Crowley didn't know what day it was, Monday, Wednesday, Saturday... it didn't matter, because every day was the same. Get up, get ready, have breakfast, pretend interest in what the omega next to you is saying, pretend you know their name and distinguish them from the other omega on your other side, no need to memorize names, they will soon be gone.

But not you.

You will stay here. Because no alpha wants you, at least not enough to stay with you for more than three days.

Not that he cared, after a while, Anthony learned that he wanted nothing to do with an alpha. He could say that he had experience with alphas, and they weren't good. He could say that he had a splendid, but rare night of sleep only if he did not wake up in the middle of the night sweaty, shivering, looking around for the monster that was the protagonist of his nightmares, the monster could have a different face, voice, name, but the monster was always an alpha.

But,oh, he would keep his mouth shut when he listened to other omegas, younger and stupider, fantasize about the day an alpha would wander through the shelter and choose them to be their mate in some kind of love at first sight. As if it was romantic.

Crowley's gut would twist in disgust at hearing such nonsense. There's nothing romantic about omegas shelters. And there is nothing romantic about alphas, each and every one of them were brutal beings, who would get what they wanted when they wanted it, even when the omega or beta did not. But he couldn't bring himself to shatter their little delusional bubble and he couldn't blame them. How? If most of them didn't know the world outside the four walls of the shelter and the betas who worked there?

Shelters were supposed to be a help, a salvation, a relief for omegas without families. They offered a roof, a bed, food and, they acted as a registry so that alphas could find a good omega and they even accepted refunds! Refunds that were recorded in the documents of each omega, and a lot of alphas, disliked omegas who were already touched.

And Crowley had already been touched and refunded many times.

And for that, you are disgusting.

Anthony sat down and stared at the plate in front of him. A loaf of bread and a half boiled potato were served. His lower lip trembled as he took the spoon, he halved the potato, anticipating a bite, then he lowered the spoon into place and continued to stare at the plate, while the rest of the omegas devoured what little was offered.

"Starving to dead won't bring him back, 'Tony"

He looked up and grimaced at the beta who was speaking to him. None of the betas in the shelter were conspicuous by his kindness.

"Not your problem"

"I'm sure he would hate to see you waste your food. Besides, what do you hope to get out of this? It's not like your tantrum accomplishes anything."

Crowley didn't waste energy arguing with some stupid beta, he was tired of explaining that this wasn't a tantrum or some kind of insurrection, he just lost his appetite some time ago. Sometimes the appetite would return and he would devour what he found. Sometimes at inappropriate times, such as shortly after waking up in the middle of the night after a nightmare. Luckily, he was smart enough to break into the kitchen.

"Whatever, leave him if he doesn't want to. If you're not going to eat, can I eat it? "The omega next to Crowley spoke. He had already finished his meal several minutes ago, and had spent the rest of the minutes looking openly at Crowley's untouched food.

The beta supervisor considered the question. It was not Crowley's decision to give away his food.

"Yes, go ahead"

As the other omega hurried to grab the plate, Anthony started to get up to leave the dining room.

"And where do you think you're going?" Asked the supervisor.

"My bed? Where the hell could I go?"

Maybe, if he was lucky enough, he was going to have a decent dream.

"No, no, no, today you are not going to waste your day with your pathetic sad nap ... In fact ..." The beta looked up to look at everyone "None of you will waste the day. I want you all clean , arranged , looking good. Today's a important day"

The general director of the shelter then walked in, she always had that iron stare, cold and straight shoulders. Her hair neatly arranged from hers, tied in a bun with not a single hair out of place. She might be an alpha, in that monstrous, indifferent, brutal way Crowley knew alphas fit ... but she was living proof that a good handful of betas could be as cruel as any alpha.

"An important day, certainly" she agreed, "an alpha will come and could be an investor, he has ties to politicians, so we have to measure up"

"He could feel generous today, if we appeal to the good side of him" added their supervisor.

"Do you want charity or an investment? Make up your mind" Crowley replied sarcastically and some of the other omegas even laughed.

The director's eyes fell on him. He was already familiar with her expression, those same eyes that showed anger when they found some reason to complain about Crowley, relief when she saw him leave, frustration when she saw him return again and again. This time, her gaze was a silent command to shut up.

