Page 19 of Omega Chattel

“How old are you today?” Oren asked.

“Eighteen.”

“Just a baby.” Farrell and Tev laughed, but their faces were kind.

Alli chewed on his lower lip. A habit he had, one I’d noticed throughout the day.

“Does this mean I’m staying for at least another night?” Alli asked.

“It does.”

“But what about?” He stopped, glancing at Oren who shook his head.

“What about what?” I asked. I knew he wondered about the boy whose room he’d taken.

Alli shrugged.

I glanced about the table. “Kee isn’t answering his texts and hasn’t for weeks. He’s not coming back. If he shows up, we’ll deal with it.”

The other boys all nodded.

“We’re sorry,” Oren said softly, looking up at me.

I took a deep breath. “It was expected, yes?”

Everyone agreed, the “yeses” going around the table.

I began to slice the cake into even pieces.

“What did they do for birthdays at your farm?” I asked Alli.

Alli’s chest expanded as he prepared to answer. “We’d get cake, but only one piece. A lot of us shared birthdays. We’d get new uniforms. We’d get a ten dollar spending allowance online. We could buy a book or a beaded bracelet or something.”

“Wow.” I smiled, but that sort of treatment made me sad. Those boys—it didn’t matter that they were Omegas—deserved better.

“It was the same where we were raised,” Farrell said.

Tev nodded.

Oren said, “My parents used to go all out with the streamers and banners, all decorated with glitter.” He did not elaborate further.

Alli said, “You’re here, so they must not be around anymore?”

“Nope,” was all Oren said.

Alli chewed his lower lip.

But when the cake was passed around to everyone, they were all smiles again, digging in to the sweet confection.

All in all, it had been a good day.

Chapter Seven

Alli

It was both wonderful and frightening that Tarin was, so far, allowing me to stay. I had a whole room, a bed, and my own private bath. None of it felt like mine. Yet.

What if I failed him?