Page 30 of The Alpha's Fake Mate
Again, I would like to state I can guarantee your safety. You would have no worries and a good meal. No strings.
Please say yes.
Orion
It was not unheard of for Omegas to go out on dates with Alphas outside their Burns. We would be given permission to sign out temporarily and spend time getting to know a man who might later make a legal claim for us. It was the goal of all, Omegas and Alphas alike.
But half the time, things didn’t go that way. If an Alpha took a liking to an Omega and wanted him, he simply made a legal claim. He didn’t have to work for it.
The claimed Omega had no freedom to object to this sort of arrangement. But most of them wanted to go. Most wanted off the farm, and to create a mate-bond and start a family.
The claim lasted for one year. If, in that time, no mate-bond was formed, or for whatever reason the Alpha was not satisfied with his claim, the Omega would be returned to the farm to be claimed again.
I looked at Orion’s email, my insides beginning to tremble. What if he wanted to make a claim? I would not have the power to say no.
It would be better not to meet again. I could say no to the dinner. I still had that power. And I needed to keep what little power I had so no Alpha ever touched me again.
Orion:
A lot is being accomplished on the farm. Yes, it is very gratifying.
No, I will not have dinner with you. I prefer to stay here on the farm and work with you through more long-distance communication.
I do not need to celebrate every little matter that is fixed on the farm. It is good work, but it needed to be done anyway. It’s not a victory, just the right thing to do.
If you disagree, I have more arguments I can put to you.
Holland
*
So much was wrong with me that I continued to send Orion rude emails at least once a day. He might not deserve it, but I couldn’t curb my behavior.
In fact, my ruder emails got faster replies. They never seemed to faze him.
Over the next few weeks, Orion asked me out to dinner two more times, always making sure to guarantee my safety.
In my last response to him, I wrote one word. “No!”
Until the day came Warden Chirl called me into his office again.
I thought he was calling me to a meeting about Orion. Maybe Orion complained about my behavior. Although that seemed unlikely. If Orion had problems with me, he didn’t seem the type not to face me with them.
Chirl stood up as I entered his office, his posture tall and tight, his chin up. He did not look at me as he motioned with one hand for me to take a seat across from him.
I watched him pace back and forth behind his desk. His robe shifted as if it were suddenly too big on his frame. He was not young, but not old, either. The curtains behind him draped half open, and fresh noon light filtered into the room in bright rays. They caught the edges of his receding hairline, and created deep shadows along his cheeks and mouth, making him look tired, almost pained. His blond hair took on a gray cast.
Something was wrong, and he was delaying.
“If this is about—“
“Say nothing.” He held up his hand, palm out.
I had no patience anymore these last months. None. Chirl let me get away with all of my surly rancor toward my dorm-mates, and he never lectured me about avoiding parties or my old friends. He noticed everything. He said nothing. Not even about me avoiding my best friend Harly, who still did his best to be friendly to me, despite me ignoring him.
Maybe this was about my lack of social interaction? It had been months since I’d been raped. My injuries had all healed. My therapy had turned boring, though I still went to sessions which had been reduced to twice a week.
Finally, Chirl turned to face me, but he still did not meet my eyes.