And he did. And he leave to the bedrooms to get 'ready', while she continued talking.

He rolled his eyes as he searched for his bags under the bed, wondering whether to obey and put on something more presentable or just ignore it all. Downstairs, the director went on and on talking. Why make a whole speech on the subject? Why not be direct? 'Hey, we need you to look good and happy so we can look good to the aristocracy'?

Suddenly, Crowley decided that he had no energy to argue that day, he had no energy to be a rebel, as they used to call him for as long as he could remember. But, he couldn't remember the last time he had energy either ... Or maybe he did, but he preferred to pretend that he didn't remember. With a deep sigh, Crowley unfolded his best clothes and headed to the bathroom.

He had spent several minutes looking at his reflection in the mirror, lost in his thoughts, wondering when he stopped appreciating his own body. There was a time, where anyone who knew Anthony J. Crowley could tell that he was, indeed, the most self-confident omega they had ever met. And Crowley was proud of that. He thought that his hair had a beautiful reddish color, that his eyes, under a certain light, were almost a golden hue and that was gorgeous, that he had a good figure, tall, slender but not weak at all. He honestly believed that he was handsome and good-looking, and more.

But not anymore. Now, he couldn't say that he liked whatever it was that was looking at him from the other side of the mirror, even if it had the same eyes that he cherished before.

He slowly ran his fingers over a barely visible mark on his rib. The dark bruise was almost completely gone, but not the memory of how he got it. The last alpha who took his interest in him, like the others, was not only impatient, but brutal. Crowley was having a panic attack while the alpha's only concern was pulling down his pants as quickly as possible. Barely aware of his surroundings, Anthony tried his best to avoid the inevitable, which ended badly enough.

Two days later he was once more at the shelter, with the beta workers making a terrible effort to hide their pity and frustration from him.

He started to dress, noting that the most elegant clothes he had now didn't fit as well as before, making him look rather pathetic, the downsides of his erratic appetite, he thought. Still, he tried to smile at the mirror, a slight smile, he tried, he tried so hard to smile to himself, but the mirror was not kind enough to hide the deep sadness in his eyes, the ache for someone that wasn't coming back.

As was often the case when alphas were searching for a possible omega, they were all gathered in the main hall. Only, this time, they had taken the trouble to bring several chairs, and a couple of tables with water and some snacks to pass the time. They had even cleaned and put up some colorful rugs and curtains. It almost felt like a party, omegas talking here and there, smiling, telling jokes, eager to look good. It was a happy image ... and empty.

From a corner, Anthony watched them all, most of them passing by him. There was a time where he was popular, nice, invited to chat ... until Crowley opened his eyes to the world he lived in and everything about him took on a dark and cynical tone. Almost like seeing everything through dark glasses. After that, other people stopped taking interest in him, and he in them.

Although, to be honest, he had lost interest in many things, not only people. He could only think of one thing that still really held his interest, and he didn't know how to deal with it, except that first, he had to get out of this place. And his only ticket out was an alpha, but every time an alpha visited the place, he couldn't help it but cringing away from them.

Not only that, but with his track record and terrible attitude, there weren't too many alphas interested in him.

He blinked and cocked his head as he heard voices from across the room. Here it comes.

As soon as they entered the room, Crowley wanted to laugh at the disappointment on the faces of some of the omegas, especially the younger ones. The visitor was not what Anthony would call the great, powerful, handsome alpha. In fact, he was rather fat.

But like any alpha, he kept a proud smile, chin high and chest out. And, from his clothes and his small entourage of assistants, Crowley could tell that he was upper-class. Which was strange, to say the least. High-class alphas did not usually waste their time with omegas whose family was nonexistent and therefore did not have assets or any kind of social bond.

"As you can see, sir, our facilities are excellent when it comes to the care of homeless omegas and our registry very well kept. Each omega is carefully guarded and its files kept and edited with every piece of information necessary for any legal act or just to satisfy the simple curiosity of their future alphas"

Crowley muttered some unkind words at the director's voice.

"I see ..." replied the alpha, apparently not buying such a lot of bullshit either. His gaze was almost rapacious, taking note of each and every omegas in the room. "And do you teach them the required manners?"

