#deviant dynamics

"Conrad, can I speak to you for a moment?" Connor asked as he interrupted the upgraded android from his work. It wasn't often that Connor wanted to talk personally during work hours. Connor was polite and professional, most of the time, but something had been bothering him for a while. He knew he should wait to have this discussion at home, but his stress levels were far too high to wait until then.

Conrad stopped typing to look up at Connor, recognizing the importance and the slight concern in his expression was telling. It wasn't normal for Connor to do anything but focus on the investigation unless someone new was brought onto the force. But getting to know a new co-worker was also just another form of investigation. So whatever was bothering Connor, it was serious. "Certainly." Conrad stood up, always making time for his omega, it wasn't often Connor reached out and needed him like this so Conrad wasn't going to fail his partner now. "Let's take this to the evidence locker so we can be alone."

Connor frowned and nodded, agreeing to the need for privacy before taking the lead. Connor looked around, observing his surroundings as if looking for someone, but whoever he was looking for wasn't found. Eventually the door shut behind them with a definite click, sealing the two off from the rest of the world and allowing them some privacy to relax. Well, it didn't seem like Connor could relax, with his LED spinning a concerning red color. Connor was looking away from him, one hand tucking into his suit coat's pocket before pulling free a coin. He must have stolen it back from Hank again, no matter how many times the Lieutenant took it from Connor, the android detective always managed to get it back.

Silencer fell in the room as Conrad leaned his back against the wall and folded his arms over his chest, an effort to keep himself from reaching out and dragging Connor into the comfort of his arms to reassure the man he love. However, when Connor stared to toy with the coin, Conrad understood that Connor was busy thinking, puzzling out whatever problem was bothering him. Any sort of contact was discouraged as it would interrupt his line of thinking and only frustrate him further. For now, Conrad simply observed and waited for Connor to find a place to start this discussion so that he may offer some assistance to the older model.

"Its about Collin." Connor finally spoke up after a long stretch of silence, making Conrad raised a brow in a silent manner for Connor to elaborate further. Conrad had noticed the other RK800 model had been acting strangely lately, he wanted to investigate further but he'd either been swamped with work or Collin had easily evaded him. It wasn't like Collin to avoid Conrad, they were always struggling for coming out on top, to being better than the other. It kept Conrad on his toes, gave him a place when he could relieve some stress when they couldn't do more intimate ways of relieving stress.

"He's been acting strange lately. I feel like he's avoiding us and I'm worried." Connor paused after flicking the coin to his other hand, worry making his brows tilt back and sadness keep into his gaze. "What if we haven't been giving him enough attention? We've been busy with the holidays coming up and you know he's always been self-conscious about not being wanted..." Connor looked down at his hands, watching the coin as he turned it over and over between his fingers. "He won't even look at me any more."

Conrad finally moved forward, unable to keep to himself when he could smell Connor's distress filling up the room. He wrapped his arms around Connor, pulling him close while one hand guided the older android's head to rest on his chest, to listen to the steady rhythm of his thirium pump beating. Conrad sighed out, his breath ruffling brunet strands of hair. "I'll talk to him, I'm sure there's a good reason for the way he's been acting. I'll remind him he's not alone." Conrad bowed his head, pressing a kiss on the top of Connor's head to further sooth him. He didn't immediately move, holding Connor a little longer to let the android burn off some stress and get himself back in order so he could get back to work.

After a while, it was Connor who pulled himself away, taking a shaking inhale and straightening his shoulders once more. Conrad lifted his hands, gently adjusting Connor's tie for him, knowing how the older android liked having his suit all in place. "I've got to go on an investigation with Hank now." Connor reminded mostly himself and Conrad took the moment to lean in and place a kiss on Connor's lips, it linger only for a moment but it was enough time to show his feelings towards the omega.

"Do try to stay out of trouble and when you get back, I'll have the Collin problem taken care of." Conrad reassured before letting Connor go completely. Connor gave him a small half smile before exiting the evidence locker, leaving Conrad with his thoughts. He mulled over his memory to find out when Collin had started to act weird. The RK800 model had always been a bit standoffish, reluctant to give physical affection outside the privacy of their home. He was aggressive and confrontational but he hadn't challenged Conrad in the past few days which was definitely odd. Collin had been spending more time out in the garage whenever they were home instead of coming indoors eventually to watch movies or play video games with Connor and Conrad.

