Across the room, their eyes met and he felt a strange tug in his chest. His Alpha instincts recognized an Omega immediately and he couldn’t help but feel the pull towards him. He was shorter than Cain but had dark red hair in contrast to Cain’s fiery red. His red eyes easily marked him as Infected and they were anything but friendly. It was clear he felt the same as him about this arrangement. Maybe that could work in his favor even if his instincts were screaming at him otherwise. 

“Merrik, this is the Alpha you are to be paired with.” Malakai turned away from the cabinet with a small, square wooden box. He moved to his son’s side and opened it to reveal a collar. August felt like he’d been dunked in ice cold water. Merrik picked it up with a frown. 

“What’s your name, boy?” Malakai asked, closing the lid of the wooden box and setting it back down onto a small table by the couch. 

August was caught up in Merrik who had moved towards him. He wore a suit, much like his father and his hair was immaculately styled. A proper born and raised aristocrat. But more than that, Merrik’s Infected scent was… it didn’t make him want to vomit. In fact, it drew him in. Each breath he took, it mixed with the Omega’s natural pheromones and the pull towards the Omega became stronger. A mixture of jasmine and aloe that calmed him. It was far too easy to forget that he was one of Them. 

Merrik stopped before him, looking down at him with a sense of contempt but there was also a surprisingly uneasy sense to him. “My father asked you a question.” he told him and it brought August back around to the present.

“August.” he said, tensing up as Merrik leaned down to secure the collar around his neck. 

He couldn’t help himself. He had no experience around an Omega and had no skill in being able to control himself. The moment Merrik was close enough, he leaned in and ran his nose along the Omega’s scent gland to breathe in his scent. It was even more delicious up close. He wanted more of it. It just wasn’t strong enough as it was to satisfy.

But it ended all too soon when Merrik abruptly pulled away only to bless August with the look of fear on the Omega’s face. So he wasn’t as stuffy as the rest of Them. If anything, he looked more like a mouse among rats. The expression wiped itself from his face as Malakai walked up beside Merrik, a clear screened tablet in his hands. August could see his picture and ID information backwards through the LED screen. It was a picture of him before he dyed his hair and he internally cringed. 

“Your ID information has been officially changed.” he said matter-of-factly. “Your chip now has your place of residence as here and I’ve erased your job code. You will also no longer have to participate in Farming days but you will be feeding Merrik when he requires it.” Malakai looked down at him, as if daring him to object. 

 He did his best to glare back at him. “Yeah, got it.” 

Malakai looked pleased as the tablet went dark. “Alpha or not, I won’t hesitate to get rid of you should you not follow these orders. Merrik’s next heat cycle, I expect to hear good things.”

August rolled his shoulders, uncomfortable with the feeling of the collar around his neck. It was tight; not enough to choke but certainly enough to keep from anyone else claiming him. For now, he would lay low and take it. Maybe he could learn some things about Them and use it to his advantage. He doubted they were as perfect as the AI made them out to be. There were bound to be some imperfections. And besides, that look of fear he had caught on Merrik’s face made his chance of escape higher. At least he knew that they weren’t going to hurt him too much at least. 

“Merrik, show the human where he will be staying. I don’t want your new pet wandering my house.” Malakai said with a dismissed wave of his hand.

There was a tense moment of silence where neither of them moved until suddenly, Cain was springing to his feet. 

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Merrik! He’s human! What’s he going to do to you?”

He grabbed August by the collar of his shirt and yanked him up. He did the same with Merrik and began to drag both of them from the room.