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A few thoughts on my collection of perfume samples (here's the more thorough breakdown), a few months in:
Velvetvelo's "Sound of the Sun" remains my favorite, by far. It's incredibly addictive, just catching a whiff of it on my clothes makes me smile. You'd think the monoi would be too sweet but there's surprisingly sour notes in there that balance it out and turn it interesting. At the same time, definitely a summer scent. I'd go full bottle if I was willing to spend that much money.
The two Fishersund ("Útilykt" and "N°8") were very pleasant. Fresh and complex, the kind you sniff again and again with intrigue. At the same time, not very "me", but definitely works of art.
État Libre d'Orange's "Sous le pont Mirabeau" was an unexpected favorite. The peppery notes turn creamy after a while, and it's a fresh, nuanced, lovely scent all around. "Nostos", on the other hand, was terrible. I knew ELdO was a polarizing, sometimes experimental brand so 1 in 2 hits is a good average i'd argue.
i've done a turnaround on Kerosene's "Blackmail", which is one of the more wearable scents of my little collection. It opens very sweet and vanilla, but there's delightful dark notes of smoke mixed in there which make it more complex and interesting. Enticing scent. On the other hand, I still get nothing out of "Winter of 99" - it smells like a bag of spice with nothing in there that screams "perfume" at me. Weird one.
Last but not least, the three Criminal Elements samples ("Wicked Mistress", "Sylphide" and "Tobacco Jam"). Despite their different scent profiles, they have similarities - bombastic, stark contrasts, and a sort of old-fashioned-ness that is hard to describe. Lean towards cloying, also. I'd argue that even without knowing the brand, you could be able to pick out that they stem from the same creator. The only one to my taste is the atomic blast known as "Sylphide", which i'd wear cautiously and outdoors I think.
All in all: very pleased with my little experiment with niche perfume brands. I think my nose got a bit much needed education, even if almost half of the samples I chose weren't to my taste. However, those samples cast my one full-bottle perfume (Chanel's "Chance - Eau Tendre", shh it was a gift) in a less favourable light - in comparison to all those extravagant scent profiles, "Chance" seems quite unintrusive and demure. I still love it, but am also looking at more thrilling alternatives.
It took three days and a lot of attention from Loren, Josh, and Davis for Carlyn to get over his time with Johann. He was insatiable during those three days, and miserable because of it. Carlyn hated being demanding, it made him feel like his mother's son, but his body was roaring, furious he'd let Johann go with fucking him senseless. His words to Johann came echoing back at him.
It's like there's this disconnect in their heads between what they know they want, and what they’ll allow an alpha to do, he'd told Johann, mystified.
But now it was his own body betraying him, demanding things from him that he didn't want to act on.
Betas are the only sensible people, Johann had said, and Carlyn wondered if it wasn't right.
Yet, his harem seemed content to baby him, bring him cold water and hot meat when he felt like drinking or eating, and otherwise taking turns letting him ravish them, sometimes two at a time to keep his mouth busy, until he was too tired to move and fell asleep, once while still inside one of them.
Carlyn did what little work he could manage from home, overseeing details of The Fangs operation, and receiving his sub-bosses in his bedroom.
On the third day at home, Lyric, curious to know what happened with the robbery at the compound, arrived at the house. Carlyn received her in his bedroom with all of his harem, still naked from sleeping. Lyric assumed what she wanted about what had happened with Johann, and Carlyn let her assumptions stand uncorrected. In any case, she was delighted.
“Finally acting like an alpha, little brother,” Lyric said. “I’m proud of you.”
Carlyn took her compliment with a smile-like wince and wondered if she considered at all what Johann had or hadn't consented to. Lyric stayed for a few hours, had dinner, and looked over the cleanup details of the compound before leaving. Alone with his harem, Carlyn was ready to settle in for the evening. He was dead tired.
Then the doorbell rang. Since Josh, Loren, and Davis were all curled up watching a movie, and Carlyn was up, heading for the stairs anyway, he told them not to get up and went for the door himself. He figured it was his mother or other siblings, the only people in his life who showed up unannounced to his house. But when he opened the door, he didn’t find family on the other side; he found Johann.
