5 Awake

Jace was sleeping still. He hadn't slept at all in the night, and now that he was inside, laying on a bed, he couldn't resist when his eyelids grew heavy. When he woke up, it was already past noon, and his mind was much clearer. The suppressants kicked in fully, and the reality of what had happened in the past 24 hours hit him like a splash of iced water.

His parents had abandoned him, and his so called friends wanted nothing to do with him. He doesn't even know the names of the people who own the apartment he's at. Not for sure anyway. God, what has he done. At least they gave him suppressants.

The room he was in was small. It looked a little too tidy for anyone to actually be living here. Maybe it was a guest room? There was a small window to the right of him, a dresser next to the bed, closet doors on the far wall, and the exit was on his left. He got up and walked to the door, but he realized all he was wearing was his boxers. He didn't normally care, and these people had already seen anyway, but he still felt a little uncomfortable flaunting himself in front of strangers. There was nothing in the dresser or the closet. He'll just have to go out then.

It didn't look much brighter now than it did when he was brought here.

"Hello? Can I get my clothes back.. please?" he called.

"Hey, you're awake!" it was the blonde one from that morning. He jumped around the couch's corner, "How are you feeling? Better?"

Dr. Benz grabbed Jace's clothes, and handed them to him.

"Uh.. yeah. I'm better," he held them awkwardly in his hand, "I'll just go put these on then." He returned after a few moments, "Could you tell me your names again? I'm a little lost here."

The blonde started, he looked even more jittery than Jace was, "I'm Jaime. I brought you here with Zach," he gestured at the darkly tanned man with curly hair from earlier.

"My name's Carter, I introduced myself when I got here, but you were pretty out of it, so I didn't really expect you to remember," It was the tall black haired man with the strong pheromones, "Zach and Jaime are sub alphas. I'm a true alpha. We all live here together."

"And that leaves me, Kylie Benz," she shook Jace's hand, "I'm a dominant omega and a doctor. I mostly work with omegas."

"Right, so.." Jace scratched his head. What now? Could he just leave? They said something about omega housing earlier, but he doesn't want to bother them with anything much longer. They seem nice, but Jace isn't one to trust easy, and he really would rather have someone owe him than the other way around.

"Why don't you eat something, and I'll tell you a little about what I do?" Dr. Benz led him to a small bar height table.

The following afternoon Jace was already moving into omega housing. It turns out people bond quite quickly in stressful situations. Dr. Benz was kind enough to apply for him and enroll him into the school next door. He got his credits transferred from his old school. He was lucky they didn't tell his parents about it, but Dr. Benz had been a big help. He didn't really have much to move with him, just his old clothes and something Zach gave him after Dr. Benz gave him the rundown.

He'd been running on empty with the combined stress of being in heat while adjusting to all of the change around him. He was almost attacked on the way to the new apartment complex, but Dr. Benz was prepared. She gave him more suppressants and a whole box of pheromones blockers for future use. She said he may have to use more than the average omega because they seemed to be wearing off quicker than they should.

"Remember to call if you need anything," said Jaime. He'd been both the most nervous and the most attentive around Jace during the day he was staying at the apartment.

"I will, thanks," Jace waved before he and Dr. Benz stepped into the building. Alphas weren't allowed past the gates.

"I'd suggest letting the rest of your heat run its course now that you're in someplace safer. Just press the button if you need anything and the nurses will come help you. It's important that you learn what to do while you're here, so you can stay safe once you leave," Dr. Benz said as she followed Jace to his room.

"Thank you, Dr. Benz. I don't know shit about this. I would have died if Jaime and Zach hadn't picked me up when they did. If not by someone else's hands, then by my own."

"It's been a pleasure, but please, call me Kylie already. I'm not actually your doctor, you know," she smiled.

"Right." Jace laughed.