"Of course" The director offered a tight smile and turned to the group of omegas "Omegas, line up. Now"

Crowley left his favorite corner corner to obey what seemed to him a very shameful order. But, at the same time he felt a bit lucky, he had heard of shelters where omegas are stripped of their clothes during visits like these, which was, far worse and shameful, of course. And this shelter took pride on being very 'omegan-friendly' and ethical.

His gaze was fixed on the ground, but he could feel the alpha and his little group approaching him. His heart starting to race, his stomach starting to twist, his entire body begging him to back off away from them. Other omegas wrinkled their noses and shot him a look or two. 'Don't make us look bad, control your pheromones, what's wrong with you'

He could hear them talking, but at this point he was no longer paying attention. And then ... they continued on. Crowley let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and glanced at the group. None of his fellow omegas seemed very excited about leaving with this alpha, but sometimes it wasn't about wanting a mate, sometimes it was just the desire to leave and escape the monotony of this damn dump.

"So what do you think?" The alpha asked his assistant. Once again a rarity, alphas did not often ask for opinions of those below their level.

The young assistant was an alpha too, but a far less confident one. She shrugged and again looked at the group of omegas "Doesn't matter, right? I mean, you could choose the one you like the most and that's it"

The alpha laughed and grinned viciously "To be honest, none of them catch my eye. Nor the place"

Crowley almost smiled at the disappointed look in the director's eyes. If she wasn't a beta, he was sure she would fill the air with the scent of her wounded pride.

The Alpha glanced quickly at the group again and moved his staff in such a vague direction that Crowley couldn't really make out. "How about that one?"

The girl raised an eyebrow, and she shrugged again.

"I don't know, sir. A little too nervous for his purpose."

But alpha smiled, maybe that's why he asked for opinions, to just ignore them "You, redhead in black, come here" and Crowley could feel how the room seemed to move around him.
He tried to put his thoughts in order, calm down, getting out of here is what you need to achieve everything you want, calm down, calm down, calm down, calm down.

"Didn't you hear me? You, the one looking at the floor, I'm talking to you. Come here"

His fellow omegas looked at him expectantly, wondering if he would refuse a direct order from an alpha. But eventually, Anthony managed to take a step, and after that it was easier to take another and another, even though his senses warned him not to approach the alpha.

His stupid nerves were consuming him, but Crowley still had some pride inside him, so he faced the alpha with his chin held high and nothing on his face that could reveal his anxiety.

The alpha looked him up and down, as did his two assistants. The girl he had asked for her opinion even cocked her head, questioning the choice of his boss. The scent of the alpha was sour and strong, like tangerines. Crowley hated tangerines, hated them since just a few seconds, but he hated them with all his soul.

"Your name?"

"Anthony J. Crowley"

The alpha showed a strange smile that made his skin crawl, at this distance, Crowley noticed that the alpha had two gold teeth, and somehow that made him even more uncomfortable.

"Okay, Anthony, let's find your file and sign papers. Congratulations" The alpha replied and immediately turned his back on him. He nodded to the director and without further ado, started walking down the hall toward the office, followed by their assistants and the director, while the other omegas and the supervisors headed of to their usual activities. The party was over and Crowley didn't felt like the birthday boy at all.

Crowley stared at a corner of the office while who was apparently his new alpha sat impatiently tapping the desk as the director arranged Crowley's documents. Once done with it, she handed the folder to the alpha.

Anthony then turned his attention to the alpha's expression while reading the document, half hoping he would be disappointed and would want to cancel. The alpha raised an eyebrow ... but then he laughed sarcastically as his assistants frowned. "Wow, well experienced? This is going to be ... entertaining, hmm?" and he extended the document to his assistants.

"This drops a bit ... the quality, don't you think?" said the assistant that until now, had not spoken.

"I'm right here, you know" Crowley spat, not at all hiding his anger "I'm not a second-hand object"
Nerves had an interesting effect on Crowley, keeping quiet was a bigger effort than talking, the problem is that no alpha liked what Crowley usually said.
"And if you're going to keep thinking like that, keep it to yourself"

The three alphas looked up, the two assistants surprised, perhaps somewhat indignant, but their boss began to laugh, apparently happy

"Oh yes, it will be entertaining"

The director blinked, feeling a bit confused, she cleared her throat and handed out one last piece of paper as well as pen and ink.

