Chapter Text
He’d never considered himself pretty… and nobody else had for that matter. Handsome sure but never pretty. Growing up, they’d pegged him for an Alpha or a Beta. He was growing and filling out like one so that suited him fine but then puberty hit and he stopped growing so abruptly that his very bones seemed to be confused.
His first heat a couple of years later was devastating.
Everything he’d been planning for himself went up in smoke.
He didn’t look like an Omega. The only bit he had on that front was being short with a good set of hips and thighs. He wasn’t dainty in the least or soft like most seemed to prefer. The way his shoulders and chest had filled out left him bordering on stocky. He was solid, knew how to throw a punch, and the Alphas around him didn’t like it.
Not that he cared.
He wasn’t particularly interested in sex outside of heats and he preferred his own company most of the time. His small circle of friends from college were tolerated, most of them paired off with each other. The only one not was his roommate, a Alpha by the name of Seung-Gil, and he was as much of a not-people person as Otabek was. They got along well enough and helped each other with heats and ruts when needed. It was convenient and simple and the Korean Alpha was good in bed so it all worked out fine.
Otabek glanced over the table at him, noting the slight sour expression on his face. The music is loud and it smells of sweat. Somebody in here is in preheat and it’s sort of nauseating honestly. He glanced around, trying to find their other friends in the crowd and then gave up, sliding closer to the Alpha. “You ok?”
Seung’s face pinched, “I don’t think the alcohol’s mixing well with dinner.”
“You wanna head back?”
“We only have a couple of nights here. I don’t want to ruin it.”
“You won’t. If you’re not feeling well you should go sleep it off-”
They were interrupted by a wild grinning Leo, Guang Hong trying his best to hold the other male up on his feet, “I’mm ‘bout to puke. What w’s in that strog’noff?”
“You too?”
Seung coughs a couple of times like he's fighting to not gag and then sinks against Otabek’s shoulder, a clear sign that the man wasn’t feeling well at all. Otabek looks up at Guang Hong, “They should get back to the hotel.”
The Chinese male nods, looking slightly disappointed, “I’ll go find JJ.”
“Don’t bother. I’ll take them back. Leo’s got a room key right?”
Guang Hong nodded, “Are you sure? That seems unfair.”
“I was getting kind of done with it anyway.”
“Ok!” he plants a kiss on Leo and disappears into the writhing bodies.
“Time to go,” Otabek stands and helps Seung to his feet and drags Leo out. He hails a cab and Leo flops across the backseat.
Seung pauses, “Go back inside.”
“Are you-”
“Yes. We’re not that bad off and Leo’s right next next door. We’ll be fine enough to get ourselves to bed. I know you were looking forward to the DJ at the next place.”
“I feel bad though.”
“Don’t. Take some video and I’ll watch it when my skull isn't trying to kill me.”
Otabek nodded, “Ok.”
In an uncharacteristic display, Seung leans in and pecks Otabek on the mouth. He leaves him standing there, kicking Leo's legs while cursing at him, "Eomeoni saekki!" and gets in the cab, slamming the door shut. It pulls off and Otabek’s left to wonder what the fuck as he heads back inside. Seung was never all that affectionate… He must’ve really not been feeling well.
He gets back into the blinking lights and pounding bass. JJ and Izzy are spotted heading for the bathrooms. Guang Hong was nowhere to be seen which was a little concerning. Otabek makes a round, weaving through bodies and stepping in spilled beer. He grimaced, knowing his shoes would be sticky in about five minutes.
Guang Hong was spotted making a scene on the dance floor. Some asshole Alpha, likely tipsy, was being all handsy and Leo wasn’t here to set him right. Otabek rolled his eyes and pushed his way through the crowd.
“Get off me!” the Chinese male yelled in accented English.
“Excuse me!” Otabek tried in Russian when the Alpha didn’t even give the impression that he understood Guang Hong let alone willing to listen to him.
“What punk? He yours?” oh he did know Engrish.
“Yea,” he slung an arm over Guang Hong’s shoulders and attempted to pull him away.
The Alpha snorted, “You tiny. Hey babe,” he jerked Guang’s arm, “How 'bout you give real Alpha shot. It change your life.”
“Sorry! I’m not much for vodka dick! Now get your grubby paws-” Guang’s head jerked to the side
Otabek swung, clocking the Alpha in the jaw, dropping him to the floor. He grabbed Guang and pulled him away from the crowd. “You ok?” he paused by the bar, tilting the other Omega’s face into the lousy lighting to see a nice red handprint across his cheek, “Bastard.”
“It’s fine really.”
“Leo’s gonna kill me.”
“Not when he hears you decked the guy,” Guang giggled, “That was cool!”
“He shouldn't have been able to touch you in the first place,” he looked around, “We should go. Where the fuck is JJ?”
“JJ’s fucking,” Guang replied, “He should be done soon though. Whiskey never makes him last long.”
True to his word, JJ and Izzy showed up about five minutes later. Her lipstick was smeared and he had traces of it on his neck. She asked where Leo and Seung went and Otabek filled her in as the four of them left the club. Guang Hong was going on about the jerk Alpha while Otabek waved down a cab.
“He was an ass and I set him straight,” he shrugged as one pulled over.
They clamored into the van and gave the address through the partially open partition before it closed again. Otabek looked out the window at the lights of the city as they whizzed by. JJ was smacking on Izzy and Guang Hong looked about ready to pass out now that there wasn’t blood thumping bass to keep him going. Otabek yawned and shook his head.
Why did he feel so tired?
Maybe the vodka didn’t like the tequila shot.
HIs vision fuzzed and Guang Hong's head landed on his shoulder. The next thing he knew they were dragged out of the van and dumped on the pavement. The voices around him were garbled through the fog in his brain. His eyes wouldn’t work quite right as the world spun. He tried shaking it off, hearing JJ shouting in a drunken stupor. Otabek looked up just in time to see a dark figure pull a gun and shoot JJ in the head. The crack was deafening and JJ slumped to the ground.
JJ…
Oh shit...
JJ… was…
Izzy... Guang...
He staggered to his feet, running into the guy with the gun with what he hoped to be a decent roar. Instead he was pushed off and punched in the head. He collapsed on the blacktop.
“What’d you do that for?” the accent was definitely Russian.
“He attacked me!”
A hand grabbed the back of his jacket hauling him up. The gun flashed in his face, inches from his nose. He gasped, eyes wide as he faced what would probably kill him.
This was it.
He was going to die.
He wriggled a bit, throwing an elbow. A fist connected with his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. He dropped to a knee with a gasp.
“Bastard,” A loud sniff behind him made his skin crawl, “Fuckin’,” another sniff, “Omega…?”
“Seriously?” the disbelief would’ve been insulting if he hadn’t been terrified.
“Yea. Smells like brown sugar.”
The gun was pulled away, “Well, that’s our quota then.”
He felt the thin stab in his neck and then nothing.
The next time he woke up, he was in a cramped cell with Izzy and Guang-Hong and three others he didn’t know. Izzy and Guang cried silently, tears slipping down their cheeks. The other two looked like they were just coming out of a drop. They’d all been stripped to their underwear. It was humiliating… and cold.
Where were they even?