Chapter Text
Cold… why did it have to be so cold?
Peter rubbed his hands together, trying to get some of the feeling back into them. It was mid January and New York was suffering from a severe cold snap. There's an icy wind whipping through the city and cutting straight through Peter’s threadbare jacket, chilling the 19 year old to his bones.
He was standing in front of a public library waiting for it to open so he could slip inside and get out of the winter air. It's what he did most days. The librarians there were kind to him and didn't shoo him away like they did other loiterers. Probably because he was an omega and would sit quietly reading, not causing them any trouble.
"Five more minutes." Peter told himself as he checked his watch. It was a nice watch. Simple but nice with a worn, black leather strap. It had been his Uncle Ben's and Peter only took it off when he bathed. Though the last time he'd been able to get a shower was four days ago, when he'd managed to get into one of the few omega shelters in the city.
"Four more minutes." Peter hopped up and down, rubbing his arms, his teeth chattering violently. God, why did it have to be so cold. Maybe he should head south. It's warm down south. The image of a sandy beach filled Peter’s head. He could try to scrape together the money for a bus ticket, but it wouldn't be easy...
"Three more minutes." Peter pushed away from the stone wall at the base of the library's steps that had been blocking some of the wind and moved to climb the stairs. What he wouldn't give to back home with his Aunt May right now. A pang of sorrow ran through his chest. His Aunt May had fallen ill three months ago.
She was no longer able to care for herself, so her dear friend Anna Watson had taken her in. She was sincerely sorry that they didn't have any room for Peter, but he had insisted that he would be fine and could stay with a friend. Of course Peter couldn't bring himself to impose on any of his friends, and with Aunt May's medical bills they'd had to give up their house to help cover the cost. Peter called and visited her whenever he could, pretending that everything was okay.
"Two more minutes. Just two more." Peter had made it to the top of the stairs, peering inside the library and seeing the lights were already on. One of the librarians would be coming along to unlock the doors, then he could finally get some feeling back in his body.
"One mo-" Peter gasps as rough hands grab him from behind, dragging him down the stone steps, and tossing him into the back of a van. Pain jolts through him as his frozen limbs make contact with the metal floor of the van. The scent of Alpha was all around him, and as he looks up he sees a large shape looming over him and the sound of the van door closing with a loud thunk. He jerked up to scream for help, but the Alpha punched him hard in the gut and everything went black.
~~~
"Told you I'd have a pretty one for you today. I've been eyeing him for a while now."
The voice was grating on Peters senses, his head pounding fiercely. Every muscle in his body ached and he couldn't move his arms. His eyes fluttered open, squinting at the bright light that was shining down from above.
"Ah, sleeping beauty is awake." This voice was smoother than the last, but something about it sent a chill down Peters spine.
Looking around Peter could see two men, both Alphas based on their scents. One was tall and muscular with a ruggedly handsome face and a cocky grin, the other a slender, well-dressed man in a suit with cold eyes.
"Come on Ajax, do you want him or not? I know plenty sellers who would give me top dollar for an unmated omega as pretty as him." The taller man says, his voice confident.
Peter’s heart started to pound in his chest. Sellers? He'd seen the stories in the paper and heard the reports on the radio. Omegas had been going missing throughout the city and human traffickers were suspected. Omegas, particularly young or pretty ones, supposedly fetched a high price to those who wanted a private sex toy or those running illegal brothels.
"I'll take him. I have no doubt he'll sell quickly. Nice work Rumlow." The Alpha called Ajax pulled a stack of bills from his pocket and handed them over.
"Always a pleasure working with you." The cocky Alpha winked at Peter before turning to saunter out of the room, leaving Peter alone with Ajax.
"Let’s get started, shall we?" Ajax slips off his suit jacket, draping it over a chair and reaching to pull some medical gloves from a box set on a nearby table.
That’s when Peter started to struggle. "Please let me go! I'll do whatever you want! Please!"
"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. Merchandise with dents don't sell nearly so well." Ajax gave Peter a reassuring smile that did not reach his ice cold eyes. "But if I'm going to sell you, we will need to clean you up." He picked up a pair of scissors and moved over. "Try not to struggle. You wouldn't want me to accidentally cut you."
