Chapter Text
Rhys awoke feeling calmer than he had in months.
He came to slowly, feeling unhurried and languid as he stretched in the soft, comforting blankets tucked around him. Rhys sighed, inhaling the scent—a deep musk and teakwood, layered with the fresh smell of linens, settled over him, a soothing weight on his curled body.
His entire body was soaked in a pleasant heaviness, spreading out from his neck and tingling down his spine and into his limbs, like a dozen soft, warm hands were stroking over him, pressing him down into the mattress.
Clarity slowly coming back to him, Rhys sat up in the bed, a shiver of delight going through his body as he blinked his eyes open. He was in the massive, golden bed he had fallen asleep in last night, the quiet purple light of the moon outside the window that ran floor to ceiling on the wall furthest from him. He sat there for a minute or two, eyes focused on nothing, shoulders slumped and fingers playing and pinching idly at the rucked sheets around him.
Rhys found his pants and boxers, thankfully, in the same pile. His tailcoat was nowhere in sight—he didn’t have any idea exactly when Jack had taken it off of him, never mind where he had thrown it.
He pulled on his boxers and rummaged through the pockets of his pants until he found a bent, half empty blister pack, popping one tiny, sky blue pill out and swishing it around in his mouth before swallowing. He grabbed a crumpled dress shirt up off the floor and slipped it over his shoulders—it was probably Jack’s, but probably not the one he had been wearing last night. Rhys had noticed that the man tended to leave his clothes thrown and draped all over the room, even on nights when he wasn’t fucking anybody. Rhys pressed the shirt collar to his nose and inhaled. It smelled fresher, less like sweat and sex, but still like Jack. He sighed.
He didn’t really know why he was feeling so good—had Jack really been that good of a fuck that here he was, still luxuriant in afterglow, over nine hours after they had slept together? Jack had been good, amazing, actually, but this was still odd. He’d never really felt this way before, this soothed and calm, like he could just give up all his worries and concerns and responsibilities to someone else to be taken care of.
Not that Rhys really minded, as he ran his hands happily through his hair and made his way to the bathroom. He simply enjoyed the sleepy, content feeling, up until he saw himself in the mirror.
Jack was sitting cross-legged on the couch in the living room, clad in only a pair of unzipped pants as he scrolled idly through his ECHOcomm, eyes only flicking up when he heard the loud, rapid thump of footsteps, signaling Rhys’s entrance from the bedroom, the omega stalking straight across the floor to where Jack was currently seated. The alpha raised his eyebrows, mouth parting slightly in question.
“Well rise n’ shine, sleeping beauty, what’s u—“ Jack was cut off as the solid fist of Rhys’s flesh hand hit him square across the jaw, head snapping to the side with the force of the blow. Jack blinked, stupidly, stars popping before his eyes.
“You fuckin’ bastard—“ Rhys screeched, face bright red as he clenched his fingers, arm still aloft. He was trembling from head to toe in embarrassment, teeth biting into his lower lip as he raised his other arm, not caring if he knocked Jack’s head clean off with the next one.
Jack gathered himself quickly enough to catch the metal fist in his hand, wincing as the sharp knuckles dug into his palm, grinding the small bones against each other. He felt the impact shudder from his wrist down to his elbow, sending shocks of pain through him, coupling with the stinging from his face.
“Woah woah woah woah, hey, kiddo, calm down—“ Jack grabbed Rhys’s flesh wrist as the omega went in for another strike with his free hand, wrestling with Rhys for a moment. A dominant growl left his lips, one that he hoped would have subdued the omega but Rhys still struggled, fingers clenching as he tried to get his hands on Jack. Finally, Jack tugged Rhys hard enough that the omega lost his balance and fell against the couch, soon finding himself pinned under the alpha’s bulk, Jack’s knees pressed into his thighs.
“You bastard!” Rhys bucked, baring his teeth at Jack’s face. “Stupid, arrogant alpha sonuvabitch—“
“What’s gotten into you, kitten?” Jack barked, an uneasy grin spreading across his face, even with the sting from his jaw, as he gathered exactly what the omega was angry about. “Something wrong?”
