Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia

Chapter 2

The Home for Dysfunctional Omegas was about the furthest thing from a home Arthur could imagine. Prison was a more fitting word for it. The corridors were long and dark and narrow, and the alpha often suffered slight claustrophobia walking down them. The place reeked of distressed and depressed omegas, and when Arthur entered he was given a mask that reduced the scent for him. He put it on and allowed the beta staff to search him, as omegas of any age or value needed to be protected, and alphas had to be trusted before they could enter and take their pick of omegas. Alphas could then look into each cell and choose a selection of omegas he wanted to inspect. The chosen omegas would be taken to a viewing room and Arthur would be able to examine them each as closely as he pleased, especially since he was a Kirkland and a very good customer of the Home.

Now, a beta warden escorted Arthur to each cell, and if the alpha was interested, the warden would provide a brief description of their mannerisms and why they were in here, which would sway Arthur's decision. Arthur walked slowly down the dirty corridor, peering into the dimly lit cells. Some omegas whimpered at him, seeing only an alpha with a leather mask on, and it terrified them. Arthur could smell the fear through the mask. Others would moan and approach the bars, catching Arthur's scent and reaching out for him. No doubt they had been without the company of an alpha for years – a hard thing for an omega to cope with. The warden would bang on the bars to make those ones retreat back from the bars, but the moans were very audible. Arthur ignored those who were too scared or too eager, liking the more docile ones.

His eyes fell on a brunette female omega, who was sitting on her bed staring at her lap.

"Why is this one here?" he asked, his voice muffled through the mask.

"Oh, this one'll give you trouble, sir. She can't function like a proper omega. She had a pup once, but refused to take care of it and it died within a week."

Arthur frowned at this, moving on to the next cell. This one was a blonde omega, and Arthur could only tell the omega was male from his scent – he looked rather feminine. The omega was curled up on his bed, and he looked up at Arthur with bright blue eyes, before lowering his gaze respectfully. Arthur liked that.

"This one?" he prompted the warden.

"Sad case, this one. Lost his alpha a year ago and hasn't gotten over it, sir." The warden said briefly, about to move on but Arthur stopped him.

"He was already mated? How did he lose the alpha?" Arthur was staring at the omega, who had curled up a little more.

"Pack of stronger alphas tore him to shreds, sir. I reckon this one saw it, and that's why he's not over it." The warden explained.

Arthur contemplated it a moment. "I want him cleaned up and in the viewing room." He said decisively, before moving onto the next cell. The warden gestured to two beta nurses who unlocked the cell and went inside to make the omega presentable.

The alpha saw every other omega and he had chosen five of them to be cleaned up and viewed properly, before making his way to the viewing room and sitting down in a large, comfortable chair, drumming his fingers on the leather armrest as he waited for the omegas to come in.

The viewing room was large and grand, and it had a little room in the back of it in case the alpha wanted to make a far more personal decision, though of course there were rules, and alphas had to be closely monitored so they could not defile perfectly sellable omegas.

Arthur stood as the omegas filed in, each escorted by a nurse. A few of them were actually rather attractive, and Arthur took off his mask, despite it being against the rules. He liked to experiment with each one, having his own little tests that the omegas needed to pass to meet his criteria. The first was a proximity test. Arthur approached a small omega female, who freaked out and grabbed her nurse in panic. Arthur smirked, making a wave of dismissal and the nurse dragged her out of the room. The others passed the test, though a couple flinched. The blonde one did not move, and Arthur came so close that their chests were almost touching, but the omega just continued to stare at the floor.

Next, the alpha secreted a comforting scent, something he was not allowed to do but the beta staff turned a blind eye. One of omegas let out a whining moan of arousal, and Arthur raised an eyebrow, kind of liking that, but the omega was not the most attractive, and so he dismissed them too. Again, Arthur was particularly testing the blonde one, but when he got close, he noticed that the omega was secreting his own scent in response, one of submission, and he liked that more.

Arthur moved on to a physical examination. He felt the three remaining omega's hips, to determine how wide they were for childbirth. Then their facial features, deciding whether they were attractive enough. Then he leaned in and inhaled each one's scent, personally preferring a sweeter scent. The blonde omega's was the sweetest.

