Choose Me

by Hart, Delmire

  “No way,” he groaned. “There’s no way I’m leaving the room like this. How does he expect me to do chores like this?!”

  Luca snickered at him. “It’s not that bad.” He laughed openly at Toru’s answering glower. “I’m serious. This is normal. No one will look, except our Master, but that’s the point, right? You are for his eyes only, no one else is allowed to look at you like that.”

  That didn’t make him feel any better. Damn perverted alpha. For all the indifference he had seemed to show last night while he was naked, he does this? Although…he hadn’t been entirely indifferent. He remembered the way those eyes tracked across his skin with such burning intensity and shivered involuntarily.

  He cursed his body’s reaction to the memory and vowed that he would not cave to that man. The alpha probably expected Toru to be begging him to take him by the end of the week but he was not going to give his very soul away so easily.

  Yharis, by your guiding light I swear, I will not be so weak as to bow to his whims. I will make my own choice, follow my own path. He opened eyes that he had closed during his vow and looked at Luca who was looking back at him in concern.

  “I’m not sure I like that determined look. No funny business, all right? I don’t want to suffer one of Morse’s punishments. He gets really creative.” Luca pulled a face.

  “I won’t do anything that would get you into trouble, but I’m not going to take this sitting down either. Just wait till I can give the alpha a piece of my mind.”

  “Really now?” The deep rumbling voice that Toru recognised from last night spoke out from the doorway, startling both the slaves. The omega looked up with wide eyes to see the alpha in question leaning against the door frame with arms folded and eyes sparkling with amusement. Toru opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Luca bowed low and quickly left the room, throwing a knowing smirk over to Toru before he was gone. “You were saying?”

  “I…” Toru took a deep breath and gathered himself. He had not been prepared to face him yet but still, the embarrassed anger surged up and allowed him to burst out, “What the hell is this?!” He gestured to his attire.

  Kessler hummed and walked forward. Toru tensed as he approached but didn’t lower his gaze. The alpha’s lips twitched up as though in an aborted attempt at a smile and the man prowled around him, circling where he stood rooted to the spot. The omega could feel his eyes caressing his skin and felt himself flush even more under the gaze. He squirmed uncomfortably until the man finally stood back in front of him.

  A large hand reached up and trailed warm fingers across the pattern adorning his chest, up across the pale leather collar at his throat until he reached his chin and tipped his head back so that their eyes met. Toru mustered all the defiance he could and glared up at the alpha. He blinked in surprise when Kessler’s lips curved into the smile that threatened earlier. He seemed pleased.

  “Looks good.”

  Somehow, he didn’t think Kessler was referring to his clothes. He inhaled sharply when the man stepped even closer, invading his space. His presence threatened to overwhelm him and it was all Toru could do to stand still, to not cower before the alpha. He forced his back straight and held his gaze steady with the golden eyes that seemed to see through him.

  He was desperately trying to ignore the trembling in his limbs and heat that the alpha’s presence instilled in him. Toru would make his choice, not his omegan instincts and certainly not Kessler. He blinked in surprise when the alpha suddenly stepped back and he nearly sagged in relief. The man still seemed pleased though and it left Toru feeling confused.

  “You will wear what I have brought for you.” His tone left no room for argument. “Luca will show you what outfits are for certain occasions and I expect you to obey Seth as well as other senior staff, just like I told you last night.” The alpha raked his gaze other Toru’s body once more before settling back on his eyes. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  Kessler turned and left the room without a backwards glance. Toru flopped onto the bed breathing heavily. He felt like he had just run a marathon. What the hell did that man do to him? He didn’t move from where he had collapsed even when he heard someone else enter the room.

  “Wow, he seems to really like you.” Luca’s voice rang out, sounding equal parts surprised and amused. Toru groaned, that was the last thing he wanted to hear.

  “Yharis, please give me strength,” he prayed quietly.

  Because he would seriously need all the help he could get when it came to dealing with Kessler and his own traitorous body.

  Chapter 5: Welcome to Cosa

  Toru stayed flopped on the bed while Luca walked around the room and threw open the thick curtains.

  “You should come here and check this out. You won’t have seen the view yet.”

  The omega looked up and saw the other slave standing in front of large windows. He beckoned him forward and Toru hauled himself off the bed before dragging his feet across the carpet towards Luca. He realised with a start they weren’t actually windows, but doors inlaid with large glass panels that led out onto a balcony. The beta carefully opened the door and Toru stepped out into soft afternoon sunlight. He gasped at the sight in front of him and ran to the railing to stare in wonder. He could see the yard below with people training and the stone wall surrounding the manor.

  But it was the city sprawling beyond that took his breath away. The afternoon light cast the city in a warm yellow glow and the massive collection of rooftops was astounding. They were all done in red or orange tiling and gave the feeling of a warm summer dream. The sunlight reflected off a large blue surface beyond the rooftops and it took a few minutes of breathless wonder before Toru realised what it was.

  “Is that…is that the ocean?”

  “Yep. Welcome to Cosa. It’s built right on the ocean’s edge. We get lots of trade ships here, so we get people and things from all over. It’s really pretty, right?”

