From The Ground Up

[NOUR]

"I guess I will die today then," Nour whispered when his green eyes finally met Delbert's baby blue eyes. Those eyes were so beautiful that unexpectedly, Nour found himself wondering what it would be like to get lost in them.

They were perfect, that was all that Nour could make out.

"Careful, you might hurt yourself," Delbert said after a long silence. He didn't mind that he was holding the omega before him a little too closely. He didn't mind that the man was in his space at the moment.

All he wanted to do was to stare at the omega wolf he was holding so delicately and at the same time, so firmly and protectively.

"Sorry, sire. Is there something you need?" Nour suddenly blurted out, snapping both Anhora and Delbert from the silent trace that was around them.

It was almost like everything had taken a pause and the world only had the young omega and the grouchy pants junior warrior who looked like he could squish everything and everyone that looked in his direction.

If there was a humanized form for the term resting bitch face, Delbert Cornell would win the awards for the one with the cruelest bitch face.

"Uhh… No. I came to supervise you and your people," Delbert said and Nour looked at him questioningly.

What the hell was the man even on right now? It was like he was in a whole new world and not the one in which Nour Abdallah was just a poor omega living off the scraps left by those high in power.

Nour wanted to ask about the statement but he figured that the warrior would pretend to be complex and explain things that didn't make any sense to any of them. He couldn't see anything fascinating about the junior warrior.

He was more like a nuisance to Nour than anyone could ever admit. Granted, the women and girls and some men looked at the man like they worshiped him, but Nour didn't give two shits about him.

"In that case, excuse me sire, I have duties to attend to," Nour said and Delbert let out a knowing chuckle before releasing Nour. It was one that Nour wasn't even bothered with. His beliefs on the elites would stay and he would never change, right?

Oh, the twists and whispers of fate.

"Come to the ball tomorrow," Delbert suddenly said and Nour ignored him.

This man couldn't seriously be asking him about a ball that he had definitely heard Nour say that he despised. It was more of a test than a request, but whatever it was, it was clear that Nour wasn't going to let the junior warrior make him change his mind.

"Mates are for elites like you, not omegas like us who could be trampled on at any time. And even worse, an omega like me who is hated by everyone. It wouldn't do you any good, you know?

"Anyway, it seems like you have a lot of time on your hands. Instead of standing there like a useless cabbage, you could use your hands and help us sweep here, no?" Nour said and the omegas around them looked at him like he had gone bonkers.

He was talking to a high-ranking elite in Acrod like he was talking to his fellow omegas. It was crazy on all fronts but then Nour was always going to be Nour, no matter what happened to him or with him.

And expectedly, the whispers began.

"He'll get himself killed."

"Maybe that's the easiest way to rid us of him."

"He's risking a lot."

"That's what he gets for trying to make things right every time. He is so annoying."

"If the warrior won't kill him, maybe we could kill him on his way to the ball, right?"

The whispers were not even whispers and Nour was already sued by them. There was nothing strange about the wolves looking at him like he was just someone they had to deal with in the worst of ways.

He knew that they would always hate him and frankly, that didn't bother him one bit. He wasn't going to be a people pleaser, not this time and definitely not ever.

He would be himself.

"Okay. Where should I start?" Delbert asked, and instead of Nour even questioning him, he pointed to the largest heap of dirt and trash.

It looked like it was the literal dumping site for the omegas, but then it needed to be cleaned and today, there was someone who wanted to do omega duties so bad. And that was what Nour was going to let him do.

"Go get a broom and clean that lace. If you can't, just leave. We don't appreciate the likes of you on this end. Okay maybe it's just me who hates all elites, but that doesn't matter. When you're done sweeping, you can leave.

"Don't even think of coming to me with conditions," Nour said and Delbert nodded dutifully like this was a piece of cake for him.

Of course, he could just decide to say no, but instead, he walked towards Nour, who stood there with a bored face as if to tell the warrior that this wasn't really the time for them to be bullshitting.

"I wouldn't negotiate. You, more than anyone, should already know that by now, hmm," Delbert said, pretending to whisper, and yet he was intentionally fueling the rumors about Nour.

The young omega could have sworn on his life that this was the first time he was interacting with this warrior, and yet the man had already made it seem like the both of them had been meeting behind closed doors or that they had known each other for a long while now.

It was crazy how things could happen so fast, but just as the shock was clear on his face, Nour made sure not to be affected. Though once again, he felt Debert sniff him, sparking his curiosity about the man's obsession with sniffing people.

Then again, the man had just sniffed him and him alone.

It wasn't normal for mates to sniff their mates, so Nour knew that this man was in no way his mate. But then the man had sniffed him twice in a row. It was unsettling, but Nour knew that no one would ever believe him.

So he just let it be.

After all, it wasn't like there was anything that the warriors could do to him that he hadn't experienced yet, right?

"You're crazy," Nour whispered before he walked away from where he had been sweeping. Anhora, who was watching the exchange between the two, was even more confused than Nour himself.

He just couldn't understand when the fuck things had gotten like this.

He had so many questions for his best friend, but he had a feeling that he wouldn't be getting any answers because today was the first day an elite warrior had come to see the omegas while they were working.

Not even the warriors came while the omegas were working and yet a high-ranking warrior had shown up.

It was suspicious as hell, especially when even with Nour and Anhora gone, the crown's junior warrior had still swept the place where Nour had told him to.