章 41: 40 : Tears of relief { TW : Violence }

That night, after the gala, when he came back home, Akihito only found Pam waiting for him. Her wife and her son were already back to their house and Haru was sleeping.

" - How did it go ?" Akihito asked his sister after he took a peek into the bedroom.

Haru was sleeping soundly with only a pair of shorts and one of Aki's pajama shirt.

" - Great, " answered Pam as she put her coat. " But I think he missed you. He started to look at the clock a lot after midnight. I guess he thought you were coming sooner. "

" - I did tell him I will be on time," Akihito sighed, though he was flattered that Haru was waiting for him.

It was 3am. After he met the Kanzaki's brothers, Akihito couldn't contain his fury and his disgust towards them. So he went to his family home to calm down a bit and also, he wanted to change his clothes which smelt a little like Silas. He didn't want to break Haru more than he was.

" - Did he eat ?" Akihito asked while he was taking off his coat.

" - Yeah. Don't worry. I made him take his medecine on time and he took a bath with our son." Pam smiled.

" - Thank you," Akihito said genuinely.

" - Did something happen ? You look tired…"

" - I… I'll tell you another day. Go back home, Mila will be angry if you stay here any longer."

Pam hesitated, worried by her brother's exhausted face. But she knew if she insisted too much, Akihito will only be irked. So she dropped the subject and went home.

Akihito decided to change into his bottom pajama. Haru had prepare the pants for him.

Since Haru had read a romantic book, he started to do things he thought natural between couple.

He would always wear the top pajama of Aki and let the bottom part for the alpha. He would always sit between Aki's legs when watching movies together and every morning he would make breakfast unless Akihito woke up first. And most of all, he would always kiss Akihito before he went to sleep.

The alpha was happy. Because Haru couldn't talk, it seemed to him that it was how the omega showed his affection.

Once changed, Akihito returned to the room.

Haru was sleeping while hugging the alpha's pillow. Akihito smiled while caressing the omega's angelic face.

Very slowly and without abrupt movement, he lay down behind Haru and removed the pillow from his little hands. Despite his carefulness, Haru woke up and immediately snuggled into his Alpha's chest.

His small arms locked around Akihito and he buried his face in his alpha's tender but equally soft chest. Akihito kissed the top of his head while stroking his back and hugging him.

Slowly, Haru fell asleep again, slipping his right leg between Akihito's legs.

The alpha gave a small, amused smile. Without ceasing to stroke the omega's back, he observed his sleeping face.

His big blonde eyelashes, his little nose and his heart-shaped mouth. Haru was indescribably beautiful. Akihito still couldn't believe that such a person could exist.

Apart from being gorgeous, Haru was an angel. He was never capricious and always tried to please the alpha.

Akihito knew full well that the omega had tried hard to be able to accommodate to his lifestyle, or else, the little one had sacrificed things for fear that Akihito would hurt him. Akihito understood all of this.

He also knew that Haru was trying hard to get by.

The omega always had nightmares and sometimes he would get depressed for a short while before smiling just to make a good impression.

Deep down Haru was still in pain. Nevertheless, he was more fulfilled. Akihito intended to do everything to make Haru happy.

Still, he felt the need to punish Silas. That's why he had agreed to work with the man. Akihito had a plan. The perfect plan to annihilate the Kanzaki.

***

* Present time : Four days after the gala *

Flore woke up to a crash.

The noise had him suddenly roused from his sleep and now he was peering into the darkness of his room as if someone was hiding there.

Flore didn't move yet. He carefully listened to the noises coming from the hall. Was it Arnold? No...it sounded like someone banging furiously on the front door.

Flore decided to leave the room to tell Arnold and see what was going on. But he quickly realized that he was alone in the big house.

So even though he was anxious, Flore went to the entrance hall.

He could hear voices behind the door, as if people were arguing.

Flore then slipped into the living room to call the police. But before he could even dial the number fully, he heard the door slammed open and voices thundering through the house.

