Yuri sighed as he and his fellow Omegas were herded into the large lecture hall.
"Alright everyone, form into rows!" The Director's voice rang out. "10 people per row with at least 5 feet between each row."
It was a practice that all people went through after turning 18, called The Finding.
All unmated Omegas would stand in neat lines while the unmated Alphas would walk through accessing them and ultimately deciding to court them. The practice was an ancient one that stretched across the generations so much that it was as common and mainstream as Christmas. It was a Holiday that brought the whole community out for a day of food, fun and excitement.
The unmated groups would be taken to a private area to perform The Finding, and then the newly formed pairs would emerge to roars and cheers from their loved ones.
Originally the Finding began as a way to quickly and efficiently find ones Mate. Most towns and villages preferred this way. Instead of having tons of Alphas sniffing around hoping to find their Mate, there was one day a year devoted to it. The unmated Alphas would be able to go through the town's unmated Omegas all at once. If a Mate was found, great! If not, then there was always next year.
As the practice became more popular throughout the world, greed and corruption began to trickle in. Wealthy Omega families would pay wealthy Alpha families to have their Alpha choose their Omega. It was beneficial to all involved as the wealth stayed with the wealthy, power stayed with the powerful and the elite didn't intermingle with the commoners.
Over the centuries this sort of violation of nature began to water down the natural instinct in the generations to come. The first generations to force marriages were fighting against their nature tooth and nail, but now it was practically part of the Finding to set up connections first. If you went into it blind, you were going to leave alone. Even the poor and middle class families would make agreements to insure their families continued on.
To find an actual Mate was something out of a romance novel now. It was more myth than history, and The Finding had all but become a full on arranged marriage ceremony for the rich and powerful to celebrate instead of the necessary practice it had started as.
Those left over after the Finding would often rejoin the pool the following year and after a while older people would pair off out of desperation or pity.
Yuri's feelings had been oddly torn by the upcoming holiday. His parents were middle class, and even though there wasn't much to be said about them, his family had worked hard to procure a nice Alpha for him. The Alpha's family wasn't much either, and the Alpha herself was mediocre at best, but the thought of not having to come back to this year after year, had made him agreeable.
He was sure he would come to care for her in time, and he was afraid that if he fought the arrangement then he'd never get any offers and end up as a burden to his parents.
He tried to steady his heart beat as he moved into the second row, next to his best friend Phichit. In just a few minutes the Alphas of the community would come in and then, one by one, they would look over each Omega carefully until they 'found' their 'mate'.
It was nerve-wracking to say the least and Yuri felt Phichit buzz with excitement as the opposite doors opened and the Alphas began filing in. Slowly the group came to rest facing the Omegas several feet away. Grouped together in a mass compared to the neat straight rows of the Omegas, the Alphas looked over the Omegas with interest. Though most people knew who they'd be walking out with, it was still interesting to see what their town offered.
Yuri was mildly interested that the Alphas actually smelled pretty good. He wasn't usually drawn to the scent of an Alpha, and having more than one around could be much more of a headache than it was worth, but perhaps all of them grouped together like this, gave off the pleasant aroma that he was now smelling.
Phichit leaned over as the Director, a short squat little woman, began explaining what they were to do. "See that tall handsome one with the silver hair?" Yuri followed Phichit's gaze and then nodded. "That's Victor Nikiforov. He's nearly 23. Refused to pick an Omega on his first go and now he just does this for fun."
Yuri considered the handsome man. He was indeed tall and most definitely handsome. Yuri liked the way his hair seemed to produce its own light even in the dimness of the room. He was thin, though toned and dressed stylishly, with piercing blue eyes that seemed bored.
"His parents won't make a deal with anyone and he's been here for 4 years." Phichit continued.
"Why?" Yuri said softly. "Doesn't he want to just get this over with?"
Phichit shrugged as the Director stopped talking, and the first Alpha stepped forward to begin. Yuri didn't really know the Alpha, named JJ, but he did know that Isabella was going to be his Omega. She was a small Omega from a very wealthy family who had been set to marry JJ since birth. He wasn't sure where she was standing, but he figured it was behind him since he didn't see her in the row ahead of him or his own row.
