“Zarbius offered the alpha the use of an omega while he was here, of course.” I winced, remembering Owen had been required to service one of the betas the previous night, but when I risked a glance at him, he only looked intrigued. “And he told Zarbius he wanted exclusive use of the omega. I saw him again this morning, and he gave me this collar so the betas would know who they weren’t allowed to touch.”
I smiled broadly, opening up the collar of my shirt and displaying the leather collar around my neck. I was certain the collar meant a little more than that, but I didn’t want to make too much of having an alpha who actually cared about me.
But if anything, Owen’s frown deepened. “So… if one of the betas decides to pick you, then when they see you’re wearing this collar, they aren’t supposed to touch you, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“And… Zarbius told them this?”
“I guess. That’s what he told Agelius.”
Owen’s eyebrows nearly shot off his face, sidetracked for a moment. “Ooh,” he blinked rapidly, eyes like saucers, “you’re on first name terms with this alpha, eh?”
“Un-huh.” I felt the heat steal into my cheeks. I lowered my gaze, hiding behind my long fringe until I got control of myself. Just thinking about the handsome alpha and the intimacy we’d shared had the blood rushing south, and it was all I could do not to pop a boner. I so didnotwant to pop one in front of Owen.
“So… this is kind of serious then?” Owen cocked his head, like he was mentally processing a lot of information and trying to put it all together in a way that made sense. “He’s not just using you?”
My breath caught in my throat. Could Agelius be using me? It didn’t feel like he was. After all, I’d almost had to beg him to fuck me… “I don’t think so. He didn’t force me into doing anything. And he was as gentle as anyone can be…”when they’re railing you into the mattress(but I didn’t actually say that bit).
The deep V in Owen’s brow was really starting to worry me. “What is it, Owen? What’s going on? Tell me please…”
Owen sighed, his face taking on an unhappy aspect. For a big man, he really shrunk a lot when he felt down about something. “Well, it’s just that – well, I overheard some stuff while putting out the meal.” His lips curled in an expression of disgust.
“Go on.”
“Well, a few of the guys were talking. I didn’t understand what they were talking about - until now. But now I’ve seen your collar...”
“What were they saying, Owen?” I could feel myself breaths coming faster and faster, and I squeezed my eyes shut to stave off the panic. Cold fear prickled at my hairline and a heavy weight formed in my gut. I felt like a wave of panic was rushing up the shore towards me.. I’d trusted my alpha. What if I’d been wrong?
“They were talking about picking out some omegas for the night, and someone said 'Did you hear Zarbius said we’re not allowed to take the one wearing the dog collar?' And someone else said, 'Yeah, but he laughed when he said that, so it must’ve been a joke', and then someone else said, 'Sharkey said it meant that was the omega we should all have a turn with.' ”
I gasped. It sounded like my alphahadbeen genuine, but in this pack, anything that made you stand out was dangerous. My finger ran over the scratchy leather… it reminded me of him. I didnotwant to take it off. I didn’t know what to do.
Owen went on, a troubled expression on his face. His eyes never left me. “One of the guys then said that it was easy for Sharkey to say that, but he wasn’t the one that was going to get into trouble with Zarbius. A couple of them laughed at that and said Zarbius didn’t give a shit about what they did with the omegas and worst they’d get was a rap over the knuckles.”
An oppressive silence fell over us. We could hear the distant sounds of the others bumping and thumping around in the kitchen, the distant lilting voice as Lucey sang his favorite songsomewhere else in the building. But in here, all was still, except for the pounding of my heart and my rasping breaths.
“Wha- What do you think I should do?” I whispered, when I couldn’t stand the silence any longer.
Owen’s soft hair was a mass of unruly curls as he shook his head. “That’s not for me to answer. What doyouwant to do?”
The pressure of my teeth digging into my lower lip seemed to steady my swirling thoughts. I’d never attracted the attention of an alpha before… with good reason, ’cause the ones that visited our pack were as awful as our Pack Alpha. I’d kept myself hidden. I’d never wanted to be with an alpha before. But Agelius? I couldn’t get enough of him. Honestly, my dick went hard every time I thought about him, and my slick started to run. That he wanted me back, was mind-blowing, so I didn’t want to disrespect him. It seemed like wearing the collar could go either way with the betas here, so in a way, it didn’t matter which way I chose. I just had to hope Agelius didn’t mind damaged goods, if that was what ended up happening.
I sighed. “Damned if I do, and damned if I don’t,” I said. “I want to wear it, because he gave it to me, y’know? And it might keep me safe from those that are scared of Zarbius, and make me a target for those that are mates with Sharkey.” I was thinking my way through the conundrum as I voiced it out loud. “So I think I’ll wear it and keep doing what I’ve been doing up ‘til now… staying out of sight and inconspicuous. You… you’ll help me with that, won’t you, Owen?”
I looked up into Owen’s understanding eyes.
“Of course,” he said. “You’re my best friend. I’ll always help you. And if you’ve got a chance with this guy, then… yeah, absolutely, of course!”
“Thank you, you’re the best.” I stepped in close and wound my arms around Owen’s ample middle. His heart beat rhythmic and steady beneath my ear. I didn’t know what I’d do without his solid, steadying presence in my life.
*****
As darkness blanketed the sky outside the windows, and the evening star glowed low in the sky, I began to fidget and not because it was uncomfortable sitting on the floor where we were playing a board game. In summer it was easy to forget how late it actually was, given that the sun didn’t set until almost ten at night. Dinner cleanup and any prep for the next day was done, and this was our time for relaxing, playing games or just hanging out with each other.
But it was getting towards the time when the betas would come seeking out night companions for themselves.
I shifted restlessly where I was sitting on the floor, the hard floorboards not so subtly reminding my ass of the time spent with my alpha.