Peter froze as the man started to cut away his dirty clothes, stripping him, the cold blade of the scissors dragging across his skin, making him shiver in fear.
"Please," Peter whimpered. "Please let me go." Tears were welling up in his big brown eyes, fear-scent rolling off of him in waves.
"Don't cry little omega." Ajax coos, stroking Peters cheek with a gloved finger. "It will make your pretty eyes all puffy."
Soon Peter is stripped down and Ajax examines him from head to toe. Peter lets out a breath when the Alpha steps back, but tenses up when he sees Ajax has picked up a bottle and is pouring something onto his gloved fingers.
"Relax for me." He pushes Peters legs apart with far more strength the one would expect from his slender frame. One hand gripped at Peter’s inner thigh while the lubed fingers move to stroke the omega's opening.
Peter gasps at the feeling, trying to close his legs but the Alpha won't him. Tightening his grip painfully on Peter's thigh as the first finger sinks into him.
"Mmm… nice and tight… that's good."
"P-please stop." Peter chokes back a sob as the cold digit probes deeper.
"Shh pretty thing. I'm not going to hurt you." The scent of aroused Alpha hits Peters nose, making him tense further, his body trying to force the invading digits out. He meets Ajax’s eyes and sees a cruel hunger.
Finally the icy finger pull out and Peter shudders in relief.
"You've never been knotted. That's good." Ajax steps back and removes the gloves, tossing them into a trash can. He turns and leaves the room without another word, Peter craning his head to watch him leave.
It's a few minutes later when a tall hulking female Alpha enters and unstraps Peter from the table. He tries to struggle once his bonds were loose, but she gave his arm a violent twist and grabbed the back of his neck, making it clear that it would be much safer to comply.
He's dragged out of the examination room and down the hall, where she tosses him into a tiled room.
"Clean yourself up. Don't do a good enough job and I'll come in and do it for you." The burly woman slams the door and a moment later a faucet from overhead started to spray out water that is just below scalding. Peter yelps as the hot water hit his cold body, feeling like needles.
With a whimper he shifts to pick up the washcloth and soap he finds on a little shelf and starts to wash himself. He couldn't believe this was happening. His fingers refused to work properly at first and Peter winces as he forces them to flex, pins and needles running through the digits as proper blood flow returns to them.
He was just starting to calm down a bit, soaking in the heat which, now that he was used to it, had turned soothing rather than painful. The water suddenly cuts off and the door opens, letting a chill rush in.
"Here." The burly woman was back and tossing a rough towel at Peter, who fumbled to catch it so it didn't land on the damp floor. He quickly wraps it around himself. "Follow me."
Peter hesitates only a moment before he meekly follows her. Maybe if he behaved he'd be able to find a way out of here. He's brought to another room and there's a pair of soft pants and some slippers waiting for him. He quickly slips them on, grateful to have anything to cover himself with.
"Wait here." The woman gives him a cold grin. "You’re lucky. Tonight's an auction night so you won't have to wait long."
Before Peter can ask any questions, the door is shut and he can hear a lock clicking. The room has nothing in it but a cot which Peter sits down on, his entire body shaking with stress and exhaustion. Tears start to run down his cheeks as he lays down curling up on the cot, wincing as the bruise on his stomach protests to his movements.
~~~
Peter is jerked awake by the door slamming open. The female alpha from before is standing in the doorward.
"Come on. Auction time." She's holding a collar and leash in one hand.
"W-What?" Peter scrambles to his feet backing away. Not that he has anywhere to hide in the small, empty room.
"Come on kid. I don't have time to play games." She moves forward and grabs Peter’s arm in an iron grip that has him yelping. She locks the collar around his throat unpleasantly tight and yanks on the leash, making him stumble forward.
He's dragged down the hall and through a set of double doors. The room beyond is dimly lit and reeks of alpha, booze, and sex. He finds himself shoved under a spotlight on a stage, the light making it even more difficult to see his surroundings.
"And here we have our final Omega of the night. This one is a virgin everyone. This little lamb is perfect if you like to break a toy in yourself."
Peters head whipped to the side. Standing a few feet away on the stage is a beta. He has a microphone in hand and is reading off Peters attributes from a piece of paper in his hand.
"How about we open the bidding at 3,000. That's a bargain for this pretty little thing."
