Page 25 of Collateral Omega

“I don’t need his help,” his father snapped. “I just need to think, so stop confusing me.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have locked him up in this house. There’s a whole world out there he knows nothing about.”

“I had my reasons,” his father snapped.

“Who wants a virgin omega anyway? That’s so archaic and barbaric.”

“I had my reasons,” his father repeated.

“And you’re going to stick to that.”

“Dammit, Saki. You’re not listening to me. I’m really worried. What if the council of alphas takes him away to some commune house before he finds an alpha? We don’t even know what’s happening to omegas in those houses. My Holi is so sweet. He won’t survive living with strangers,” his father said.

“We applied for a provisional stay because you’re sick. And since Holi had his first heat two years ago, the council of alphas will approve it. Don’t worry. Holi will stay right here with you, and you can find him a suitable alpha.”

“I hope so. Time is running out. What if I die before he gets bonded? What’s going to happen to him then?”

“Stop it, Lile. You’re only going to make yourself sick by stressing. You knew it wasn’t going to be easy when you started. You can’t give up now.”

“I’m not giving up, I’m just…” Holi’s father sniffed. Holi took a step back, tears filling his eyes.

“Don’t you dare show Holi that you’ve lost hope. He doesn’t need to start thinking negative thoughts as well,” Saki said adamantly. “You’ll never know what tomorrow will bring. Just stay hopeful and keep pushing.”

“You’re right. I can’t give up.”

“That’s the spirit,” Saki said. “We’ll comb through the society sites, I’m sure there’s a party happening somewhere.”

“Yes,” his father said, sounding enthusiastic. “I’ll go get my data reader.”

Holi rushed away before his father found him standing there. He wiped his tears away as he walked to his bedroom. He threw the flowers on the bed and walked to the window to stare outside.

There wasn’t much to see, since his bedroom window faced a tiny part of the residential airway. But it was better than staring at a wall and thinking about his sad life. He had no friend, no alpha, nothing. This wasn’t how he imagined his life would turn out.

The day his father announced that they could start searching for his alpha, Holi had been so excited, but his excitement had died out. Maybe it was time to stop. He’d embarrassed himself enough, Holi thought.

He stood staring out the window even though there was nothing to see. He watched the trees sway in the wind and a few pods drifting away. Holi wondered who was inside the pods.

Was it an omega or an alpha? Did they have someone to love them or were they going to find them? Or were they yearning for someone like Holi did. Tears trickled down Holi’s face. He quickly wiped them away, but they kept coming. It was hard for him to stop crying once he started. Holi cried until he couldn’t cry anymore.

An hour later, there was a knock at the door before Saki walked in. Holi glanced at her and then turned to continue looking out the window.

“What are you doing?” Saki asked as she came to stand next to him. If she saw the tear marks on his cheeks, she didn’t show it.

“People watching,” Holi said. “But I haven’t seen anyone yet, just drifting pods and trees. There isn’t much to see on this side of the house.”

Saki was silent for a while.

“You heard your father and I, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Holi said. He turned away from the window and walked to sit on the bed. “I wanted to give him flowers to cheer him.”

“You should go and give them to him. He needs a little cheer right now,” Saki said.

“I will. And I’m going to tell him I want to stop searching for an alpha. I don’t want to continue disappointing him.” Holi said, reaching for the flowers.

“And do what?” Saki asked. Holi shrugged. He hadn’t thought that far. He could get a job. But he didn’t have any skills. He never learned how to do anything because his father wouldn’t let him go anywhere.

Getting bonded was the only thing he could do. “You’re not disappointing him, Holi. You’ve just hit a snag that’s all,” Saki said. “You’ll find your alpha soon enough.”

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