Chapter Text
The clank of the door keys hitting the ceramic bowl next to the entrance makes Alec's omega flinch.
Alec's omega. The alpha looks at the other man, who he met just two hours ago. He hasn't said a single word to him except for "Yes, master" when he had asked him if the bag he was clutching against his chest was everything he had brought with him.
Alec kicks off his shoes and puts them on the rack as his eyes fall on the naked feet of his future mate. He groans in annoyance. He hates alphas who treat their omegas as nothing but property, not even worth the slightest human decency.
The way the clothes are hanging over the omega's body, Alec suspects that they were provided by the court that matched them.
The process is still new. Unmated alphas who reach the age of 23 are matched with unmated omegas. The younger an alpha is, the bigger the chance to get a fertile one. Get. Like a new kitchen appliance.
If he had known… No, he still wouldn't be mated yet. His parents had tried to find him suitable alpha or beta women for five years now. He always declined. He preferred being a lifelong bachelor to living a lie any day. That was until the new Omega Care Act came into place just a few months ago, and his parents' efforts exploded thousandfold.
Suddenly, he had to date omega after omega. He couldn't stand the overly sweet scents of them anymore. It wasn't their fault. They were all perfectly nice, pretty, well-educated. But they were all women, and Alec is gay.
Of course, he didn't tell anyone. How could he? His parents belong to those backward people that keep male omegas as barely dressed household slaves. No man at his side would have survived their vitriol. And he neither.
Alec left his family home as soon as he could, making a name by writing an award-winning novel, and for paying his bills a considerable number of trashy books for an omega audience under a pseudonym. It keeps him out of the influence of Maryse and Robert. Well, the dating stuff aside. But he knew it would end on this very day. And the knowledge of having ticked the 'only male' box on the form made him enjoy the company of the ladies. There may even be one or two, who he might ask for help with his own omega, now that he has one.
Alec sighs. This isn't love. Maybe it never will be. But it's better than nothing. And certainly better than someone who he could never fall in love with in the first place.
"Are you hungry?" he asks his silent companion. The omega's eyes are still fixed on the ground as he nods, the movement barely visible. "Okay. What do you like to eat?" Alec asks, turning to walk to the kitchen. "I have some takeout leftovers. Sorry, I'm a terrible cook." He's halfway through the living room when he realises that the omega hasn't moved a single step. "Won't you come with me, Magnus?"
The omega's head shoots up, his eyes widened in surprise. Or shock. Alec is confused by this reaction. He knits his brow together. But that was obviously the wrong reaction as the omega's chin nearly rams into his neck before he walks to him slowly, head bowed down again.
Alec tries to collect himself as he takes the last steps to the kitchen. He opens the fridge and pulls out the leftovers. It's a diverse selection. Surely something will be to the omega's taste.
The other man stares suspiciously at the opened containers in complete silence. "What would you like to eat?" Alec repeats.
"Whatever master thinks I deserve," the omega answers obediently, his voice timid and barely above a whisper.
"What would you enjoy the most?" Alec asks softly. It slowly dawns on him how his former alpha must have treated Magnus.
The other man is older than him. How much, Alec doesn't know. He hasn't checked his file yet. But omegas are usually mated early, some as young as 14 in other states, but not in New York. Anyway, they will likely have more than a decade of training to overcome.
The omega's body starts vibrating, fear and confusion carved into his features and every movement. Alec looks at him in total befuddlement. What can be so difficult in choosing what to eat when it's all laid out for him?
"Magnus?"
The omega's eyes shoot up again, and they are filled with pure horror. His hands flex, and his breath comes out raggedly. He's short of hyperventilating.
"It's okay," Alec tries to soothe him. He lays a hand on the omega's arm, and he feels how Magnus struggles not to flinch away from the touch. Alec's hand falls to his side. "Do you want me to choose for you?"
The omega nods and watches as Alec puts away everything but the cold spaghetti. It's the biggest portion and would satiate Alec's alpha appetite, so it should be more than enough to feed the slight omega.
As he pulls out a plate to heat up the dish in the microwave, he sees the omega fidgeting. "I can show you how to heat it up," he offers, mainly to fill the heavy silence between them.
"Master wants to eat them?" the omega asks, misery clear in his eyes. Alec's frown grows deeper. It hasn't left his face since they entered the kitchen.
"No. I'm still full from breakfast," Alec explains.
The omega blinks, frowning himself now. "I can have this?—All of this?"
"But of course."
Alec would love to know what’s going on in the other man's mind as he watches him take the container reverently as if it were a precious gift.
"Where does master want me to eat?"
Alec didn't know that frowning could turn painful. But he does now. He feels a headache looming. Just great.
"The dining table, of course," he sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. Aren't omegas meant to be facile? What did the info sheet say? An omega needs structure and chores. They are eager to please their alpha. All they need is a place to sleep, nourishment, and sexual or medical help through their heat.
That sounded easy enough. But realisation is slowly creeping up on Alec that structure means instructions for nearly everything. Because when he follows the omega after fetching him a fork, he doesn't find him at the table. No. He finds him under the table, slowly eating the spaghetti with his hands.
"What are you doing down there?" Alec asks a little bit too forcefully, and the omega freezes mid-motion, the noodles hanging down from his fingers in front of his opened mouth.
Alec takes a deep breath. "I mean. I see what you're doing there," he says as calm as he can muster. "But I don't understand why."
It takes an eternity for the omega to answer. "Because you said so," he all but whispers.
"I meant at the table. What made you think—?" Alec trails off, scolding himself inwardly. Of course. That's what the other man is used to. "Get out and up," he says, softening his voice on purpose. "In my house, omegas are sitting on chairs, not on the floor, okay?" Magnus nods. "And they eat warm food with cutlery, not cold stuff with their hands." That elicits a frown creasing the pale face of his future mate.
"Take a seat. I'm back in a minute," Alec says and takes the container out of his hands. This is going to be a long day.