With a mere gesture of his hand, he dismissed the other two omegas, who sobbed and begged but were dragged out of the room, leaving only the blonde omega. Arthur had one last test to perform, and he stood directly in front of the blonde omega, tilting his chin up with his rough thumb and forefinger. He stared at the omega, and the omega stared back with a gleam of fire in his eyes, something rarely seen in omegas. It could sometimes cause trouble to have a defiant omega, but Arthur was already very attracted to this one, so he forgave him it.

"Do you know who I am, pet?" he asked softly but firmly, expecting the omega to know him as he played gently with the omega's soft, shoulder length hair.

"Non, monsieur." The beautiful omega replied, and Arthur hesitated, feeling a jolt of excitement.

He was French. What luck~

Arthur had a discreet preference for accents, and a French one was a pretty one indeed. He smirked, clearly pleased. "Well, you will."

The alpha pulled back, happy in his decision. "I shall send clothes for him tonight. I want him washed, dressed and presentable, and I shall pick him up tomorrow morning."

He signed the necessary paperwork, not bothering to ask the omega's name or whether he wanted to come with him, for it was irrelevant.

The French omega would be the next Number Two, and Arthur was looking forward to inducing this new omega's heat.

XxX

A sleek black car came by to pick up the blonde omega the next morning. He had been bathed and scrubbed until his skin was almost raw, his hair trimmed but not cut short, as the nurses had noticed Arthur seemed to approve of the omega's hair. He was dressed in the clothes Arthur had sent, a pretty embroidered white shirt that was long enough to cover the omega to his mid thighs, and some underwear. Arthur felt no need to provide his omegas with trousers as they spent most of their time in heat or pregnant, so it was a more comfortable alternative. The blonde omega was obedient and got into the car when the beta chauffeur came in to pick him up. He had no belongings – no one in the Home really did – and so the omega sat in the back seat meekly, trying to control his scent, but the fear and anxiety was so prominent, even the chauffeur could sense it.

The Kirkland estate was an hour's drive and when they arrived, the French omega was quickly handed to two nannies who escorted him into the mansion and up the stairs into Number Two's wing, where he was introduced to his chambers and the rules of the house.

"Here you will be referred to as Number Two." Nanny Smith said matter-of-factly, and the blonde omega furrowed his brows slightly.

"My name is Francis." He interrupted softly, and the beta nanny frowned.

"None of that when Mr Kirkland is here. You are Number Two. And you do not interrupt. You speak when you are spoken to." She said sternly, before giving Francis a blanket that was doused in Arthur's scent, and he wrinkled his nose, trying to reject it.

"Oh dear…" Nanny Smith said disapprovingly. "I shall have to tell Mr Kirkland that you are refusing to cooperate." She warned.

Francis hesitated, but after a moment he took the blanket back, obediently putting it around him and as much as he tried to deny it, it was very comforting.

"There, good pet." The nanny praised. "Now then, here is your bedroom, and your lounge. This will be the nursery for any alphas you have. This is your heat room – you must notify one of us if you feel you are going into heat. If you are out of sync we shall expose you to heat-inducing pheromones to get you back on track."

She said all this so matter-of-factly, but Francis' anxiety spiked and it came through in his scent, and he instinctively pulled the blanket around him more.

The nanny paused. "Oh, don't worry, Mr Kirkland is a very good alpha mate to have, so long as you do what is expected of you. Sty on his good side and you will have a happy life here."

Francis hated this already. It was as much a prison as the Home for Dysfunctional Omegas, and his heart ached as he longed for his late alpha mate, Antonio. Toni had been so sweet and gentle with him, and he had fallen in love with the adorable alpha. He knew Arthur would not be anything like Antonio, and his heart twisted in agony as he realised he would be forced to move on from his true love.

Nanny Smith continued to go through all the rules, but Francis' wasn't listening. Instead he sat on the bed, huddled in the scent blanket and he closed his eyes, inhaling the scent to calm him. The bed sheets and the cushions were also scent items, and Francis lied down on the bed, curling up and allowing himself to be immersed in the comforting scent.

