On Monday morning, Dante was waiting by the door for Raf and admitted him to the building as soon as he arrived.

“Good morning! How are you feeling?”

“Okay, I guess,” Raf said. “The first couple days after I got out of the hospital were a little rough. I had a lot of headaches. I’m feeling much better now, though.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Dante smiled warmly, then briskly clapped his hands together. “So. Before you get started today, I want you to come down to the dining hall with me. The residents are there having breakfast right now, so this is a good time for introductions.”

“Wait, what?” Raf was slightly alarmed. “That’s a bit much, don’t you think? Especially given what happened the last time I was there.”

“On the contrary, I think it’s necessary,” Dante replied as they began walking. “I should have done it the day you started. I knew some of the Center’s residents might be nervous around you, but I underestimated the amount of hostility it would cause, and I wasn’t proactive in addressing it. I’d like to get ahead of things this time by being upfront and open with them. I want to help them understand what they can expect from you, and I want to make it clear what I expect from them in terms of how they treat you.”

“Ah,” Raf said. He still felt nervous. Dante stopped just outside the dining hall and placed a reassuring hand on his arm.

“It’ll be okay, Raf. I promise.”

Raf hesitated for another moment, then gave a quick nod. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

“Excellent.” Dante led him into the hall, where most of the residents were still finishing their morning meals. He left Raf by the door and strode purposefully over to a small podium that was set up to one side of the room, then turned on the attached microphone.

“Morning, everyone, if I could have your attention please.” He waited until a gradual hush fell over the room. “I just have one quick announcement this morning. I know some of you have already met him, but I wanted to formally introduce Rafael Alvarez, who will be volunteering at the Center over the next few months.”

Raf did his best to avoid looking like a deer caught in headlights as around fifty sets of eyes turned his way. He recognized a few Omegas from the previous week, though mercifully he didn’t see Trevor anywhere. He did spot the tall auburn-haired woman, who gave him a smile and a wave, which gave him a small measure of relief. At least someone here doesn’t already hate my guts.

Dante continued, “I’m aware that there was an incident involving Rafael and one of our residents last week, and I want you to know that I take full responsibility for it. As acting Director, I should have been more forthcoming in letting you know that an Alpha was going to be working at the Center. For that, I sincerely apologize.” He paused and briefly inclined his head in acknowledgement of his fault.

“That said,” he continued, “after reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident, I have decided to allow Rafael to stay on at the Center.” There were a few gasps from the audience, but Dante plowed on. “Based on my own interactions with him, I believe him to be a person of character and integrity, and I think that if you give him a chance, you will come to like him as well. 

“Regardless,” and here his tone became a bit more stern, silencing the few voices that had begun to murmur, “I want to be very clear that I will not tolerate a repetition of what happened last week. Rafael is going to be a member of the Center’s staff, and therefore, the same rules will apply to him that apply to every other person here.” Dante did not specify exactly which rules he was referring to, but the Omegas in the room seemed to understand him. Some grew pale, while others simply nodded.

“That is all I had to say. I will now take questions, if there are any.”

There was tense silence for a moment, and then the auburn-haired woman piped up loudly from the back of the room, “I have a question! Is he going to be helping Miguel with the cooking all the time, or will he be doing other jobs? Because no offense, sweetie, but the seasoning on those vegetables was kind of bland. Your kitchen skills definitely need some work.” 

This scored a few chuckles, and Raf noticed the tension in the room seemed to ease a bit. He shot her a grateful smile, and played along, running his hand through his hair with faux modesty. “Ahhh...yeah, sorry about that. I know I’m not the best cook. Miguel did have to tell me the difference between the salt and the baking soda a few times.”

More laughter, and Rafael suddenly felt able to breathe easier.

“It won’t just be kitchen duties, no,” Dante added with a smile. “He’ll be helping out around the Center with errands, repairs, things like that.”

A nervous-looking Omega near the front of the room raised her hand. “Will he...will he be allowed in the dorm areas?” she asked, her face flushing bright red with embarrassment.

Dante sobered. “Not alone,” he said clearly. “I want everyone to be as comfortable as possible, so if there is any reason for Rafael to be in those areas, such as for a repair, he will be accompanied by another member of the Center staff. Otherwise, he will remain in the common areas. Other questions?”

A few other Omegas raised their hands with additional questions and concerns, which Dante likewise fielded smoothly. Raf’s shoulders relaxed. It seemed like Dante’s approach was working. He could tell that there were still some pockets of resistance here and there, but the occasional suspicious glances being sent his way contained none of the overt hostility of the previous week. For the most part, it seemed like the Omegas were starting to accept the reality of his presence, even if they had not yet accepted him.

The auburn-haired woman meandered over to him as the meal finally ended and the Omegas began to filter out of the dining hall.

“Hey there, honey,” she said with a friendly wave. “Glad to see you up and about! You all recovered? That was a pretty nasty head injury you had there. I’m Christina, by the way.” She stuck out her hand.

Raf clasped it and gave a firm shake. “Yeah, thanks for all your help! Seriously, this is like the third time you’ve saved me, and it’s only my second day.” He hesitated, and then asked, “You were at the hospital then too, weren’t you?”

“Yep, that was me,” she grinned, and he blushed awkwardly at the memory. 