He wasn’t dressed in military style fatigues. He wore jeans and a t-shirt with sneakers. His dirty blond hair was loose and fell nearly to his shoulders. Carlyn hadn’t noticed it was so long or even that it had been pulled back.It made him wonder what else he failed to notice when the smell of an omega was in the air.
Johann was frowning, but he looked so good. He smelled clean, and his pheromones were low and unnoticeable.
“Johann?”
“Can I come in?” Johann asked.
“Sure.”
They walked inside. And once the door was shut and locked, Carlyn led Johann into the kitchen where they could talk.
“Glad I got dressed for dinner,” Carlyn muttered.
“Lounging naked?” Johann said. “Alphas love to show off, don’t they?”
“It’s more of a comfort thing, really. Can I get you something to drink? Ice water? Juice?”
“You’re not going to offer me wine like a fucking grown up?”
Carlyn shifted in place. “I didn’t think you’d want me to offer you alcohol.”
“Let’s not play stupid games, Carlyn,” Johann sighed. “If you’d wanted to have your way with me, you could have had it. I’m not an idiot.”
Carlyn said nothing but turned and took down two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine. After pouring, he handed a glass to Johann, who drained half of it at once before licking his lips.
“That’s good.”
“Glad you like it,” Carlyn muttered, then sipped his own wine.
“The Legion wants to know what you're offering.”
“Anything you would steal, I’ll give to you.”
“And they want to know what you get out of this. Something-something instinct, isn’t an answer.”
Laughing, Carlyn swished his wine. What was he expecting to get out of this? What did he want?
“I want to know about The Lucretian Legion,” he said honestly. “I want to know what you’re up to, what your goals are, and if they interfere with The Fangs’ goals.”
“They don’t.”
“I’d believe you if you hadn’t blown a hole in one of our walls.”
“Right.” Johann muttered. “Stay here a minute.” He finished his glass and turned and walked out of the kitchen. “Hey guys,” Carlyn heard him say as passed through the living room.
Carlyn waited. In the distance, he heard the front door open and close. He sipped his glass, wondering what Johann was doing, wondering if this was the last time he’d ever see him. After a few minutes the front door opened again, then closed. Carlyn didn’t speak to Josh, Davis and Loren on his way back to the kitchen. He came in and crossed his arms over his chest.
“The Legion accepts.”
“I see.”
“There’s a condition.”
“Which is?”
Johann looked at him, and that unmistakable look of rage crossed his features for a moment. “I’ll be staying to monitor you for the length of this agreement. This… pretend bond is what we’ll go with. I’ll be your only link to The Legion. You get no other members, no locations, no nothing. You talk to them through me, or not at all. Deal?”
Carlyn kept his face neutral as that same voice inside his head from before roared in approval. “Deal,” he said. He never had to hear an omega say yes twice.
#
Johann’s apartment in the heart of downtown was a small, unassuming studio, perfect for a single omega all on his own. While Johann packed with the help of Josh and Davis, Loren took a long slow walk around the place, her tiny notebook and favorite pen in hand scribbling notes and making little drawings. Carlyn stood in the middle of the apartment, not touching anything, as he’d been instructed to do as they came up the stairs and trying to stay out of everyone’s way.
Carlyn would admit that he hadn’t been expecting such a cheerful place to be Johann’s home. The kitchen was bright and clean, with simple, practical dishware and organized almost Spartan cabinets with no doors on them. The bed area was tidy and under filled, with a dresser next to the closet, a mirror tucked behind a folding screen and a bed partially hidden behind a tucked curtain hanging from rollers on the ceiling. In the living area was a dining table and a few chairs behind a small sofa, both set in front of a TV. Off to the side was a set of weights, a mat, a punching bag, and a pull-up bar stand. Between the little gym and the TV, there was a bookcase filled with DVDs and tabletop games.