  Toru stared wordlessly out at the sheer expanse of blue. It stretched as far as the eye could see beyond the city and seemed to melt into the lighter blue of the horizon. “It’s so big…”

  Luca looked at him in surprise, “Have you never seen the ocean before?”

  “No,” Toru said with a shake of his head but keeping his eyes riveted on the sight before them. “I grew up in a place opposite to this. A little village in the shadow of a mountain. The largest body of water nearby was a lake I could swim across, one side to the other in one go without stopping. Most of the year it's frozen solid, though, since we had long winters and short summers. Snow would be past your ankle for months and the summers would be warm in the day but still cold enough for long sleeves in the evening. A far cry from here.”

  He closed his eyes and held his face up to the light wind buffeting them. Under the cool breeze he could feel the sticky residue of the heat that must surely surround this city normally. He hadn’t noticed it earlier while he was inside but outside the manor would be another story. He slept through most of the travel here and his recovering body never noticed the increasing heat.

  “That seems so crazy, but then I’ve never seen snow.” Toru turned to look at Luca in surprise. The beta leaned against the railing and stared out at the city. “I grew up in a tiny little fishing village just south of Cosa, it’s so warm that we can fish in the ocean all year round. Apparently it snows up north in the capital and beyond. But never down this far south. It must seem as crazy to you as you never having seen the ocean is to me. When I was younger, I pretty much lived on the boats. We would sometimes go so far out all you could see in all directions was the bright blue of the water. My whole life revolved around the ocean until I was sold to the Prince.”

  “How did you become Kessler’s slave?”

  “You shouldn’t ask people that, it’s rude,” Luca chided. “And make sure you address Master properly. I’m sure you’ll be allowed to call him something different in private but outside of the bedroom you need to be respectful.”


  Toru flushed and ducked his head. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay, I don’t mind but some people do. There are lots of reasons people become slaves, and it’s rude to pry into people’s pasts. Remember, slaves don’t have a past, that’s why we only have one name. So it’s okay to talk about it if you want but you should never ask someone. For me, I was sold a few years ago. I come from a big family that have been in that little village as fishermen for generations. A few years ago, there was a really long hot summer with very little rain and then it went into the coldest winter in living memory. Still no snow though.” Luca chuckled before continuing.

  “Most of the trade here relies on the fruit grown outside the city and products from those. So, alcohol mainly. But with the drought the crops were poor and even the fruit trees gave little produce that year. We could still fish but most of the people we normally traded with had no produce or money to trade with us. So, we had all this fish that was rotting while we weren’t sure what to do with it. We ended up giving a lot of it away to those starving after the failed harvests. But that meant that we couldn’t afford anything either, all we had was the fish we caught.

  “When my little sister got sick my parents couldn’t afford her medicine so I offered to be sold. I’m not the oldest or the youngest, just one of the in-between and another mouth to feed. I was young enough that I would fetch a good price because I could be used for anything and even trained if desired. Prince Kessler was looking for a new attendant and brought me to learn that role. That’s how I ended up here. My friend Alden in the kitchens was in a similar situation. His family runs a bakery in the main Cosa market; they were affected during the same year and he was also sold to give the family enough money to stay afloat. They are one of the busiest bakeries in Cosa now and he works in the kitchen.”

  Toru stayed silent while he digested the information. It hadn’t really sunk in that what Dai had said about people wanting to sell themselves until now. It just seemed so absurd to him before but after hearing Luca’s story, he kind of understood.

  “Now we need to get moving before Master comes back and gets distracted again.”

  Luca pushed himself off the railing and motioned for Toru to follow.

  “What do you mean ‘distracted again’?” The omega trailed after the other slave as he walked inside and closed the large balcony doors, shutting off the cool breeze. He realised it was a nice temperature inside, not warm as such but not cold either.

  “The prince is usually looking over reports in his study at this time of the day but he came into the bedroom just to see your wardrobe. Morse was standing outside grumbling about distractions while he waited for him to come back out.”

  Luca laughed and ushered Toru out into another room. “He normally works too much, so it’s nice to see him having a little fun now and then but you’ll have to watch out for Morse, he gets grumpy if His Highness skips out on work. Now, we need to tidy and dust this room before heading down to the kitchens to help with dinner preparation!”

  ***

  The two slaves had finally finished cleaning one of the private entertaining rooms located off the bedroom and were heading down to the kitchen. Toru walked a little behind Luca, who chattered away and pointed out different things. Toru was wary about the other people here and especially his outfit. He had quickly discovered while cleaning that bending over was a terrible idea and to kneel instead. The beta got an eyeful of Toru the first time when he didn’t realise. Stupid skirt.

  What the hell was the point of wearing something so short? He was feeling a little mollified about the whole thing once he realised Luca wasn’t lying about no one else caring. They passed many people in the hallways and stairwells as they made their way down into the kitchens in the belly of the manor. And while they all looked at Toru, their gazes were filled with curiosity and lingered on his face and especially his tattoo.

  Not a single gaze was leering or even seemed to notice the appallingly short skirt. If anything, when they were walking on the stairs, people below just kept their gazes politely averted. It really struck home Luca’s earlier words.

