Page 47 of Collateral Omega

Holi nervously chewed on his thumb as he stared at the screen.

Please, please, he silently begged day in and day out for a job interview. When the interview finally came, his anxiety was threw the roof. He could barely sleep at night because he believed Xaine would show up at any second. The interview was for housework, which Holi knew nothing about. Doing chores wasn’t part of his life while he was living with his father. Saki did everything. But he was willing to learn.

An agent from the omega placement agency arrived to take him to the interview.

“We’re here,” he said as he opened the pod. Holi got out and stared at the massive house. He hoped he didn’t have to clean the whole thing. They walked into the house and Holi was glad to see other omegas there working. Holi relaxed a little. The alpha interviewing him was nice too. He smiled a lot and made Holi feel welcome.

“I think you got the job,” the agent said as they drifted back to the commune.

“How do you know?” Holi asked hopefully.

“The alpha likes you,” he said. And much to Holi’s delight, the next day he got a call letting him know that he got the job. Holi moved into the alpha’s house the next day. The house chores weren’t that many, since he shared them with the other four omegas.

The alpha hosted a lot of parties, and his house served as a lodging place of sorts. So, there was always some cleaning and cooking to do.

“There are clean sheets in the laundry room. Can you please fetch them for me?” Sally asked. Holi jumped to do his bidding. He rushed down the stairs and down the hallway. He paused when he walked past alpha’s office as a familiar scent wafted all around him.

Xaine was there? Holi’s heart pounded.

Surely, he was dreaming. Holi sidled to the door, but he didn’t hear anything. He opened it slightly and peered inside. And there was no one there. Holi breathed out a sigh of relief. He went to the laundry room and fetched the sheets. They finished their chores and decided to relax in the small garden at the back of the house.

“Holi!” the alpha screamed his name at the top of his lungs before he could step foot outside. “You were supposed to clean the bathrooms.”

“I did,” Holi said.

“You call that cleaning? Do it again,” the alpha said. Holi went back to clean the bathrooms. And from that day on the torture began. The alpha made him clean every room twice. Wash the dishes twice. He made him do the other omegas’ chores. He was never satisfied with anything Holi did. It was like he was trying to punish him or something. Holi had no choice but to quit. And this time, instead of loitering in the walkway, he went to the authorities’ office. The beta behind the desk took one look at him and jumped into action as if they had weird cases like his all the time.

Within minutes, he’d taken down his heartrending story of losing his father and being left all alone in the world. Holi embellished his story a little to garner sympathy from the beta. But he didn’t tell him about Xaine or his father’s debt. He kept all of that to himself.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you settled in a commune house by the end of the night,” the beta said. “Please wait for me here. I’ll get everything organized for you.”

“Thank you,” Holi said, smiling sweetly. The beta blushed a little as he walked away clearly taken by Holi. Even though Holi didn’t like using his charms on anyone because he didn’t like giving people the wrong impression, he’d learned that he needed everything he had to survive, and since he didn’t have much credit, he had to use his looks and alphas fell all over themselves when he smiled. It was a shame none of them wanted him enough to bond with him. They only wanted one thing.

The beta returned and, true to his word, Holi was taken to a commune house just outside the capital. The house was small but nice and clean. His room was nice too. Holi dropped his case on the bed and walked to the window. His roommate gave him a curious look but didn’t say anything. Van was probably the silent type. Holi liked that. He hoped they would get along.

And they would have gotten along if Xaine hadn’t found him. The alpha didn’t bother to show his face this time. He sent him a gift.

A small box labelled -my first heat without you.

Holi made the mistake of opening the box. A heady, dark scent filled the space around him as if a scent bomb had gone off in the room, overwhelming his senses. Holi helplessly stared at the colourful scarf drenched with Xaine’s scent and knew he couldn’t fight the yearning deep inside.

Did the bastard know it was his heat too? Holi asked himself as he dug his nails into his thighs. His heat intensified.

Nobody is going to know, he told himself as he hesitantly reached for the scarf and brought it to his nose. He breathed in Xaine’s scent, whimpering helplessly. He dropped on the bed on all fours, his free hand tunnelling into his pants, reaching for his already sopping wet hole. Mouth wide open, he shoved two fingers inside him, coming on the spot. Holi screamed into the mattress. And for the next four days he used the scarf to get off. He threw it away, but it was no use. Xaine sent him more gifts no matter where he ran. He found him.

Chapter 14

Holi

Pain exploded in Holi’s skull as the first punch landed and sent him reeling. He staggered, slamming his back into the opposite wall. Holi winced, gripping the wall to steady himself. Doors opened as the other omegas came out of their rooms, drawn by the commotion he’d started at dinner, now fast approaching its finale.

It was time to leave. Holi knew it would end this way. Blaine had a short fuse, and he would help him get out of there. His roommate gave him an evil look and turned to walk away from him.

No, one punch wasn’t enough. Holi hurled himself at the omega’s back to keep him there, knowing very well that Blaine would retaliate.

“Let go,” Blaine screamed, shoving him to the floor. “What the hell is wrong with you? Are you trying to get me kicked out of the commune?”

No. It was the other way around, Holi thought as he shoved to his feet ready to go again.

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