"Your signature here"

Crowley took a look at the document, he had gone through this process several times and, what caught his attention the most, was that the alpha had left several parts blank. He only signed once. And he had a nearly illegible handwriting,too.

"Thank you, we hope the service is satisfactory" said the beta and then looked at Anthony "Go get your things"
And gave him a look. He could read it pretty easily, 'don't come back this time'.

Crowley looked at his bed and the room around him, wondering if this would be the last time he would see the place. Almost any omega who left the refuge was sure they would not return, but he was not just any omega. And, really, Crowley wasn't sure if he wanted to go back or not, he could only pray that he wouldn't miss the shelter

As he came down the stairs with his two bags in each hand, a pair of omegas waved their hands towards him. He offered no more than a nod and continued on his way.

On the way out, his supervisor smiled vaguely at him. "Good luck ... and, try to eat more, 'Tony"

"Thanks"

One of the alpha's assistants took Crowley's bags and loaded them into the carriage. He looked at the carriage and the horses, even the pair of horses looked fine and expensive. They were both dark as ebony, muscular and big. One of them seemed to react to Crowley's closeness and shook his head

He wasn't very popular with animals, either. He backed away and finally got into the carriage. A minute later, he was joined by his new alpha and one of his assistants. Out of curiosity, he looked out the window, wondering where the other one was.

"He has other things to do in the city" explained the alpha, who would not stop smiling.

"Ah"

Then the carriage started up and began to move through the streets of the intricate city. Crowley couldn't take his eyes off the window, it was a rare moment, even though he has been out more than his fellow omegas, this still felt like an exotic sight. Besides,it was the only thing keeping him distracted enough and not to freak out being so close to two alphas who were definitely not nice.

"I can see that you are enjoying the ride, I hope you are grateful, rides like this will not be ... common from now on" commented the alpha.

Another omega could have said that he was indeed grateful, or he could have simply nodded ... Crowley was silent and looked at the alpha with disdain.

"By the way, Sandalphon, that's my name. Sir Sandalphon. You better not forget it."

"Hmmhmm"

Not only the alpha was weird, his name was very weird too. He clicked his tongue and turned his full attention back to the outside world as Sandalphon occupied his mind flipping through Crowley's papers.

"Kinda funny, don't you think?" He was talking to his assistant "They come with papers and everything, almost like instructions…no, not instructions... pedigree,yes, pedigree. I feel like I just bought a dog."

"Maybe you should have just bought a dog. You know, he likes them, like…a lot"

"Maybe he fucks his dogs"

Sandalphon laughed viciously, and Crowley instinctively leaned back as best he could in his seat.

He cleared his throat.

"Wha-"

Sandalphon let out a scandalous, incredulous noise. He turned to his assistant. "Can you believe it? They said they taught them manners!"

They had been taught manners, keep quiet, don't raise your voice, keep your gaze down, do what the alpha asks without question.

Be obedient.

The rules were always present in his mind, all the time. Crowley simply decided to fight the feeling and ignore them.

The girl shrugged "I told you it was a low class shelter"

"When talking to me, if you wanna say something or got a question, you must ask for permission" Sandalphon chided, "understood?"

"Yes"

But that didn't seem to satisfy the alpha, who frowned. "Yes sir"

"Yes…sir"

"Good…Your question?"

"What day is today?"

The question left the alpha a bit stunned, he expected any other question, probably something about their conversation, but he wasn't expecting that.

"Thursday"

"Right"

Crowley decided: by Saturday he would already be back at the shelter, unpacking his belongings, he only knew him for an hour, but he couldn't stand Sandalphon, much less let him touch him.

That was what he thought, how he was going to be back as soon as possible, while the landscape outside was changing, they were leaving the city, deeper into the countryside, with hills and pastures. The path was no longer paved with stone. He allowed himself to lose himself in fantasies, what would it be like to walk through grasslands without any fear or concern? It was a happy illusion, the alpha's words were nothing more than an annoying noise in the distance.

And then it became visible, they were reaching the grounds that appeared to be a manor. The abrupt interruption in the landscape snapped him out of his trance. He looked up and turned to Sandalphon, who still had that smirk of superiority.