When he recognized the smell that penetrated the living room, Flore froze and terror grew within him.

"- Please! Wait ! " yelled Emma. "President Williams isn't here!"

She was trying to stop the snarling alpha as he walked into the living room yelling Arnold's name.

When his eyes finally landed on Flore, he fell silent. Flore dropped the phone, his heart pounding.

"- Florence..." whispered Hassan as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

Since he had seen the omega at the SS Club, he had never seen him again.

" - Florence..." he repeated, taking a step towards the omega.

But immediately, a vase flew at him. He narrowly dodged it, watching the vase smash against the wall.

Emma froze, surprised.

" - Get out of here !" Flore yelled at Hassan.

His blood was boiling in his veins. He was shaking with anger, disgust and fear.

" - Florence, I..."

" - GET OUT !!!" Flore cried desperately, throwing pillows and the phone at the Alpha.

Hassan did not listen to him. He walked straight to him but Flore rushed towards the kitchen where he grabbed a knife.

Tears were now streaming down his cheeks.

" - Get out !" Shouted Flore.

Hassan did not move. Flore then began to throw plates, bowls and other things at him. Hassan pushed them away easily. Enraged, he released his pheromones to calm the furious omega.

Flore collapsed to the ground. Despite everything, he struggled against his submission to defend himself. Emma was already down, feeling nauseous from this pheromone attack.

Flore started to panic. Everything came back to him.

That night of horror when he hadn't been able to defend himself, when no one tried to save him. That night he was forced to become an omega. That night when his body had been abused and treated like a simple disposable object, used and then abandoned.

Flore started screaming when Hassan wanted to touch him.

Blinded by anger, he shook the knife while screaming like a madman.

Hassan had to step back. Flore kept screaming, struggling as if he were reliving the scene, as if that night five years ago was happening again.

Hassan did not understand what was happening. He tried to calm Flore several times, but the omega didn't respond to any of his words, as if Hassan's voice couldn't reach him.

When Hassan managed to approach Flore, the omega began to howl louder to the point of releasing his pheromones. It was like he was calling someone, calling again and again. His scent wasn't sweet like Hassan remembered, no… Flore was releasing a bitter, heavy and sad smell that made you weak and emotional.

Hassan wanted to take Flore in his arms and reassure him, but the smell weakened him, and Flore continued to stir the air with the knife.

"- Flore !" Arnold's guttural voice stormed.

The dominant Alpha pushed Hassan away who fell on his buttocks.

Arnold grabbed Flore's arms.

" - It's me Flore," Arnold tried to say between the omega's cries. " Please… Look at me ! It's me !"

Flore struggled so violently that he cut Arnold's cheek. He then froze and his cries stopped.

Arnold remained unfazed. He stared at Flore with concern, searching deep in his eyes.

" - You're going to hurt yourself," Arnold sighed softly when he noticed that Flore was finally looking at him.

" - I... I didn't want to..." the omega mumbling between in sobs.

He started crying for real. Arnold took the knife from his hand and put it on the table next to him.

" - I..." Flore tried to talk but he choked from his cries.

Arnold cupped his face. Flore was looking confused, as if he didn't understand what happened. He was crying but now he could see who was standing in front of him. His lips quivering, he was trying to said something, but he could only whine.

" - It's okay," whispered Arnold, bringing Flore close to him.

He took Flore's hand and placed it on his heart and with his other hand he caressed the crying omega's cheek.

" - You're with me, okay?" he whispered.

Flore nodded without ceasing to cry. Arnold picked him up in his arms and the omega snuggled into his neck, unable to stop crying.

"- Get out," Arnold said in Hassan's direction, releasing his pheromones which immediately smothered Hassan. "And don't come back here."

Hassan couldn't answer him, his throat tight as if he were going to die.

It was the first time he had seen Arnold so angry... the first time since the incident five years ago.

Once freed from the pressure of the pheromones, Hassan left the house, without saying a word. He was exhausted and shocked.