“You damn well know what is wrong, asshole!” Rhys spat, clacking his teeth together. “You put a fuckin’ collar on me, you dick!”
Rhys’s throat tensed and bobbed underneath the offending article—a thin, leather cordon wrapped snugly around Rhys’s throat, fastened by a small, delicate silver panel pressing directly above the omega’s Adam’s apple. Rhys couldn’t help the small shiver that went through him as the collar shifted, friction against the sensitive nerve at the back of his neck.
“You think you can fuck me and just….just make me your pet?” Rhys wished he wasn’t being pinned down, because that smug, knowing grin of Jack’s was even worse than the clueless look he had punched off his face before. “If you want a stupid bitch that you can tame and fuck, then you better start looking for a different omega, asshole.”
Jack hummed, faux consideration in his voice as he gazed at the flushed, furious omega pinned below him.
“Oh, baby, I’m pretty sure last night, you were just begging to be mine.”
“No. Not like this, Jack.” Rhys scowled, head flopping against the cushion beneath him. “I’m not…I’m not…” Rhys bit his lip, letting out a shivering snort.
Jack considered Rhys for a moment, his grin slowly leaving his face as he watched the omega, eyes flicking from the man’s face to the collar around his neck. Rhys raised his eyebrows at Jack’s expression—unreadable, for once.
“Rhysie…I know, baby, I know…” Jack stroked Rhys’s flesh wrist with his thumb, unusually tender considering that had been at each other’s throat only moments before.
“I…One day is all I ask for, kitten. Not even the full twenty-four hours, I’m talking one work day only. That’s like…what, eight hours more? Come on.” Jack’s voice dropped another octave, rich with the tone that made Rhys shiver, forget his anger—but only by a bit. Rhys tugged at his lip, trying to look anywhere but Jack’s eyes. Finally, the omega sighed, turning his face towards Jack’s.
“Fine. One day.” Rhys would let Jack have his fun, but he was determined not to like this. He refused to give in and let Jack win for good.
Rhys wasn’t going to admit it to Jack, but the collar was, well…kind of nice.
It was still embarrassing to be wearing it like he was a pet, but he couldn’t deny the happy, floating feeling in his chest as he skated down the halls of Helios, sighing softly every other step as the collar shifted against his skin with his movement. Was this some kind of placeholder, because Rhys had still held out on bonding with Jack? The pressure of the collar rubbed just at the edge of the sensitive spot on his neck, not fully fitting over the nerve, but enough to make a pleasant feeling course through Rhys at the smallest bit of friction. Maybe Jack was trying to convince Rhys into bonding by showing how nice it would make him feel. And despite the annoyance that pricked through Rhys at that, he couldn’t deny the honeyed warmth that settled into his bones at the collar’s touch.
That peaceful feeling was, sadly, shattered upon a tour of R&D. Jack had simply sent him down to check the progress of the fledgling elemental prototypes—probably knowing all too well that that department was more or less an an alpha’s club. Rhys grimaced as he watched the researchers send him quick glances and sport small smiles. Of course they would notice the collar around a pretty omega neck. Rhys shuddered as he imagined what kind of things those scumbags were thinking, but tried to remain on task. He ignored the way that the head of the project’s eyes lingered on the collar around his neck, the self-conscious fiddling of the omega’s fingers against his neck only drawing more amused smirks. Rhys was fuming underneath his polished exterior, trying to get through this so he could go back to Jack and have these idiots properly disciplined.
“All right. The grants from financing will be ready for your consideration by the end of the week. Is there anything else?” Rhys asked, glancing over the top of the documents at the seated alpha. His lips curled into a scowl at the amused look on the man’s face. Rhys glared, face a frustrated pout as he watched the man sigh and glance up at Rhys like the omega was a child—or worse.
“You know,” The alpha began, trying to suppress the smile tugging at his lips, “maybe if Jack wants to check our progress, he should come down here himself, and not just send his pet to play fetch.” A wave of soft chuckles rose from the alphas in the immediate area, the project head smirking toothily to his colleagues.
