but a little sad.
I read this book in one sitting and cannot put it down.
It's been awhile for me reading this subgenre, and it's a great day when I read this one.
Trust No Alpha is a fast pace story with all the feeling you need in a book. You'll love the two main characters. Guaranteed.!

Trigger warning : tempted family rape in the beginning.

[Ed Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is quite a different take on the Alpha/Omega genre. Omega’s have no rights and are often placed on farms where Alpha’s come to use them. They can be mate bonded, but most Alpha’s use Omega’s as breeding stock. Kris who was born Alpha is about to experience his first burn at 18. At his physical it is discovered that he has Omega parts as well as Alpha. In this world he’s considered am Omega. He goes from being the favorite son to an embarrassment that needs to be locked away. He runs away and meets Thorne. Theirs is a wonderful sweet love story. I would have given it 5 stars except that things are often repeated over and over. It gets tiring.

[M'rella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure what happened. I read the book, I shelved it, I wrote a review…. and then it simply vanished from my shelves. Not sure who to thank for that one 😐

Anyway, I can’t remember exactly what I wrote, it was at least 2 years ago, but I do remember giving this book 3 stars and planning to read the next installment. There must have been something about the story that I did like 😉

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (4/12/2021)! 🎁

[lex ❄]

The concept intrigued me but sadly the execution let me down. I have read another book by this author which was "Moon" and I liked it, however this one had issues with both pacing and storyline. It had some great ideas there, such as the oppression based on secondary genres and how the law benefits the aggresor. But I couldn't keep going because of the OTT scenes and dialogue. It is disappointing, but I will still give this author a try next time.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is going to be amazing! The world building is very well thought out and made me question the level of my activism when it comes to others’ human rights!
Very highly recommended. As with most books these days, there is some editing as you read, but not enough to ruin your reading enjoyment!
Happy reading!

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to give this a 3 star because I enjoyed the actual story and our two main characters were decent but the writing of the sex scenes were cringy (and that had nothing to do with it being mpreg ) and some of the sentences would be repeated on the same page which felt lazy.

I am curious to read one of the side characters story bc I'm assuming he gets one but I'm not in any rush to continue the series .

[peoniesandmm]

dnf at 22% 🥲

[Resch Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

At first I thought this was going to be a delightful, quick omegaverse story but it quickly turned into a whole lot of NOPE. Kris grows up and spends his life as an alpha, then suddenly before his 18 birthday he is deemed an omega (for having repressed omega organs). Suddenly his whole life is uprooted, he is now property, owned by his father, and nothing more than a hole. 

Which is harsh but truly how brutally the world is portrayed...which I thought I could move past but then his own father attempts to rape him. And wait if that isn't enough, one of his brothers (he is a triplet), threatens to rape him and basically goes from treating him like a sibling to treating him like scum of the Earth. So much cringe, I was so uncomfortable and struggled to even move past this.

The rest of the story is centered around a budding relationship with Kris and his neighbor Thorne. They form a deep bond while Kris is hiding from his family and then when Kris' family decides to take him back and threaten to ship him away to an omega farm. Basically Kris' family was horrid and I will never get over it. 

[D.J. Jamison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Wendy's refreshing take on the omegaverse subgenre of M/M romance. Yes, I've decided omegaverse/mpreg is essentially its own subgenre. Which means that Wendy's book stood out from many, many others.

I'm a relatively selective reader when it comes to omegaverse, but Wendy has created a unique and interesting world, and she's explored interesting themes. Confession: I've read all three books released in the series. This first book is the best, and deals with an intersex alpha/omega who has grown up with all the privileges of an alpha and is suddenly blindsided by all the oppressions of an omega when an exam reveals they are intersex.

In addition to the heavier topics, the book is romantic with great tropes: forced proximity as Kris hides with a sympathetic alpha; hurt/comfort; fighting for love.

I highly recommend!

