The Omega's Top Choice

Texting Eleanor

Gage’s POV

Chase was prowling across the track with his eyes shining a bright yellow while I stood on the sidelines watching him. It was after 4pm and he had been excused from his lectures and work for a week, the same as I had while we were monitored by the medical team for any rising symptoms of our Dominant pheromones. Funnily enough, since we had come from Eleanor's, I had become far more competitive with him and after I had easily put him on the floor at her place, he had endlessly sniped and growled at me while, in the end, I had to get away from him before I actually started to break some limbs. My control was only so much and Chase was having a hard time, so I knew that if I lost it now I would be locked up, and after everything I had gone through there was no way I was going to end up in a medically induced coma in one of those institutions.

“Chase, come on man. We have assignments to catch up on even if we have the week off”. I gestured to him to get off the empty track and I could see him raking his hair again with his fingers. He had told me that I should back off from Eleanor and usually I would agree with him, but I couldn't forget her eyes. They were a deep brown and her smile at appreciating what I wanted to do with my life. She was the first person who knew after the Dean what I wanted to do with my life and she really liked that I wasn't the norm for an Alpha. I wanted to create my own pieces and own my own shop one day, the thought of sharing what I could make with the world felt far more meaningful than pushing papers in some stuffy office. When she said that she wanted to go into science and help Omegas, it really struck a chord with me. People like my biological mother would be able to live a normal life and make normal choices. I really liked her ambition. I didn't want to traipse to another Omega halfway across the country, I really wanted to get to know Eleanor and spend time with her. Chase had already had that privilege and deep down inside I was more than peeved that she had even been in the same room as him. Was this the possessive instinct of a dominant? A sliver of disgust reached up my gullet and nausea spread over me. She's not a thing to own, she's a person in her own right. I will not become a bastard that wants to lock her up no matter how territorial I become. I refuse to.

Chase ran across to me and I could see that the yellow in his eyes had darkened and his original eye colour was coming back. The run had helped then. We had got some information leaflets from the medical team and exercise helped stem the symptoms with a very healthy diet, no alcohol or any stimulants such as caffeine and tobacco. Not that there was any tobacco to be had. The tobacco plant had become a non priority when a lot of agriculture throughout the world had become halved through the last war.

“Has Eleanor messaged you?” He got his sports bag from the benches on the side and I nodded slowly.

Apparently, the Dean had got in touch with her and got through to her guardian, Anders, to give our contact details. Not that she needed Chasse’s but she did need mine. She had sent me an email and also a text. The email had her school timetable and the days when she had activities and plans with her friend Luelle, Chase’s sister, and the text was perfunctory: Hello and how are you? No kisses afterwards and no emojis. She seemed like a straightforward girl and I had an urge to send her GIFS and emojis just to tease her. Not that I had ever done that with anyone before, because all the girls before were a means to an end, but she was different. Was I thinking that because she was an Omega or because I was truly rivalling Chase? I looked at him as he drank from his water and although the idea of competing against him gave me a secret thrill, there was another side to me that thought, Why? Why did I have to? He has all the qualities any Omega would love, but really what was there about him that was better than me for her? Other than that, he's known her for years.

“Have you texted her back?” He didn't look at me as he asked the question. I could tell this was going to be another interrogation. His constant questions about what I thought about her growling at me to keep away from her was getting tiresome.

“No, not yet, look Chase. We have to work together on keeping each other in check because of our symptoms. The Dean has emailed me about our new rooms tonight. We should settle in. Then one of us can see Eleanor tomorrow.”

“I have messaged her. I can see her every day if she wants.”

I almost chuckled at his desperation in trying to stop me. “You know that isn't allowed, she is like our cure right now for our affliction. The med team have stated we are to take it in turns one day each and at her convenience”

He threw his towel on top of the sports bag and I shrugged. I still had assignments to do for my extra credit classes, so I wanted to get on top of that tonight. I only wanted to check on Chase because the Dean made it plain that if I didn't keep an eye on him then it was my responsibility when he went cuckoo. How that was fair I don't know, but the Dean had said it in such an intense way that I took it seriously. I did feel a sliver of responsibility towards Chase. Maybe it was because he was my roommate up until today and I would be seeing his sister's friend, or maybe it's because I actually did think of him as my friend.

“I am glad we have our own rooms now. Your feet stink, so that's a plus not having them around.”

I chuckled at him as we walked towards the dorms. “Well, they said dominants can't room together, but if my feet stink that much, then maybe it wouldn't have been a problem anyway.”

Chase gave me the middle finger and I laughed at his grumpy frown. That's right. I don't feel animosity towards him, it was like I just wanted to rile him up a bit. “I can, last a couple of days, so why don't you see Eleanor tomorrow and I will see her the day after.” I didn't bother to remind him to behave. I will text Eleanor tonight to make sure that she has a chaperone not far from her so that untoward will happen. The government liked throwing both of us at her at the same time so that she would have to make a decision faster, but I had come up with a way that would help us and give her time to decide on who she wanted. She said she was going to listen to both of us evenly and she seemed the responsible sort, so I think she would appreciate my plan. The Dean actually agreed with my assumption and said that if it worked then he could apply it to other dominants through his colleagues.