What the apartment did not look like the lair of a member of a radical paramilitary vigilante group. The Lucretian Legion’s coat of arms, which Johann had described as an omega symbol above two crossed swords and haloed by a laurel wreath, couldn’t be found anywhere.
When he thought about it, Carlyn supposed it made sense. Nothing connecting him to The Fangs was on display in his eight-hundred-thousand dollar, 5-bedroom manor house, because he had guests over and threw parties and that would just be stupid. Still, somehow Carlyn had expected Johann to be less subtle than he was.
“I like your place,” Carlyn called across the apartment.
“It is darling,” Loren said. “Take as much as you want. Our home is your home.”
“I like it too,” Johann muttered. “I don’t think I’ll be taking much, though. It’s not like I’ll be inviting anyone over.”
“Won’t that be suspicious?” Davis asked.
Carlyn winced as he watched Johann turn his full attention on Davis. The two omegas watched each other for a second, before Davis gave a cheeky smile and Johann sighed.
“I’ll take the games and the DVDs. There’s no point and leaving anything I like in an empty apartment anyway, I guess.”
“Sensible,” Davis agreed and went back to packing.
Deciding his input would only make Johann angry, Carlyn turned his back to the bed and wandered over to the bookshelf. He wasn’t going to touch anything. He just wanted to see what sort of interests Johann had.
“Are you going to pack that stuff?” Johann asked.
“You told me not to touch anything, so I was going to do that.”
Johann sighed. “You can pack my bookcase.”
“Alright.”
“I’ll pack the kitchen,” Loren called. “I want to unpack it as well, so I know where everything is.”
Davis, Josh, and Johann packed the bedroom and kitchen. Loren packed the kitchen. Carlyn packed the living area. The bigger items that were being brought to Carlyn’s house or to storage, they hired movers to carry. The movers were three alphas. It had been three days since their stay together, and Johann had taken several doses of Loren’s alpha repelling tonic, but he still smelled enough like Carlyn for the movers to tell what was going on -or supposed to be going- from context. Though they thankfully said nothing, they directed their questions to Carlyn, not to any of the omegas. Normally, Carlyn was fine answering for his harem. He'd never even noticed himself doing it before. However, Johann’s gaze burned into the back of his head and he knew how Johann felt about the situation.
“Ask Johann,” he kept saying.
The movers would ask Johann the question, get their answer, and ask Carlyn the next question, starting the cycle all over again. By the time they were home and seeing the movers off, Carlyn was exhausted.
He fell face-up on the sofa and closed his eyes, happy to be home. Before they’d moved Johann’s things, he’d already set up automatic payment to Johann’s account to pay for his apartment, bills, and storage lot while he was staying with him. Loren was adding Johann’s things to the kitchen, and Josh, Davis and Johann were putting away Johann’s belongings in the spare bedroom. Carlyn was just about to drift off into a nap, done for the day, when someone sat down on the sofa by his hip. He opened his eyes to find Johann sitting stiff-backed on the sofa, staring straight ahead.
“Johann?” Carlyn muttered.
“Davis told me…" Johann hesitated for a moment before going on. "He thought I should come sit with you. Josh wants to get my room ready for me as a gift and wanted me out of the way anyhow, so… You’re not fucking me! Ever!”
“We agreed to that,” Carlyn reminded Johann.
“But that means… I have to sleep in the bed with you. So I smell like you.”
The thought had actually occurred to Carlyn, but Johann was right, just living in the same house, especially one as big as his, wouldn’t be enough. They would have to sleep in the same bed some more.
“How often do I have to sleep in your bed?” Johann snapped.
“Um… a few nights a week. Maybe every other night.”
“Fine. We’ll start tonight.”
“I’m pretty beat. I was going to go to bed soon.”
“Fine.”
They said goodnight to Loren, who gave them each a kiss -Carlyn on the mouth, Johann on the forehead- then walked up the stairs together. Carlyn took a detour to Johann’s room to get his pajamas, which were shoved at him through a crack in the door, then went to his own room.