"So what? Do you like it?"

Crowley didn't reply,the house looked nice, cozy even, he felt especially drawn to the gardens, he wanted to get his hands on the rose bushes that adorned all the way to the manor, but he wasn't going to show it.

But apparently, he did show it.

"Ha, you should see mine, then. Much better and closer to town."

He was confused, if this was not his house, why they even came?

The carriage stopped and Crowley did not hesitate to get out immediately. He inhaled deeply the fresh air, the scent of the flowers, the well-tended plants. It was new, it was new and overwhelming. Much better than tangerines.

Sandalphon and his assistant went down a bit more slowly, but immediately they went to the doors, there was nothing to admire in the garden.

"Hurry up, omega" Sandalphon hit the floor with his cane "you will have time to smell the roses" then he smirked "well, if they let you out"

With an insult that did not reach beyond his lips, Crowley obeyed. From what he could gather, he was not going to live with Sandalphon, which was a relief and at the same time terrifying. They were going to leave him in some empty dungeon and only let him out when Sandalphon wanted? That wasn't unimaginable, honestly.

They were greeted by a beta lady who seemed to be in her golden years, she had an affable smile and short,wavy light ginger hair. She welcomed them and offered to take their hats and jackets.

Sandalphon refused, he did not intend to stay too long "Bring your master, quickly. I have something to deliver to him" he explained and with a gesture pointed to Crowley.

So that was it. A gift. A second-hand one.

The lady blinked, evidently impressed and perhaps concerned. It took her a moment to recover, but then she shook her head slowly.

"Oh, I'm very sorry you went through all this trouble, but the master is on a business trip."

"Ur ... what" scoffed, incredulous.

Sandalphon looked around "Are you serious?" He glanced at his assistant, then at the lady "... And what time does he come back?"

"I'm sorry, but there's no way to be sure. It could be in a few minutes or in the evening." He offered a helpful smile. "Can I offer you some tea or a snack while you wait?"

The alpha rolled his eyes and snorted. Crowley didn't miss the assistant's small mocking smile.

"No, we don't have time. Just give him this when he comes back" and gave her the omega's papers "And ,obviously, tell him that I hope to talk to him soon" he turned to Crowley "you stay here, don't follow me" he added, as if talking to a child or a dog.

And, just like that, they were leaving the mansion, without a goodbye or a glance. Nothing.

Crowley found himself standing in awkward silence as the lady looked just as confused as he. He just kept his gaze on the ground.

"Can I get you something? Do you want water? Food?" she cocked his head, speaking with a kindness Crowley hadn't known in ... in a long time.

"No, thank you. I do not want anything"

"Oh"

Silence again.

"And what's your name?"

"Anthony Crowley"

The beta smiled genuinely "What a nice name. I'm Tracy, you can call me Madame Tracy if you want" when Crowley didn't offer an answer, she continued speaking "I hope we get along. Unfortunately, I have a lot of thigs to do and I can't stay with you for the rest of the afternoon. "

Once again, he didn't reply. He didn't know what to answer.

Madame Tracy looked at the papers in her hand and frowned, but whatever it bothered her, she didn't let Crowley know what it was. Maybe she felt disgusted with an omega like Crowley. But she immediately smiled again.

"I don't know whether to take you to a bedroom. But, guess you could stay in one of the drawing rooms for a while,yes? Follow me"

Madame Tracy led a silent Crowley down a long hallway in the left wing, and opened the doors for him to a large room with a table in the middle that sported a beautiful vase of violet flowers. There were several fine pieces of furniture and a couple of paintings. The curtains and the rug were violet, just like the flowers, too. The most striking thing was the large window that let light into the entire room. Really beautiful.

He inched forward and sat on the couch that was right in front of the window.

"You sure you don't want anything darling?"

Crowley smiled bitterly when he heard the nickname "I'm sure"

She nodded and withdrew, closing the door delicately.

At last, all alone in a long time Crowley let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Even being bathed in the rays of the sun, he felt himself trembling, he longed for solitude since a long,long time ago, but now that he had it, he felt extremely nervous.

He pulled his legs up onto the couch and pulled them close to his chest, curling himself up desperately, suppressing a faint sob, hoping that maybe, just maybe, whoever owns the house would never come.