"3,000!" A male voice shouts from somewhere in the room.
"4,000!" This time a female voice.
Peter can feel the panic flooding his chest and presses his hand over his mouth, trying to fight back the urge to vomit.
His price keeps rising higher and higher. He couldn't believe someone would be willing to spend 23,000 dollars on him! He wished it would all just end.
"Alrighty then 23 going once… going twice..."
"50,000!" The voice that called out was deep and and powerful. It made a shiver run up Peters spine. He could see someone approaching the stage but staying just outside the light so Peter couldn't get a good look. All he could see were broad shoulders and muscular arms.
"Ah Mr. Pool. Always a pleasure to have you at one of our events." The auctioneer seemed a bit nervous, doing nothing to sooth Peter’s nerves.
"I'd hope so with how much money I spend here… so?" That deep voice had a touch of humor to it.
"R-Right. Okay 50,000, do I have any more bids?" The auctioneer glanced around. There was some annoyed grumbling but no other bids were called. "50 going once… going twice… sold for 50,000!"
"A bargain for this pretty little thing." The man steps up onto the stage entering the circle of light and Peter gasps.
The man is 6'2" and built like a wall with hard muscles, but the thing that has Peter shocked is the man’s skin, most of which is covered by a black hoodie and dark blue jeans. His face is covered in what look like burn scars, he has no hair, not even eyebrows, and the scars go all the way down his neck, disappearing under his sweatshirt.
"Come on pretty boy." The man reaches out to take Peters leash. "Let’s go pay the tab so I can get you home." The man’s tone is suggestive, his lips curling into a smirk, but Peter looks into the man’s eyes, gorgeous pools of crystal blue and there's a softness there that he didn't expect.
Before Peter can analyze the look he's yanked forward lightly by the collar and stumbles forward into the man’s hard chest, a strong arm wrapping around his waist. He's half carried off the stage and to the side where Ajax is sitting in a booth looking amused.
"Hey Francis. How’s it hanging?"
Ajax's amused look sours slightly. "It's hanging just fine Wilson. I didn't expect to see you back here so soon. Something wrong with the last Omega you bought?"
The Alpha (Wilson?) let’s Peter go and pulls a checkbook and pen from inside his hoodie. "Nah she was fun, bit of a biter but I don't mind that sort of thing." He starts to fill out the check.
"You always did like the feisty ones." Ajax sips from a tumbler and holds out his hand as the scarred Alpha tears out the check and rests it in the man’s palm. "I'm not sure how much fight this one has." His eyes sweep over Peter, that hungry look returning. Peter shrinks away from his gaze and looks down, he can still feel the man’s icy fingers as they probed inside of him.
"I'm sure we'll have plenty of fun. Till next time Francis." The Alpha's arm goes back around Peters waist and starts to steer him towards a set of doors and into a windowless lobby and over to an elevator where he hits the up button.
Peter glances up at the man who's suddenly humming the chorus to Mama Mia, and examines him more closely. Sharp cheekbones, a powerful jaw, and a nose that's mostly straight though there’s a bump near the bridge that suggests it's been broken at least once. Peter thinks the man was probably very handsome before whatever accident caused his scars.
*Ding* The sound of the elevator doors opening causes Peter to jump and the man chuckles, glancing down at him.
"Don't worry baby boy. No one's gonna hurt you now." He's tugged along into the elevator which takes them up into a parking garage. The man leads him over to a sleek SUV which he unlocks with a remote on his keys. He opens the door to the elevator and that's when Peter starts to panic again. The man removes his arm and Peter tries to bolt away but is brought up short by the leash which jerks him to a halt.
"Let me go!" Peter starts to struggle as the man’s strong arm wraps back around his waist.
"So there's some fight in you after all, eh kid? I like that. Now stop it before you hurt yourself.”
"Please… please let me go." Peter hates how pathetic and weak he sounds and the feeling of hot tears as they run down his cheeks.
"Just get in the car kid."
"Peter! y name is Peter, not kid."
"...Get in the car Peter." The Alpha's voice isn't angry or forceful. In fact it's rather gentle. Peter sniffles lightly, looking back at the man, scared brown meeting calm blue. He takes in a shaky breath and turns to climb into the passenger seat of the Alpha's SUV, the door shutting firmly behind him.