Iyasu awoke to a gentle prodding on his shoulder. He opened his eyes with a dissatisfied frown and glared up at the person above him. Jerrod was leaning over him expectantly.

“You need to get ready soon.” he said right before Iyasu could hear the ring of a bell that startled him and prompted Jerrod to glance towards the door. “That’s the morning bell.” he explained with a sigh. Iyasu looked out the window at the mostly dark blue sky.

“Barely morning.” He grumbled but moved to get up anyway. He could still feel a dull ache in his hips and ass as he slid out the bed. 

Iyasu wavered a bit when he stood causing Jerrod to wrap an arm around his waist instinctually. The touch immediately made him jerk away, his heart beat out his chest as his stomach twisted with fear. He sat back onto the bed and wrapped his arms around himself protectively.

“Sorry.” Iyasu said in a small whisper. “I don’t know what that was.” his brain was still catching up to his body's reaction. He tried not to think about the hands that bruised his hips last night, pushing the violent images in the back of his mind and locking them away.

“No I’m sorry. That was careless of me.” Jerrod’s voice was deep and soothing. He kept his distance but Iyasu could smell that same spicy sweet scent of cinnamon beginning to drift towards him. The scent made his body relax almost instantly, he couldn’t help but look up at Jerrod with intrigue, was he trying to comfort Iyasu? It didn’t seem to match the aloofness the man usually displayed. 

“You’re fine.” Iyasu gave him a weak smile. “Thank you.” he didn’t think he needed to clarify why he was thanking him, Jerrod already had a look of surprise and slight embarrassment on his face like he was unaware of his scent leaking out. Iyasu couldn’t stop his smile from growing, he didn’t expect such a cute reaction. 

There was something else too that stuck with Iyasu, that cinnamon scent didn’t seem as heavy as Iyasu expected from someone like Jerrod. He was a rugged looking man, all thick muscles and scarred skin, he had to be just as tall as Roland too, towering over most other people. Iyasu was sure the man was an alpha but something about his scent felt almost refreshing compared to Roland’s suffocating musk. Jerrod's reserved nature made it harder to determine his true gender, he was an enigma at times.  

A knock on the door alerted them both from their spell. It was a boy with fair skin and dark curly hair, his cherub-like face lit up in surprise when he caught Jerrod and Iyasu staring at one another. 

“Hurry y’all black asses up, we have to start breakfast soon.” He wore a suspicious expression as he spoke but said nothing more before he left. They both hurried to the bathing area walking past other servants who were busy carrying various items down the hall to set up the dining room.   

“Who was that ?” Iyasu asked once they were in the empty bathroom. He turned away when he saw Jerrod start to undress, unbuttoning his own shirt in a hurry. 

“That was Oliver. Don’t mind him, he can be crass at times.” 

Iyasu huffed out a laugh. “He certainly knows how to get to the point.” The kid was rude but at least there was one other omega here besides the ‘mistress’ of the house. There were a few other omegas that he noticed out on the field when he worked there but the house had mostly beta slaves.    

“That’s one way to put it.” Jerrod said with a bit of amusement in his voice. They grabbed their uniforms from the cupboard and dressed in silence, Iyasu wanted to savor every second before he had to interact with his tormentors once again. These moments of normalcy should keep him sane for another day, he told himself that over and over.

Iyasu looked down at the black vest and pants he wore, holding out his arms to check out the frilly sleeves of his shirt. The clothes here were so outlandish compared to the colorful and laid back street fashion found in the slums of Faction 5. It’s like they weren’t even from the same country, they were just so stuffy. He adjusted his vest as Jerrod pulled out a paper and offered it to him.

“This is the schedule for most of the servants. Master Roland may change your duties later if need be.” Jerrod explained. Iyasu shivered at the thought of Roland controlling any of his duties directly, he wondered what they would entail, certainly nothing innocent. Iyasu took it and looked over it to see mostly mundane house chores. 

“I have to go,” Jerrod moved to leave but Iyasu shot him a nervous look before he could stop himself. Jerrod paused for a second before speaking again. 

“You’ll be okay.” He said with a nod, he left the room soon after.

You’ll be okay. Such a simple phrase but it sunk into Iyasu very being, it made his heart warm and his pain seem a little less sharp. He let out a breath and looked at his schedule again, he was a little behind but he had to help in the kitchen. He hurried over and almost immediately was met with that same cherub face. This time the boy looked pissed. 

“You’re late.” He snapped, shoving a knife towards him and making Iyasu flinch before grabbing it. 

“My bad.” Iyasu said, trying to keep the ire out of his voice. He was quickly losing patience with this kid. He got a dirty look from Oliver but he ignored it as he followed the boy around the island counter that sat in the middle of the kitchen to a pile of potatoes in the back. A pile of boxes sat next to it along with a table and chair. Oliver placed a large metal bowl on the table. 

