The Omega's Price

Chapter 17: Heads or Tails

*Trigger Warning: Brief mentions of physical abuse and trauma*

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The drive to Gulf's apartment was long and awkward with the random sniffle coming from Zan and Gulf unsure of what to say. He hated this omega, so why was he helping him? He didn't know the answer to that, but it was impossible for him to pass up on this forlorn omega who stood in the face of his rival and sobbed.

As they arrived at the apartment, Gulf parked the car and guided Zan towards his apartment and let them in.

"This is your apartment?" Zan snootily as he glanced around his modest home.

Gulf ignored his statement, "want something to drink?"

Zan shook his head as he wrapped his arms around his stomach.

The counselor in him came forward and he made them both some hot chocolate anyway. Zan was pregnant as well, surely, he wouldn't pass up chocolate. He gestured for Zan to sit down and grabbed a blanket from the hall closet draping it over his thin shoulders. Pushing the drink in Zan's hands he sat next to him and studied the blonde haired, blue-eyed omega. There was pain and desperation in the set of his shoulders and Gulf ached to help him ease it. Nothing made him more determined to help than an omega that felt lost.

"I know this is probably not the situation we saw ourselves in with this night, but I'm here if you need to talk" Gulf began kindly.

"How could an omega street whore possibly help me" Zan said defensively with a bite to his tone.

Gulf laughed softly, "you wouldn't have followed me all the way to my house if you thought I was just a street whore who couldn't help you. Drop the tough act, it's not going to make this night easier, and talk to me."

Zan's eyes clenched shut tightly as he winced, "I don't know who I am anymore" he finally whispered after a while.

"Start from the beginning, who did you use to be?" Gulf questioned soothingly and patient as he settled back in the sofa, eyes trained on every detail of Zan's body language.

"I used to be happy. I used to run around without a care in the world", Zan began his breath hitching as a small sob released from his chest. "Just me, Jom, Mew, and Lucia. We were inseparable. We didn't care about families and heirs and being important. We just wanted to play."

"And when did it change?"

Zan inhaled sharply, "when my father died."

Gulf held his breath and let Zan open up at his own pace. All he needed to be, was a comforting presence and Zan would talk eventually. They sipped their drinks for a minute before Zan's haggard voice echoed in the quiet living room, "when my father died... my brother became our alpha."

Gulf's nose wrinkled in anger before he caught himself and smoothed his expression out.

"Four months after Sin became alpha, I went through my first heat. My life changed the minute he found out. I was an omega that could further his future. I called you a whore but really I was the prized whore to be sold to the highest and he had one family in mind"

"Mew's" Gulf answered for him.

"I-I've never loved Mew, you have to understand" Zan said carefully as he gazed at Gulf worriedly, "but I had to keep omegas away from him to appease my brother until we could get mated and have children. I became this... this other person. I got so wrapped up in the act of treating people this way that it was too late to change people's opinion of me. So, I embraced it, I became the gold-digging whore that was in love with Mew, and I hated myself. I broke every mirror in my room until I forgot what I looked like. I was evil and a whore. My brother made sure to remind me of it."