A young, Alpha girl dutifully trails beside her father as they walk the halls of the dance academy. She holds herself with much poise, as has been drilled into her from day one. Her brunette waves trail behind her as she walks, like waves in the ocean. Her cold eyes mimic her father's as they scan the classroom they enter. Her father explains that this is the class that has the most promise. He begins to drill the instructor with questions and she studies the class as they run through their positions.
In her mind she chides them on their flaws, this student's plie is too wide, this other one's third position is sloppy, and so on. Father has told her to keep her comments to herself. She would have plenty of opportunities to criticize the dancers when she is older and runs the academy herself. Getting bored of the adults prattling on, her gaze sweeps the room once more until it is caught by something glistening in the corner of the room.
It is not something, but someone.
A boy, roughly the same age as her, with hair that catches the rays of the sun that stream in through the windows. His emerald eyes are focused as he counts his steps; a silent 'un, deux, trois" leaving his pursed lips. She becomes fixated on him. The boy resembles the most perfect of dolls, with fair skin tinted with freckles and a slender form. His technique, although juvenile, is the most refined out of the entire class. Her gaze doesn't leave him until her father is calling her name so they can leave. Once back in his office she asks him who that boy is.
"Ah, the son of Melody Jeannot caught your eye, Valencia?" he says between drags of his cigar and signing paperwork, "You think that Omega has potential?"
She's quiet for a moment but then nods her head resolutely. If that boy is an Omega as her father says then, yes, he does have potential. Potential to be her future mate.
.........................
She approached the Omega at the beginning of lycée, their tenth year of school. Her father had disagreed with her spending her secondary school years in anything but the top private schools in France. But where her father was bullheaded she was tenfold. Valencia knew how to get what she wanted; she had learned from the best. As an Alpha it was her right, and part of that right was claiming whatever Omega she saw fit as her own. Tiza Jeannot had been her target ever since she laid eyes on him.
He was perfect. The Alpha had been a silent observer while the boy attended her father's dance academy. Now it was her time to approach her prey. Her smile was as sweet as honey as she introduced herself. Valencia explained that she was new to this school and still trying to get her bearings. That she could really use a friend. Lies spoken so frivolously.
His emerald eyes looked up at her with uncertainty.
The other students had never cared for Tiza, as the only male Omega in the whole school he garnered a lot of attention. And not the good kind. Crude comments were often thrown his way and many Alphas liked to harass him. For an Alpha to approach him with such sincerity was... foreign to him.
She's not surprised he's apprehensive, this would be all too easy if he wasn't.
.........................
The old and worn leather collar around Tiza's neck stuck out like a sore thumb no matter what he wore. He hated it. He hated that he was forced to wear this stupid thing just so he wouldn't get bitten. At the very least he wished he had a new one, not one that was littered with teeth marks and frayed edges from all of his...customers. It looked and felt disgusting. The Omega just wanted to take it off, if just for a little bit.
So he did.
Tiza thought school was safe, that if anything happened surely a teacher would intervene. Tiza thought that it was only going to be for a few hours, what could happen? He didn't expect to be dragged to the Alpha bathrooms by the group of students that liked to harass him the most.
"Look! The little slut took his collar off just for us!" one says, pushing Tiza to the farthest wall.
The Omega tries to cover his scent glands with his hands but they are pried away and pinned to the wall by the next one.
"What a pretty neck, baby." he croons.
The last person comes up and lifts Tiza's chin with the tips of his fingers.
"You wanted this to happen, didn't you? You want someone to bite the hell out of you to make you their bitch?"
"N-no… I just…" Tiza barely croaks out. Tears threaten to spill over onto his hot cheeks. His first instinct is to go limp and just let them do whatever they want to him like he's used to. But he can't afford to be bitten, he wouldn't be able to make money if he was mated.
One of them pushes his face to Tiza's neck, sniffing where just the faintest amount of Omega pheromones can be smelt. Tiza tries to thrash around and break the hold they have on him, but it's useless. The boy is just about to take a bite when a throat clearing behind them catches all their attention.
"I think that's enough, boys."
Valencia stands in the doorway, a cell phone held in front of her. Her eyes are as cold as ice, making the air in the bathroom turn chilly.
"Get out of here, Lefèvre. This doesn't concern you." one of the boys sneers out.
Tiza lifts his head just enough to see her form on the other side of the room. Sapphire eyes meet emerald ones.
"On the contrary, this does concern me."
She comes further into the room and turns her phone towards them to showcase a video of the altercation that started moments ago.
"This is in such poor taste boys. It would be a shame if the school administrator caught wind of this."
The boys exchange worried looks, but one still has enough fight in him to challenge her.
"You think that any of the faculty care about this Omega enough to do anything about this?" he laughs.
Valencia clicks her tongue and deposits the phone in her handbag.
"I think you have no idea who you're talking to. And if the thought of your secondary school career-ending isn't enough to make you back off, well, I can also make sure that no university will accept you. Is that more what you're looking for? Because here's the bottom line, you leave him alone or I ruin you. There's a reason why the Lefèvre name is respected in this city and you don't want to be at the end of knowing why."
There's a beat of silence before the two boys that had Tiza pinned release him and run out of the bathroom, quickly followed by the last boy that dared to challenge her. Tiza is left half-leaning half-standing against the wall, his legs too shaky to peel himself off of it and stand straight. She approaches him and before he can say 'thank you', she is pulling a white leather collar out of her handbag.
"I won't lecture you on how unsafe it is for you to go out without a collar, I'm sure you know now."
She brushes aside his hair with the backs of her hands as she fastens the collar around his neck. Her blood boils at the thought that those degenerates touched him, almost tainted him. But she had to let it get that far to come to this point. To the point where this Omega is looking up at her with stars in his eyes. Valencia's lips upturn as she pulls back to behold him in the collar she had made especially for him.
"Take care of it ok?"
And with that, she leaves the bathroom; choosing not to pursue him further at the moment. She would have ample time.
Later that night, when Sean has come home and the two brothers are about to head to bed, he notices the new collar. His eyebrows furrow and he pauses in turning out the light.
"Where did you get that collar?"
Tiza smiles, running the tips of his fingers over the intricate stitching, and answers:
"From a friend."