Alpha Assignment (BL) Chapter 2 (Early Access) (Patreon)

“You don’t want me, Alpha?”

It stung his chest, prickling at the knot that had formed there when he had made the decision to walk in. To reject the omega with nowhere else to go.

“It’s not-” Quinn floundered for the right words. Gentle words. He sighed and scrubbed a hand across his forehead. “It’s not that I don’t want you, Remi. I don’t want a pack, and I don’t need someone wiping my arse for me.” Remi’s button nose wrinkled a little at the suggestion, but he didn’t interrupt. “This isn’t about you personally, I just really like being left to my own life.”

“Oh. I understand." But his head had drooped further. At no point had he been able to make eye contact with Quinn, but now his face seemed locked parallel with the floor. The half-ponytail at the top of his head pointed straight at Quinn, almost accusatory. The shorter hair that sprung from the base of his skull fanned out around his neck in up-turned flicks. "I’m sorry to have bothered you, Alpha." He peeked at Isaac, a wobbling fear in his eyes. "Where will I go now?”

“I-” Quinn started, then glanced at the men. The slimy one shrugged gleefully. The remorseful one’s frown deepened and he dropped his eyes to the floor, too. “I don’t know."

“Oh.”

Oh, it hurt. It wasn't even a wolf bond. It was simply searing guilt burning through Quinn's insides.

“But..." Regret was already looming at the back of his skull as the word fell out of his mouth, it multiplied at the spark of hope that perked Isaac up into perfect posture. Emotional decisions were poor decisions. Quinn knew better than to make a choice while upset or weary or... angry. It was anger he felt fuelling his guilt. Anger at the Assembly for putting him and this innocent omega in this uncomfortable position. It was neither of their faults, but only he had options. Remi didn't get a choice, so it was Quinn's responsibility to make the right one for him. "You’re welcome to stay here until the Assembly finds you a pack.”

Everyone in the room, bar Quinn, visibly brightened.

“We’ll do our very best, Alpha,” Greasy Graham assured.

If Quinn wasn't well aware of the power the Assembly held, he would have throttled him right there in his kitchen. After sending Remi out of the room, of course.

Instead, he let them leave, alive and well and smug.

Although the men had been gone for a good few minutes, Remi remained stuck to the same spot in the centre of the kitchen’s wooden floor, hugging the suitcase he’d clearly outgrown in age but not stature. It had a cartoon doll printed on the front, and a lot of wear and tear everywhere else. The soft flicks in the tied-back portion of hair atop his head seemed to shiver by themselves. A tight tension holding his limbs locked in place. Everything about him set off something primal in Quinn’s brain. Although his most pressing urge was to run the little thing a warm and sweetly-scented bath.

With how desperately he was holding onto his luggage, a flash of doubt hit Quinn that maybe Remi wasn’t as grown as he appeared. Omegas were always small, from birth to adulthood. But their bodies developed the same as everyone else - scaled down to match their height. Remi had the shape and form of a young man, but body language that echoed a much lower age.

Isaac, the sad and desperate rep, had left a large sealed envelope on the hallway side table as he was leaving, and Quinn figured it was a file of information about Remi. He didn’t intend to read it.

Quinn pulled up a stool by the island that broke the room into two. He gestured with one hand for Remi to do the same. "How old are you?" he asked.

The suitcase was finally relinquished to the floor and Remi approached the stool at the other end of the island, giving Quinn a wide berth. He had to climb the seat, and it pinched Quinn's cheeks with a smile he struggled to restrain. It had been a long time since he had seen an omega in real life, and his pack never had one as a member, so it was usually from afar at multi-pack gatherings. Quinn wondered if enough exposure would dampen the instincts that were bubbling from the deep. The desire to coddle the little omega and squeeze him close and-

"I'm twenty-three, Alpha."

Quinn blinked the slight blur from his vision. And this was another reason why he hated to interact with others of his kind. Those instincts and urges clawed their way back. Bringing with them a wave of hopelessness at how his time in the human world hadn't allowed his true nature to rust and crumble away.

"We're quite close in age, then,” said Quinn. “I'm twenty-six."

Remi nodded politely.

An awkward silence sat between them atop the island.

Quinn cleared his throat gently, but he still noticed a jolt in Remi at the sound. "You'll have to excuse my ignorance, but when I was part of a pack we never had an omega in our house long-term, so I'll need you to tell me if you have any… omega-specific needs."

"Yes, Alpha."

Quinn cringed, but did his best not to show his feelings to Remi. It wouldn't help the small man's visible nerves. "Remi, you don't need to call me that."

Remi squirmed under his gaze awkwardly.

“What’s wrong?”

Remi hesitated. Quinn watched him with what he hoped was a patient expression.

“Alphas don’t usually call omegas by their names,” he mumbled.

“I don’t abide by traditional pack rules, Remi.”

Remi stared away at the wall above the sink. Although all the tiles were identical, perfect white squares, he glued his eyes to them as though they were art that needed a long look to understand.

Quinn sighed again. “Does it make you uncomfortable when I use your name?”

Remi nodded at the tiles.

“Okay. I might just try not to call you anything at all, then," Quinn huffed. A small flare of anger bursting through, like the flick of a lighter. "Because calling another person by the title of a demeaning role of servitude makes my stomach turn.”

Remi’s mouth dipped into a pouty frown, and his eyes continued to stare into the distance. His side profile was lit by the setting sun filtering through the kitchen window, in a deep orange that suited him beautifully. His skin seemed to glow despite his dark expression. Quinn was momentarily mesmerised by the stubborn creature he had agreed to temporarily take care of. He sighed.

“But, if I must… under totally necessary conditions… maybe… I can call you by that word,” Quinn relented, weary already.

Remi spun on the stool and his smile magnified the brightness of the sun's farewell colours ten-fold. “Thank you, Alpha." For a moment, their eyes actually met. Then they reverted immediately back to their default location of anywhere-but-Quinn's-face.

“If you could pay me the same respect and not call me that, I’d appreciate it.”

“Yes, Al- sir.”

“My name is Quinn.”

Remi’s brows trembled above round eyes pointed at Quinn’s chest, pleading like a puppy dog. He wouldn't outright disagree with him, Quinn could tell, but he was begging to be allowed to cling to some semblance of his old life. And Quinn couldn't fault him for that... It was the Assembly's fault. As far as Quinn was concerned, everything was.

Quinn released his third sigh in as many minutes.

"Have you eaten dinner?" he asked tiredly.

"Yes, Alpha."

"Good. I think an early night would do us good. Let me show you the guest bedroom."

The guest bedroom that has never seen a guest, he added in his head.