Chapter 5
Vincent
This Omega was fascinating in a haunting way.
One moment, he was a quiet, obedient boy.
Shy and scared, yet pretended to be brave to face it all.
I saw it in the way he held himself, how his eyes would go blank as though he expected pain.
Then the next moment, he was someone completely different.
He spoke softly, but hopefully, like someone he remembered was going to save him from me.
I was a little disappointed that he chose Moore to speak to first, but at the same time not surprised. My best friend was kind and thoughtful, and having his own Omega he loved and cherished had changed him for the better.
As my best friend growing up, we were never all that far apart from one another. We were similar in ways, and thought the same thing more often than not. But, that didn’t stop the hurt, the dejection, from filling my chest. It was stupid, but it was there nonetheless.
How could my best friend have met this Omega that kneeled beside me and not tell me about such a sweet lost being? How could Adrian never mention a friend at Lockswell until now?
“Why now, boy?” My voice wasn’t hard, but it was clipped.
Adrian’s eyes bounced between the Omega at my feet at his Alpha. His throat bubbled as he swallowed harshly.
“You mentioned you were lonely, and I saw Charlie on the list of available Omegas that could be taken off the property. He really is the perfect fit for you, Sir. Really. I swear. If he wasn’t, I would have talked to Moore to at least have a day together or something.”
I lifted a brow. The boy was right, of course, but I wasn’t going to make it easy on him. He didn’t only just toss me into an awkward position, but also his own mate.
“Did you even think to show your Alpha?”
“I showed him the trait list.” Adrian’s voice grew small, and he leaned into his Alpha like he’d be the one to save him from this conversation.
With a glance at Moore, I knew they’d continue this in the privacy of their own home. “That’s my fault for not looking at the picture of the Omega. But he’ll serve you well.”
I sighed, reaching for my discarded cup. The ice clunked, the drink gone.
“I’ll get you more, Sir.” Adrian was up and moving towards me before I even asked.
“That won’t win any good marks right now, Omega.”
“But you’d ask me to do it anyway.” Adrian flashed me a smile, knowing he was right.
Really, Adrian was the perfect match for Moore. They both needed one another, to have the push and pull addiction that they craved. They had tender moments, too, but Moore loved to have a partner who could and would, take his words not to heart when the moment rose.
“I’m sorry, Vince. If I’d known….”
If he’d known what? That he would be in a room with an Omega that he’s bedded more than once? Or with his mate’s friend from childhood?
“Don’t worry ‘bout it.”
I wasn’t all that upset.
“May I speak to him?” Moore’s eyes flashed to the boy on the floor. “He’s not…”
Not what he once was. I finished the sentence mentally. I dipped my head, hearing Adrian come back from the liquor shelf.
Moore stood from the couch and slowly walked closer. When he was close enough, he sat on the edge of a stool after moving it closer.
“Charles,” he started. His voice was soft, kind, and understanding. A way he talked to the kids at the hospital when they came in. “You’re in good hands here. Vincent will not ask things of you that many others have. He’ll listen to your dislikes if you speak them.”
Something told me that the boy wouldn’t utter a single word to me if I didn’t command it out of him.
“I’m sorry if I ever hurt you. I never meant to. You are special, and always will be, no matter where life takes you. I feel bad that I couldn’t do more for you before.”
Charles’ body stiffened, but then a moment later he settled back. His response was barely loud enough to catch. “You took my friend.”
“Yeah, I did.” A long pause.
I wished more than anything that I could see what Charles was thinking. His eyes were still downcast, his body tight.
“Adrian is happy and safe now. He gets choices that he wasn’t allowed to have before. And I don’t hurt him, just like Vincent won’t harm you.”
Then, turning back to the Omega, he went on. “Vincent is particular on his needs and wants, but he is kind and just. And understanding. You are in safe hands here with him.”
Charles breathed, his back and chest stretching with each breath into his lungs.
When no other type of response came, Moore stood and went back to the couch. There, Adrian curled into his side, as though they’ve done it a billion times before after setting my now filled up cup on the table beside me.
Would Charles want that? Would he be willing to cuddle and relax in my hold? Or would this week be full of stressful moments where the Omega wouldn’t allow himself to settle into a life that he could possibly have one day?
“Thank you, both, again for the clothes.”
“I have too many, and Moore’s been after me to donate some,” Adrian answered.
