Asylum

A lost cause

The winding road seemed to have no end. The path entered the mountains and crossed a thick pine forest. They had left New York City for at least an hour and still didn't seem close to getting there.

Summer was approaching and the landscape around the road couldn't be greener. It looked beautiful, but Steve couldn't help but think that during the winter it was surely impossible to drive around here, with the road frozen and covered in snow. There was no way to escape to the city.

A couple of hours earlier, Steve thought it was very difficult to believably fake a mental breakdown, but now he finally realized how complicated and horrible this experience would be. A straitjacket had been squeezing him for an hour, leaving no room for the slightest movement.

He couldn't scratch his nose if it suddenly itched, or hold on when the vehicle went through a sharp curve. It was maddening. The strength of an alpha was completely useless and bindings were even painful. He couldn't imagine how an omega would feel here.

At last they arrived. A rusty iron gate was opened wide to reveal a stretch of forest that protected the asylum. After the ambulance moved forward for a couple more minutes, he was able to see the dingy gray building. It was quite large, it had at least five floors full of rooms.

The two paramedics helped him out of the ambulance and, holding him one on each side, led him inside the building, to a large office with floor-to-ceiling windows and elegant mahogany furniture.

An elegant woman dressed in black opened the door and gave him a wicked smile.

"Oh my, you are attractive. Looks like the paramedics got it wrong and brought in a magazine model." She reached over to squeeze Steve's arm, whose muscles were noticeable even in the straitjacket. "Don't be rude guys, take off his straitjacket. You won't do anything dangerous, will you sweetie?"

The blond just looked at her. This woman didn't seem trustworthy, she seemed like the kind of person who feigns kindness to hide her true intentions. To begin with, how could an omega be in charge of a hospital where other omegas were mistreated and abused?

"Nice to meet you Steve... Rogers? I'm Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the director of this hospital. You can call me Val but don't actually call me Val, just keep it in your head."

This time Steve at least nodded, but still didn't answer.

"So... your fiancé Clint called to ask us for help because you haven't fulfilled your duties as an alpha. From what I understand, you abandoned him in his last heat and had a mental breakdown just a while ago. Is it right?"

"It is." Apparently his friend Clint was a good actor, because the woman seemed convinced of the file.

"You're not a talker, are you?" The woman looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Anyway, here we are going to heal you. Our specialty, as you can imagine, are omegas. But sometimes we also help a wayward alpha or two. We will put you through a mild treatment and in a few months you'll be back in action, understand?"

"This is ridiculous," Steve had to stay in character, someone who just had a mental breakdown wouldn't be so friendly. Besides, he didn't like Valentina at all.

The woman reached out to take him by the chin, invading his personal space. "We will help you take advantage of your... qualities again." She looked directly at Steve's crotch. "You will soon be driving omegas crazy as you surely have up to now."

With a shake of her head, she ordered the paramedics to remove the blond from her office. This time they led him to some kind of consulting room, where another alpha was waiting for him.

After asking Steve to sit down, the man introduced himself in a monotonous tone. "My name is Brock Rumlow, I am the head nurse on the fourth floor, where you'll sleep. Undress."

In silence, the blond did what Rumlow asked him to do. The other alpha, with an air of superiority, checked his vital signs and made annotations in his file. It seemed like there was no need to undress, it was just a way to show dominance, Steve thought.

"You can wear your own clothes. We should only remove any sharp object or anything you can use to hurt yourself. I'll be in charge of your medications and supervising your routines. Now I'll take you to your room."

Steve got up to follow him, but Rumlow stopped abruptly. "Uh, I almost forgot... Listen, I'm an alpha too and know that during rut it's hard to control yourself. There are plenty of omegas to choose from in your floor, take what you want. Just don't make a fuss or you'll get me in trouble, okay?"

"Don't worry, I won't do that. I live in this century and not 100 years ago." The blond couldn't help but respond, he was infuriated to hear an alpha speak like that, as if omegas were nothing more than a tool to obtain pleasure.

Rumlow frowned. "As you wish, loonie. Follow me."

*****
*****

The wards of the hospital were in stark contrast to the façade. The mint color mixed with beige, as if the decoration was aimed at relaxing the patients. It looked as if this building had seen better times but now it was in full decline.

Rumlow led Steve into a small room with an oddly comfortable bed, a closet, and a window (at least the view was nice). The nurse noticed that Steve had a notepad, but he didn't see it as a threat; the blond lied to him saying that he wrote poetry. Now he would have to hide it in order to write notes about his journalistic investigation.

He was about to start tidying up his things when a loud voice startled him. "Wooow, an alpha! You know that all the omegas on this floor will pounce on you, right?" She was a short girl, with black hair and huge eyes. "What's your name, big guy?"

"Uhm, Steve Rogers. Pleasure." He reached out his hand to shake hers. "And you?"

"I'm Darcy Lewis, your new best friend," she replied with a wide smile.

Darcy didn't mind that Steve hadn't finished packing yet: for her, it was time to go on the "official prison tour." She took him through a few floors, showed him the library and part of the gardens.

Apparently, it was very rare for an alpha to be admitted to the hospital. Steve was concerned that this would direct more attention to him than necessary, but it would've been much more difficult to hide his own designation.

Most of the omegas were silent, sleeping in their rooms or sitting in the corners. "It's a bit creepy, don't you think? They're like this right now because the daily medicine took effect."

According to Darcy, Steve was lucky to be her friend because she would share her tricks to not actually take the medications.

They were about to finish the tour when one of the open rooms caught Steve's attention.

There he was the only omega in the hospital who was pinned down by a straitjacket. He remained motionless, staring at him.

He had steel blue eyes, showing a strange mix between strength and tenderness. That made him look like a stray kitten who had learned to defend himself from the world.

His face was pale, but that didn't make his delicate features any less pleasant. His white skin contrasted with his dark hair, which reached almost to his shoulder.

"Who is he?"

Darcy sighed heavily. "He's cute, isn't he? But he's a lost cause."