Something was definitely up and as the pack alpha, it resided on Conrad's shoulders to deal with it. He left the evidence room, moving through the halls to try and pin down Collin who had made himself scarce for the most part of the day. While Conrad always wanted peace and quiet to work, now that he had it, he didn't like it. He wanted Collin's arguing or bickering with Gavin, or Collin complaining whenever Connor wanting him to do a Q&A stream with him. Conrad checked the bull pen and the break room, then the interrogation room, but nothing came up. Collin's scent was stale, making Conrad wonder if the other android was in the station at all.

"If you're looking for your epsilon partner, I suggest looking in the storage room where we keep all the physical files." Conrad paused when a passing PC200 android offered up advice, making the upgraded android wonder how obvious he'd been in his search for Collin. Regardless, he gave a small nod in gratitude before heading off to the lesser used part of the station. With technology advanced now, physical paperwork was rarely used. Everything was logged through their terminals, for both human and android workers at the station. It was the perfect place to hide as Conrad shoved open the door with more force than he intended.

From the little yelp, it was obvious he'd startled Collin who was making it look like he'd been busy filing by having a filing cabinet open. "Collin, what are you doing? Conrad asked as he stepped inside, Collin turned his head away and picked up a manila folder from the stack on top of the metal cabinet.

"It was a bit of a slow day, so I thought to do some filing. What the hell are you scaring me like that for?" Collin snapped back defensively, he was definitely hiding something. Conrad stepped forward and snagged the folder out of his hand, looking at the label on the tab.

"Collin, this is labeled H430-28-2020." Conrad stated idly, turning his cool gray eyes onto Collin who still had his head turned away from him.

"Yeah, what're you getting at?" Collin growled, trying to appear annoyed at Conrad pointing out the obvious.

"You're filing it in the wrong drawer." Conrad placed the file back on the stack before slamming the drawer shut, eliminating the one thing between him and Collin. The epsilon jumped, startled by the sound and took a step back, not something Collin would typically do. This whole charade was just that and Collin wasn't fooling the RK900. Conrad moved forward, crowding Collin back against more cabinets, the metal biting into his back. Still though Collin wouldn't look at him, would glare at him in challenge for getting into his personal space. "I want answers, Collin. You know I'll get them one way or another." Conrad stated in a low, dangerous tone that was pure silken warning.

"Nothing is wrong, what's wrong with wanting a bit of space, huh?" Collin still tried to fight back, raising his hands up to try to push at Conrad's chest, but the slightly larger android didn't budge, not when something was wrong. Conrad placed one hand on the top of the metal file cabinet, trapping Collin in as he wasn't about to let his partner escape him this time. His other hand lifted up to grab Collin by his jaw to guide his head so they were face to face. Conrad stared into honey brown eyes, expecting to see defiance and annoyance there, but they seemed... off.

"Interface with me." Conrad demanded as the skin deactivated around the hand that held Collin's jaw, waiting for him to do the same.

"And what if I don't?" Collin challenged finally, it seemed Conrad was onto something now.

"You know I am fully capable of force interfacing with you whether I have your permission or not." Conrad warned, already his touch was forcing Collin's skin back and Collin tried to jerk his head away but the RK900's grip was too strong to escape from. At the sign of resistance, Conrad forced interfaced with Collin, his system latching onto Collin's as he quickly went to work on rooting out the problem. He didn't like doing this, he wanted Collin to be willing to trust and share any and all problems with him and Connor. It didn't take long before he found a serious problem, it wasn't that Collin was feeling left out, but something that should have been brought to their attention at the first sign.

"Why didn't you tell us about this, Collin? Losing your eyesight is a major issue." Conrad frowned as he looked down at Collin, the other android's expression turned strained.

