Elias had expected the worst.
He had braced himself for more pain, more orders, more of the Alpha's cold, ruthless power pressing down on him like a weight meant to crush him entirely.
But the days passed, and Caidren never came.
The war called him elsewhere.
Whispers echoed through the stronghold, carried on the sharp winds of the northern mountains. Enemy forces had grown bold, testing the borders of Caidren's territory, forcing the Alpha to leave at dawn with his best warriors at his side.
Elias hadn't seen him since.
For the first time since he was brought here, the air in the stronghold shifted. The presence that loomed over everything—the presence that made every breath heavier, every glance sharper—was gone.
And with it, the focus on Elias himself.
The Alpha was not here to break him.
But that did not mean the others wouldn't try.
---
Elias learned quickly that the warriors were not kind in their boredom.
With Caidren gone, the structure of the stronghold remained, but there was a tension beneath it—unspoken, restless.
And in that restlessness, Elias became their entertainment.
It was small things at first. A shoulder knocking into his as he passed, sending him stumbling. A foot outstretched just enough to trip him. A task given and then undone just to watch him redo it.
They never hurt him badly.
Not enough to leave marks that would be noticed.
But enough to remind him, over and over again, that he did not belong here. That he was nothing.
Still, he did not react.
He did not flinch.
Did not beg.
Did not complain.
He simply existed.
And that, more than anything, seemed to irritate them the most.
---
One evening, after a long day of hauling buckets of water to the upper halls, Elias found himself cornered.
Three warriors—young, arrogant, brimming with the kind of cruelty that thrived in men who had never known consequences.
"You're quieter than the others," one of them remarked, arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. "The last Omega cried by the first day."
Elias didn't respond.
A second warrior snorted. "Maybe this one's too stupid to know what's happening."
The third stepped closer, tilting his head. "Or maybe he thinks he's better than the others."
That got a reaction.
Not from Elias, but from the first warrior, who scowled and reached forward, shoving him back against the stone wall.
Elias let himself be moved, but his gaze remained steady.
The silence stretched.
The first warrior clicked his tongue. "Nothing? No trembling? No pathetic little whimpers?" His fingers curled in the fabric of Elias' tunic, yanking him forward. "What are you playing at?"
Still, Elias did not react.
Because there was nothing to react to.
This was nothing.
This was nothing.
He had been through worse.
And no matter what they did, they would not take from him the only thing he still had—his will.
A sharp exhale of frustration. Then—
"Ugh. He's boring."
The grip on his tunic released, shoving him back. Elias barely stumbled, catching himself with ease.
"Let's go," the second warrior muttered, already turning away. "Caidren will be back soon. No point wasting time on something that won't last."
They left without another word.
Elias watched them go.
His heart beat steadily in his chest, slow, even.
He exhaled quietly.
Then, without hesitation, he picked up the bucket they had kicked over, refilled it, and continued his task.
Because at the end of the day, that was all there was.
Survival.
---
Days passed.
The stronghold remained restless, but Elias moved through it like a ghost, unseen and untouched beyond the occasional cruelty of those who had nothing better to do.
The food remained meager, the tasks endless, the cold unyielding.
But still, he endured.
He scrubbed the floors until his hands burned.
He carried water until his arms ached.
He endured the jeers, the shoves, the smirks.
And he never once let them see him falter.
Because that was his defiance.
Not in words, not in rebellion.
But in his refusal to break.
In his refusal to be less.
He was Omega. He was nothing.
But he was still here.
And that?
That would have to be enough.
For now.