Page 49 of Collateral Omega

Holi groaned, cussing whoever was at the door.

“Come in,” Arah said.

The alpha who assisted Arah with the running of the commune walked in. Holi called him master Grumpy. The alpha was always irritable and foul-mouthed. He had nothing good to say about omegas or the commune houses, which was insane since he worked at one. Master Grumpy gave Holi one glance and immediately dismissed him.

“Master Gab has an opening for two omegas at his house. He needs them asap. He has a large catering job tonight.”

Arah’s eyes dropped on Holi. “You said two omegas.”

“Yes,” master Grumpy said. “Do you have someone in mind? They should be ready to go. I’ll drop them off at master Gap’s house.”

“No problem. I know just who to send,” Arah said, staring at Holi. “You want to leave, right? This is your chance. This way, I don’t have to deal with paperwork, and you get a job in the process. I hope you find the happiness and comfort you’re looking for.”

“Thank you,” Holi said. It didn’t matter where he went as long as he wasn’t there.

“Don’t thank me yet. You might regret this. You know you can’t take this back, right?” Arah warned.

“I know,” Holi said, getting to his feet. He’d suffered. Being left all alone in the world by his father and watching his creditors fight over him like wolves was scarier. Nothing could faze him now.

But Holi changed his mind as soon as he walked out of the commune house with master Grumpy to find Blaine already seated in the hover pod, his case at his feet. The omega gave him one look and turned away.

Fuck. Arah was right. He was really going to regret this.

“Go in, we don’t have all day,” master Grumpy said. Holi lugged his case into the hover pod and got in. They drifted away from the house. Holi stared at it longingly. He wished he could have stayed there longer. He was so tired.

They arrived at master Gab’s house an hour later. The house was nothing to write home about, making Holi miss Larny commune house instantly. The commune house was perfect.

But Holi had learned to let things go, to look forward to the next chapter in his life, however short-lived. He met a lot of amazing omegas while he was on the run. Some he wished he could have kept as friends. But it would seem he was destined to live a lonely life.

“Do you want to go back to Larny or something?” master Grumpy said, shaking him out of his musing. Holi picked up his case and quickly got out of the pod. He caught up with Blaine, who was already walking into the house. Holi glanced at the omega, feeling guilty for what he’d done. He hoped he wasn’t there because of him.

“You’re the two omegas they sent,” an alpha Holi assumed to be master Gab said as soon as they walked into the house. The alpha sat in the foyer on a moving bot. He was on the thicker side, clearly finding it hard to move, hence the moving bot. Master Gab looked at them up and down, before he settled in Holi. “Were you in a fight or something? If I didn’t need you, I would throw you out. Go upstairs and change into the uniforms in your room. It’s the last room at the end of the hallway. We leave in ten minutes.”

“Our room?” Blaine asked, looking at Holi with rage-filled eyes.

Shit. Here we go, Holi thought, bracing himself.

“Are we going to share?” Blaine continued.

“Yes! Go…go…go… we have a lot of work to do,” he said, wheeling away. Holi picked up his case and walked up the stairs. He found their room and headed straight to the clothing cubicle. He dropped his case inside and took out one of the uniforms. Blaine walked in as he changed his clothes.

“Please stay out of my way while we’re here, or I’ll finish what you started at the commune. Don’t talk to me, and don’t come close to me,” Blaine said, dropping his case on the bed close to the window. Fuck, he’d wanted that bed, Holi thought, biting his bottom lip to keep silent.

“You didn’t get kicked out of the house, right?” he asked instead.

“I thought I said don’t talk to me,” Blaine said. He quickly changed into his uniform and walked out of the room.

This is going to be fun, Holi thought sarcastically as he followed the omega.

Chapter 15

Holi

“Scrub everything down and make sure there’s no trace of us ever being here,” Master Gab said, wheeling around on the moving bot in the temporary cooking station they’d set up in the council office for the new alpha king’s inauguration. The affair had been small and private considering what was happening on their planet, but it was still tiring and nerve-wrecking. Holi glanced at the door nervously. He’d been horrified to see where they were going to work. Even though it was a small and private affair, almost all the wealthy families on the planet were invited to the inauguration. And it was rare for any of them to ignore such an invitation. The Cavus family was no exception.

Holi rubbed his arms as goosebumps suddenly dotted his skin at the thought of Xaine.

Fuck, that alpha was everywhere he went. It was like he had nothing better to do but cause him misery.

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