He took another shaky breath as the JJ moved from the first row to the second, taking a modest amount of time to 'check' each Omega. Yuri wasn't sure what checking really entailed but his chest was starting to constrict a bit and butterflies were beginning to fill his stomach. His breathing quickened and he tried to hold his breath as the JJ moved to Phichit.
Phichit stared straight ahead, as they were taught, but gave Yuri a subtle wink just as JJ moved to him.
At that moment a low threatening growl came out from the Alphas. Everyone froze, including JJ, just inches from standing directly in front of Yuri.
Yuri couldn't keep himself from panting slightly. His body was starting to feel hot all over and the butterflies in his stomach had migrated to all over his body. JJ made to move, but just as he did the Director's voice rang out.
"Don't move!"
JJ froze again and Yuri felt his own body begin to shake. He must have been having a panic attack. He felt—wrong. He closed his eyes for a moment to clear his head and suddenly he was aware of what was bothering him. The smell.
The smell had been cut off and replaced by JJ's overpowering scent. He wasn't completely sure why this was so terrible as to cause a panic attack, but he knew this was wrong. JJ didn't particularly smell bad, but that pleasant scent that Yuri hadn't realized had been so wonderful until it was gone, was much nicer.
He opened his eyes and saw JJ standing stark still, his eyes looking just over Yuri's head and his breathing labored slightly. It was then that the pleasant scent was able to reach Yuri's nose again and he felt himself sigh and shudder in pleasure at its return.
Then his eyes registered another Alpha, Victor. He was standing so close to JJ that he was practically on top of him. His lip was raised in a snarl and a mean almost evil look in his eye caused everyone to step away slightly despite the Director's warning to not move.
Victor had been sniffing at JJ's hair and finally huffed in a sound like disgust. He reached around JJ's body and grabbed Yuri's arm, pulling him away from the line and JJ, swiftly and gracefully.
Yuri was hit with a rush of that pleasant scent and he felt his eyes flutter happily as he breathed it in.
Victor's grip wasn't painful, but it was firm and demanding. He held onto Yuri's arm and walked him to a seat in the front corner of the room that lined the lecture hall. Yuri was so taken aback and a little overwhelmed by the pleasant scent- that he now realized was coming from Victor- that it took him a moment to realize that he had been pulled away from the lines.
Victor sat down in one of the seats, letting go of Yuri's arm, though that didn't seem to matter. Yuri felt tied to Victor somehow and he wasn't sure he'd be able to walk away from the Alpha even if he had wanted to.
He stared down at Victor, taking in his sleek hair and angled features, appreciating his jaw line and long nimble fingers. It wasn't until Victor's eyes caught his own that Yuri realized he should sit down as well. Distracted and still very much shaken by the onset of the panic attack, Yuri moved to sit down next to Victor, but found himself suddenly between the Alpha's thighs, sharing the one seat.
As he sat, oddly comfortable between Victor's thighs, he realized that Victor's breathing was a little labored too—though his breath seemed more agitated than panic induced. He wondered why Victor was upset. Maybe he could do something to make him—not upset.
The Director gave JJ permission to continue and the Alpha moved much more cautiously through the lines as Yuri tried to figure a way to make Victor's anger disappear.
He could feel Victor's chest rising and falling in short shabby breaths, the Alpha's hand was firm on Yuri's wrist and his thighs were tense and shaking slightly. Without actually thinking about it, Yuri leaned back, pressing his shoulder blades into Victor's upper stomach and turned his head so that his lips were dangerously close to Victor's neck.
Victor eased at once, the short breaths flowed into a calming long exhale that evened his breathing instantly. His grip on Yuri's wrist slackened and his thighs relaxed, making a little more space so that Yuri could move up in the seat.
He could feel Victor's heart beating steady if not a little fast, and he felt his own heart pounding in unison with the Alpha's. Victor's grip of Yuri's wrist slackened completely, but Yuri moved his fingers, grasping at the Alpha's digits gently. Victor's long, graceful fingers were gentle now, moving carefully between Yuri's, stroking and caressing calmly.
Suddenly Yuri couldn't seem to keep his mind focused on the Finding. He wanted to watch and see what happened with Phichit, he wanted to see what the Alpha he had been promised to would do when it was her turn, but all he could manage to do was notice Victor.