[Diane Dannenfeldt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger warning, on page near familial rape. I really did enjoy this book. I hated how Omega's are used & abused. Alpha's go through what is called a "burn" and when they do they go to farm's where there are omega's to be used for their sexual needs. There are also omega's that are used in sadistic ways. Killing an Omega during the "burn" is not against the law. Omega's are viewed as property and cannot be free, own anything or have free will, they cannot say no. They are used for sex and as breeders. Sometimes, they find an Alpha who becomes their mate and they can be cherished and loved. Eric the eldest of a set of triplets are coming up to their 18th birthdays when they will enter their first "burn" when it turns out that Eric is not the Alpha they thought he was. But he also isn't a true Omega. Since his Alpha father is very wealthy, he isn't going to be sent to a farm to be used, but he will be locked in his home for the rest of his life. When his father attempts to use him, and then one of his litter mates does as well, Eric decides he must escape. Thorne is an alpha who lost his mate to an unfortunate accident while he was lost to his "burn" and has become a hermit. He lives next door to Eric's home. What he puts himself through because he has labeled himself "dangerous" and can't be trusted around an Omega, broke my heart. When Thorne finds Eric hiding on his property, all his protection instincts kicked into gear. We then have the story of two broken men learning to trust each other and finding comfort in each other's arms all the while trying to stay hidden from Eric's father as he still is his father's property. I loved the different take on the Alpha/Omega world but don't like how the Omega's are treated. I hope that in future books we will get to see the laws change and things become better for them. I also hope that we will see these two again.

ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Ζωή Παππά · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fascinating! Not only the lore is different than any other omegaverse book I’ve read (and I’ve read a lot) but Kris’ situation is so unique. The world the author has created is dark and unfair but most characters just accept it and don’t even see how cruel it is. It was really amazing to see Kris realizing how wrong everything he’s been taught is. The relationship between Kris and Thorne evolves beautifully and you can’t help rooting for them and wishing they get their happy ending. I’m impressed, I loved the book so much and I’m super happy I can read the sequel right away.
If you enjoy Alpha/Omega books, I highly recommend this one. It’s well written, interesting and unique and has wonderful characters.

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.

[Javi reads and reads and reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first time (that I can remember at least) reading an omega verse book. I have read fanfiction before, but this book was quite different.

In a world where alphas rule everything and omegas aren’t little more than holes to be filled, Kriss gets the worse kind of surprise when the family doctor informs him that he is not an alpha like he was raised to believe, but and omega. Immediately, his father, a vip alpha himself turns his back to him and locks him up “for his own good”... sad that didn’t really last.

After escaping his prison, Kriss comes across Thorne, an alpha that was rumored to have killed his omega mate and labeled as dangerous. After that first stressful encounter, both of them start to know each other and fall in love.

A very nice read, very fast and fluffy. It is a horrible world though... makes you think of the real world.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start to a new series. Kris and Thorne are amazing! I love this Omegaverse world and this was a quick and easy read for me since I couldn't put it down. You have the Alpha/Omega dynamics mixed with two men trying to find themselves and where they fit. Amazing characters all the way through and Kris is my new favorite. Can't wait for the next. I voluntarily reviewed an 'Advance Author’s Copy' of this book.

[Esmée D'Costa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ I’m almost tempted to bump it up to 4 stars om GR since I usually do when I enjoy a book a lot even tho I think it’s worth like 3.5 stars! But idk it júst like only júst didn’t get that feeling. But i did thoroughly enjoy myself and we had some spicyyyyy scenes and some emotional scenes and some very interesting side characters soooo can’t wait to read the next book

[Sue Milkovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

NEW OUTLOOK

WOW!! What a FANTASTIC introduction to The Omega Misfits. Kris is an Alpha, that has to run from his family. So in the dead of night, he runs. Thorne is an Alpha that lives alone and likes it that way. When these two meet a slow burn begins. I loved this book!! It opens a whole new world of Omega/Alpha roles. The characters are well written and AMAZING. I can't wait to see where this new series goes. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!!!!!

[Shelba · Rating 3 out of 5]

While my interest waned a little bit once the pairing was established, I enjoyed this.

I didn’t really care for the alternating 1st and 3rd POVs.

This book did a better job of explaining omega anatomy than most omegaverse books that I’ve read.

[llv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4 stars
A really good start to a new series. I enjoyed this omegaverse story and liked that it was a bit different from many of the other stories in the genre. I liked both main characters and thought they had good chemistry together. Overall, an enjoyable read.