In Carlyn's bedroom, they changed together, because while they didn’t like each other, they weren’t going to act like feuding children. Carlyn considered stealing a glance at Johann, but decided against it. He didn't want to start a fight right before their first night together. Instead, he not only turned his back, but closed his eyes as well.
The smell of Johann's skin was a musky, leathery smell, like the punching bag they'd moved into the fitness room. Johann smelled faintly of sweat, as if he'd just been working out. Carlyn now noticed he always smelled like that. It differed from the members of his harem.
Loren smelled of heat and whatever she had last cooked. Josh's favorite products, cologne, shampoo, lotion, etc., hung off him in a soothing, sweet cloud like cotton candy. Davis smelled like a science lab: unsettling, sterile, of antibacterial soap and rubber gloves. Carlyn had been told by other alphas that the smell was a turn off, but for Carlyn it was Davis's smell and he loved it. It made doctor's office visits a little more stressful for him as he struggled to keep his mind off things more intimate than check-ups.
But all his harem seemed so tame compared to Johann. They smelled urbane and domesticated. Johann's scent was wild, angry, like a lightning storm to Carlyn's senses. It made the voice in Carlyn's head roar and claw.
Johann got into the bed first, climbing into the same side he’d been kept on before and making himself comfortable with aggressive movements. When he was deep under the blankets, Carlyn turned off the lights, gave his teddy bear a pat, and slipped into his side of the bed. The urge to turn his back on Johann and simply go to sleep was surprisingly strong. Not that Carlyn was uncomfortable with Johann in his bed. It was the exact opposite. It felt right. He wanted to yawn, say goodnight, and fall into a dreamless, undisturbed sleep. But this was technically business.
Edging closer, Carlyn placed an arm over Johann’s waist, who surprisingly put his arm over his.
“Don’t get any ideas, alpha. It’s just more comfortable this way.”
“We already agreed we wouldn’t have sex. There’s nothing you do, no way you could touch me, that would make me break that promise.”
“Hmph.” Johann began to dig his nails into the back of Carlyn’s hand but stopped after a moment and relaxed. “Goodnight.” Johann said with an air of finality.
“Goodnight.” Carlyn muttered. The voice in his head purred in contentment.
#
The next day Johann’s room still wasn’t finished, so Carlyn gave him room to dress before they went downstairs for breakfast. Loren gave the grand tour of the kitchen and pointed out where she’d put all of Johann’s things, while Johann served himself. Carlyn waited for Johann to sit down at the table to get his own breakfast.
“You can’t avoid him forever,” Loren said as she poured him a coffee. “Johann smelling like you won’t be enough for long.”
“I just want to give him some space. He’s so jumpy.”
“He’ll come around.” She handed him the coffee, then shooed him away to sit in the dining room.
Carlyn sat in his normal seat at the glass table, a place Johann must have guested at, because he was at the exact opposite side of the table. Sighing, Carlyn watched him for a moment, considering his options. After a moment, he started eating and began the conversation casually.
“You know,” he said between bites of eggs, “you can’t just smell like me and otherwise avoid me.”
“Excuse me?” Johann muttered from behind his glass of orange juice.
“I mean, if we seem to hate each other, people might get suspicious about things. Especially when I donate things to The Lucretian Legion.”
Johann was silent for several moments, eating while watching Carlyn impassively. Carlyn looked backed just as coolly, refusing to let Johann jerk him around. At last, Johann shrugged and turned his attention back to his plate.
“I’ll take care of it,” he said.
“How?” Carlyn asked.
“Never mind it. Can I go into your base with you today? We need another truck for an upcoming demonstration and I want to drop it off.”
“Fine.” Carlyn said. “Better get the base used to seeing you around, in any case.”
They finished breakfast in silence and Carlyn took their plates and glasses into the kitchen to be put into the dishwasher. He kissed Loren goodbye for the day and told her to tell Josh and Davis he loved them, then headed for the garage. Johann sat in the passenger’s seat and frowned out of the window as they pulled out of the garage.
“Last time you were in this car you were unconscious,” Carlyn said lightly.
“Fuck you,” Johann said almost light-heartedly. There was a hint of a smile or sneer is his voice, though Carlyn wasn't sure which it was.