  “No one will look, except the prince, but that’s the point, right? You are for his eyes only, no one else is allowed to look at you like that.”

  For people who took other people as slaves against their will, Rokereans were a surprisingly polite people. He was pulled from his thoughts as they neared what must be the kitchens. Loud banging could be heard, along with people’s voices calling out to each other, and the smell of different spices lingered in the air.

  Luca grabbed him by the arm and pulled him excitedly through the doorway and into a storm of people and noise that threatened to overload his senses. He stared wildly around at all the different people, with so many shapes, sizes, and styles of clothing. It was like when he was sitting at the front of the carriage on the way into the city but now he was so much closer to everyone and it made him feel small and bewildered.

  He was immensely glad Luca had grabbed onto him, because he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t have just stopped in surprise and lost the beta. As it was, he was bodily dragged over to another beta, one with blonde hair a little darker than Toru’s. He noticed with a start that he also wore a skirt, although far longer than the omega’s, going past his knees instead of barely covering anything. He glanced around the kitchen and found more skirts and dresses on males and females alike and relaxed ever so slightly.

  “Alden! We’re here to help!”

  The skirted beta standing at the stoves turned to them and offered a small but welcoming smile. “It’s not too bad tonight, Hemiko will just have you running food to everyone.” He turned to face Toru properly. “Hi, I’m Alden, nice to meet you.”

  Toru blinked in surprise at the polite greeting before realising he was staring. “H-hi, I’m Toru…”

  “He’s Tysealean and doesn’t know about slaves and stuff so be nice, okay?” The other slave spoke loudly and Toru realised that it was for the benefit of all the people sitting at the tables at the other end of the kitchen that he had been pulled past earlier without realising.

  Most people seemed to be minding their own business, but a few were openly listening in and watching the new slave in their midst with interest. Luca gave him a reassuring smile but the omega’s attention was drawn to a silver haired lady who loomed over Alden’s shoulder with an assessing gaze focused right on Toru.

  “He needs some meat on those bones!” Her voice seemed to bounce off the walls, an incredible feat considering all the clamour of cooking going on around them. A large hand reached around, grasping Toru’s other arm in a steel grip and he found himself being steered over to one of the long tables at the back of the room before being forcibly sat down. He cast a wide-eyed glance over at Luca but the other slave was busy talking to Alden.

  The omega jumped when a large ceramic bowl was almost slammed down on the table in front of him and a small hunk of bread was sat next to it. He looked up at the imposing woman in surprise. “Eat.” Her tone left no room for argument and the omega reached for the bread automatically.

  He quickly realised that the bowl contained soup and he dipped the bread in, soaking up the juices before cautiously taking a bite. He groaned in appreciation at the taste. Was all the food here going to be so mouth-wateringly delicious? Because it might almost be worth all the drama just for the food alone. He caught the woman’s nod of approval before she stalked off back into the depths of the kitchen, where she started barking out commands. She looked like a commander on a battlefield; clearly the kitchens were her domain.

  “Hemiko’s cooking is amazing, right?” He glanced over at Luca who leant on the table next to him but could only nod his agreement around his mouthful. “She’s the head of the kitchens and always has a pot of soup on low heat in case anyone needs something outside of normal meal times. She looks a bit scary but really she’s a big softy.” He leaned forward and whispered the last bit with a grin. “I have to deliver some m
eals, but I’ll come get you when His Highness’s is ready to take up.”

  The omega nodded again and went back to inhaling the soup. It really was delicious and so filling. When he was done, he pushed the empty bowl away from himself and rubbed his stomach. It felt almost like he would pop. It hadn’t been that long ago that he had eaten all those fruits and pastries! Hemiko approached again and sat a little tart down in front of him and Toru gasped in delight. It had different coloured berries on top complete with cream.

  “For me?!” The woman nodded, this time he noticed that there was a warm glint in her eyes that belied her otherwise hard demeanour. Toru eagerly picked it up and devoured the sweet treat. He could have died from happiness right then and there. He licked the cream off his fingers and sat for a few moments in sheer ecstasy. When he came back to consciousness a few minutes later, he noticed with a start that he was almost purring in pleasure. It wasn’t quite the rare and mythical omegan purr but it was damn close.

  He flushed a deep red in embarrassment and ducked his head to hide the blush. His cheeks darkened even further when he heard a few quiet chuckles from around the tables next to him. People had been watching him the whole time, and he had just made himself seem completely stupid.

  They must think he was a vapid idiot to be almost purring over food. He wasn’t about to open his mouth and tell them that he had spent the last few months in the Tysealean army with little to no access to fresh food, however. He didn’t even want to think what reaction that information might get.

  Thankfully he was saved by Luca’s return and he was loaded up with a tray before tottering along behind the beta back up to Kessler’s study. He tried to pay more attention to all the twists and turns on their way back but quickly lost track of where they were and was soon hopelessly lost. It wasn’t long before Luca was knocking on a door and they were immediately being given permission to enter. Toru felt almost a sense of déjà vu to yesterday evening. The same deep voice beckoning them into the same room.