We walked into the dorms building, which was already busy from students filtering in from the end of their day's lectures and night students going out to theirs. We are now located on the west side of the building, on the top floor. Chases and my room were the only two rooms up there across from each other. They were originally storage rooms but the Dean turned them into bedsits for us. We would have to use the kitchen in the shared dorm downstairs for now till our kitchen and bathrooms were built, but I really liked that idea of having a room to myself and I could tell Chase felt the same when his whole body relaxed at the sight of his door. I guess dominants do need space from each other. We didn't say anything to each other, not even goodnight or see you later, we just went to our rooms.

All my things were packed in boxes. I could see that I had things from my home here. The Dean did say that he would sort this out, so I wasn't surprised to see all my items in my bedroom. The house had apparently been possessed by the government and Dad was stewing in jail with a large amount of evidence against him. This time round they had really gone to town and painted it red with his nefarious dealings. Mum had gone to live with her relatives who she originally disowned because they were Betas and the irony of that did not escape me.

I stepped over the scattered boxes and bags and made my way to bed. I'd get a shower later in the communal bathrooms, but for now I wanted ten minutes of peace after dealing with Chase. I took out my phone and looked at the text again from Eleanor.

Hi, it’s Eleanor. Thanks for having tea with me and I hope you are OK. As per requested. I have sent an email with my timetable attached. I have done the same with Chase. Let me know when the best times are to meet up. Thank you.

I smiled and thought of all the messages from girls before which had flirty innovations and even some that were downright stalkerish. Her text is almost businesslike. I started texting back without thinking about what I would reply. I wanted to get to know her, not make a merger for god's sake.

Hi Eleanor, thanks for the message and email. I'll send an email with my next week's lectures in response. Chase will be coming to see you at some point tomorrow. Can I suggest for each meetup that you have a chaperone or a guardian with you? Just for safety's sake.

I have meetings tomorrow to see about my pottery apprenticeship but I still have to do my extra credit lectures next week, so that's a downer. How are your studies? What are your thoughts on university? When I applied I had no choice about what to study, so the excitement wasn't there, but now I feel all energised at the thought of forging ahead for the future. I see that you have study time after your third class the day after tomorrow, so are you going home early? I can meet you after you've had an hour to study if you like? Maybe meet at a park and have your guardian there or a friend? I'll bring some snacks so we can gorge on some sugar-filled delicacies. I might have some news of my apprenticeship by then. I'll have a look in the library for you to see if there are any books pertaining to research on Omegas and arrange a day for you to come.

I left the text open so that she could answer the questions I laid out for her and I hoped I wasn't too much for her. I want to know her thoughts now that she has piqued my curiosity. The excitement at the thought of her answering made me jittery and I shook it off and started to take out my notes to do my assignment for next week. I wanted to get ahead of things so that I could concentrate on my apprenticeship. The Dean said I had two places to visit tomorrow under his recommendations and one was a shop with a warehouse behind it. It wasn't that far from Eleanor’s school so I was already leaning towards that as my choice and the other was a bit far out but doable with using public transport. The other apprenticeship was in another area entirely that the Dean originally thought of and he said that if I didn't end up with Eleanor it would be the perfect place for me to go to see the other Omega. I really don't want to go there now. My instincts were already flaring that I shouldn't even think of another woman, it just makes me sick.

After a couple of hours of typing the last draft of my assignment out, I heard another ping from my phone, it's been making enough noises and flashing enough today to really annoy me. They were random messages for hook ups and requests to go out from acquaintances that I don't have any time for and also because I really don't want to entertain my old life anymore. I've had a new lease of life since meeting Eleanor and I couldn't entirely understand it, but I did feel like my life was on the right track now.

I sighed as I opened my messaging app and was surprised to see Eleanor's reply. It was around 6.30pm so she must have just had her evening meal.

Gage, can I ring you right now? I need your help.

I didn't even think for a second about not getting involved. I pressed her contact info to ring and she picked up immedietly.

"Gage" her tone had a panicked edge to it.

"What's the matter?" I had already got up and was putting on my coat and shoes.

"I'm at 15 Horeon Terrace, I thought I was going to a study group with Nav but instead it's a load of boys, mostly Alphas. I'm in the toilet right now. I only knew I was in trouble when I couldn't find my phone earlier and I saw it halfway hanging out of Navs pocket. I've called the police but they have a jammer or something here. So I had to use our messaging app. I know that we can use this between you two and me because it runs off the satellite. I tried calling Chase but he was not answering."

I was already banging on Chase's door before she finished speaking. When there was no answer, I quickly ran down the stairwell and out to the parking lot. Good thing the police haven't taken my car away yet. I jumped in and started it up with the automatic button.

Eamor was sniffling on the other end and I speeded up as my heart thumped. If anything happened to her, I know I would destroy those boys.

I gritted my teeth and could feel my canines pierce my lips. I couldn't put the phone down to call the police if anything happened to Eleanor and I couldn't text while I was driving so fast. I knew the street she was on, it was actually around the corner from the Omega complex and I already had a good handle on the area from exploring with Chase when he tried to put me at ease years ago.

"I'm nearly there. Is there a front door near you to run out of?"

"I tried the front door. It's locked. The back door is too. I knew it was weird when all those boys turned up. I could….smell their pheromones Gage". Her voice cracked at the end and fear was bleeding through her voice. I pulled up outside and ran towards the front door of number 15.