Jackson couldn't believe he'd just bought someone.

Like, walking into the grocery store, browsing the shelves until he found something he liked, took it to the register, handed over a wad of cash or his card, and walked out the door with it.

Except this wasn't a bag of fucking chips or shaving cream.

He'd bought an actual real living human being.

Scrubbing his skin pink in the shower didn't make him feel any cleaner. He stepped out after a while, deciding that ripping his skin off wasn't an option. He towel dried his hair before throwing on a pair of sweatpants and poking his head into his room where his omega lay on the bed.

Wait, no. The omega, not his. He didn't own jackshit.

But then, the omega protection laws were really just words on a sheet of paper and didn't mean shit when it came to reality. In reality, omegas were still treated as property. Oh, sure, not everyone treated omegas like shit. They still participated in society, still worked, still functioned, still had the right to vote and all that fun stuff, but when it came right down to it, no one would really bat an eye at the fact that he'd just purchased an omega on the black market.

The truth of it all made his skin shrink up.

He grimaced, walking into the room to give the omega a onceover.

Yeah, this omega was definitely a looker. He wasn't fucking blind. The creature was... stunning. An albino, an incredibly rare genetic trait on its own and even rarer among omegas. His hair was literally white, the color of snow, falling down to pale slender shoulders. It was soft too, Jackson thought helplessly. He had touched the omega's hair as he laid him down in the bed and it had felt like a rabbit's fur. So soft and silky. And his lashes were the same color of white, and thick too, long.

His skin was translucent, thin and delicate. Jackson had no doubt that like most albinos, this guy would struggle with sun exposure. He had no idea the degree as it varied, so he kept the curtains closed just in case. No doubt his eyes would be sensitive as well.

But the omega wasn't by any means weak, Jackson noted grimly.

This was an omega that was used to fighting.

After Jackson had gotten him home and settled in bed, he'd noticed that some of the makeup the auctioneers used had come off on his jacket. Beneath that smooth layer of concealing creme were bruises and cuts, welts almost like he'd been hit with a belt. Upon closer inspection, the omega was malnutritioned to top it all off. Really the only thing on the omega's bones was skin and muscle. There wasn't an ounce of fat on him. He was severely underweight and would have to start a high fat diet.

Jackson immediately stopped himself from thinking any further.

What the hell was he thinking? Keeping this omega? Hell, no. This was a human being. An innocent one, a hurt one, one that was bound to be severely traumatized from his experiences. He wasn't going to stay in Jackson's home like a piece of furniture. The proper thing would be to pack the guy up and take him to the authorities. He looked young, perhaps his parents would be worried sick about him?

Yeah, that'll be fun to explain to the cops. Yes, hi, it's me, Jackson Colt, son of Aurora Colt, the city's golden star. I went to a black market auction and purchased another person with actual money. Yeah, that would go over fucking fantastic with the authorities, who already fucking hated him and his brothers.

That was another story entirely.

Sighing in frustration, Jackson raked a hand through his wet hair and took a step back to access the situation.

Okay, so he had another person in his custody right now. The guy was bound to be traumatized, so once he woke up, he'd probably be scared shitless and try to escape. While naturally Jackson should let the guy go on his merry way, something inside him snapped at the idea.

Mine.

Uh, yeah, no. About as mine as an Oscar, Jackson thought dryly.

However, he did have a duty as a doctor to attend to those in need. And right now, this omega was in desperate need of assistance. Starting with the fact that he was clearly not getting the food and vitamins he needed.

With that thought in mind, Jackson went to his computer on the other side of the room and sat down, getting to work on making a list of all the medications and supplements his patient would need to heal.

Right. Exactly. Patient.

Not his omega.

Not his property.

His patient.

That's about as convincing as a Scooby-Doo villain. Jackson shook his head in annoyance at the same time his phone went off on his desk. He checked the ID, then cursed.

Ethan.

He looked over at his omega, who was still fast asleep. He stood up and crept out of the room quietly, closing the door behind him and answering the phone.

"About damn time," Ethan's rough baritone grunted, "I called you only like ten times over the past three hours." Jackson rolled his eyes. That was the thing now. Since their mother had passed, Ethan had taken it upon himself to be a much more caring older brother. So he made sure to call at least three times a day to make sure they were all safe. The other twelve times he called was just to be a general pain in the ass or to give them updates on any leads.

Or rather, lead, considering the only lead they had to what happened to their mother was a female named Anita Banks. Except there was no Anita Banks in Sterling City. Not according to literally every search they'd been able to do. So it had to be some kind of alias. Making their search for this Anita Banks even harder.

"What do you want? I'm busy," Jackson said dryly, glancing at his bedroom door before making his way down the hallway with a list of food he wanted Mary-Beth to grab.

"What could you possibly be doing that's more important than this? Anyway, I met up with Darren earlier and there was no luck at the police station. Ezra has a friend on the force who did a little digging and there's no record of an Anita Banks. I asked Jacob if he thought the name could be an anagram or something, but he's still working on it. Right now, we've hit a fucking roadblock and I don't like it, Jacks. I really don't." Jackson couldn't agree more. Why would their mother meet with someone who, according to the records, didn't exist? What had she been involved with?

Jackson immediately scolded himself for the thought.

His mother was the typical do-gooder. She ran the hospital funded by Stirling University. She donated and ran the research department that worked in conjunction with the hospital and the university. Her entire existence was about helping others. From providing excellent quality medical care to strangers to finding the perfect mates for her children. She even volunteered at a soup kitchen on the holidays for fuck's sake.