Rhys’s heart leapt in anger, blood pumping harder as he clenched his teeth. He knew this was going to happen, that this was a bad idea, no matter what he did or who he killed, these stupid alphas never respected him, and that sure as hell wasn’t going to change with a fucking collar around his neck. Rhys was about ready to tear the damn thing off of him and shove it down Jack’s throat when a warm, tingling feeling suddenly washed over the skin at his nape. Rhys could feel his chest flutter at the sensation, stomach dropping slightly, pleasantly. Oh. That felt good.
His gun was out of his holster, the barrel whipping across the project head’s face. Rhys felt the bones in his face give underneath the metal, heard the alpha scream and saw him clutch his jaw as blood dribbled down his khaki pants. Rhys shuddered, the warmth coursing through his body again, his grip tightening on his gun, finger twitching against the trigger.
The other alphas screamed, stumbling away, trying to find cover as the alpha in the chair spasmed, shoulder exploding in a shower of blood, the close range severing his arm from its socket. The alpha howled in horror as his limb smacked wetly on the floor, but Rhys barely cared—it all felt too good, so good, and he wanted more.
The blood pounding through his veins, each pump of his heart dragging that lovely warmth with it as he unloaded his pistol into the alpha, nothing escaping his mouth but loud, breathy whines out of sync with the uneven shots and the sounds of bursting flesh. Rhys was shaking by the time he ran out of ammunition, barely able to hold his gun against the tide of arousal rushing through him.
Rhys turned quite a few heads as he stumbled through the hallways, blindly trying to make his way to Jack’s office. He was sure he must’ve smelled fantastic, ambling half hard and wet down to his knees, but he was also soaked in blood, which managed to sway off any unwanted advances. Though Rhys almost wanted someone to challenge him, so that he would have an excuse to stick his heel in their eyes and feel that wonderful feeling again.
Jack had the audacity to feign innocence in his expression, even after Rhys had barged into the office and slammed both hands on the edge of his desk, clawed nails digging into the wood.
“Sooo. Guess who figured out what else your collar does, Jack.” Rhys huffed in arousal, a sly grin on his face that Jack returned in kind. “Cute, real cute.”
“Knew it wouldn’t take you long, you bloodthirsty little thing you.” Jack reached across the desk, the feeling of his large palm against the back of Rhys’ hand enough to make the omega shiver. “How many did you kill, Rhysie? Two? Three?”
“Just one—but he was a reaaaal bastard,” Rhys added at Jack’s throaty tsk. “Called me your pet. I blew up his shoulder. You’re going to need to assign a new head to the elemental prototype.”
“Makin’ me do even more work, huh? You know, that just gives me less time to play around with you.” Jack stuck his lip out in a mock pout, fluttering those faux doe-eyes at him.
“Jack, I’ve been around you long enough to know you can multitask. Or at least dump the responsibility on someone else.” Rhys smirked. “You corporate jackass.”
Rhys levered himself up on Jack’s desk, knees sliding across the smooth surface as he crawled over to the alpha, swinging around until he sat on the edge before Jack with his feet dangled off the other edge, resting one bloodied gold heel against the CEO’s thigh. Jack placed a hand against the omega’s boot, absently caressing the leather as he looked up at Rhys with an anticipating grin.
“So, I take it my little princess likes his new toy?” He wheeled the chair closer to the desk, placing himself more fully between Rhys’ legs, forearms resting against Rhys’ thighs as his hands found the omega’s waist. His fingers kneaded into the soft curve hidden underneath the sharp cut of the man’s jacket.
“It’s…nice.” Rhys simpered, shifting his hips against the desk, his dripping ass squelching with the pressure. His slim fingers ran through Jack’s hair, gripping into the alpha’s roots and making him growl.
“You’re still a jerk, though, for putting it on me when I’m asleep. Seriously, Jack?” Rhys slid from the edge of the desk to sit fully in the CEO’s lap. “Oh, you’re gonna pay for that as soon as you’re done fucking me.”
“Aw, still mad, even after all this, pumpkin? You gotta admit, it’s a pretty little piece of tech…for a pretty little boy.”
Jack’s fingers caressed the man’s pale neck, gracing over the thin strap of the collar. Rhys shivered, keening into the touch, especially when Jack slid his pinky in the snug space between the cordon and the omega’s skin.