"I... I didn't want to worry anyone, I thought it was just a glitch and that it'd go away eventually." Collin admitted, his voice sounding a little scared, something that Conrad rarely heard from the epsilon. Unable to let Collin continue to feel that way, Conrad pulled him close like he'd done with Connor, holding Collin close against him. For once, Collin didn't seem to resist.

Collin looked at the clock for the tenth time in under two minutes as he leaned against the counter, it felt like at least an hour had past since the last time he looked. He was late, but that wasn't unusual, the customer he was looking forward to every three days a week never really had a set time, just an approximation of when he would arrive to get his drink and sit down by the window. Collin tapped his fingers impatiently on his folded arms, giving off a restless vibe that had his co-worker looking up from what he was doing. Conrad was busy cleaning and maintaining the machines like he always did when he had free time, the alpha always made sure his work space was working in proper order.

"He'll be here." Conrad's low and soft voice tried to assure Collin, he couldn't understand how Conrad could be so calm. The epsilon had just recently found out that he wasn't the only one pining after the omega who always seemed to be lost in his work rather than paying attention to any of the workers of his favored coffee shop. Collin had given his best charming smiles and even wrote his phone number on the cup, the omega didn't even notice the number and had ended up throwing the cup away. It was crushing on Collin's pride. Luckily Conrad wasn't having any success either, his foam heart designs were instantly destroyed by the omega's distracted drinking. All of Conrad's perfect effort he put into each cup gone unnoticed, taking an unseen effect on the alpha's pride.

The door chimed, making Collin instantly straighten up and look over to see the man both the coffee shop workers had been waiting since the beginning of their shifts to see. From what they had gathered, the omega's name was Connor and he appeared to be going through college but for what, neither had managed to get any more info out of him. Connor was a polite person, always giving Collin and Conrad a warm smile that made his dark brown eyes light up briefly before he went back into his thoughts. "Oh, hey Connor, the usual for the day?" Collin called out casually as if they were close friends. Though Collin would've preferred to be closer than 'just friends'.

"Oh hey!" Connor smiled, but seemed too distracted to remember Collin's name, but the epsilon wouldn't let that discourage him. Even though he had a pin on his apron that revealed his name, Connor could be observant when it was matters involving him, but otherwise Collin new things went over his head. "Yeah, I'll have the usual." Collin turned around but he noticed that Conrad was already busy making the drink. Which was unusual because this was a coffee shop and yet Connor always ordered hot chocolate with cream. Collin wasn't about to complain, he'd get the omega any drink he wanted and he was certain Conrad would whole heartedly agree.

"Coming right up, go ahead and take your usual seat and we'll bring it out to you." Collin turned back to Connor, placing a hand on the counter to look at ease and maybe more inviting for Connor to talk to.

However, Connor merely thanked him and moved over to his seat, a seat that was heavily guarded by Conrad. The alpha wouldn't let anyone sit there, he'd simply glare at anyone who tried until they eventually left. No one wanted to risk gaining Conrad's attention. While the alpha usually kept to his own tasks, Collin had only seen him show interest in Connor. Which meant his was serious and in turn meant Collin had serious competition. He'd know Conrad for a few years now and he was the only one who didn't seem bothered by his attitude and seemed to really only tolerate his company above all the other employees. To the point that their boss simply made sure they worked the same hours since they were the only ones who could moderately work with each other.

When he heard Conrad finishing up the drink, he turned to retrieve it, but Conrad pulled it out of his reach. Collin frowned and narrowed his golden brown eyes and stepped forward to make another grab at the cup. However, Conrad lifted the cup higher to use his few inches in greater height to keep it away from Collin. Conrad glared down icily at Collin, giving him a silent warning to back off. "I'm delivering it this time." He murmured in a dangerous tone, one that made Collin bristle.

"But its my job to deliver the drinks and work the register." Collin protested, but Conrad didn't seem to care, at least not in this particular case.Before Collin could make a grab again, Conrad shoved his free hand into Collin's face and pushed, making Collin stumbled back against the counter. It was all Conrad needed to make his escape from behind the counter to walk over to Connor's table, unconcerned with the venomous glare pointed at him. Conrad placed a napkin on the table before gently placing the cup down. "Do be careful, its still hot." He said in a low tone, causing Connor to briefly look up in surprise, Collin could see just a smidgen of color in those freckled cheeks before it was wiped away with the traditional polite and dismissive smile.