“I’m just making conversation.”
“How about you talk about something useful? Who should I know in The Fangs? There’s that beta I saw. Never seen a beta a bunch of alphas backed away from so quickly.”
“You must mean Adison,” Carlyn laughed. “She’s terrifying. I’m pretty sure she’s the only one who could raise a coup against me, but she loves and respects me, so I’m safe. She’s whip smart, handles the first stage of organizing everything. With her at The Fangs and Loren at home, I have most of my day-to-day life plotted out for me. And she’s a fighter. She might be able to take you on, one-on-one.”
“Maybe," Johann groused. "Who else is there?”
“Along with Adison is my two other under-bosses Becka, and Raji.”
“Those assholes who helped drug me?”
“Yes, them. Becka was the whip wielding one.”
“I remember,” Johann hissed.
“She’s never hurt an omega, Johann. She asks permission before doing what she does. Verbal permission. It’s a game. She’s not bad.”
“Whatever. What’s the hardass into?”
“Raji? He’s mostly into classic music and good food. His omegas are a little spoiled. I don’t think they’ve lifted anything heavier than a wine bottle since bonding with him, but that’s how he likes them, spoiled rotten. He spends a small fortune on presents for them and their kids. He takes them on vacation once a season, right after their heat to reward them for… getting through heat, I guess.”
“Good lord, what the actual fuck?” Johann shook his head. “And I figured you thought of yourself as a fairytale princess, shining armor and all. This guy beats even you!”
“Look, I was raised very traditionally. As an alpha, I was told it was my job to provide for and protect my harem. But Raji goes overboard. He left once and was gone for a day and a half. He told me later that one of his omegas was feeling lonely because he’d been working so much, and he just felt bad about it. I almost hit him. I had just taken over and we were in the middle of turf war with the Red Wolves.”
“Can you trust this guy?”
“We have an understanding now.”
“You hit him.”
“I… yes," Carlyn admitted. "I lost my temper. I was sorry about it later. I didn’t tell him though because I could tell he respected me for standing my ground, the idiot.”
Johann let out a small chuckle. “Delightful.” He was definitely sneering.
#
Carlyn walked into the main house of the base with his arm around Johann’s shoulders. Johann had his arms crossed and shoulders hunched, but leaned into his embrace as if he wanted to crawl under Carlyn's shirt. The people who saw them move through the building paused at the sight of them, and a few growled their approval, smirked, or nudged Carlyn. Even though Johann said nothing and even pressed himself harder into Carlyn’s side, Carlyn knew he was seething.
“I’m sorry,” Carlyn said when they were alone in his office with the door shut.
“I didn’t expect to enjoy any of this,” Johann said. “I’m in deep cover behind enemy lines. I wasn’t expecting it to be comfortable.”
“I want it to be comfortable for you. I don’t want you to hate this. I’m supposed to be your ally. Me, if no one else.”
Johann stared at Carlyn for a moment before sighing, and a little hatred melted off his face for a moment. “You don’t know anything about the real world.”
“Maybe,” Carlyn relented. He walked around the desk and unlocked his computer with a press of his thumb. “You said you needed one more truck?”
“Yea.”
“For what?” Carlyn’s computer started up, and he sat down to begin the transfer of the truck into The Legion’s hands.
“Redistribution of necessary amenities.”
Carlyn scoffed. “What’s that in real talk? Come on, Johann. You know who you’re talking to.”
“A drug lord and gunrunner.”
“So be real with me. I won’t judge you.”
Johann sighed. “We’re going to hit a pharmaceutical lab and take a few seasons' worth of heat suppressants. Then we're going to give them out to low- and no-income omegas who want to keep alphas off their backs.”
“Sounds legit. Much money in that?”