“Since we’re already halfway done with breakfast you can peel the potatoes for lunch and dinner. Make yourself useful.” He said gesturing to the bag of potatoes that looked intimidating to Iyasu. He could cook but he never prepared such big portions, he’s only ever had to feed himself. 

“What’s wrong? That head of yours full of cotton too? Start peeling.” Oliver crossed his arms, he almost had a smug look on his face. Iyasu stared coldly at him before he picked up a potato and started peeling. He was on his third when Oliver leaned on the table next to him with a mischievous look.

“What were you and Jerrod talking about earlier? I’ve never seen that overgrown beta talk to anyone for more than a minute, let alone go to their room.” Oliver tilted his head making his curls fall away from his face.

 Iyasu briefly wondered why the annoying kid was harassing him instead of helping out around the kitchen. Then Oliver’s words hit him, did Iyasu hear him right? There was no way he was telling the truth about Jerrod.

“Jerrod’s a beta ?” Iyasu almost dropped the potato he was currently peeling. Oliver smirked seeing the comical way Iyasu’s mouth gaped open in shock.

“Haven’t you noticed his scent lacks that certain je ne sais quoi?” Oliver’s eyes are filled with desire when he says the last words. “He just doesn’t have that beautiful alpha smell.”

Iyasu didn’t know what “je ne sais quoi” meant but he had to disagree. “I don’t know,” He said as he continued his task. “I feel like alphas stink of shit at this point. Jerrod’s scent smells different...it’s kind of nice.” A blush spread across his face as he said it, somehow that realization made him feel embarrassed.

Oliver looked strangely insulted by Iyasu’s statement. He leaned into Iyasu’s space with a hostile frown on his pretty face. 

“You northern niggas are weird. How could you even say something like that? I don’t even know why Master Roland is interested in you--” before he could finish a small hand smacked him on the back of his head. 

“What the hell!” Oliver exclaimed as he turned to reveal Sandra. She was glaring at the young omega with her hands on her hips.

“Why are you harassin’ Iyasu like that! He don’t need that stress!”

Oliver glared at the ground, clearly not willing to openly challenge an alpha. “I-I wasn’t---”

“Yes you was, now walk your narrow behind to the dining room. Masta Roland is gonna to be coming down soon.” 

Oliver clenched his fists and sent a dirty look towards Iyasu but still obeyed in the end. Iyasu rolled his eyes at the other omega, he could never understand omegas like that, for what reason did they need to worship alphas? Too many alphas have made his life more difficult rather than better. 

Sandra sighed when Oliver finally stomped out of the room. She gave Iyasu a sympathetic smile as she shook her head. 

“I’m sorry Iyasu honey, he got a big ego cause he light-skinned and the Masta favors him.” She scoffed with a laugh. “That child’s crazy.”

Iyasu couldn’t help but wonder what she meant about being “favored” after what happened to him. As much as he didn’t like Oliver he hoped someone that young wasn’t involved in that type of situation.

“It’s fine. Thank you for that.” Iyasu’s face heated up again. He really appreciated Sandra’s sweet and protective personality, maybe some alphas weren’t all that bad.

“It’s all good.” She moved to pat him on the shoulder with surprising strength making him flinch. “You remind me of my little brother. I’ve gotta soft spot for ya.” she smiled as she said it.

“I’m flattered, your brother must be quite handsome.” Iyasu jokes, he had no idea Sandra even had any siblings.

“He was.” Sandra said looking away. Her shoulders hunched with tension but she eventually gave Iyasu another smile laced with sadness.

Iyasu looked away when it finally clicked for him. He didn’t know how to respond at first but he eventually spoke up. “I’m sorry.” Was all he could utter. 

“It’s okay! No need to dwell on it.” Sandra shrugged with her usual bright expression but he could still see the remnants of sorrow in the depths of her dark eyes. 

“I shouldn’t have assumed.” Iyasu said, he felt his chest tighten. He knew the pain of losing loved ones, very intimately. 

Sandra looked away for a moment with an unreadable expression but her smile returned when she met his eyes again. “It’s alright, I’ll just adopt you from now on. You can be my little brother.” her tone was cheeky as she said it. 

Iyasu let out a quiet laugh. “I’d be honored.” He responded. 

“Here, I’ll help you with those since I already finished baking the biscuits.” she dusted the last of the flour from her hands and grabbed a knife from the butcher block. Iyasu moved his seat over when she grabbed a chair to place it next to him, she picked potatoes from the pile and started to peel it in unison with him. Iyasu could feel her warmth as she sat next to him, it didn’t feel like a duty with her there chatting with him as they peeled. 

Iyasu smiled as she continued her animated conversation, he couldn’t help but think maybe some alphas were pretty great.