When the heavy door slammed behind the last of the creatures that had left only sticky fear and humiliation on his body and in his heart, Omega realized that he was not alone. He was left with the one who inspired horror without words, without threats and without movement. Only by the very fact of his existence. The owner did not leave. He stood by the cage, his silhouette merging with the shadows, and in this silent expectation there was more power than in any scream.
Omega instinctively pressed himself into the corner of the cage, trying to shrink, to hide from the gaze that seemed heavy, pressing, penetrating through the skin. He knew that it was impossible to hide, that salvation was impossible, but the body, exhausted by fear, still sought illusory protection. Alpha stepped forward. Each of his steps was not heavy or noisy, but the space around him changed, the air became denser, heavier, like before a thunderstorm. The man put the torch in a special holder and put his hands in his pockets.
Omega watched him, not daring to breathe. And then he felt it: at first a barely perceptible hint, then an increasingly obvious sensation - a smell. Thick, rich, sea, warm, penetrating under the skin. Pheromones. They did not break into consciousness roughly, did not beat, but slowly entangled, like water seeping through the cracks of stones in a wall. Omega tried to move away, but the smell was everywhere. It filled his lungs, blood, mind, and resistance became impossible.
Heat spread through his body, sticky and painful. His skin was covered in sweat, his muscles were cramped with tension. Omega trembled, because every cell in his body, every nerve ending responded to this call, without asking permission from his mind. He wanted to push this feeling away, to break away, to hold his nose with his hands, to disappear. But he could not. The pheromones were inside him, inside every breath, inside every heartbeat. The body began to get wet and treacherously want something more.
Even if the previous alphas had released their pheromones, they could only inspire a disgusting feeling.
The Alpha approached, unhurriedly. His gait was relaxed, but each step seemed like a decision made by a judge. He did not say a word. But he did not need to say anything. His presence and scent were a sentence in themselves. The Omega curled up even more, pressing himself against the cold stone, feeling how his miserable existence was reduced to a point.
When the Alpha entered the cage, the distance between them was reduced to a few steps, and the air between them became dense, heavy, like a string stretched to the limit. The Omega barely kept himself conscious. Every cell of his body groaned from congestion, from fear, from instinctive craving, from desire, from shame in front of his own weakness. His gaze unconsciously rose to the man standing in front of him. Alpha was silent. He looked with the same disgust on his face.
And then he extended his hand.
Slowly, unhurriedly, as if giving him time to accept the inevitable. His fingers touched Omega's chin, forcing him to raise his head. Omega tried to look away, but the force behind this movement could not accept resistance. And he looked up, meeting a look in which there was no anger, no fury, no pity. In this look there was only unconditional confidence in his actions mixed with hatred.
Alpha was in no hurry. He looked for a long time, allowing him to live every second of this look. Omega felt how the muscles trembled under his skin, how his heart stopped and then broke into a frantic rhythm. He did not dare to move, the blood pounded too hard in his temples. Time dissolved. Only the look remained, cold, merciless, so heavy that it made him want to fall through the ground.
When Alpha finally removed his hand, Omega felt as if the skin had been ripped off his face. He lowered his head, not daring to breathe. Alpha was silent for several long seconds, as if waiting, enjoying how deeply he had drowned him in fear.
And then, finally, he spoke.
His voice was low, calm, devoid of emotion, like the voice of a man declaring an indisputable fact.
"You already know who you belong to."
The words fell into the silence and echoed in his insides. Omega felt something inside him finally break, fly apart. He wanted to scream, to object, but his tongue did not obey. His entire being had already admitted defeat. His body was pouring out liquid and emitting a sweet smell.
Alpha watched for a while longer, then slowly took a step back. The air in the cage remained saturated with his scent, heavy and suffocating. Omega sat hunched over, afraid to even look up. He heard every step, heard the rustling of clothes as he moved.
And then, when he thought it was all over, Alpha stopped.
He said the last words without strain, almost casually.
- Tomorrow we will get married. Servants will come to you in the morning.
And he left.
The heavy steps died down in the hallway, leaving behind only a viscous silence that was more oppressive than all the smells and words put together. Omega remained sitting on the floor, feeling how he was slowly sliding into the abyss of despair.
The ringing in his ears continued, and his body continued to emit a smell until the morning.
Tomorrow he would become a wife.
He concentrated all his effort on slowing his breathing, on suppressing the shameful trembling in his stomach, on forcing his heart to beat steadily. And when his breathing finally became more regular, and in his chest, instead of the convulsive fear, there was an emptiness, into this emptiness came the thought...
He must escape, at least he had to try.
Because to die here, in this dark pit, alone and dirty, seemed to him a lesser evil than to spend the rest of his life in chains, forever tied to someone whose smell and cruelty made him choke.
Death, in any case, left a chance for freedom.
Marriage - no.
He raised his head, leaning against the dirty bars, feeling how his mind slowly returned to him, so sober, sharp as a knife blade.
He knew he had almost no chance.