“Just because you get rid of a couple of sets doesn’t mean I’m buying you anything new yet.”
Adrian was spoiled in ways that all Omega’s should be. My eyes softened, knowing I wanted to spoil my own Omega just like that one day. He’d get whatever his little heart desired in the end.
“I had meant for you to pick up a few things from the store on the way out here.” I took a sip around the edge of the cup, feeling the cold liquid fill my mouth. “But your clothes will work fine too.”
“Or yours.” Adrian, again. He gave me a huge smile, like he knew exactly what he was hinting at. I wasn’t going to fall for that trick.
“Have you decided if you’ll attend the gathering at the hospital yet?” Moore thankfully changed the subject.
“You know that’s not my type of thing,” I hedged. Mostly because I’d have to go alone. There was no way I’d take a rented Omega to something like that. Not because I didn’t trust their attention to such details and follow orders, but because it didn’t feel right.
Sometimes, I hated how the world ran. Omegas sent to boarding houses to be kept and used by creeps who only wanted a reason to control someone.
More often than not, most families kept their Omega children these days. They were sent to school and raised like the rest of us, but there were still enough old-fashioned families that didn’t believe in a life like that.
They still thought Omegas were to be hidden away, kept secret and silent.
My own parents were like that. They swore that each Omega born in a male body was a blimp against the family name. The females were only good for one thing, and one thing only. To carry the next great Alpha that would help rule the world.
I wondered, and not for the first time, where my siblings had been shipped off to.
I wasn’t the only child, but I was raised to be one, as Mother never had another Alpha child.
I was the first born, and her precious child until I learned the truth of what happened to the babies that disappeared hours after they were born.
Of course, since I didn’t have a name and no way to track them down, I’d never know where they’d end up. I could only hope and pray that they found good homes, places that they were loved and cared for. Because if it wasn’t that, I’m not sure I’d actually be able to live with the results.
As Moore settled into the couch more with his Omega in his hold, he talked more about the hospital fundraiser. About small details that I had no interest in. I never was.
I’d donate my normal amount of money and call it good. My presence wasn’t needed there.
As the seconds dragged on, Charles adjusted his posture in subtle, restless increments—each shift betraying the quiet ache settling into his knees.
I was all about pushing limits, but not that kind, and not today for sure. The boy had already been through too much.
“Up on my lap, Charles.”
He rose with that quiet elegance Omegas always seemed to carry. It was fluid, obedient, yet guarded. He followed my command without hesitation, positioning himself sideways across my lap, both legs draped over mine, his chest angled toward me but his posture locked in a practiced imitation of ease.
I slipped an arm around his back, anchoring him there. My fingers traced the length of his arm in slow, deliberate strokes, just enough to remind him I was here and that I was in charge.
Last week, I would never have thought much about the fact that an Omega could be in this house, in this place that I avoided because of the emptiness. Yesterday, I hadn’t even considered the idea of sharing a space with another.
I was content with what I had. I was.
Now, hours after having an Omega in my care, my views had changed. Was this the right match, as my friends proclaimed? It was too soon to tell. But maybe I could see myself with a boy who matched my needs. A boy who was sweet and needed love and care.
“You work too damn much,” Moore stated. He knew me well; knew where my thoughts had taken me.
“What else do I have to do with my time?” I lifted a shoulder.
At my words, or maybe my movement, Charles flinched.
Just a twitch in his fingers, a shift in the way his spine held itself too straight.
I saw the way his breath caught, the way his body shifted like he was bracing for something that hadn’t come yet.
I hadn’t raised my voice, yet he folded inward as though he’d learned that even boredom could be a punishment from an Alpha.
“You have time now to figure that out.”
“I could always return the boy tonight.” Not that I would. But if I wasn’t pleased, I could return him in exchange for a different one.
Charles’ body slumped for a moment before he righted himself once more. It was as though the light had gone out, dejection filling every cell of his body with the words I spoke. Like he thought he was a disappointment to me.
“No you won’t.” Adrian stated. He pulled slightly away from Moore, eyes wide like he couldn’t believe I just spoke those words. “If you do I’ll take him.”
“Relax, boy.” I mentally waved away his worries, but the words were for the Omega in my lap as much as the one across from me. “Charles will stay, even if nothing comes of it.”
If all I could offer was some down time for the boy, than so be it. What I did with my time with a rented Omega was on my terms, and no one else’s.