I didn’t die that night. My body healed. Nothing was broken, apart from my spirits. Even the Lace was fine. And after everything the commander did to me, I waited for his call like a good soldier. I waited for my transfer. I think, at that point, it was the only thing keeping me together.

But part of me didn’t actually believe Stoll. As the days went by, and I was still stuck with my old unit, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the commander never was going to let me into his unit, that he’d only wanted to have a little bit of fun with me in his boredom. I felt ghosted. Used, humiliated, broken, and ghosted.

It was hard to believe he was keeping his word. So, again, when I was finally led into a big meeting room on a Friday afternoon two weeks later, and I faced Commander Stoll and nine of his twelve captains sitting around a long table, I thought it wasn’t real. That I was dreaming. I had to be dreaming, but I knew I was not when two of the alpha captains laughed at the sight of me, shaking their heads like I was a joke.

Yes, I was there, but this was the end of the line for me. These alphas would never accept me. Everything I had done to get here was all for nothing, I understood that now.

“Omega,” one said, glancing at the commander. “Your fine new recruit is an omega?”

“Since when have you even considered their kind?” another asked.

“Come on, seriously? Is this why we’re here?”

My omega hated being there. It was scared out of its mind, but I held my pose, my chin up, my posture straight, trying to look bigger and taller than I really was. I needed to… I just needed to impress one of them. I just needed to get into one of the teams and maybe…

Just maybe… my hell would finally end…

But I couldn’t impress any of them. It was written all over their faces as they watched me in disbelief.

“You all read his file, no?” the commander asked them, but his eyes were on me. He was amused. He enjoyed watching me get humiliated and belittled by his captains. That was the only reason he’d invited me here.

“I did, but it said nothing about omegas.”

“Oh. My mistake. I must’ve left that info out by accident,” the commander said with a mean look in his eyes.

So fucking frustrating… All nine of them had read my file. All nine of them had been impressed enough to come see me in person. And none of them couldn’t get over the fact that I was an omega, no matter how impressive the rest of my resume was.

“Sorry, but it’s a no from me. I’m not taking an omega into my team. That’s just not going to work.”

“Yeah I’m not taking any chances.”

“I’m out, too. Omega just messes things up.”

It fucking hurt… I’d let the commander break me… for nothing… I fucking let him rape me just so I could stand here in this room and be turned down.

I couldn’t do this…

Three of them walked straight out the door. Silence fell while the remaining six tried to decide if they should follow them.

I almost couldn’t breathe…

“You’ve never accepted an omega before,” one of them said, peering at me with mild curiosity in his eyes. “Why this one?”

“He’s good at… convincing,” Commander Stoll said, flashing a mean grin at me. “I have my doubts, I’ll admit that much, but maybe it’s time to see how it’ll go with an omega.”

“So this is a… test?”

“Yes. A test. We’ll give it a go in case it’ll work out. If he fails, well, then I can say I told you so.”

A few of the captains laughed. I tried to keep my emotions hidden. Too good to be true, after all. The commander wasn’t even trying to get me recruited. He was only using this opportunity to humiliate me, to shove me deeper into the ground like he’d promised.

“Sorry, Commander, but I’m not taking part in your experiments. This could ruin my group.”

Six became five, and after a moment of hesitation, it turned into four.

“So! Do you have any questions?” Commander Stoll asked the remaining men after the door was closed again.

“I mean… He’s surprisingly big for an omega. Looks strong. His achievements are pretty impressive… But his heats…?”

“Doesn’t really affect alphas,” the commander said. “I’ve personally made sure of that. And he’s got double layered birth control. I mean, just in case, of course.”

I wanted to gag at the memory his words brought up… I’d gone through that operation for nothing…

“Obviously,” the man said, then turned his attention to me. “I could use one more pair of hands, but… I don’t think my men are eager to take an omega into the group.”

“That’s what I’m thinking, too,” another one said. “It just gets messy, and I’d rather not waste my energy on that.”

“Yeah, I think we’ll manage until you get us alpha recruits.”

“Sorry, commander. It just won’t work out with my men. You understand?”

“Yes, of course,” Commander Stoll said, raising his eyebrows at me. “You may leave.”

“Thank you, sir. And I wish we could help, but there’s so much at stake here, and I’m not comfortable risking the health and safety of my men for this experiment.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” the commander said dismissively.

I did my best to keep my composure when four turned into one. Only one captain still remained. He’d sat in his seat in silence, not saying a word, his eyes studying me. He was my only hope, and it crushed me.

“Tom?” the commander spoke, and the last captain shifted a little. “Why are you still here? You’ve not taken new men in… two years, is it?”

“I’m thinking,” the man said softly.

“Are you considering it?”

It…

“I am,” he said, shifting a little again. 

“So you’d be willing to take an omega into your team?” the commander asked.

The captain was silent for a moment, then pulled my file closer. “Your heat doesn’t affect alphas, correct?” he spoke directly to me.

“No, sir. I don’t have enough pheromones for them to detect,” I answered, making eye contact with him.

He nodded slowly, leafing through my papers. “Unlike my comrades, I do see use for someone with a smaller build. Especially for someone with close combat skills. I read through your captain’s letter of recommendation, and he’s praising your skills with knives. You’ve killed several high-profile targets with only a knife, correct?”

“Yes, sir. I was mostly used on stealth missions, which is why my training was focused on close combat,” I said, my hope rising a little.

“An assassin…” the captain muttered. “I could use one of those. But why do you want this? This isn’t an easy place for an omega, as you may have noticed already.”

“I’m good at what I do, sir. I’m a fighter, but my skills are currently going to waste,” I told him, faking my confidence. “I’m bored out of my mind in my current unit, really.”

The captain didn’t say anything. He only watched me closely. Thinking. I couldn’t tell if my reply was good enough, but at least he was considering me. My hope rose a little more, but I didn’t believe he would actually take me. 

“I do like the look in your eyes. I can already tell you’re quite a piece of work,” he finally said.

The commander laughed loudly. “That he is.”

I glared at him, but quickly turned away when I remembered the captain was still watching me. His stare made me nervous. It was the interest in his eyes that made me nervous. If he now said no, I’d have to live with the fact that he actually wanted me, but refused just because I was an omega. That detail about me was the only thing always standing in my way. No matter what I did. How hard I worked… Just like Stoll said, none of it mattered because I was an omega.

After everything I’d let happen to me…

“I’ll take you.”