It was a gray, blustery day when Rafael Alvarez pulled up in front of St. Margaret’s Center for Omega Health and Supportive Services. He climbed out of the cab and stared up at the nondescript concrete building, taking note of the cracked, windowless facade and the lack of any discernible signage. He double-checked the address on his phone, just to make sure he had the right place. Yep, this was definitely it. Not much to look at, but then, he hadn’t really been expecting a lot. It was a home for Omegas, after all. It wasn’t as though the government was going to shell out extra funding for luxury accommodations.

Might as well get this over with.

He trudged up the stairs and hit the buzzer next to the door. There was no response. He tried again and waited for another moment before pulling his phone out of his pocket and scrolling through his emails to see if the court clerk had included any kind of contact information in the official communication she’d sent him the day before. He was still searching his messages when the intercom suddenly clicked on. There was a pause, and then an oddly high-pitched voice suddenly squeaked, “Hello? Hellooooooo? Oh hi! Who’re you?”

Raf hesitated, momentarily taken aback. He glanced up and noticed a camera positioned over the door, then turned back to the intercom. “Um...hi there. My name is Raf. Rafael Alvarez? I think they’re expecting me...” He sighed. “Listen, is there a grown-up nearby I can talk to?”

“Oh, yeah! I’ll go get Dante. Hang on!” The intercom clicked off. 

Raf stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets and leaned against the wall, trying to stave off both the biting cold and his growing sense of irritation as the minutes passed. Was it really so hard to get an adult -- literally, any adult -- to come open the damn door and let him in? His fingers twitched in his pockets as he wished for the hundredth time that day that he had his cigarettes. It had only been a month since he’d quit, but the cravings still hit him pretty hard sometimes, particularly when he was feeling stressed. He glanced around, looking up and down the block. Fuck it. Maybe there was a convenience store nearby…?

Abruptly, the intercom clicked back on, and a decidedly more grown-up voice growled out, “Hello?”

“Hello? Yes, hi. Can I come in please?”

“What do you want? We only serve Omegas here.” 

Raf’s worn temper finally gave out. “My name is Rafael Alvarez!” he snapped. “I’m supposed to report here today to complete my court-ordered community service hours, and I was told you all were expecting me, and it’s really freaking cold out here! Can you please let me in?”

There was a long pause, during which Raf belatedly wondered if he was about to get told to fuck off and complete his hours elsewhere, and then he heard a buzzer sound. Relieved, he snatched the door open and hurried inside before whoever was on the other end decided to change their mind about letting him in.

The interior of the building honestly wasn’t any more impressive than its exterior. The dim fluorescent lighting overhead made the beige walls of the corridor look extra dingy, and one of the bulbs flickered on and off. He looked left and right, trying to figure out where he should go next. Would it kill these people to put up some signs? 

As he stood there pondering his next move, he caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. Down the hall, he could just barely make out a mop of dark reddish hair and two curious blue eyes peeking around the corner. He took a step toward them, trying to make his voice sound friendly. “Hi there, can you tell me…aaand they’re gone,” he sighed as the face abruptly vanished again.

“Don’t mind Cameron,” a voice by his shoulder nearly made him jump a foot. He whirled around to find a slender young man peering up at him, his large hazel eyes framed by a pair of glasses. “She’s normally a pretty friendly kid, but we don’t get a lot of Alphas around here, so.” 

Raf struggled to recover his composure. How the hell had he not sensed someone coming up behind him? Like all Alphas, he had a pretty keen sense of smell, and he could usually scent someone long before they got into his personal space. Granted, Alphas themselves normally had the strongest odors, and there definitely weren’t any of those around here, but he should still have smelled something. He gingerly tested the air, trying not to be too conspicuous about it. There were numerous aromas swirling about, most of them delicate and floral, denoting the presence of multiple Omegas nearby. However, from the man in front of him, who was now openly scowling, he smelled nothing. 

He realized suddenly that he hadn’t said anything in at least 30 seconds, and groped blindly for some kind of response to the man’s previous statement. “Yeah, um, I imagine you wouldn’t,” he finally said awkwardly. “Get Alphas. I mean, that’s sort of the point of this place, yeah?”

The other man sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “Look, I’m well aware that you’re not here because you want to be,” he said wearily. “To be honest, I’m not too thrilled about it, either. Nothing personal, you understand, it’s just that a lot of the folks who come through here have had some pretty nasty experiences with Alphas, and your presence might make them feel a bit uneasy.” He looked up at Raf briefly, and then shrugged. “That said, we’re pretty short handed at the moment, and we could really use the extra help. So if you could just follow me, Mr. Alvarez, we’ll go down to the office and get you oriented.” 

With that, he turned on his heel and started walking briskly in the other direction, leaving Raf to hurry after him. As they turned into what appeared to be an office area, Raf glanced back down the hall and caught another glimpse of Cameron peering after them. He shot her what he hoped was a charming smile, and she responded by sticking her tongue out at him before fleeing once more. Cheeky brat. He shook his head and entered the office.