One moment Carlyn was looking at the screen, then he was colliding with his computer screen at full speed. Instinct kicked in and Carlyn pushed away from the desk, hunched to avoid the rest of the blow and swung out hard with his arm. His arm connected with Johann’s stomach, but only lightly as Johann had jumped back to avoid it. Carlyn lunged for him, hands aiming for his neck, which Johann must have seen coming because he crossed his arms in front of his neck and kicked to throw Carlyn off his balance. As Carlyn started to fall towards the floor, he adjusted his aim and put all his weight on Johann’s waist, bringing them toward the floor, but not without hitting the table behind Johann and knocking everything off it in a loud crash.
Johann hissed, put both hands on Carlyn’s face, and pushed, his knees coming up to dig into Carlyn’s torso. Carlyn growled, climbed to his knees, and used his superior size to pin Johann down at the wrists and thigh, hands on his wrists above Johann’s head, and one knee on his thigh.
“Stay down!” Carlyn growled, but his wasn’t the only growl.
From the door there was a small chorus of sounds and when Carlyn looked, Becka was in the open doorway, flanked by Jackson and another, lower, alpha Molly. Jackson and Molly were smiling wickedly, nudging each other and Becka. Becka looked more concerned.
“We heard crashing,” Becka explained. “I thought you need help with… I guess you didn’t.”
Before Carlyn could say anything, Johann moved, but not to attack him. He leaned up as best he could and nudged him with his head, roughly but affectionately.
“Hey,” he whispered and, when Carlyn looked at him, gave him a questioning look.
Carlyn was on the verge of stupidly asking what Johann was doing, and weren’t they fighting anymore, but Becka spoke first.
“I’m going to just shut the door.” She did, and the room went quiet for a second before Johann said,
“Get the fuck off me.”
“What was that?” Carlyn asked.
“Acting,” Johann said dryly. “Now get the fuck off me.”
Carlyn withdrew off Johann but was no closer to figuring out what sort of situation he was in. “I don’t understand,” he said. “Acting? What about you hitting me? What was that?”
“You’re thick,” Johann muttered as he climbed to his feet. “I’ll walk you through it. You asked if there’s money in what we’re going to do.”
“A fair question,” Carlyn said.
“You weren’t listening to the explanation you asked for, were you? Typical. We’re giving the suppressants to low- and no-income omegas, which implies what?”
“That they can’t afford the suppressants and therefore any money made would be ill gotten, which is not what The Lucretian Legion is about.”
“You’re dumb as a bag of rocks, but you learn fast.”
“Thank you. You could have explained that instead of hitting me.”
“But hitting you was so cathartic,” Johann sighed. “And besides, the situation worked to our advantage.”
“How?”
Johann walked around Carlyn and righted the chair that had been up-ended during their fight. “Rumors,” he said. “I was going to plant some rumors that we had an especially rough sex life. It would explain why I’m so combative with you.”
Carlyn gave a full-throated laugh. “No, it wouldn’t! That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Of course it does. Alphas believe that every omega that’s combative just needs to be fucked by an alpha. And the more combative and unpleasant an omega is, the more the typical alpha believes they need, nay want, to be dominated by a strong alpha. Docile omegas are assumed to be fragile and need gentle care. Aggressive omegas are assumed to need taming. So the less I actually seem to like you, the more the alphas around you will assume you’re fucking me super hard because that’s what I must need and want.”
Staring, opening mouthed, Carlyn processed what Johann said. It didn’t sound right. And yet, Becka and the others had immediately seen them and assumed they were doing something intimate. Sure, Johann had nudged him, but could they really not see they hadn’t been being affectionate?
“Alphas… are tremendously stupid.”
Johann chuckled, a surprisingly genuinely sound. “You don’t know anything about the real world, do you?”
“Hmm,” Carlyn muttered and sat down at his desk. “I’m sorry I asked about making money off your project. Force of habit. Let’s get your truck.”
“We’ll drive it to the drop off this evening,” Johann said, turning his back to Carlyn. “I acquaint myself with your base until then. You do your work. I’ll amuse myself.”
#
To Carlyn's surprise, Johann spent the whole day at The Fang's base without getting into any fights. He went around making mumbled apologies to people, asking them to excuse The Lucretian Legion for the damage done during their strike on the base.