[m. · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 STARS

Let's all just collectively ignore the fact I read this. I don't even know why I kept reading, lmao.

[mmreads430 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wendy Rathbone brings something new to the table with TRUST NO ALPHA, the first installment in her new Omega Misfits series. In this version of the omegaverse, the alphas experience “burns” rather than the omegas experiencing “heats,” which is a departure and makes for a very interesting twist. Kris, a runaway, meets Thorne, an older, “dangerous” alpha, who agrees to shelter and hide him from his family. Kris’s nature and Thorne’s attraction to him move the story forward, and I was engrossed from start to finish. A great beginning to what should be a fantastic series! Highly recommended.

[Kaila · Rating 5 out of 5]

this series is so interesting and sexy.. the emotions are real and raw.. the personalities are fun and interesting and made me excited to read the story.. it was wonderful and amazing

[Calila · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Received A Copy To Review From The Author*


Interesting world. I wish there'd been more answers to some things but maybe that comes later in series. I really did like Thorne and Kris. Kris has the rugged pulled out from under him and he copes so well. I think he adjusts a little too easily, but then why should it be a struggle? so I dunno. I feel the same way about how Thorne's guilt, well his fear more, is handled. I'm not sure I like it, but I also don't outright hate it so....again I dunno. I did like the understanding and compassion Kris had for the situation. It was a nice read, a little predictable but not bad. I'll keep reading the series (I already have the second book lined up next.)

[Badh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting world

This is a really interesting take on omegaverse. I like Kris's character, because it isn't something you see often. Hate Kris's dad.

[Judy Ferrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between

Kris is neither alpha or omega. He is truly caught between two worlds. He runs from all he knows when in becomes unbearable straight to Thorne.

[S a n d r a · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mis redes: Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

This one seemed hollow to me.

My first literary-omegsverse read was last month with Marina Vivanco's Honeythorn (which I loved) but I've read plenty in yaoi mangas. This was never my favorite trope... There are some stories I really like and some pretty deep plots that work for me... But mostly, this trope seems like something just physically based and not emotionally, and this is something I don't like.

In this case, between Kris and Thorne I felt their relationship to be shallow. Do they love each other? They say so, I didn't felt it. I didn't see them actually falling in love... They just know each other and at some point they kind of start liking the other. Why? For me it's just because of how the other smells... Because one is an alpha and the other is somewhat a mix of breeds that smells too good to be true.

I missed development to feel their feelings, so I just couldn't.

The first part is too long and boring. Too many explanations, too much of Kris being trapped and discovering how it feels not being a true alpha all of a sudden. Until Thorne and him meet there's just too much filling that uninteresting. Then, when they start cohabitating as I said before I didn't see anything between them that made me feel they should fall in love, that they are meant to be together. I wish there had been more scenes of them getting to know each other and start liking how the other is.

The ending is rushed. Too much sudden action after none happening. I felt the book went in stages: first Kris trapped and nothing more, then the cohabitation until they start having sex, and then the "climax" that ends too quickly, too easily.

And Thorne being a dangerous alpha? The reason was interesting but, once again, the solution came too easily. Too rushed.

In short, I felt there where too many explanations on the world's mechanics that made the story really slow. A good romance would have been enough to make up for it... But I didn't find a good love story, so not even that worked. I don't think I will keep reading this series.

[Zoey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like something was missing.

The first kiss doesn’t happen on screen! It’s set up as something special, worth waiting for, and worth picking the right moment. Then BOOM! Next chapter they’ve kissed on the couch some unknown time in the past and it’s on to sexytime. The writing’s not bad, but there were several misspellings and missing words, especially after the sample section. And there are characters who make me want to punch them.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite omega-verse story I've read. It was told in first person (Kris) and third person (Thorne) POV. I didn't really understand why this was done this way. The dialogue seemed forced and choppy. However, I liked the characters, especially Thorne.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is in need of an editor ASAP. It’s missing commas and just... punctuations in general here and there. There is also some grammatical errors.

Apart from that, the story is “Meh”. Not great but not horrible either. Nothing that will have me coming back for more.