The crazed omega quickly lost consciousness and fell to the floor.
"Is he dead?" The merchant, unable to hide his irritation, approached the limp body and kicked it with all his might. Seeing no reaction, he exhaled heavily. "Since the deal has already been made, I can give you back a third of the money."
"Why should I pay for a corpse? Burying him is free. Give me my money back." The alpha grabbed his sword and stared menacingly at the merchant.
Swallowing hard, the man looked hopefully at the omega once more.
Fuck, he's dead. He could have at least made it to the door, the damn animal.
"Sir, rules are rules," the seller began, stammering. He was now mad, which was natural for a beta, because the flurry of pheromones flying around this man was insane. Everyone in the barn fled, and the omegas went into heat and lost consciousness.
"I'm not interested in your rules..."
"Ngh!"
Both men turned at the sound. The omega, who seemed to have been dead a minute ago, was lying in a pool of his own vomit, whimpering quietly.
"There! There! See? He's alive!" The salesman jumped up and down and kicked the omega with all his might. The omega, in turn, vomited a clot of bile again.
The salesman did not notice that the aristocrat standing next to him did not look happy at all.
"You'd better be dead," he whispered.
"Huh?" Not understanding what the aristocrat was saying, and not caring, the man grabbed him by the cloak with a death grip and pulled him into the room. "Come on, let's make the purchase."
Until he really died.
Even though he put all the strength he had in his body into the push, the alpha didn't even stagger. It seemed impossible to move him. He stood like steel rooted to the ground. The muscles under his clothes tensed slightly, as if holding back a blow.
The salesman, breathing heavily, took a step closer, but met with a glare. The alpha's eyes burned him worse than a fist. With that one look, he made the man recoil, as if he had struck him with a word.
"Touch me again and I'll break your arms," said the Alpha quietly, almost calmly, but that only made the words sound more frightening.
He broke free from the grip easily, with one short movement of his arm, which threw the salesman to one side. Alfa did not look to see if he had fallen, nor did he say a word. He merely adjusted his cuff, shaking off the stranger's touch, and headed towards the office without even quickening his pace.
The salesman, humiliated and still trembling with impotent rage, hurried after him. His breathing was uneven, a drop of sweat ran down his temple, but he did not dare to say a word.
The procedure for purchasing an omega was no more complicated than a regular trip to the shop for fresh meat. After all, this was an unknown omega.
"We cannot say for sure how old he is, what his name is, or where he comes from. He was found by our recruiter near the eastern castle of Priscilla," the salesman began, sorting through the documents. It seemed he had already forgotten all the humiliation he had received from the alpha.
The alpha, comfortably settled on the sofa, examined his sword closely.
'Of course, he is a foreigner and may cause some difficulties in terms of following instructions,' he said, then fell silent abruptly, 'but it seems to me, sir, that you understand this boy's language.'
"Yes, I do."
"Are you also a foreigner?"
"Fewer questions."
The atmosphere, which had seemed to be improving, quickly came to nothing. The dejected salesman was already saying goodbye to the opportunity to sell additional services. However, the man brought them up himself.
"I've heard that places like this sell more than just shells."
"Ah..."
A satisfied smile lit up the man's face.
Yes, he was definitely sitting across from a pervert. Over the years, he had developed a nose for such things.
"We offer a wide range of additional services. But if you're new to buying omegas, I recommend starting with light magic."
The salesman walked over to a large mahogany cabinet. As soon as he opened it, the room was filled with various sweet smells. He took out a small bottle with a thick, pearlescent liquid.
"This potion is rubbed into the neck. Of course, to achieve the effect immediately after the first application, I advise you to put a mark before use."
"What is this potion for?"
"It makes the body flexible."
"No," the alpha immediately dismissed the idea. "I'm not interested in that."
"Then what are you interested in?" the salesman pressed lightly.
The alpha got up from the sofa and slowly, like a prowling beast, approached the cabinet.
"I don't think what I'm looking for can be stored in this cabinet."
Ah, that very thing...
"It's not something that can be sold even for a thousand," the salesman looked meaningfully at the alpha. Why would such an aristocrat need a low-grade omega? And he even wants to spend several thousand more on improving it?!
But the alpha's gaze was unwavering.
Exhaling quietly, the merchant waved his hand.
"Follow me, sir. Oh, and take the omega from the corridor with you."
They walked down a dark corridor and descended into a basement that was just as dark and damp. They reached an iron door. Touching it and uttering a spell, the merchant opened the door and invited the alpha and the omega, who was hanging on his shoulder like a sack, inside.
This room was completely different from everything outside the barn. It was clean and tidy, full of various plants and chirping birds. The birds became alert when they saw the strangers. Their dark eyes turned red, and they opened their beaks, sticking out their long green tongues.
"They are the guards," said the merchant, trying to build trust with the alpha, "they will not touch us if our intentions are pure."
The alpha nodded meekly and, without taking his eyes off the birds, pulled the omega closer with one hand and grabbed the hilt of his sword with the other.
"Oh, I don't advise taking your sword — it's useless against them."
After going a little further, the situation did not change; on the contrary, there seemed to be more and more birds, and the flowering plants were replaced by ivy. The alpha was tense. He did not like it when something was beyond his control. And just as he was about to stop, the merchant said proudly:
"We're here."