"We weren't allies then," was what he said, according to Raji, who told Carlyn about it later. "It was just business. You understand."
The Fangs took it all in stride. To them, Johann was officially Carlyn's bonded mate, and it was "apologies accepted" and water under the bridge.
"He's a tough little meg," Jackson said almost affectionately, leaning in Carlyn's office doorway. "It was an honor to have my ass kicked by him. He must be good in bed."
"Amazing," Carlyn said with a smile, even though his skin was crawling. "Where is he now?"
"Having lunch in the yard with some of the girls. They're looking after him for you. Some betas want him to train with them because he's built like a fucking tank." Jackson chuckled. "I mean, he certainly fills out that t-shirt and jeans." He growled in the back of his throat.
"Keep your hands to yourself," Carlyn warned with a tight smile. "Or Johann will rip your dick off and I'll watch with him as you bleed out."
"Right, right. He's yours. Lucky."
Jackson walked away and Carlyn paused and think about how that nagging feeling of annoyance he'd always had with his own sex was blooming into an outright dislike for them.
But while Carlyn spent the day swallowing bullshit compliments about his new relationship, Johann spent the day endearing himself to The Fangs as an irritable, combative, but mostly importantly secretly tamed omega. By the time they left the base, Johann in the truck, and Carlyn following in his own truck, the whole base seemed to be smitten with Johann.
They drove for some time, Johann leading and Carlyn following. They left the city and drove into the country, up into the mountains where the houses became more and more sparse, until they seemed to disappear altogether. Finally, Johann pulled off the road onto a trail and cut the engine. Carlyn pulled up behind the truck and waited. In a moment, Johann appeared next to the passenger side of the truck, opened the door, and got in.
"We can leave," Johann said.
"Should we leave the truck here?"
"It's fine. It won't be here long."
"Should we wait?"
Johann chuckled sarcastically. "You'd love that. No. You see no one but me. Drive."
Seeing he wasn't going to get anywhere, and not wanting to get into another fight with Johann, Carlyn did as he was told. He backed up into the road, turned the car around and did the best he could to navigate his way back down the dark mountain roads. To break up the silence in the car, Carlyn spoke.
"So, we're getting along, aren't we?"
"I guess," Johann muttered.
"I mean, we are, aren't we?"
"I don't want to kill you, so there's that." Johann smiled tightly from what Carlyn could see from the driver's seat.
"That's… good. I mean, we have very different lives and see the world differently. I want to know that I can trust you to keep explaining things to me and not fly off the handle again and lash out at me."
"You're talking about earlier today." Johann said and slumped in the seat. "I said I was sorry."
"No, you didn't. You said it was cathartic."
"Well, I meant to say I was sorry." Johann paused, and in the interim Carlyn wasn't sure what to say. Luckily Johann spoke again after some silence. "Look, I am sorry, Carlyn. I lost my temper. There was something about you wanting to make money off the work we're doing, off of the most vulnerable and helpless omega that was so typical of an alpha that made me lose my sense of… you know…"
"Not hitting someone over the head?"
"Yea."
"I didn't mean to be cruel," Carlyn explained.
"You can't help it," Johann groused.
"And that's what I want to talk about. My nature, my upbringing, everything about me is an offense to you. Things I see as normal could be something you see as horrible. I need you to talk to me from now on. Maybe the world is as you say it is, but maybe it doesn't have to be. I've always been told I act more like an omega than an alpha, maybe I could start really living up to that and do some good, but I'm going to need a teacher. You have to be patient with me."
"I suppose. Frankly, you're less of pain than the rest of your sex. I doubted, when I came to live with you, that you'd ever say anything that'd make me break cover. I was almost disappointed when I said what you did."
"And that's why I need you to promise. I do not know what other things I could casually say that could offend you. For instance, I could have a conversation with someone about pairing centers."
Carlyn turned his head towards Johann for just a moment, just in time to see his reaction. It was just as he expected. Johann's entire body tensed as if an electric current had passed through it. His jaw locked up as he frowned.