It seemed Conrad's attempt had failed and the alpha retreated back behind the counter to scrub the machines maybe a little too roughly. Collin couldn't blame him, but the door chimed again, drawing Collin's attention back to the counter. This was someone he hadn't seen before, so out of habit, he sniffed at the air to identify the person. An alpha but not one who seemed to flaunt it, so an easy customer. He gave his strained smile, he wasn't a very cheerful or polite person, but he was better at it than Conrad. "Hello, what can I get you today?"

"Afternoon, I'll take a Caffe Mocha with a bit of cinnamon sprinkled on top." The man who had skin as rich as a mocacinno itself ordered, his heterochromia eyes seemed light and optimistic. Collin was certain he could probably get anyone he liked, being an easy going alpha like that, which only served to annoy Collin. He looked over his shoulder at Conrad who was still in a bit of a dejected mood but was idly staring at the customer from beneath his eyelashes. Collin was glad his body blocked most of Conrad so the customer wouldn't get offended just because Conrad was in a sour mood. "You get that, Conrad?"

All he received was a gruff affirmative sound before the man went to work in making the order, Collin scowled as this bad energy was grating his nerves already. Collin was infamous for his foul nature already, he didn't need an on edge alpha making work even more difficult. Collin turned back around to face the customer, giving him the total and the exchange of money, luckily the man used a card, from the looks of it some sort of platinum member, hinting money. "Please, have a seat and we'll deliver your order when its ready." Collin tried his best to keep the growl out of his voice, the last thing he needed was more complaints to his manager about his bad attitude.

Collin watched as the man moved into the sitting area, though his muscles began to grow more tense as he noticed the alpha was making a beeline straight towards Connor. The breaking point was when the alpha called out to the omega by name and Connor responded with a relaxed expression. They were on familiar terms, friends since Collin was certain he hadn't caught that scent on Connor before. Anyone lucky enough to have Connor as a partner would lay their scent on thick, the idea alone made the inside of Collin's wrists itch to do just that. From the growling beside him, it seemed he wasn't the only one bothered by how the new alpha sat beside Connor and they talked easily together. More words than Connor had ever given either one of them.

As the Collin and the alpha laughed, it seemed the alpha was growing more and more aware that he had a pair of eyes on him. Reaching up to rub the back of his neck, he turned his head to look over at the counter to see golden brown and silver gray eyes boring down on him and it didn't take a genius to figure out the implications. Instead he gave a knowing, teasing smile and a wink before turning back to Connor to lean in and whisper something into Connor's ear. "What?! What makes you think that, Markus?" Connor's cheeks seemed to go cherry red suddenly and he looked past Markus to the two coffee shop workers as if noticing them for the first time. He quickly ducked his head as if trying to play off the fact he hadn't just been caught staring when Collin and Conrad were obviously watching.

It was unusual not to see his co-workers nearby, the pair were always around to keep an eye on Connor. Most thought Collin and Conrad's interests were more along the romantic lines, but Connor knew better. Most days, Connor was a android detective, Lieutenant Anderson's partner. In reality Connor was none of those things, he was a demon, more specifically a fallen angel. Traditionally, angels and demons could only possess a body if the current soul let them in and that usually effectively destroyed the previous soul. However, thanks to humans desire to create, their latest androids had provided the perfect vessels for angels and demons. They didn't need permission and this is why things on earth had grown more dangerous than ever.

Humans thought that the androids gaining sentience was a virus, a deviancy. However, it was something more than just that, something humans couldn't exactly see. Connor looked up from his terminal, expecting to see Collin or Conrad show up, but nothing. It was eerie despite how much Connor tried to get away from the two. He didn't want to admit it, but he had started to enjoy their little game. Trying to blend in with humans while underneath they were at war with each other. Connor liked the way the two chased him, they way they fought until they were breathless and exhausted.