“You see, collar’s all pressing up against that cute little spot of yours, baby. Hooked right up to your nervous system. Injects a lovely little cocktail, lets see—serotonin, cortisol, oxytocin—whenever you get into that fight or flight instinct.” Jack kissed at his chin, snapping the collar back against Rhys’ throat. “Which seems to happen a lot with you, sweetheart.”
Rhys tipped his head back, a breathy laugh escaping his lips.
“I like it. I’m not sure how useful it’d be in a firefight, though. Getting all wet and stupid every time I shoot anyone.” Rhys shivered as Jack’s broad hand ran over his thighs, fingers coming to cup the soaking leather around the omega’s crotch.
“Mmm. Good thing I’d be there to protect you if anything like that ever happened. Kill some bandits so you can jerk it off in peace.” Jack’s kisses were languid as they wended down Rhys’ throat, teeth biting into the cord of the omega’s collar. Rhys moaned as it was tugged, material pressing tighter against his bonding site.
“Ah….how sweet of you…” Rhys let his eyes slide shut, entertaining for a moment, the image of Jack towering over him, splattered in blood, gunshots cutting through the sound of his own moans—Rhys breathed deeply, rocking his hips into his lover.
Jack kept his teeth fixed into the collar, occasionally licking around it, a corona of red bruise forming around the leather. His hands shuffled around his omega’s belt, peeling the wet fabric of Rhys’ pants away, too thrilled with arousal to bother removing his clothing all the way. The waistband of the pants soon hung snugly under the curve of the omega’s slick ass, giving the alpha ample room for his own released cock to rub teasingly between Rhys’ asscheeks. The omega gasped, nodded mindlessly as he lowered his hips, rubbing himself down against his mate.
The man was coming apart in Jack’s lap, losing grip on his cool composure and falling under his omega instincts, bristled by his alpha’s touches and the collar’s hormones mingling with his body’s own, the combined flood overwhelming his system. He couldn’t help the needy whine that came as Jack began to ease himself into him, Rhys clutching at Jack’s shoulders, mouthing yes at the man’s temple as he was filled with delicious, warm pressure that shot straight up his spine. He could feel Jack’s harsh, wet breaths against his throat, the alpha’s teeth still locked into the collar around the omega’s neck, holding Rhys in place as he thrust up into him.
Rhys desperately held onto Jack, hugging the man’s neck as he tried to meet the alpha’s upward thrusts with his own rock of hips, but the meat of his thighs trembled, shaking with the hormones pumped through his body with every beat of his heart. His body leaked around Jack’s dick as he was fucked, dripping down his thighs and onto the alpha, splattering the seat of the yellow chair between his legs. Jack’s hands squeezed into his ass, fingers kneading against the full flesh as he forced the omega onto him again and again, blinding Rhys with the pleasure of being filled deep to the pit of his stomach.
“Jack, please, more, I—“ He felt Jack wrench against the back of his collar, pulling Rhys head back and ripping an obscene whine from the omega’s lips. Jack chuckled against his throat, licking against the friction of the skin and the leather.
“Heh…Like having a handhold on you, kitten. Sometimes you need to be reigned in.”
“I-In your dreams, J-Jack.” Rhys managed to laugh, even as the breath was brutally fucked out of him.
It wasn’t long before Rhys was slamming himself down against Jack’s cock, coming with a cry between their stomachs. His hips rocked, rolling around the dick inside him as Jack fucked towards his own release. The omega leaned hard against his mate’s chest as he felt his alpha’s cock engorge inside him, locking them in place as Jack came, a final shudder of hormones rushing through Rhys as he curled against his lover. He could feel his lower belly swell with the force of Jack’s release, coupling with the spread of instinctual warmth to stir errant fantasies in his addled brain—the pop of blood as Jack bites into his neck, his body round and soft with Jack’s offspring, the pleasure of being kept safe and bred well—before they quickly faded into the breathy calm of the afterglow. Rhys feels Jack’s broad palms press against his back, the warmth of the knot held inside him, a gentle kiss to the skin around his collar. A satisfied chuckle.
Three days later, Jack would wake up with a slim, brown and gold strap around his neck and the amused cackle of his omega in his ears.