Azaki was far more impressive than Malakai had ever considered. He was nothing like what Kai had imagined he would be; Whenever Kai conjured a mental image of a dormant Omega, he thought about weak, frail, sad little creatures that could barely function and were terrified of every little thing.

Not that it was their fault, per se, the world was a dangerous place for an Omega that could go into an unexpected and violent heat at any moment. Especially in a world where more and more Alpha were going feral from the lack of Omega in the world.

But, he supposed his Azaki never really had to worry about that much. Despite being so small that he could pass for a child if you didn’t see his face, Azaki was fierce and strong. He wondered absentmindedly if the Omega was like this because he’d never actually considered himself an Omega at all, or, as if he knew he would never be worthy in a battlefield of strength like an Alpha would, chose to hone his skills and became unstoppable online. He chose a battlefield that he could thrive in and fought his way to the top. It was really sexy.

And really frustrating.

Malakai was used to the kinds of Omega that followed Prime Alpha’s around. Those types were typically quiet, docile, obedient, and beautiful, but had almost nothing else to offer. Almost like well trained pets that lived to serve their masters in whatever way they were desired. Sure, he’d run into a couple of spoiled and bratty Omega in his time, but even still, they would relent to their Alpha in a second if the situation called for it.

He’d always found that behavior fairly irritating. Especially among the Prime Omega he’d encountered. Those tended to have that special something that seemed to be shared by top tier actors and models that made you beautiful to look at, yet also the worst person ever at the same time. They would be all confidence and cockiness until a suitable Alpha came along, then some switch would flip and they were suddenly docile and complacent. He always wondered which personality was the lie and the empty looks on the faces of their Alpha mates seemed to hint that it was the latter.

But, Azaki was different. The entire time that Kai was explaining the job, his Omega stayed silent and listened, but nothing about his body language was docile. Occasionally, Azaki would nod along or furrow his brows in a way that implied that Kai still was not trusted by his bonded at all. It was cute, and Kai continued explaining the details of the job as best as he could without mentioning the danger. He didn’t want to stress his mate out yet.

When he was finally finished speaking, Azaki straightened up in his bed and made hard eye contact. His gaze was consuming and it freaked Kai out enough to recoil ever so slightly. Through the bond, Kai could still feel that Azaki was panicking and anxious, but the Omega’s face was stone, not betraying a single hint of those feelings. It was quite impressive. So sexy.

“So, you need someone to head your network security, and you wanted to choose a hacker so that once defenses are set up properly, you can go on the offensive. Am I correct?” Azaki’s voice was calm as well, not a single trace of the fear and panic that Kai was feeling through the bond could be seen. Kai decided to follow in his Omega’s footsteps and keep himself businesslike for now to feel Azaki’s personality out a bit more.

“Correct. I can't give too many details until you’re officially on our side though.” Malakai smirked, there was no way that Azaki wouldn’t take the job.

“If I take this job, I’m the head of IT as well, yes?” Azaki raised an eyebrow suspiciously at Malakai. The Alpha nodded, unsure as to what Azaki was getting at. Had he not explained everything to him well enough?

“Alright, I accept the position.”

Malakai beamed, not that he was surprised by the information. His mate would obviously want to work with him! What was he so nervous about? Azaki was well suited to the position and the two of them would both work better if they were together. He was going to make a comment on those facts, but Azaki continued talking instead.

“I want all this in writing," Azaki paused and lightened his tone, "I’m sure you got my information from the Doctor. Send over the paperwork and start date and I’ll be there,” the Omega let out a small sigh and stood up from his spot on the hospital bed. Seeing him standing on his wobbly and tired legs almost made Kai spring into action, but the emotions he was feeling coming from Azaki kept him in place. The Omega continued speaking while crossing the room to grab an oversized hoodie hung next to the door and slipping it over his head and hospital gown.

“I’m not sure what kind of setup you have currently, but expect that I’ll have to shut down the servers for several hours over the first few days to get everything to my standard.” Azaki leaned down and slipped on a pair of jeans and his shoes quickly. Malakai just watched him, dumbfounded at the dichotomy between his calm and calculated way of speaking and the manic emotions he was sensing through the bond. “Anyway, it was nice meeting you. Later.”

Before Kai had a chance to answer, Azaki waved half-heartedly over his shoulder, swung the door open, and bolted from the room leaving Kai dumbfounded.