Hidden

I barely recognised my own reflection. I’d aged, I realised, frowning at the faint lines I spotted at the corners of my eyes. I was gaunt and pale and I looked scared. I looked like a victim and I hated it.

The bruising didn’t help. Apparently I didn’t come out of the crash with Bucky quite as unscathed as I’d thought. I was covered in abrasions, with a huge shiner on my ribs, a smaller one on my shoulder and some pretty impressive bruising on my left cheek.

I was so fucking tired.

“You ok in there, Tones?” Darcy called cheerfully from the other side of the door.

“Peachy,” I answered, brushing my fingers through my newly shorn hair, marvelling at the clean, untangled feeling after an age of being covered in grime and only god knew what else. “I’ll be out in a sec.”

“Coolio!”

I pulled on my borrowed clothes, feeling oddly naked despite being completely covered. The off-white sweater was too big on me, hanging off my shoulder and falling to my thighs, and the black sweatpants were about two inches too short. Coupled with my dirty hiking boots, I figured I probably looked like a catwalk fashion reject.

I took a deep breath, opened the bathroom door and stepped outside.

“Well, look at you,” Darcy said brightly, grabbing my hand and dragging me towards her tiny dining table. “You’re a hottie.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” I gushed, dropping into the chair and indicating the steaming bowl of pasta. “For moi?”

“Sure is. Tuck in.”

She didn’t need to tell me twice. I inhaled the food, barely tasting it, even though I vaguely realised it tasted good. The kid reappeared, letting himself into Darcey’s room like he owned the place. He dropped into the seat next to me and leaned against my shoulder like it was no big deal.

“Uh, hi,” I said around a mouth-full of food.

“Hi,” Peter chirped back cheerfully, apparently oblivious to social norms as he blatantly scented me before opening his book and ignoring me completely.

I looked at Darcy for help, but she just smiled and shrugged.

“So what do you guys do for fun around here?”

“Yeah, not a whole lot of fun to be had, if I’m honest. They don’t like us leaving the compound.”

I nodded. I wasn’t exactly surprised, but knowing I was trapped felt like I had a steel band constricting around my chest. I was scared and so unbelievingly stressed, but I was old enough to know that freaking out wouldn’t change anything, so I pushed down the suffocating panic I felt, figuring I’d need all the information I could get.

“What do you do all day?”

“Mostly chores. Peter here has lessons - he was apprenticed a while back, but…” she trailed off as Peter visibly tensed. “I, ah, I help teach the older kids maths and stuff.”

“You guys are pretty smart, huh?”

“Omegas tend to have a higher IQ,” Peter noted, not taking his eyes off his book. “Statistically, anyway.”

“You’re preaching to the choir kid,” I said, sharing a conspiral smile with Darcy. “So is it just us?

“There’s a few more in the compound, but all the other omegas have alphas. For now, this place belongs to us, although the others have an open pass to visit whenever they want.”

I nodded, taking in the information. That would explain the heavy scent of pregnant omegas. As we continued to eat, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. I glanced around the room, but there was no one else around besides the three of us. It was unsettling, the constant sense of being under scrutiny.

"Something wrong?" Darcy asked, picking up on my unease.

"I just feel like someone's watching us," I admitted, my voice hushed.

Darcy exchanged a knowing look with Peter. "They’re not allowed inside, Tony. Were safe in here, I promise"

I clenched my fists under the table in frustration. I hated feeling trapped, like an insect under fucking glass. They didn’t come in because they chose not to. That could change at any moment.

"So are there any rules in our lovely knew home I should know?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

Darcy sighed, her gaze flickering towards the door. "Plenty. We're not allowed to leave the compound without permission, and even then, it's rare. We have curfews, restrictions on who we can interact with, and we're constantly monitored."

Peter closed his book, finally tearing his eyes away from the pages. "Everyone says it’s for our own good - that people would take advantage of us otherwise."

He wasn’t wrong, but it still fucking rankled. What the hell did the town think they were doing, if it wasn’t taking advantage of them.

I nodded, my mind racing with possibilities. If I wanted to escape, I needed a plan. But first, I needed to gain Darcy and Peter’s trust. They seemed to have a good understanding of the compound and its dynamics. I wondered if they were treated well or if they were as desperate as I was to leave.

“How much did you guys drink?” Peter abruptly asked with a snort, gesturing towards the empty glasses on the countertop.

I shrugged and Darcy grinned.

“I’m surprised they let us have access to booze,” I admitted.

Darcy’s grin blossomed. “They don’t, but I’ve got pretty good at making my own. It’s only chemistry, after all. And like I said, no alphas allowed.”

I was impressed and more than a little grateful that I didn’t have to spend my first day at the compound completely sober. Dutch courage and all that jazz.

“What happens if we refuse to come out,” I asked, suddenly intrigued by how far the rules could be pushed.

“They’d send in Natasha to drag you out,” Peter said with a sour smile. “That’s what happened to me.”

“That’s only because you spent two months locked in your room,” Darcy said teasingly. “They were scared I'd murdered you.”

I somehow didn’t think I'd be given a month's grace period if I decided to lock myself away, but I was definitely going to push my luck.

“So what’s the deal with Natasha,” I asked, wrinkling my nose at the memory of her scent.

“I’m not really sure. I think she used to be an alpha, but something happened to her and now she’s…I mean…she’s not a nothing, ‘cause you know, harsh, but she doesn’t count as an alpha or a beta and she’s definitely not an omega.”

I nodded slowly, trying to decide if I thought losing any status would be horrifying or the best thing that ever happened to me. It was definitely a coin toss.