Chapter 16 - 14

It has been two weeks since that night. Alex has tried his best to go on with his life as usual as if nothing has changed. He comb his hair as he stares at his face in front of the mirror. He fought back the tears that were coming, as he remembered it again.

His hair that used to be tied in a neat ponytail is now free from the constraints of the rubber band that he normally used. Having his hair down annoys him usually, as he looks too feminine to his opinion but he had no choice, the weather is still too hot for him to wear turtle necks and if he had his hair tied the bite marks would be visible.

His life used to be dull and simple with a bit of annoying disturbance from a few Alphas every now and then. Pretty much normal for an Omega like him. Now his life is far from normal. It is full of fear and anxiety. He does not know how to face his family knowing that he betrayed their trust. That he failed them.

He hasn't been home in the last two weeks. His parents are pestering him to go back on weekends but he used his coming internship as an excuse. He knew his mom could tell that something was up with him. They would definitely smell the scent of the Alpha in him. They would question him about it but he is not ready yet to come clean with them. Fortunately, his brother Matt is in a medical conference with his professor and will not be back in another couple of weeks, which means that he still has another two weeks to hide the truth from his family. Coz there's no way Matt will not discover it when he would hang out in his apartment whenever he's not on duty or on a date.

After a couple of minutes, Alex grabbed his keys and headed out. As much as he wanted to hide in his apartment, he needed to go and meet up with Dan. They need to finalize their internship now that their application has already been confirmed.

"Alex!"

Dan's hands immediately went to his throat which became a bit strained as he had to raise his voice so much from calling Alex. He has been calling the other Omega for a while now but he just sat there spacing out.

"Sorry, what is it?" Alex asked worriedly, knowing that his actions would probably make Dan feel bad again. His friend cried so hard and apologized to him profusely when he learned what happened to Alex the night he filled in for him at his part time job.

Dan bit his lip to keep himself together before answering Alex. Seeing Alex like this is too much for him. "It's alright. I was just asking if you're done with the information sheet so we can submit it now." Dan pointed at the form in front of them in case Alex is not paying attention again.

Alex nodded, and forced a smile to ease the worry that is evident on Dan's face.

Dan sighed. He knew Alex is having a hard time right now. When his heat ended after he took stronger suppressants than his usual, he was surprised with the numerous missed calls from Alex. Fear and worry enveloped him and it escalated when he heard the hoarse voice coming from Alex on the other line when he called him. He rushed to get dressed and immediately went to Alex's apartment. Alex slumped down on the floor as soon as he opened the door for Dan. He held Alex in his arms as he cried and cried until he was too tired to cry anymore.

In between his tears, Alex gave him a rundown of what happened. When he realized that Alex got marked when he took his shift at the bar and was afraid that the Alpha who he bonded with might look for him, Dan immediately fished out his phone from his pocket and removed himself from the group chat for the bar's scheduling.

"Why? What's wrong?" Alex worried that something happened to Dan as well, for a moment he forgot why he was crying.

"I had to remove myself from the bar's group chat for scheduling." He saw the confused look in Alex's eyes. "If in case they try to find you." Dan explained and he saw the fear in Alex's eyes.

He is silently grateful that the group chat that they have does not require much information and removing himself from that group will eliminate any future communication. He does not know anyone from the bar that well so they will not be able to track him down if ever they questioned anyone from the bar. He doesn't usually talk with anyone be it an Alpha, Beta or even another Omega. Alex wants to hide, then he should help him, he owes Alex that much.

"Alex.. ahmm should we call your parents?" Alex shook his head, and pleaded to Dan not to say a word to his parents, most importantly to his brother Matt.

Matt will definitely flip out once he learned about what happened. He doesn't know if the Alpha he bonded with is dangerous or not, and might hurt his brother because Matt will go ballistic and find him to get revenge for what he did to Alex.

Alex is not ready yet to talk to his family, as he knew that he had failed them. They allowed him to live on his own because they trusted him and he broke that trust in no less than a month. He did not tell his mom about his heat, he should have told them when he had that incident before from the convenience store. He thought it was just a common cold but he felt that again when he saw the Alpha.. His mom would have known that his heat was coming.

Maybe then... just maybe.. He won't accidentally be marked by some unknown Alpha.

For the last two weeks, Dan has been by Alex's side. Making sure that the fellow Omega is not doing anything rash. He still goes to class like usual though most of the time he would just be spacing out and will not talk. All of it is making Dan worried and guilty.

"Alex, I know it's shameless of me to ask. Are you really, okay? If... you want. if you want to... tell your parents I'll come with you." Dan offered. He knows that not being able to talk to his family is adding a burden to Alex's mind right now.

Seeing Alex like this is breaking him. His cheeks are devoid of it's usual plumpness. There's bags under his eyes. He's too skinny now as he barely eats. If Dan wouldn't remind him it is meal time already, Alex will not even bother to look or prepare for food.

Dan wanted to be there for Alex as he went through this ordeal but he cannot be with him round the clock. He also has to deal with his thing with Eric.

Dan's anger built up when he thought of Eric. That Alpha is the root of all this. If he did not fall for his lies, he would not need to look for a part time job. He will not need to ask Alex to fill in for him. If only he didn't have his heat cycle that night or if only he didn't care so much about a silly part time job, this won't happen to Alex.

He had so much going on in his life right now that is too much to bear. He would like to share it with Alex but this happened. He needed to set aside his issues to help Alex. After all this is all his fault. He grabs his hair in frustration. Why is this happening to the two of them? If only there's no Alpha and Omega. If only there's equality in this world.

Alex noticed his friend's frustrations and reached for Dan's hands gently squeezing it. What happened to him has been hard for the both of them. He knows that his friend is being tormented by his guilt. He can see it from his face, he is sure that Dan hasn't been sleeping much, though in Alex's perspective none of it is Dan's fault. It wasn't him, who marked him after all.

"I'll be fine Dan. Thanks for being there for me." Dan conjured a small smile upon Alex's assurance.

Dan banged his fist on the table. "Okay that's enough moping for the day. We reached our daily moping quota." Alex grinned reluctantly at Dan, thankful for the other Omega's help.

They pack up their things and head to the administration office to submit their internship documents. They walk clinging to each other's arms, oblivious of the stares and glances they get from the other students. Two attractive Omegas walking hand in hand is a sight to behold.

*******

"Here is your letter of assignment. Just present this to the company personnel that will handle the orientation on Monday." The administrative staff handed both of them the slip they needed as proof that they were the students the school sent for the Internship Program.

"Are we going to be in the same department?" Dan asked curiously, though he thinks the staff will not be able to answer him.

"Hmm I'm not so sure, but you have the same major, and you'll go to the same company right?" The admin staff said while looking at their letter of assignment.

"Yes we're both doing our internship at the Andersen Enterprise.." Alex answered unaware of what or rather who was waiting for him at that particular company.