The way they were positioned, the movements of their fingers together was producing two completely different reactions from them. Yuri was beginning to pant again, his pants becoming slightly uncomfortable and his body aching to squirm. Victor was calm, his breathing indicated he was enjoying the contact as well, but his body was firm and steady, his hands working lazily into Yuri's.
Victor's scent was all Yuri could smell now, and honestly, he wasn't complaining. Most Alphas had a musky or spicy type of scent, but Victor smelled—he couldn't quite put words to it. He smelled like the feel of warm food in your belly after being cold for hours, or the feel of a cat purring on your lap. It was comfortable and welcomed, warm and happy. It was a smell that filled Yuri's mind and spread throughout his body until he felt completely enthralled in it.
Yuri gave in to the urge to move and stretched, relaxing in a position so close to Victor's neck that he couldn't help himself and pressed his lips to the milky skin. Victor shuddered, wrapping his free arm around Yuri's middle and holding him close. He felt a low grumble in Victor's chest and he pressed his lips to Victor's neck again just to see if he could hear it again.
He wasn't disappointed. Victor's calm breathing was beginning to sharpen again and Yuri grinned to himself before backing away from the tempting skin and tilting his head so that he could see what was going on.
It wasn't long before the seats around them began to fill up and Victor's hold of him became stronger, though still not painful. Actually if he were being honest, he kind of enjoyed it. It felt steady and calm with Victor around him and by the time the Director finally announced that they were done, Yuri had begun to snooze a little.
He blinked several time and made to get up, before feeling Victor's grip tighten slightly. He relaxed again, though fully awake now and he smiled lazily at Phichit as his friend passed, waving excitedly as his new Alpha led him away.
As everyone cleared out, The Director came hurrying over to them, grinning broadly in a slightly deranged way. They both moved to a straighter sitting position
"Well that was a surprise!" Her calm cool voice was gone, replaced by excited gasps. "I should inform your families. I'm sure your parents will be delighted!" She said looking at Victor in a way that made Yuri want to smack her.
"Oh and you," she looked down at his name tag and then smiled at him, "Katsuski, were you expecting another Alpha?" She asked, still excited.
He shook his head and then nodded when he realized what she had asked. "Yes." He said softly.
Victor grumbled low again, though this time it didn't sound threatening. Yuri glanced up at him and then back to the Director.
"Okay, well your parents should know too, then. I'll gather them and tell them what's happened. You two go on out with the rest of them!"
At this point Yuri realized that he wasn't even sure what happened. He made a noise to say something but the Director was already on her way out and he exhaled defeated.
"Problem?" Victor's smooth voice came out and wrapped around Yuri's ear drums like caramel and he shivered slightly before adjusting himself so that he could look at the Alpha.
"Well, I was just—I mean, I don't—"He took a breath, "what exactly is she going to tell our parents?"
Victor grinned and the sight made Yuri melt a little.
"She's going to tell them that we found our Mate."
Yuri heard the words a lot faster than he actually understood them. And once he was fully aware of what Victor had said he nodded, though still confused.
"Yes, but that doesn't explain what happened…with J-"He stopped short at the look on Victor's face as he was saying the name.
"It does explain it. Mates with a capitol M." He explained. And suddenly everything clicked.
The growl that Victor had produced had been threatening because another Alpha was near his Omega. Yuri's panic attack was from a sudden cut off of his Alpha's scent and the replacement of the wrong Alpha. The lazy state they had both been in was due to the over indulgence of each other—Mates.
Victor was still grinning as he gently hoisted himself and Yuri up from their sitting position. He linked their fingers together firmly and raised the clasped hands to his lips, pressing them so softly against Yuri's hand that if he hadn't been watching he might not have known it was a kiss. Yuri shivered again and felt his lips spread into a smile.
All of the issues that were about to hit them were far off barely formed thoughts. His intended's feelings and her parent's feelings, long forgotten. Victor's parent's likely unease at their son having such a common Mate, the questions that were bound to bombard them as the first pair in over a century to be confirmed Mates all lost as Yuri stared into Victor's calm, impossibly blue eyes.