Chapter Text
The sound of a body hitting the wall resounded in the alley.
“I win!”
A young omega with dark skin and tightly coiled hair smirked triumphantly. He held a small piece of moldy bread in his hands. The loser, an omega with brown skin and curly hair, glared up at him, “Don’t get so happy just ‘cause you beat me!”
The winning omega smiled harder. He took the bread and split it in half. He gave the bigger half to the other wolf in front of him. When the other omega looked at him in surprise, he waved them off, “I won, so I can do what I want.” He walked off – hand raised as a farewell.
He popped the bread in his mouth – shoving his hands in the pockets of his distressed shorts as he walked mindlessly letting his bare feet lead him wherever they wished. He took in the dim light coming from a few of the shack like buildings around him, breathed in the familiar scent of must and grime, allowed a smile to form on his face as he inspected the dirt in the streets. He looked up noticing that he had reached the city square. He was confused at the sound of commotion coming from around the city message board. Walking up to the crowd he began pushing through people until he got to the front. He glared when someone bumped into to him, but it quickly disappeared when he saw a familiar toothless smile, “Amin? What are you doing here?”
“Daza! I just saw it! On the board! You’ve been courted!”
Daza’s eyes widened. Even though it didn’t occur often, everyone knew about The Courting. A competition where thirty omegas are picked randomly to participate to become the mates for unmated members of the Wolf Council. Typically, it only happened when the Head Alpha’s son struggled to find a mate. He let Amin drag him to the list barely registering as his friend shouted for the omegas currently gathered around it to move. They glared at Amin while Daza viewed the list, and sure enough, his name was on it. He felt the urge to run but was grabbed by his friend, “Come on, Daza! This calls for celebration!”
Amin dragged Daza down the familiar streets to Area – one of the only bars in the slums that provided rations for free if you were willing to work for it. Amin practically lived there, but Daza only came if he was really struggling to scrounge up something or find a decent place to sleep at night. When they entered, Eve – the owner, smiled at them in greeting. Amin was practically vibrating as he held onto Daza’s arm. He showed off his toothless smile, “Hey, boss! I’ll work as many extra shifts as it takes, but tonight calls for celebration. Daza got courted!”
Eve grinned excitedly, “I’ll take you up on that offer.”
. . . .
The rest of the night went by in a blur. He fell asleep in the employee quarters upstairs with Amin draped over him as they shared a thin blanket. In the morning, he woke up alone and with a painful headache. He made his way downstairs. Amin was wiping down tables while Eve cleaned glasses in preparation for opening. When Eve spotted him, he smiled at him and waved him over. Daza made his way over saying good morning to Amin as he sat down. Eve placed a bowl of grass porridge in front of him, “Eat. It’ll help with the headache.”
Daza bit his lip, “Thank you for the party last night. I’ll definitely work to pay you back.”
Eve shook his head, “No need. Though, if you really want to pay me back, then win the courting and become the Head Alpha’s son’s mate.”
It was Daza’s turn to shake his head, “Just let me know how many days, and I’ll work them all.”
Eve sighed, “Fine, since you’re so insistent, two days. Work for me two days and that’ll be enough.”
Daza took a spoonful of porridge.
. . . .
He was helping to prepare for opening when he heard the windchime on the door sound, “Sorry, we’re not open yet.” He looked up from stocking shelves to see two betas in expensive suits standing in the doorway. They clearly didn’t look like they belonged in the Omega Slums. The beta on the right, a dark-skinned male with a shaved head, spoke first.
“Are you the omega called, Daza?”
Daza’s eyes narrowed, “Who’s asking?”
The beta gave a kind smile, “Greetings, omega, my name is Barhrain,” he gestured to the beta on his left, “This is my partner, Iman. We were sent here to retrieve the omega called Daza for the selection.”
Daza felt that same urge to run that he felt earlier, and this time Amin wasn’t there to stop him from acting on it. He bolted to the backroom surprising Amin who was just about to enter. He gave him an apologetic look as he ran to the back door passing Eve on his way out. Exiting the through the back door, he swiftly bolted left twisting and turning through alleyways. When he didn’t hear footsteps behind him, he thought he was home free and made his way to the main street. He bumped into a hard chest as soon as he got there. He looked up to see Barhrain giving him the same kind smile that he gave him at Area.
“I knew omegas were fast, but you have to be the fastest one that I’ve ever seen. Then again, usually omegas don’t run away from the selection.”
He grabbed Daza before he could shift fully, but that didn’t stop Daza from sinking his fangs into Barhrain’s arm while the claws on the hand of his free arm nearly clawed off his face. Daza knew he couldn’t win in a battle of strength, but he could win in with speed. He ducked under Barhrain’s injured arm attempting to use omega speed to his advantage, but he wasn’t fast enough. Barhrain caught his right arm, and Daza let out a howl of pain as Barhrain used his body weight to pin him to the ground. He still attempted to struggle futilely. Barhrain looked at his partner, “Inject him.”
The last things Daza heard and felt were the sound of footsteps and a prick in his neck before he was out like a light.