He hadn’t realized he’d fallen asleep until he felt a sharp kick to his side and his eyes flew open to look up Merrik’s annoyed face. “Get up and get dressed. We have to leave.”

He sat up as Merrik walked away, nursing his pounding head with a groan. Maybe downing the entire bottle of wine wasn’t such a good idea. The Omega was already finely dressed in a maroon jacket and pressed pants. His dark red hair had been nicely gelled to the side and immaculate. There was no sign of the flush he had had last night when he had approached him. But he was in no mood to go down that avenue again. 

He struggled to get up off the floor and into the bathroom. He stripped himself of his clothes and happily melted under the shower. He had a shower when he was living in the Slums but it had always been slightly warm and then cold within a minute. He had grown used to it knowing there was nothing that could be done but this? This was heaven. This was what a shower was supposed to feel like. The warmth invigorated him and erased the last tendrils of his hangover. He used Merrik’s soap to wash himself before getting out. It took him a few moments to find a towel and when he did, his reflection caught in the mirror. This time, it wasn’t his face or the state of his hair. It was the sharp contrast of the collar against his pale skin. He tentatively reached up and touched it, finding it cold despite the hot shower. It was a horrible reminder that his life was in the hands of the Omega in the other room. On a whim, he could snap his neck and be done with him. There was something disconcerting about an Omega that was far stronger than he was. 

With the towel around his waist, he returned to the bedroom and found that an outfit, one of which he had Xander buy him, was laid out on the bed. The rest of the room, including the main room, was cleaned up and August paused, his eyes falling on Merrik. Had the Omega cleaned up while he slept? He turned his attention to the outfit. He let the towel drop to his feet as he dressed. The clothes felt starchy against his skin. Was this what new clothes felt like? The shirt was so pristine white that it almost hurt his eyes. The dark jacket that went with it was heavy and warm and the jeans were surprisingly soft. He was just sitting on the edge of the bed to pull on the boots to finish off the outfit when Merrik impatiently walked back into the bedroom. His eyes raked up and down August with a sour look on his face before he ‘tsked’ and turned his back.

“Let’s go.”

He eased himself off the bed and followed the Omega out of the room. 

It was different walking through the manor when he wasn’t being dragged around by his arm. Though, with the collar around his neck, he felt as though he might as well be. He was honestly surprised Merrik wasn’t using a leash on him. Maybe he should have been appreciative that he wasn’t. He took the moment to watch Merrik from behind him. While he was obviously one of Them, but he didn’t act like it. Rin had suggested that there were other Omegas who would take him and use him to their heart’s content and he knew they wouldn’t treat him as well as Merrik did. 

Merrik’s back was straight and, though he wore a suit jacket, he could see how his body was thin and curvy. Walking behind him, he could smell his sweet scent and it was hard to not follow him. He felt strung along on an invisible leash. When it came down to it, when Merrik experienced a heat, he knew there would be no escaping. He would instinctively chain himself to Merrik and Them. 

Feeling uncomfortable with those thoughts, he instead decided to take in the manor as they walked. There were more rooms than he could count and far too many sitting rooms than there needed to be. Since that first meeting, he had seen no one else in the manor as they went. He knew that others lived here as Xander and Rin had hinted at but it was hard to imagine.