They both turned and stared at him.
“I’m Mac.” He closed the door and turned just in time to see the female’s eyes go wide as she connected the dots.
Yes, I’m the omega you were supposed to fetch from the substation, Mac thought sarcastically.
“You’re Mac?” Her eyes crawled down his body and back. She nudged the male.
“Uhh...” a choking sound filled the silence.
Mac grimaced.
He hated meeting new people. He never knew how they’d react when they realized he was an omega, not the alpha his body denoted. He clenched his jaw and hunched his shoulders, trying to make himself small as they gawked at him.
Resisting the urge to squirm or lower his packsack to cover his body, Mac stood still. He refused to feel ashamed. There was nothing he could do about his body.
The female shook off her shock first and plastered a welcoming smile on her lips.
“Welcome.” She shook his hand. “I’m sorry for my tardiness. I was dealing with some issues last night, as you heard. We’re happy you made it. You must be a very independent omega...” her voice caught on the last word. She cleared her throat and looked at the beta for help.
The beta didn’t respond. He stared at him like a wild animal let loose in their home.
“Let me take you to your room. Get his things Ulk.” She swatted his arm.
“Yes.” he stepped forward to take the packsack. Mac dropped it in his hands.
He groaned. “Shit, what do you have in here?”
Mac offered no answer as he followed the female.
“I am Elama, the mistress of this house. We have only five omegas at the moment. You are number six. We usually have ten omegas in the house. But they’ve been cutting our intake lately. Everything was going well until they started with their annual evaluation reports." Elama sighed. "We fail every time. They’ve been sending us one omega at a time ever since.”
You don't say? Mac thought.
She rambled on about finances and other problems Mac didn’t think he should know about. But she told him anyway. He pretended to listen as he looked around the hallway, counting the doors he presumed led into the bedrooms. There were five rooms in total. Elama led him to the one at the end. Mac hoped he didn’t have to share with anyone. Omegas didn’t like him very much. They looked at him and felt threatened.
His mom had to make a lot of trips to the learning centre because of all the bullying. The worst incident was when they locked him in one of the bathing bots because they didn’t want to share the space with him. He’d cried himself to sleep that day.
Elama opened the door.
“Morning...or is it afternoon, Jamue?” she said.
Mac stood outside the door, afraid to go in. The fear of seeing disdain on the face of the omega rooted him in place.
“Hey, Elama,” the omega spoke.
He sounded delicate and alluring like all omegas. Well, except for him.
“Aren’t you going in?” Ulk asked, dragging his packsack on the floor. Mac reached for it, picking it up with ease. He pushed the door wide and walked inside. Elama and the omega turned to him. Elama gasped as if she’d forgotten what he looked like.
Mac’s eyes fell on the omega. He looked shocked, but there was no disdain in his eyes, only curiosity.
“Hi,” he said, jumping off the bed. He came to a stop in front of him. “My name is Jamue.”
Flustered, Mac stared at him. This wasn’t the reception he'd been expecting. Omegas always looked at him with suspicion or disdain.
"Your name?"
"Mac."