Page 138 of His Stolen Omega

“Why do you enjoy sculpting?” Levi asked on a random afternoon. He’d just brought Elm a smoothie and was watching as he paused long enough to chug half of it down.

“I like working with my hands.” They’d talked about this to some degree a few times before, but the alpha kept bringing it up anyway. “Knowing I can take something in my head and make it reality.”

“It’s dependent on you,” he surmised. “Without you, it wouldn’t exist. You like power, omega.”

“I guess you could say that.” Elm had never thought of it like that, but… “I do get off on riding your face.”

He didn’t get very much work done that day.

It took a little over a month to finish, but Elm did it. The moment he made the final adjustment and took a step back, a sigh of relief and pride slipped past his lips. Little by little, the aches in his muscles from the intense concentration he’d experienced began to become noticeable, but he ignored it, turning to the alpha.

Levi set down his tablet and stood, coming over to inspect his work. There was a glimmer of appreciation in his silver eyes, and a soft smile formed on his lips.

“Do you like it?” Elm was suddenly nervous.

“Is this how you see yourself?”

The sculpture was relatively the same size as the original, but this time he’d taken the time to give himself features and details. He’d left himself shirtless, but had given himself pants as per the alpha’s request—though, he’d been planning to all along. His mouth held a perpetual smile, a soft hint, but clear all the same, and he’d included four of the six claiming bites.

They’d taken him a long time to get right, since he’d been adamant that every mark was exactly as it was in real life. Some might find them ugly, but when Elm looked at them, there was a feeling of security and beauty there that he wouldn’t have guessed he’d feel two months ago.

His spine was straight, shoulders pulled back, chin lifted ever so slightly.

“This is how you see me,” Elm revealed, somewhat embarrassed, but choosing honesty anyway. “Not average, or without flaw, but strong and capable. Someone worthy of standing by your side.”

He didn’t have to look at the alpha to feel the shift in the air. Purposefully didn’t turn to him once he had.

“If you need a part of me to lock away, let it be this.” Even after gearing up for this confrontation all month, Elm found it difficult, forcing himself to continue before the alpha could shut the conversation down. “Think of this statue as an extension of myself and keep it safe here, where you’ll know it can’t leave. And as for me,” he blindly reached out and took Levi’s hand, “let me out.”

Elm finally shifted on his feet and met his gaze. “I’m not asking you to remove the collar. Keep the leash if it makes you feel secure in us, but loosen the reins. We can start small. I’ll go where you go. Wear what you want me to wear. Do what you want me to do.”

A couple of weeks ago, Elm had made the mistake of trying to select a different shirt from the one Levi had set out for him. The alpha had reacted poorly, fucking him right there in the middle of the walk-in closet until Elm didn’t have the energy to move on his own. Then he’d cleaned him up and dressed him in the outfit Levi had intended from the start.

A normal or average person would be offended, maybe even scared of that level of control.

Elm had found it kind of hot.

He’d realized Levi’s obsession and his possessiveness wasn’t the issue, at least, not for him.

But for Levi…and for their continued relationship…

“If you need me to sit at your feet in your office, I’ll do that,” Elm continued. “I won’t ever ask where the tracking chips inside my body are located. I don’t want to know. I have no interest in removing them. If you want to assign me guards—”

“You can subdue all of my guards with your pheromones,” he reminded, clearly struggling with all of this, struggling to maintain composure.

For Elm’s sake.

“What else can I offer?” Elm asked. “What else would you need from me? I’ll reassure you to the best of my ability, but I won’t stay trapped here forever.”

Levi searched his face. “And what of the Eumia?”

“I’ll call Kian and—”

“No.” Levi dropped his hand and retreated a step.

Sighing, Elm followed, ignoring the warning glare the alpha set on him. He linked his finger through the loop of Levi’s black pants. “Listen to me.”

“I said no, omega.”