THE FATED OMEGA MATE

CHapter 3:Elias

I left the building at seven, taking Damian at his word when he said I could leave early. The relief of stepping out from under his gaze was sharp, like cool air after a suffocating room.

The parking lot was half-lit, the summer dusk painting the edges of the cars fading orange. That was when I saw him, Gabriel. He was leaning casually against a sleek black car, head bowed over his phone, his posture as relaxed, as if he owned the whole place. Which, in a way, he did.

My chest eased instantly. My brother’s scent reached me even before he looked up warm, steadying, the kind of familiar comfort I hadn’t realized I had been craving all day. When his eyes found mine, his lips curved into an easy smile.

“Hey, big bro,” he said, slipping his phone away and pulling me into a hug. His arms were firm around me, and for a moment I just stood there, breathing him in, grounding myself in that safe, alpha warmth he only carried.

I pulled back first. “Shall we go?”

He nodded, but his gaze flicked toward the rows of cars. “What about yours?”

I sighed, already weary of explaining. “Still here. You should ask one of your people to drive it back to my place later. I thought about leaving it and just taking public transport tomorrow, but…” I shook my head. “Better not.”

His brow arched in quiet amusement, though I caught the way his expression sharpened when he spoke again. “So are you going with Damian tonight?”

The question lingered heavier than it should have. I shook my head firmly. “No. My decision was made. I am not going.”

Gabriel hummed, a sound halfway between approval and resignation. “Good luck with that,” he said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. I frowned at him, puzzled, but he only brushed it off.

We picked up food on the way back, our conversation drifting into safer, lighter topics, though I caught him watching me once or twice, as though measuring something I couldn’t see. When we reached home, he only dropped me off, offering a casual wave before driving away again.

The house felt emptier without him in it. I reheated the food, ate alone at the table, then spent nearly twenty minutes in the shower, scrubbing away the day until the water ran cool. By the time I slipped into bed, exhaustion had set deep into my bones.

I had just closed my eyes when my phone buzzed. Groaning, I reached for it, blinking against the bright screen. Damian’s name. He’d already called more than once.

I stared at it until the ringing stopped. I remembered the demand he had made earlier that I was to accompany him to the bar. But I wasn’t going. I didn’t belong in places like that. They were too loud, too crowded, too thick with Alpha scents pressing in until I couldn’t breathe. No. My decision was final.

The phone went still in my hand. For a moment, silence returned. Then the doorbell rang.

I froze. Gabriel. It had to be. Maybe he had changed his mind and decided to stay the night. With a tired sigh, I dragged myself downstairs and opened the door.

But it wasn’t him.

Damian stood there instead, the porch light cutting sharp lines across his face. His expression was carved into a frown, his Alpha scent seeping into the air, uninvited and overpowering.

“Disappointed?” he asked, his voice low and rough. “Were you expecting someone else?”

My throat went dry. I didn’t answer. I didn’t get the chance.

“Why didn’t you pick up my calls?” he demanded, a tone sharp enough to slice through the night.

The safety of my quiet home suddenly felt much smaller.

“I already told you,” I said, my voice steady though my chest tightened, “I’m not going.”

“Shut the f**k up, Elias.”

His roar cut through me like a whip. My breath caught as his alpha pheromones lashed at the air, heavy and suffocating.

“I am your boss,” he snarled, eyes blazing. “Could you stop being such a stingy, attitude-filled little brat? Remember your place. I am your boss. You’re just my f*****g employee. You” he spat the word like venom, “f*****g Omega.”

He looked me dead in the eye when he said it.

For a moment, the world tilted. My blood rushed in my ears, my heart hammering painfully. I had always known what I was. An Omega. Something lesser in their eyes. But hearing it thrown at me like that, like filth on his tongue, still cracked something deep inside.

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to keep my voice calm. “Are you done, Mr Blackwell?”

The title was deliberate, sharp. My throat burned, but I steadied my tone. “Please wait a few minutes.”

Before he could respond, I shut the door in his face. Locked it. I couldn’t bear to let him into my space after those words. My hands trembled slightly, but I refused to let him see it.

I climbed the stairs and went to my room. Mechanically, I changed into something casual, grooming myself with careful precision. But his words echoed in my head. Just my f*****g employee. Just a f*****g Omega.

I knew society looked down on us. I knew it every time someone sized me up and dismissed me at a glance. But from Damian, my boss, it struck deeper even if I already knew he hated us. Why look at me so low, when he demanded so much of me?

By the time I went back downstairs, I had forced my face into neutrality, a mask of cold efficiency. Yet my chest tightened all over again.

Because Damian was inside.

He sat comfortably on my couch, as though he owned it, as though he owned me. His scent clung to the room already, invading, saturating. Exactly what I had wanted to avoid. That was why I had locked the door, but clearly that hadn’t stopped him.

I didn’t let my shock show. Instead, I stood at the foot of the stairs and said flatly, “I’m ready to attend the party at the bar.” My tone was cold, clipped.

Before he could speak, I added, “I’ll be taking my own car. I’ll follow you to the location.”

He said nothing. Not a word. He simply rose, collected his coat, and strode out, as if this was all perfectly normal. I followed a moment later, slipping into my own car. My knuckles were white around the steering wheel.

The drive was long, heavy with silence. At our destination, we parked outside the business hall. Damian led the way, and I followed, as expected, his assistant, his shadow.

The business hall was pristine, polished, full of quiet murmurs and men in dark suits. I kept my posture straight, my expression professional, my scent locked down tight. Business first. Always business.

Only once the meeting ended did the mood shift. We left the hall and walked to the adjoining party room. The air was different here, louder, filled with laughter, drinks, perfume, and Alpha pheromones swirling thick in the space.

It was already close to eleven when Damian slipped away to join a group of young men and fellow businessmen. Even surrounded, his presence was commanding, sharp and magnetic.

And because I was his assistant, his Omega assistant, I stayed close. Always kept near. Always his, whether I wanted to be or not