Beta Bully (M/M) - Chapter 45 (Early Access) (Patreon)

Trust & A Test

Building trust was easier said than done. Darcy completed every task he was given as quickly as possible. He avoided Alpha Nico whenever he was not called upon. Out of Alpha Nico’s sight, he prepped for the alpha’s daily routines as much as he could. Laying out the tray, cutlery, and coffee mugs in the evening to be ready for Alpha Nico’s breakfast, that kind of thing. And yet, Darcy felt absolutely no difference in the alpha’s attitude towards him.

He stared down into the steaming mugs, watching his own grim expression wobble back at him in the dark liquid. For some reason, Alpha Nico hadn’t called down for his breakfast at the usual time that morning. Unfortunately, Darcy had attempted to be proactive and already prepared everything. And now the coffee was cooling and the mini pancakes were going soggy under the melting butter. He had wanted to make something special for the alpha, in the sad hopes it might buy him some favour. He always made an extra coffee for Beta Oli, just in case he was there, too.

Fifteen minutes after Alpha Nico’s usual summoning time, Darcy decided to take the initiative and go up. He wasn’t a lazy and spoiled omega. And he would show as much. This may even be a test from Alpha Nico, to keep Darcy on his toes. Maybe he had already failed by waiting the fifteen minutes for the alpha’s call.

He stood outside with the tray balanced on his palms, but the alpha did not call him in. Perhaps he was still furious with him, demeaning him to the point of having to knock as though the alpha couldn’t easily smell his approach. Or perhaps the alpha really wasn’t at his desk.

There was noise inside, though. And Darcy could smell Alpha Nico and Beta Oli nearby. He may not have the nose of a dominant wolf, but their faint traces were fresh.

It was time to take initiative. Pass the test. Prove that omega can make decisions for themselves when needed. He pushed the door handle down with his elbow and let himself into the room.

The breakfast tray almost slid from his arms.

His senses came back to him with a sharp gasp and he curled his fingers around the plastic edge, although not fast enough to stop the spill of lukewarm coffee over the pancakes and across all of the cutlery. His heart was pounding in his ears and he couldn’t think straight.

All Darcy knew was that he never wanted to make decisions for himself ever again.

He placed the tray onto the nearest flat surface with shaking hands and made a run for it, pulling the door closed firmly behind him. He sprinted all the way back to the kitchen and locked himself in the pantry. Alone, his own breaths were too loud around him, panting and stuttering. He needed to calm down. He sat on the small wooden stool in the corner and covered his eyes.

Immediately, the scene burst back into his vision.

Alpha Nico with his shirt completely unbuttoned and splayed around him, laid over his own desk with hands clutching the edge above his head. His legs had been bare, hooked loosely around Beta Oli’s hips, with curled feet almost able to meet at the small of the beta’s back. With every rock of Beta Oli’s body into his, Nico’s split fringe had bounced a half-beat behind his tempo.

Their eyes had found his instantly. One pair dazed and upside-down; they then grew in furious recognition as Darcy had fumbled the tray into the room. The other pair had held only surprise. Darcy hadn’t hung around to see anything else.

And now he was trapped amongst tinned tomatoes and a stockpile of laundry detergent. Frozen behind a locked door that wouldn’t hold back an alpha. He shook his head, clearing the irrational thoughts. Alpha Nico wouldn’t be angry enough to hurt him. That would get him in serious trouble with the council.

A repeat of his family’s shame brought upon the Pearl Claw.

But from the look in Alpha Nico’s eyes as he dangled over his own desk, Darcy couldn’t say for sure that the man didn’t want him dead.

He paced the pantry in search of a plan that never came. Too scared to leave. Too anxious to properly hide.

A message brought his phone to life. The screen blared two words Darcy would have sold his soul not to have seen there. He was being ordered back to the scene of his crime. For prompt execution, he assumed. The lock would barely turn in the pantry door as he fumbled it multiple times under flustered fingers.

He wanted to drag his feet and extend the journey back to Alpha Nico’s office as much as possible, but he knew it would do him no favours.

At the door, he raised his hand to knock, but Alpha Nico yelled through the door for him to enter before he could.

There was no sign of Beta Oli inside, and Alpha Nico had returned to his signature spot behind his desk. His clothes we righted. A barely-contained rage seemed to vibrate out of him. The tray remained in disarray where Darcy had left it in his hasty getaway.

