Chapter 3: Theodore - Marked By Love

The omega house was easy to find. Not only did Theodore know the address, but it was the largest building in town that wasn’t government. Four stories tall, painted a bright white with pastel-pink shutters and doors with a large metal Ω above the French front doors. The front flower garden was immaculate for the late autumn season, and Theodore saw a vegetable patch around back as he drove up.

Once on the front porch, he hit the buzzer. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal the beefiest omega Theodore had ever seen. She was almost six feet tall, unheard of for any omega, and covered in thick muscles and tattoos.

“Name’s Michelle. I run Elk Cove’s omega house. Can I help you?” she introduced herself.

“Hi, um, I’m the new veterinarian, James Abbott,” Theodore introduced his pseudonym. “I was hoping to move in here.”

Michelle pursed her lips and knitted her brow.

“I don’t have much, just a few bags of clothes and toiletries.”

“Listen, James, under normal circumstances I’d be happy to have you move in …”

Theodore clanked the peppermint against his teeth. He had a suspicion where this was going, and he didn’t want to hear it.

How long had it been since he’d been around other omegas?

How long had it been since he’d shared a meal with friends?

How long had it been since he’d slept in a room with another?

Over three years.

It wasn’t natural, it wasn’t right. Omegas were social creatures by nature. His desire for companionship was starting to eat him away, more so than the constant cloud of death.

Living in an omega house would have also mixed his scent with others, further confusing it and making it harder to distinguish from a crowd.

None of the other towns he’d inhabited were large enough for omega houses. That’s why he’d chosen Elk Cove. It had been too long …

Behind Michelle, Theodore caught glimpses of other omegas milling about and their combined scents wafted out to him along with something sweet baking. His urge to go inside and burrow into a cozy bed turned painful.

“You see, an illegal breeding center was broken up a few towns over. They sent some of their omegas here because we had the room,” Michelle explained. “I typically try to give everyone their own room, or no more than two, but we’re pushing four per room right now, and I just got word they’re sending a few others over when they’re released from the hospital this week.”

“I see,” Theodore said.

“I usually have a policy, not to turn any omega away no matter what, but the vet clinic has a house attached to it … doesn’t seem like I should give a bed away to someone who already has one …”

“No, I understand,” Theodore mumbled. He was trying not to sound like a pouting child, but he couldn’t help the tremor in his voice. “I wouldn’t have asked if I had known the situation.”

“Hey, listen, I don’t want you to feel unwelcome. Hell, half the omegas in here have some sort of pet. Our door is always open to you to visit, have a meal, we host game nights most Fridays.”

Theodore blinked hard and clanked his peppermint against his teeth so hard the candy cracked.

“Thank you, I’ll remember that.”

He could have gone inside. He could have made introductions, offered to help in the kitchen. Instead, he turned away. In his heart, Theodore knew if he went into the omega house, he’d never be able to force himself to leave, to continue his existence in nomadic solitude, a necessity to keep himself, and the information he harbored, alive.

Spirits deflated, Theodore returned to his yellow car and drove the few blocks to the vet clinic. If he was lucky, the clinic manager would be there and let him in.

Margarette was an elderly beta with curly gray hair and a lingering scent of cats. She was working in the clinic office when Theodore arrived. She was more than pleased to show him around and give him the copy of the keys to the clinic and the clinic house that, unlike Theodore had thought, wasn’t an attached building.

The veterinarian house was a rustic cabin behind the clinic with a scattering of mature fir trees to offer the inhabitant privacy. It was cozy with a master bedroom, a library, and spare bedroom, with a modest sitting area and kitchen. Under normal circumstances, Theodore would have loved the charm of it all.

However, while the previous owners had seen fit to upgrade the kitchen cabinetry and appliances along with the plumbing, there was no central heat to speak of. The cast-iron stoves in the bedrooms and living room looked functional and promising, but he had no firewood and no idea where an axe could be found. Honestly, even if Theodore found an axe, he’d never chopped wood before and was likely to hurt himself in the process.

Wrapping himself in blankets on the sofa with a fresh cup of peppermint tea, he sniffled. Generally, he had a strict rule of not feeling sorry for himself. All things considered, his fate could have been far worse. He could have ended up like his father, or like the countless other omegas who’d gone ‘missing.’

Theodore couldn’t help it though. Being on the run for this long was wearing him down.

A violent shiver ran through his body. It was just like an alpha to have wood-burning heat, not bothering to consider the possibility an omega may inhabit the space alone at some point. The alpha in question probably thought the poor, weak, little omega would always have a strapping alpha to rely on.

What a prick.

Thunder rumbled, and the bright skies were cast into gray clouds. An autumn storm had moved in, heavy sheets of rain beat against the windows while wind whistled through the rickety doors. The cozy cabin rapidly became drafty and dark. Deep shadows grew in the corners, making him feel more alone than ever …

He’d made the last cup of instant noodles he had in his backpack but didn’t have much of an appetite. Most of the money he’d earned at his last job went to paying the witch from the black market who supplied his suppressor and fake documents; it would be a few weeks until he could get groceries and sweet treats. He stared at the tin of dark chocolate mint truffles on his kitchen shelf.

The tin didn’t have truffles in it, but no one would suspect that. Omegas were known for keeping their places packed with their favorite snacks. That flippant and nonchalant attitude toward omega snacking was why Theodore hid it there. In the wrong hands, he would be killed for it, in the right hands, his life could go back to normal. He didn’t know where to take it, he didn’t know who to trust.

Until he knew who to give it to, he was going to keep that empty tin with him. Well, it wasn’t empty per se. What was inside was far more valuable than truffles. But sadly, the contents of the tin did nothing to comfort Theodore in his moments of loneliness-induced sugar cravings.

He forced his sorry self to get up from the sofa and turn some lights on. Then he shuffled into the bedroom and grabbed the quilt and some pillows and shuffled his butt back to the sofa where his hot tea and uneaten noodles were waiting for him. He piled the bedding onto the sofa and burrowed.

Staring at the cabin front door from a hole in his blanket nest, his thoughts wandered to the darkest recesses of his subconscious. What he saw, the resulting chase, running for his life, everything he’d left behind. And now here he sat, alive but cold and alone while monsters haunted the shadows. Tears fell down his cold cheeks as he waited in vain for sleep to find him.

If only he could rest. Let his eyes slip closed while his brain drifted into blissful unconsciousness … He had an early day tomorrow where he had to pretend to be a chipper omega without the burden of isolation the truth brought his soul, slowly drowning him. And still he knew sleep would evade him as it had for weeks.