Serak did not leave, but remained sitting opposite. His posture had not changed, he held the glass between his fingers, his elbow rested on the edge of the table, his gaze was directed straight ahead, his movements were slow, devoid of irritation or the intention to hurry. Omega did not know what would happen next. He felt his stomach ache from hunger, but even more so from the fact that behind every word of Alpha, even the most neutral, there was something more than he could understand.
"The food is getting cold," Serak said. He said it calmly, without pressure. "If you prefer something else, you only need to say so. I will order, and the cooks will prepare it."
He paused briefly and added with a hint of irony:
"Insects, for example. Perhaps you have already become accustomed to them."
Omega tensed. He felt a heavy pressure building in his ears. He didn't look at Serak much less think of responding with anything abrupt. His fingers tightened on the edge of the table. He realized that the surveillance was continuing, and that he was making a choice that would be noticed. Alpha obviously knew about the basement, knew about the hunger, knew perhaps about the girls' strange voices, but he hadn't asked about it directly. The question hadn't been asked to elicit an answer. It was a warning.
He reached for his fork. He did it slowly, so as not to show how his hands were shaking. He picked up a small piece of chicken, carefully cut off a small part, brought it to his mouth and began to chew. The meat was warm, but tasteless. There was no irritation or gratitude inside him. He simply ate. He didn't look at Serak, but he knew that he was watching.
"You've decided after all," Serak said. His voice remained calm. "You would be wise to understand that no one will save you here.
Omega continued to chew one miserable piece. He did not want to engage in a dialogue. He knew that any word could be used against him. He did not want to show weakness, but he did not want to look defiant either. Although he could not look otherwise, being a purchased slave.
"This is your bedroom now," Serak said indifferently, which made the omega swallow the miserable piece out of excitement. His stomach growled. "I can order the rest of my smell to be removed if it bothers you."
Omega looked up at the man, for the first time all evening he looked straight ahead. He spoke evenly, not too loudly as much as possible:
"I thought this was your room."
Serak smiled slightly. He did not react with laughter or a gesture.
"No. For myself, I would have chosen something more spacious and comfortable. I only spent the night here. I wanted to make sure that you could not escape from here."
Omega looked down at the plate again.
"If he checked it himself, then I won't be able to escape from here one hundred percent. So... this is my new cage," Omega thought.
Serak put the cutlery on the untouched plate. He lazily drank the wine and with the same movement stood up from the table. He looked towards the door and said:
"The meal is over."
He went to the exit without saying anything else. The last word should always be his - the Omega understood this truth immediately.
Omega was left alone at the table. He did not know if someone was watching him from below, through the thick walls or through the neighboring windows. He did not know if he was truly alone.
Having thrown away his thoughts as much as possible, he took the fork in his hands again, because hunger had not gone away. It was a pity to leave the food, because someone had tried hard to prepare it. Pulling the entire bowl of salad to himself, in which there were ruby-colored berries. Omega began to eat it with undisguised pleasure.
He didn't feel safe. Thoughts even crept up on him that the food might be poisoned, but he continued to chew with a lump of tears in his throat, while the food on the table slowly disappeared.
He felt his stomach stretch, his inner sluggishness rising, his breathing slowing from being full. It was the first dinner he had ever eaten that was not under threat, not in the dark, not in the dirt. He did not know if he was grateful to his husband for that.
But his body knew, it was tired and wanted the peaceful rest of being full. He rose from the table and looked around.
The room was the same. The light came from the lamps along the walls, even, slightly warm. The walls were made of stone, smooth, even, the carpet on the floor was still there, without traces. The air in the room, like on the bacon, was dry and clean.
Omega walked back into the room and looked at the bed. It was inviting, so wide, soft, covered with sheets of an even shade, with large pillows neatly folded. But he did not dare approach it. Even in new clothes and freshly washed, he felt dirty, so he turned and sat down on the sofa by the window. The upholstery of the sofa was pleasant to the touch. His back sank in slightly.
This place was not intended for sleeping, but still turned out to be the only one on which he dared to lay his body. Having taken a comfortable position, he began to listen: somewhere in the distance, he could hear the guards talking at the outer gate, birds were singing not far away, telling about their day. And most importantly, there were no steps in the corridor and no sounds behind the door. Everything was calm. He lay down, pulling his knees up, he did not need a blanket, because his body gave off heat, his eyes closed on their own.
He did not dream of anything. The sleep was dense, dark, nothing bothered him. He slept as if for the first time without expecting pain, without preparing to flee.
He woke up for no other reason. It was already late night at the window, the room was also dark. The door to the balcony was closed. Omega slowly stood up, his body demanding to continue sleeping, but he decided to check if everything was in place. As it turned out, someone had taken all the food, along with the table and chairs. It was a pity, he should have hidden some of the food in the room.
And most importantly, the room did not smell of Alpha.
That smell that had hung in the room before was now gone. Omega exhaled calmly. He did not know why this gave him relief. He simply accepted the fact: he was alone. For the first time in a long time, he was glad of the rare but painful loneliness.
He was about to return to the sofa, but suddenly the light near the floor changed. At first he thought that these were the torches of the guards patrolling the floor, but this golden glow seemed painfully familiar to him. It broke through the stone, as if there was a crack between the slabs. The light intensified, and then completely divided into two separate beams, each of which shuddered, as if it had flesh.