"Lookin' for Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?" Hank's voice drew Connor's attention, making the omega demon turn his gaze towards the old human alpha. Hank was the only human to know what Connor exactly was and still the man welcomed him in like a son. Connor wasn't exactly a bad demon, he just questioned the moral judgement that the higher ups in angel hierarchy had made. They hadn't valued individual human life, treating humans more like animals. Hank was the reason why Connor was a demon now, cast out from heaven because he had valued the human's life above the angels' mission. He had supposed to destroy the ability to allow angels and demons to possess androids which would effectively remove him from this plane of existence as well. He hadn't been able to face the fact that he'd never see Hank again.

It was selfish of him, but that's why he was a demon now and he had made it his duty that the demons who did possess androids didn't step out of line. He felt they should be able to enjoy life with humans, but some demons only had real trouble on the brain. Angels thought all demons were sorely evil, so they had sent not only the soldier angel Collin down, but the arch-angel Conrad down to deal with the traitor Connor. Despite the fact it was two against one, Connor still managed to escape them, always one step ahead of the two. Except now they were completely missing, what if Connor got up to no good?

"Yes, its unusually they let me out of their sights and I highly doubt they trust me enough not to get into trouble." Connor stated in a worried tone, pushing himself up to his feet as he was already determined to go out and find them. What if something happened to them? The thought made him frown, he always though Collin and Conrad would be indestructible, but what if they had faced a powerful demon? Or a group of them?

"Well, go on and find their sorry asses, those two shouldn't be left unsupervised for too long. I got everything covered here." Hank waved his hand to shoo Connor off, the demon grateful as he hadn't wanted to leave Hank to do all the work. He'd make it up to the Lieutenant later, for now he had two angels to find.

Connor decided to first look around the station before extending his search elsewhere, assuming the pair wouldn't be far from Connor since he had been their mission. As he began to walk towards the break room, his dark brown eyes caught sight of something on the floor. Crouching down, he studied the light brown speckled feather, definitely Collin's. Humans wouldn't be able to see it thankfully as the feather was quite large and he didn't want the other workers thinking there was a large bird loose in the station. As Connor continued on, he made his way through the break room, only to find more feathers on the ground, this time near black feathers had joined in, Conrad was loosing feathers too.

Concerned, he began to follow the trail down the hall and the number of feathers being lost were starting to make Connor panic, had there been a fight Connor didn't know about? The trail ended at the evidence locker, the two might've tried to go someone secluded to continue the fight so no human would run across them. Connor pressed his palm against the hand scanner, allowing himself access to the room. As he pushed open the door, the conversation within the evidence locker stopped before Connor to grasp what was being said. When he stepped into the room, Collin and Conrad were already staring at him, looking guarded at his sudden appearance. Connor frowned and narrowed his eyes in suspicion, there was no fighting going on and neither seemed to have been roughed up.

"What is going on here? There's feathers everywhere outside, I thought you two were attacked." Connor motioned towards the door and to the hall outside, he looked irritated now that he knew he'd been worried for nothing. Not only that but he'd worried over these two, they were supposed to be enemies... or something. Connor didn't hate them, they were sometimes annoying with how much they followed him or got into his personal space, but there were times he had fun with them as well. After going an hour without seeing them, he knew he'd grown attached and wasn't exactly certain how he should feel about that.

"Were you worried about us?" Collin taunted with a half grin, his honey brown eyes lighting up in devious humor. Conrad let out a low growl in warning to Collin, it seemed the arch angel had deemed it not the time to allow Collin to entertain his games. Conrad was intense, but he was usually more laid back, letting Collin do as he pleased and was less strict on Connor. It was a stark contrast to when they had first met, it had been all strictly business. Now none of them seemed to be taking each other seriously, or their mission. Collin quickly glanced away, which was uncharacteristic of him to do. Collin was defiant, especially so for an angel and he did not like taking orders from Conrad.