"Aww, see? You are a good little omega, aren't you?" the nanny praised in a patronising tone, smiling in approval. "Mr Kirkland will be home in a few hours, and he shall like to see how you are settling in." she said softly.

Francis was still nervous about properly meeting Arthur, without the safety of the staff at the Home, but he kept his eyes closed, feeling sleep take him as the nannies left the room, locking the door behind them.

XxX

Arthur arrived home punctually, as he always did, and Nanny Smith, who had briefed Francis earlier, sought him out immediately.

"How is Number Two settling in?" the English alpha asked directly, his attention on the beta nanny.

"Well, sir, he has been resting. But when he arrived he seemed a tad…unwilling." She said gently.

Arthur furrowed his large brows slightly. "What do you mean?"

Nanny Smith sighed a little. "He wanted to be called by his name, instead of Number Two…and he interrupted me. But once I gave him your scent blanket he seemed to calm down. I believe he is just irritable because he has been without an alpha so long, sir."

"I see…Thank you, Nanny Smith." Arthur dismissed her, going upstairs to Number Two's wing and knocking on the door to his chambers.

"Number Two, may I come in?" he asked politely, but received no response. Not a good start.

Arthur unlocked the door and went inside, to see Francis sat on his bed, in the white shirt Arthur had provided, but looking him straight in the eye instead of averting his gaze.

The alpha furrowed his brows slightly, but forgave the French omega since he was so attractive. "It is customary to respond if someone asks you a question, Number Two."

"My name is Francis." Came the omega's accented reply, and he stared up at Arthur bravely.

"I'm sure Nanny Smith has told you that here you shall be known as 'Number Two'. You are my property, and I shall decide everything to do with you. Do you understand?"

"Why 'Number Two'?" Francis asked curiously, and in Arthur's eyes, defiantly. "There is more than one?"

Arthur sighed in irritation. "I have four omegas in total. You each have your own chambers and do not meet. I am your only alpha mate but you are not my only omega mate." He explained impatiently.

Francis wrinkled his nose. "That is not fair."

"I beg your pardon?" Arthur growled, getting rather wound up by the sheer audacity of this omega.

"For you to have so many omega mates, and for me to be locked in these rooms for the rest of my life." Francis elaborated, either not sensing Arthur's temper or not afraid of it.

Arthur's scent changed to one of intimidation and aggression, trying to force Francis into submission. "How dare you question me? I am the head of this household and you shall do as I say!" he growled, raising his voice.

Francis instinctively bowed his head, afraid of the alpha, and there was a faint submission scent coming from him, but it wasn't enough to please Arthur.

The alpha came over to him and leaned into his personal space, staring hard at him with eyes of fire. "You shall do as I say." He repeated, his face inches from Francis'.

The omega trembled, the submission scent becoming a lot stronger and he lowered his gaze. "O-Oui, monsieur." He whimpered, afraid of the aggressive scent that was filling the room.

As soon as Francis submitted, Arthur's scent grew more comforting, and his expression softened. "Good, pet. You shall learn how to behave very quickly in my house, I can promise you that."

Francis only nodded, instinctively pulling Arthur's scent blanket around him more – a sight that pleased Arthur greatly.

Convinced that Francis had learned his lesson, Arthur kissed the omega's forehead gently. "Now I shall send some dinner up for you, and then you get a good night's sleep. I shall visit you tomorrow."

Francis nodded again and laid back down on the bed, his trembling lessening a little as Arthur went to the door. The alpha paused before he opened the door.

"Goodnight, Number Two."

There was a moment of hesitation, before Francis replied faintly. "Goodnight, monsieur."

Arthur smiled at this, pleased with the response. He left Francis in peace, locking the door behind him and really hoping Francis would be in heat soon.

Francis closed his eyes, letting sleep take him once more, but with sleep came the nightmares.

A/N: So chapter two! Francis has a new home, or is it more of a prison?

Do you think Francis is going to submit to Arthur, or do you think there will be trouble ahead?

Please review and let me know!

Love you all x