He Hates Me, He Loves Me Not

The suit jacket stays underneath Damon's pillow. The scent is faint: the pheromones rubbing off from his inner alpha's need to brush it close to his nose every night. When he wakes up, he pretends it's not there. He also pretends that having it around doesn't satisfy some primal part of him—that he doesn't wake up feeling slightly better.

This morning is no different. Damon looks away as he tucks the jacket underneath the pillow. Today is the day he is going to have it washed, he tells himself while covering the pillow with a blanket. It doesn't dawn on him that he hasn't acted like this since he was young, hiding his most precious toy away from greedy hands. Once more, he tells himself that others don't need to know where or why the jacket is hidden since it's only there because he can't be bothered to put it away.

He starts preparing for his day, but every now and then, he glances back to the bed. The blanket-covered pillow is an odd lump in the orderly room, yet he feels some sort of affection for the disarray. When he catches himself gravitating towards the bed, he shakes himself awake. There's no reason for him to carry the jacket around and sniff it all day, yet it's all his inner alpha is screaming about..

"How troublesome," he mutters to himself.

His inner alpha doesn't usually bother him like this, sometimes going on weeks without showing himself. Recently, however, he has been pestered with nonstop howling and crying.

Sometimes, his inner alpha even goes as far as trying to wrestle control away from him. His instincts are always urging him to go somewhere—to search for something or someone he refuses to think about. Those days are the hardest for Damon because the more he fights back, the greater the longing he feels inside.

He shakes his head again. It's best not to think about it.

--

Adam is conflicted.

He reads over the last document Lucy left for him, a list of hard no's when working for Damon. It's not odd for secretaries to know their superior's taste and preference, but that's usually for how they like their coffee or where their favorite restaurant is. Sometimes, the job even extends to sending gifts to family and friends when their boss is too busy to do so himself. That's nothing new, it's all part of ensuring that the workflow is smooth and won't be interrupted by trivial matters.

This list, however, is nothing more than names and topics that Adam should never mention in front of Damon.

First on the list are omegas. Adam can somewhat understand why he should avoid talking about omegas. As an alpha in a committed relationship with a beta, Damon has probably heard a lot of crap from people with 'traditional values' over the years. It isn't Adam's place to intrude on his personal life either.

The second one on the list is a little weird: celebrities. Sure, perhaps Damon wants to maximize working hours by limiting office conversation and idle gossip, so it is still somehow understandable.

The third on the list, however, is where Adam feels conflicted upon. It's a combination of the other two—omega celebrities—and the fact that it earned a spot on the list only emphasizes how much of a taboo it is.

As Adam stares at the picture he painstakingly obtained by bribing his younger sister to connect him with private fan groups, he doesn't know what to do. His decision to continue digging deeper into Damon's former personnel leads to this: a photo of Lucy rushing next to a dark-haired woman who is carrying someone in her arms.

The photo is taken at night, from a weird angle that says it was taken without permission, but that is not what is causing Adam his indecision. It's that there's another person in the photo—the main focus of the shot, in fact—that is confusing Adam whether he is to report this or not.

He recognizes that third (or fourth, if you count the limp body being carried) person, because honestly, who won't? He's none other than Primo Alca, the Omega with the most accolades for his roles not only on the small screen but also on the silver screen. He's the same celebrity who recently announced his hiatus because of mysterious reasons, causing Adam's younger sister to bemoan all day. With this picture, however, Adam doesn't need to ask why. The bloody shirt is enough to tell a story.

A part of Adam's mind wonders why this picture didn't blow up. Any news agency will eat this up like vultures preying on a fresh corpse, yet it's been a few months with no report on this. Adam himself only got a hold of this after promising the fan club president not to spread or misuse the photo, and until now, he is being constantly threatened to keep his promise.

He doesn't have time to think about it anymore when Damon appears from the elevator. The Alpha looks better than he did yesterday, with more color to his face, yet there's no hiding the sag to his shoulders or how he's walking with less gusto. Adam stares at President Lin's back which seems to shrink every day and makes a decision then.

He deletes the photo on his phone. There's no reason to further stress his boss when it's obvious that Damon hasn't been feeling well.

--

Damon's phone rings.

He doesn't hesitate to reject the call when he sees the caller ID, yet not a minute passes before it rings again.

Damon gives himself five seconds to compose himself, knowing that the caller won't stop until he picks it up. Releasing a tired sigh, he resigns to his fate.

"Hello," he says after pressing the accept button.

Of course, this person doesn't greet him back. Damon's younger brother shows neither fear nor respect for him when he says, "Dad wants you to come home and have dinner with us. He has something to say."

"What is it?" It's been the same request—come home to have dinner—but it's usually his father or his stepmother making a call. It must be important if they're making his gremlin of a brother call him instead.

"How am I supposed to know? Just come over the weekend so they can stop bothering me."

"Aren't you busy?" Damon asks, not because he's curious, but because he knows how hectic his brother's life is.

"Are you mocking me?" He scoffs, clearly annoyed at Damon. "Since I have so much free time, maybe I'll fetch you at work. Let the whole world know we're related. Isn't that nice?"

Damon's temple throbs. The threat is irritating but effective, leaving him no choice but to concede. "I'm free this Saturday. I'll bring Heath."

"Whatever. Just come." Another scoff.

"Okay. Don't call me anymore."

"Do you think I want to? It's your fault for not showing your ugly face."

The call ends without warning, the beeping tone mocking Damon with every sound. There's a wry smile on his face when he puts the phone down, thinking about how his younger brother called him ugly when they have similar features.

Dylan is still as disrespectful as ever, but what can Damon expect from an omega?