"Tell me." Connor demanded, taking a threatening step forward, growing annoyed with how Conrad seemed to be trying to ignore him. The alpha arch-angel rarely took his eyes off Connor, so to be rejected in such a manner hurt a little. That pain translated quickly to irritation, he was losing his cool a little. As a demon now, he still needed to get the hang of controlling his more sinful emotions. Such as wrath. His scent switched to burning sugar, his leathery wings twitching as they were no longer concealed. Both the angels bristled at the change in mood and the sudden appearance of a threat from the omega demon. Their own wings fanning out in a warning, trying to ward off Connor from fighting.

However, Connor paused, his anger instantly vanishing as he took note of the angels' wings. Most of their feathers had fallen out, leaving them looking a bit ragged and unkempt but Connor knew that the pair took great pride in their wings. Grooming wings was important to an angel, sometimes it was their very pride. Connor's own wings lowered in a sign that he was no longer a threat. Instead, Connor began to laugh, his arms holding his sides at how ridiculous the angels looked. Collin's cheeks flushed blue and he took a step forward to try to cover up his embarrassment by threatening Connor.

"H-Hey! Don't laugh!" Collin tried to defend himself but that only made Connor laugh even more and the poor angel. Conrad had tucked his wings against his back, trying to hide them and maintain his composure at the same time.Connor couldn't believe the situation he was currently faced with, he knew better than to assume the two were molting, Connor knew what molting looked like.

"I can't believe you guys fell. Oh man, this is priceless, wait until I tell Hank. I mean, I kind of felt like Collin would be close, but you Conrad?" Connor shook his head as he tried to steady himself after laughing so hard at the irony of it all. However, Conrad hadn't found Connor's statement funny, before Connor could react, he was slammed into the ground, the alpha arch-angel's weight pushing down against him. This was the closest they had ever got, making Connor hyper aware of every contour of the slightly larger male's body. Connor wasn't certain if Conrad meant to wedge himself between Connor's legs or not, but instantly Connor's body heated up. Just another 'perk' of being a sin-tainted demon.

"I wouldn't laugh, little demon." Conrad murmured in a low growl, his gray eyes hooded with dark eyelashes, staring with a dangerous heat in his gaze. Conrad shifted, pressing his hips further forward, forcing Connor's legs to spread wider while he had Connor off balance with his 'attack'. "I should punish you, after all, this is all your fault." Conrad admitted, ignoring the sound of Collin moving closer, the epsilon gaining more interest now at the change in mood. Connor stared up in surprise at Conrad at the news that he was to blame for causing the two to fall.

"Don't look so surprised." Collin stated as he was suddenly very close, trying to press himself closer and shove at Conrad to get more room. "You were enjoying it completely, you were just begging for us to catch you." Collin's gaze was heated, but was quickly diverted to glare at Conrad as the alpha sharply bit him on the shoulder, not wanting to give up his position. Once he had warned off Collin, Conrad leaned down to nuzzle his face against Connor's ear, allowing him to feel his breath rushing over hotly.

The manor was lit up like a diamond in the darkness, showing great wealth and status to have such a grand amount of electricity to flaunt. The golden light spilling out from the windows, giving the white exterior a ethereal appearance in the cool autumn night. It was more than Connor had ever personally seen, especially this close. He'd grown up in the countryside, moving to the city in search of money just to feed himself. It was that way for so many, making the streets that he thought would be bustling and happy to be in reality covered in grime and crime. He had been lucky enough in his youth to be taken in by a well off officer of the law, Detective Hank Anderson. The man was well known in the Yard for solving a multitude of cases that had been deemed impossible and Connor couldn't help but to admire the old alpha.

When Connor had shown interest in following after Hank, the Detective encouraged him despite the fact that Connor was an omega. It was practically unheard of for an omega to be in law enforcement, usually regulated to lower jobs such as working in the clothing factories or being a stay at home partner. Due to the rise in disease and starvation, there was a severe lack of omegas, their immune systems appeared to be weaker than the other dynamics. Connor was simply lucky enough to have tried to pick pocket Hank for a coin or two in his youth, getting caught and taken in and raised. Later on when Connor grew up, he had found out that Hank had lost his wife and omega son from tuberculosis, figuring that was the reason why Hank had such a fondness for him.