Darcy stood as far back from the desk as good manners would allow. Hoping the added distance would make it harder for Alpha Nico to hit him with a launched paper weight.

“I will make this quick, Omega,” Alpha Nico spat. “Because if you don’t get the hell out of my sight soon I might not be able to stop myself from throwing you out the window.”

“I appreciate that, Alpha,” Darcy whispered, sounding choked.

“Shut. Up.”

Darcy nodded obediently.

“You will take that tray. You will leave my office. You will never step foot in my office again. You will never speak of what you saw in my office again. And you will perform nothing more than cleaning duties from this moment forward.” Alpha Nico’s jaw was clenched so tightly he could barely snarl out the terse orders. “Clearly you are incapable of anything else.”

The cruel words bounced off Darcy’s frozen form. Alpha emotions swirling around him, prickling at his skin. A good, considerate alpha would use their training in emotional restraint to protect other wolves around them from their fury. Alpha Nico let everything loose in the room. Like demons running amok.

“Leave, Omega,” Alpha Nico growled.

Darcy suddenly became aware of his entire body shaking. He twisted slowly, snatched up the sopping tray, and stumbled out the door as though on stilts. Whether he managed to close it behind him, he didn’t know.

After dropping the tray off in the kitchen, Darcy climbed to Alder Suite in a daze. Inside, he flopped into bed and laid amongst the pillows deadly still.

He didn’t watch the clock, but the clunk of the front door told him when the end of the day had arrived, along with his soul-mate. He had achieved nothing all day but making a mess.

“Darce?” Luca called through the suite.

Darcy made a groaning sound into the pillows. Apparently it was enough to lead him to his side. The bedding beside his shoulder dipped under his weight.

“Babe? What’s wrong?” Luca brushed a hand through his hair. “Are you feeling sick?”

Darcy twisted his head, bringing his face out of the pillow. “Can I talk to you about something?” he said softly.

Luca’s concern physically doubled. “Of course.”

“It’s about Alpha Nico.”

“Oh?” He winced. “Yeah, he’s a bit tough-”

“He yells at me.”

Luca froze. Only a twitch in his eye showed sign of life. They stared at each other for a few moments before he managed to growl, “What?”

“He shouts in my face and calls me lazy and entitled,” he continued. “He’s hated me from day one. He hates omegas, Luca.”

“Are you serious? Darcy, if-”

“I swear,” he said on a shudder. “Beta Oli told me it’s because of his family, and the omega ban that the pack got because of what his uncle did.”

Luca’s eyes were wide, and uncertain. “What did his uncle do?” he whispered.

“I thought you knew,” Darcy said slowly. “You’re a beta, too.”

“I know the Pearl Claw wasn’t allowed an omega until recently,” he replied, with just as much caution. “But the reason why isn’t public knowledge. Beta Oli would only know because he’s so close to Alpha Nico, not because he’s a beta.”

Darcy thought of Beta Oli’s insistence that he tell no one about Alpha Nico’s family history. Then he thought of Alpha Nico screaming in his face.

“His great uncle killed his omega mother because he wanted an omega mate,” he said.

Luca stared at him. His mouth and eyes were stretched wide.

“Darcy,” he breathed. He shook his head, words evading him as he took it all in.

“I don’t think Beta Oli understands how bad it gets either,” Darcy added, hushed as though the alpha and beta may have their ears against a glass on their front door. “He only acts that way when we’re alone.”

“We need to catch him in the act.” Luca’s voice had turned dark. As had his eyes. “Preferably both of us there to see it.”

“He would smell either of you from a mile off,” Darcy reminded him dejectedly.

“There will be a way, Darcy, don’t worry.” He sighed and scrubbed his hands through his angelic golden curls. “I just don’t have the authority to raise the issue without evidence.” He sighed again. “I can’t believe this.”

“I know.” Darcy smiled sadly. “I just didn’t want to go through it alone anymore. Thank you for listening to me.”

“Oh, Darce,” Luca crooned. “You’re breaking my heart.” His arms circled his waist and tangled their bodies together. He peppered kisses over the top of his head and stroked his back.

They remained wrapped in their self-made bubble of peace for most of the night.

As Darcy lay beside him, he contemplated telling Luca what he’d seen that morning. Alpha Nico and Beta Oli… doing the dirty on his desk. He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to force the image from his mind. No, it wasn’t his place to tell others’ private business like that.

It wasn’t relevant to how Alpha Nico treated him anyway, he had hated Darcy long before he walked in on something he shouldn’t have.