Pairing centers had been outlawed decades ago to keep the peace. They were still around, of course. No church, or school, or job could legally force an omega into one, but family certainly could. No business could operate as a pairing center, but illegal businesses certainly did.
There was a stigma around them. No one admitted to forcing their child into a pairing center. The public opinion was worse than the jail time. Businesses accused of operating as a pairing center often used the defense that they were brothels and only coincidently did the alpha john end up bonding with the omega sex workers, and the payments made to the brothels were to pay off any debts the workers had. The chargers for running the brothel weren't as bad.
But that was an alpha's perspective.
To omegas, pairing centers were state sanctioned slavery. It used to be that omegas couldn't continue in school, get a job, register to vote, lease an apartment, open a bank account if they weren't signed up at a pairing center. The pairing center took all their information, height, weight, every measurement, their job, their hobbies, even their friends occasionally. And when that was done, alphas would pay to be paired with them by the center, and the center's word was law. An omega who refused a suitor approved by a pairing center could be kicked out of the system and have every right stripped from. Sometimes a rich alpha of an omega child would pay to have control over who their child bonded with, but that wasn't a guarantee no matter who the alpha was.
The male omega who'd mothered Loren had been bonded by a pairing center. Her father had been pregnant more often than not because that's how his alpha mate liked him. Loren, his oldest, had been the only child he'd been allowed to keep. Loren's father had been bonded to a male alpha who couldn't pass on his family name anyway and had no intention of letting his harem keep a bunch of kids he couldn't even give his name to.
Thinking about it now, Carlyn wondered why he hadn't asked Loren more about how she'd grown up. Maybe he really didn't know anything about the world. Loren had known about The Lucretian Legion, and she'd told him about the pairing centers that had closed just before Carlyn was born. Maybe he should have been asking her more questions. He'd thought leaving her past alone had been the respectful thing to do, but maybe it had been the ignorant thing to do.
Carlyn glanced over at Johann again. It had been several minutes since he'd spoken.
"Johann?"
The silence stretched on for another few seconds before Johann spoke.
"You would never, ever, in a million years support pairing centers," he said calmly. "You're just trying to rile me up."
"No, I'm not. I'm serious. I mean… I could support… the ease of it. Just go in, fill out a questionnaire, and get matched up with the omega who fit the profile. Easy."
"Oh my… One, you said you 'could' support this, which implies you don't. You couldn't even get the sentence out properly. Two, all the pauses while you try to think up something you supposedly supported. Plus, the weak-sauce argument. And, you're a princess in a shining armor, you could never bond with some you don't know. You don't even have a proper harem in your house. Each of your mates has their own room! If you have kids, you're going to need a bigger house! No. You would never stomach finding partners through chattel slavery system. It's not you."
"And if The Lucretian Legion said it was? If they told you I was a threat and ordered you to get rid of me? You said, you explained that alphas who are too big of a threat to let live, you get rid of. What if I become a threat?"
"You're not a threat, Carlyn. You're annoying."
"And if your bosses say otherwise?"
"Anything you do, I'll know about way before they do. They could never tell me anything about you I don't already know. You're not a threat. Not to us."
Carlyn sighed. He figured he should drop it. This wasn't getting him anywhere. Then he thought of one more thing.
"What if The Fangs get into politics? You know, greasing judges and prosecutors and politicians."
"What does that have to do with us?"
"Laws affect omegas. What if the people The Fangs support are your enemies?"
Johann didn't respond right away. They reached an intersection, which allowed Carlyn to look at him. Johann really filled out his t-shirt and jeans. He was gorgeous. Carlyn wished the omega didn't hate him so much.
"I don't think you would do that," Johann said at last. "At least not on purpose. You're too soft. And if you found out after-wards, well, you're not a man of legal ways, Carlyn. I expect you could do something about the judge or politician with those sorts of ideas.
"Are you asking me to possibly assassinate a politician The Lucretian Legion disapproves of?"
"I'm asking you to do to this hypothetical alpha what you do to any alpha who displeases you that much. Does omega abuse bother you, or doesn't it?"
The light changed and Carlyn began to drive.
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