Now he was on his first big case with Hank, there had been rumors of human trafficking among the royals. More importantly, they were taking any omega that didn't have blue blood away from their families or off the streets before auctioning them off to royals who wanted one of the growing rarities. Hank didn't like the idea of bringing Connor along, but he had been trained for this moment and he had promised not to run off on his own like he often did like a hound tacking a rabbit, ignoring the master's call. Connor adjusted his coat a bit as the carriage they'd arrived on departed. He hadn't worn something so finely made before, so he was cautious not to ruin it. It had been a gift from Hank after all, so he would treat it with care.

"Now, once we get inside, don't fuckin' leave the main hall, do you hear me?" Hank's tone was warning, but he could hear the concern and fear in it. He didn't want to worry Hank in such a manner so he nodded obediently. "Certainly, Hank, I will not leave the main hall." He repeated so he could further assure Hank, though the elder alpha didn't look completely convinced.

Connor pulled down his mask that was in the vague shape of a dog, Hank thought it would be funny since Connor always seemed to be enjoying their large wolfhound, Sumo.Hank followed suit, his mask looking almost like a roaring bear, intimidating with his grizzled beard. In comparison, Connor didn't look threatening at all despite all the training he received to be one of the top fighters in the Yard.He was light on his feet, his reflexes dangerously quick, and he never held back his hits, making him brutal and efficient. Hank took the lead of stepping up the grand stairs to the entry way to the masquerade party, the perfect set up to hide the identities for the buyers of such a lowly crime.

The butler at the door accepted their invitations, it was good that the invitations didn't have any identifiers on them as Hank and Connor had stolen them from a couple of upper class who were currently waiting it out in a cell for being in possession of a couple of omegas illegally. Connor adjusted his shawl that had been doused in the scent of lemons, giving him the appearance of a beta and covering up his omega scent. He didn't want to immediately draw attention from the entire party as being the only omega in the crowd. He could hear the orchestra playing a elegant tune, it was rare that Connor ever heard such beautiful music, Hank didn't particularly like it. Hank didn't stop as he entered, moving into the crowd and Connor followed behind closely, not wanting to be lost in the crowd.

People were enjoying their anonymity as they chatted and gossiped without fear as their partial masks and gaudy clothes kept them hidden. It was a little bit overwhelming as he'd never been to a ball before, his dress shoes were finely polished as they clacked across the fine marble floor. Such extravagance while there were so many people in the city suffering, it was as if such a thing didn't exist out here in the royal countryside. It turned Connor's stomach a little at the injustice of it all, however he couldn't do anything. They wealthy and the blue bloods would always go untouched by reality, they would remain in their own little worlds. He was busy taking in the sights and grandeur of it all when he nearly ran into a woman who wore a feathered mask of a crow, startling Connor a little and he took a step back to give her room.

That only made him run into something solid, assuming it was one of the grand pillars, he sighed out in frustration and looked around to spot Hank in the crowd. However, there were too many people moving, dancing or going from cluster to cluster to listen to the latest gossip, he wondered when Hank would notice he was gone. He felt the pillar at his back suddenly move, cloth brushing against the back of his dark tail coat, making the hairs on the back of his neck bristle with how close someone was to him and the fact he'd been practically leaning against the person.

"I seem to have found a little dog who lost his master." A silken low tone slipped into his ears, darkly seductive and dangerously pleasing. Everything his his body became hyper aware, like a tuning rod that let him know that there was a alpha behind him. Not just any sort of alpha either, one that almost seemed to drag out every natural omega sense within him, something he suppressed for so long. With a single sentence, Connor knew he better avoid this person, they were too dangerous if his body responded so eagerly like that. He couldn't blow his cover either by simply bolting, which was already so unnatural of him to do. Connor didn't run, but something about the presence at his back had every fiber of his body wanting to melt against this unknown man and that alone warranted him to go find Hank.

Connor turned only partially, not wanting to fully face the man who might take it as an invitation to initiate further conversation. "How clumsy of me, sir, my sincerest apologies." He gave a nod of his head, not even glancing at the man from behind his mask as he moved to make his escape. A hand caught his arm, preventing him from retreating. Instantly warmth fanned out over his arm from the touch, making him wonder what it would feel like to have those hands touch his bare flesh. Heat rose into his cheeks that were gratefully covered, he'd never had an interest in intimate gestures, solely focused on his job, much to the dismay of the alphas he worked with who did their best to impress him. Whenever they had touched Connor, he didn't react other than annoyed that they would be so arrogant to think he'd accept such touches just because they were an alpha.