“By the way,” she added, kindly changing the subject, “I wanted to apologize for poking fun at you earlier. Your vegetables were actually fine. It just seemed like the best way to help some of those folks take the sticks out of their asses.”

That surprised a smile out of him. “Seems like it worked.” Raf scanned the room. “At least nobody’s tried to kill me yet. Well, today.”

Christina threw her head back and laughed merrily. “True, true. Well, listen. I just wanted you to know that I’m in your corner. You seem like a sweet kid, and well, I have some experience being the only one of my gender in a room full of people who hated me.” Raf raised an eyebrow. “I used to be an attorney,” she clarified. “Not a lot of Omegas in that profession, obviously, so I was constantly surrounded by Alphas, many of whom weren’t shy about voicing their shitty opinions about me.” She shrugged. “After a while, you develop a thick skin. I just got used to telling the little bigots to go fuck themselves.”

Raf gaped at her. She laughed at him again. “Sorry, sweetie, did I offend you? I know my language can be a bit coarse sometimes. Professional hazard and all that.”

“No, not at all!” he stammered. “I’m just kind of in awe over here, I guess. You…you are such a boss.” 

She snorted and grinned. “Damn straight, kid.”

“Moooooooom!” A high-pitched voice called out from across the room. Christina’s head whipped around and Raf followed her gaze to where a young, red-headed child was running toward them. She looked very familiar.

“Hey, Cameron, baby,” Christina swept the little girl up into her arms. “Did you meet Rafael yet?”

The girl looked at Raf, then hid her face in Christina’s neck. Christina looked at Raf apologetically. “Sorry, she’s shy around new people.”

“No worries,” Raf said. “We met briefly last week, I think. Hey there, Cameron. I’m Raf.”

“Mmmmm,” Cameron tightened her arms around Christina’s neck in response.

“Well, I guess that’s my cue,” Christina said. “We’ll see you later, Raf.” She gave him a final nod and took her leave. As she departed, he saw Cameron lift her face to look back at him and stick her tongue out defiantly. Raf made a silly face at her in return, and was rewarded with a small giggle.

“Well, I see you’re making friends.” 

Raf turned around with a start and realized Dante was right at his elbow, watching Christina and Cameron round the corner. It gave him the weirdest sense of deja vu. “Jeez! How long have you been standing there?” 

Dante ignored his question. “So you’ve met Christina,” he said. “That’s good. You may have picked up on this already, but she’s a natural leader, and she has a lot of influence among the residents. If she likes you, that will be very helpful.”

“Yeah, she’s…she’s just amazing,” Raf didn’t bother to keep the admiration out of his voice.

“She is at that,” Dante nodded. “I can honestly say she’s one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”

“I can see why. She--” Raf abruptly stopped himself mid-sentence. Dante flicked a curious glance over at him. 

“What’s wrong?”

Raf shook his head, flushing slightly. “Sorry, never mind. It’s nothing.”

“What is it? Did Christina say something to you?”

“No, nothing like that! It’s only...I noticed just now that she’s, um, like you. For some reason, I couldn’t smell her at all.” He wrinkled his nose in confusion. What the hell was going on? He’d never had any trouble scenting Omegas before. Why were his senses suddenly malfunctioning?

“Ah…” Dante ran a hand through his hair, appearing to catch some of Raf’s embarrassment. “Well, the reason for that is probably that she’s claimed.”

Raf stopped. The thought had honestly not occurred to him. 

“But I’ve been around claimed Omegas before. They always smell like their mates.”

“Right,” Dante rubbed his hand against the back of his neck. “Their natural pheromones are suppressed after the claim is established and they become effectively invisible to the noses of other Alphas. But that doesn’t mean they automatically start smelling like their mates. It’s more like the scent rubs off on them, the way perfume sticks to clothing. The reason Christina doesn’t smell like anything to you is because, even though she’s claimed, she hasn’t been around her mate in more than 6 months. There’s nothing left for you to smell.”

Raf shot a sharp glance at him. “Then you…”

“I am also claimed,” Dante replied bluntly.

The words, delivered in such a matter-of-fact tone, hung suspended in the air as Raf struggled to process them. Claimed? How could he be claimed?

“But, your scent…” he protested weakly.

“Like I said, you need to be around your mate to absorb their smell. I haven’t set eyes on my mate in almost ten years. That’s why you can’t smell me, and why you never will.”

He turned away, changing the subject as casually as if he had been talking about the weather. “Anyway, come on down to my office. Now that you’ve met everyone, let’s go talk about the rest of your to-do list for the day.”

Without waiting for a response, he began walking briskly down the hall. Raf remained frozen, gazing after him. A thousand questions were running through his brain. 

Claimed? Dante is claimed? When? And how? And by whom? What does that mean for him? What does it mean for me? Wait, why do I even care?

He unconsciously rubbed the heel of his hand against his chest, where a strange, painful ache had begun to form. 

“Raf?” Dante had stopped and was looking back at him, an eyebrow raised inquiringly.

Raf shook his head quickly to clear it. Regardless of how many questions he had, there would be no more answers for now. He hurried to catch up to Dante, doing his best to refocus his mind on the task at hand, and to ignore the lingering throbbing in his chest that, for some reason, refused to fade.