Arnold had trouble calming Flore down. The omega kept crying, tears wetting his cheeks again and again.

Arnold blamed himself. He had gone out for a brief moment to collect some suppressants for him. Flore was still in heat, and Arnold had more and more difficulty resisting the omega, especially when he seduced him unconsciously.

He had therefore called Emma, who lived in the servants' dormitory at the other side of the street, to keep an eye on Flore until he was back.

He didn't know how Hassan got his address but he suspected his friend's mother, Mrs. Taha, who knew how to play with her connections.

Emma was still trying to recover from all that pheromone. Sitting on the couch, she took deep breaths, to appease her sudden fear.

Arnold suddenly came up to her and said in hurry:

"- Call the hospital. No... Call... call... President Ogata."

Emma complied without questioning her boss.

Arnold didn't want to take Flore to the hospital. He knew that Flore didn't want to go and the idea of another man laying his hand on Flore made him mad with rage.

The only person in his entourage with an omega for lover was Akihito Ogata. He hoped the man could help him.

Besides, once Arnold had explained to Akihito what was happening, without going into details, Akihito promised to send him a good doctor.

That was the reason why Pam, Akihito's younger sister, was now sitting next to Flore who was still crying.

" - So ?" Arnold asked for the fourth time as Pam examined Flore.

Pam didn't reply. She injected Flore with a little bit of tranquilizer. Soon the omega finally stopped crying and fell asleep.

" - I need to know the full story before I answer," Pam said with a stern look when she and Arnold were in the living room.

With difficulty, Arnold talked about Flore's past, the incident with Hassan and the other two alphas, and what had happened today.

He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to say that much to a stranger. However, he felt like he could trust Pam and Akihito.

" - You're probably not going to believe me, but… I guess he was relieved." Pam said as she packed away her medical gear.

" - Relieved ?" Arnold repeated confused.

" - You told me yourself. When he was attacked the first time by that man, no one saved him. And now, he encounters that same man again and you appear just in time. Flore wasn't crying because of the shock, I mean, he was shocked but his tears were mostly due to a feeling of… relief." Pam explained.

She turned to face the dominant alpha.

" - Since the beginning he wanted to be save. That's all. The tears… those tears were all those years he couldn't cry and thought he was alone. Today you proved him that he wasn't…"

Arnold dropped down on the couch. He couldn't contain his own tears from streaming down. He wasn't crying but it was the first time he could understand the pain Flore had in his heart.

" - I met different types of omegas during my work," Pam continued. " They know well how to manage their emotions. Alphas and Betas tend to label them as the weakest but, omegas are actually the strongest. They are fighting everyday. Against prejudice, against alphas, against inequity. They are abused, not loved and abandoned, yet, they are still there, fighting again and again. Omegas are human beings just like us. They also can break and when they do, we can't do anything or we can do everything."

Arnold swept up his tears.

" - Flore is strong," Pam said. " People have different way to manage their trauma. I know some omegas who are just going to shut themselves from the world, some of them will cry helplessly, some will blame themselves, others will live in fears, and some will be angry… just like Flore. "

Pam put her hand on Arnold's shoulder.

" - Don't worry. He will be okay. Just be there for him. For the time being, I will prescribe him some tranquilizer and antidepressant."

Arnold nodded. Pam gave him her number and an appointment in two weeks from today.

After that, Arnold thanked Emma and dismissed her. He then proceeded to clean the house and take a shower.

When he came back to his room, Flore was standing awkwardly on his feet. The omega sighed in relief when he saw Arnold. His eyes were dazed. Flore was definitely fighting against the tranquilizer.

Arnold ran to him and tucked him back in bed. Flore was gripping his shirt, as if he was afraid Arnold would disappear.

" - Take a rest. I'll be there when you'll wake up," Arnold assured him in a soft tone.

He gently stroked his back and dared to kiss the omega on the forehead. Flore closed his arms around the alpha and slurred as he replied :

" - Don't leave… again…"