This touch was enough to stay Connor and he turned his head to gaze upon a man with a strong jaw and firm lips that seemed to hold a stoic frown more often than not. He could see pewter eyes staring out at him from the holes of his mask that appeared to be a large predatory cat with rosettes engraved in the sleek black surface, like the panthers he'd read about in journals recording about the world overseas. He hadn't had the time to go to one of those traveling taxidermy museums that displayed animals from across the world. Connor would imagine the jungle cat would look like this, focused wholly on his prey, appearing almost lazy and patient with stalking his prey. "You appear hasty to depart. Why do you relax and join me for a few drinks?"

Connor frowned, that didn't sound suspicious at all. Was this normal masquerade etiquette? To ask strangers to go off in private to... drink? He stared at the man who was only a few inches taller than him, but being this close to him, Connor noticed every inch. The alpha leaned in closer, making Connor's body warm up to the point he was uncomfortable in the layers of clothes he wore, he couldn't understand why his body was reacting like this. He swallowed thickly, making him aware that his shawl was tied almost painfully tight now but nothing had changed aside from his skin becoming far too sensitive. His lips parted to breathe in attempts to cool down, but it appeared that the alpha before him took that as an invitation to curl his fingers beneath Connor's chin, brushing his thumb in a light caress over his bottom lip.

There was an electric feel that fanned out over his body, making his heart pick up its pace and he soon found himself leaning into the touch. His tongue fluttered out, briefly touching the thumb but it was enough to gather a taste of the other male. He didn't know why he did that, but he could taste something natural, ultimately alpha. He wanted to taste more, to sink his teeth into this alpha before him, but that wasn't everything he wanted to do to him. His fingers twitched, curbing his desire to reach up and slide his hands over the chest before him, to peel away each layer of clothes until he had the alpha bared before him. From the heat growing in those once cool eyes, he could sense that the alpha was having thoughts along the same line with Connor. Now it didn't seem like such a bad thing to go find a secluded spot for drinks and... other activities.

"What's your name, pet?" The term was used as a term of endearment from those lips, making Connor's insides curl, his lean muscles coil as he wanted to dig his fingers into this man to see if he was just as muscled as he appeared beneath his coats. To rake his nails down the man's bare back as he felt him fill him again and again until Connor was completely satisfied. The fog had taken over his mind, shrouding all rational thought and he couldn't remember why he was struggling against it so much. It didn't seem like he was the only one affected either as the man before him moved closer, drawn in by some unseen force despite being in public view. Like a bucket of cold water being dumped on him, another hand grabbed his arm and yanked him away from the alpha, making him give out a whine that he'd never particularly made before.

"What the hell are you doing." Hanks growling voice cut through the fog in his brain, making Connor blink a couple of times in confusion. "We're leaving. Now." The gruff voice brooked no argument and Connor couldn't really think up why he should stay, why he was there to begin with. All he knew was that it was insufferably hot in his coat for a evening that was supposed to be cool. He reached up to tug at his shawl, trying to loosen it but Hank quickly slapped the hand away before dragging him away, heading out the door before anyone could catch wind of an omega starting up his heat at the worst possible time.

Sharp steel eyes followed after the fleeing pair, it was difficult for Conrad to remain there while the omega was retreating. He knew the dog-mask was one the moment he laid eyes on him and with how easily the omega melted into his touch. He was so focused on the fleeing form he didn't notice the figure moving out of the shadows of a nearby pillar, the man's hands tucked into the pockets of his trousers as he moved to stand beside Conrad. He was wearing the partial mask of a wolf, his golden brown eyes watching the retreating figure with his own interest in a chase. "Certainly an interesting bit of prey you've found. So what are you going to do about it?" Collin's voice broke through Conrad's focus, making the alpha turn to look at the epsilon beside him.