But that still didn't answer the question of who his mother was meeting.

All they'd known was that she had left to meet with someone to discuss a possible mating between Jackson and some perfect omega after he'd turned down several mating proposals. He almost felt guilty for having troubled her. Almost.

"Anyway," Ethan continued with a heavy sigh, "I wanted to swing by the house. Mary-Beth found some of my old shit in the garage when she was digging up mom's stuff, so I wanted to grab it."

"Uh, alright. When were you thinking of stopping by?"

"After work, probably."

"You're already back to work?"

"Honestly? I rather be home in bed, but not really feeling the home vibe right now. Anyway, I'll see you after I get out of work. Do me a favor too. Call Darren. He hasn't been picking up again. So either he's hiding out at the house or Ezra has gone into heat. He never picks up when he sees its me."

"Yeah, alright, see ya."

Jackson hung up with a heavy sigh, frowning down at the phone in his hand. He had no idea how he was going to explain the omega in his room to his brother. He didn't want Ethan, or any of his brothers for that matter, to know about the omega, but that was the problem with their family. Secrets didn't stay hidden for long and sooner or later, someone was going to stumble upon the omega and start asking questions.

He shook his head, pocketing his phone and heading back downstairs to where Mary-Beth was cleaning up the dining room for the night. She looked up as he entered, her smile weak and tired. She didn't really outright say it, but Jackson knew she was feeling his mother's death as if her own mother had passed. After all, Aurora had treated Mary-Beth like a member of the family. The beta was as much their sister as anyone.

"Hey, M, I need you to do me a favor and grab some stuff from the grocery store in the morning. I'll be staying home all day unless something comes up. Ethan is also going to swing by. And have you seen Darren?" Jackson asked, holding out the list. Mary-Beth took it, then paused to touch her finger to her lip thoughtfully before shaking her head.

"He called earlier today to mention that Ezra wasn't feeling well, so perhaps he's stayed in with him. It isn't time for his heat, so he may just be sick with a cold," she responded, making Jackson arch a brow.

"Keeping track of Ezra's heats?" He asked. Mary-Beth smiled.

"You learn to catch on after a while. He's not due for another two weeks. So no need to worry. I'm sure Darren is just preoccupied with caring for his mate," she assured. Jackson smiled at that and nodded before he headed back up to his room, frowning as he thought of his brother.

Darren had never been particularly responsible. He had always been running off and causing problems. He always had to be doing something, and if he wasn't doing something he was supposed to, he was doing something he shouldn't. However, many of his professors had let him get away with things because of the family name. So, through fucking miracles, Darren had become an EMT. It was the perfect job for him. Fast-paced, exciting, and tested his limitations.

Even after he and Ezra had hooked up, Darren still needed to be doing something and his job kept him occupied when Ezra didn't. If there was one thing that had changed from their union, Jackson noted, it was that Darren had learned a little bit of responsibility. Especially where Ezra was concerned. The two fought on and off, but in the end, Darren would die for his mate. And Jackson had no doubt Ezra felt the same for Darren.

Jackson wasn't sure what the pang in his chest was about when he thought about them together. Perhaps there was a part of him that longed for such an intense connection? But the idea of settling down and being domesticated made his skin itch. He didn't want something so bland and boring.

But then, he also didn't want anyone to get hurt.

Sighing, he opened the door to his room and stepped inside, closing the door behind him and locking it only a second before something hit him over the head.

Jackson barked a curse and hit the floor, reaching for the back of his head while turning to see the omega standing behind the door and holding one of his trophies. The omega went at him with the trophy again, but Jackson was ready this time and rolled out of the way.

"Hold up, hold up!" Jackson protested, clutching his head with one hand and holding out the other to keep the omega back. The omega ignored him and threw the trophy at him, making him duck. The omega spun around and went for the door, finding it locked. He started to twist it, but Jackson cursed and grabbed the omega from behind.

All hell broke loose.

One second Jackson had the omega in his arms and in the next, the omega had him flat on the floor with a sucker punch to the nose. It had happened so fast that Jackson barely tracked it. He was completely stunned. He'd never seen an omega get so violent, not even Ezra. Omegas by nature were pacifists. Ezra was wild, certainly, but he'd never raise a hand to Darren, or anyone else.

But that explained the omega's muscular form. The omega was clearly accustomed to fighting. It made sense if he was being sold. How many times had the omega been forced to fight for his life?

"Stop," Jackson barked, grabbing the omega's fist to halt a second blow to the face. The omega spat at him, actually spat a glob of foamy spit at his cheek, then rammed his head forward, cracking their heads together. Jackson groaned, releasing the omega to clutch his head in agony. As if the trophy upside his head hadn't given him a fucking headache, he felt like he had a full on concussion from that rockhard skull.

The omega launched himself off his body and went for the door again, but Jackson rolled over hard and fast, grabbing the omega by the leg and yanking him down onto the floor. The omega hit the ground, then kicked Jackson in the nose, blood flooding down over his lips. Jackson cursed, but ignored the pain as he scrambled to overpower the omega, who was breathing heavily now.

The omega was strong, that was for sure, but he was still weak from malnutrition. He was still thin, still smaller than Jackson. He was no match for an alpha's strength as Jackson managed to pin his arms down to the floor, straddling him and sitting on him so he wouldn't get kicked in the crotch. If the omega kicked like he headbutted, Jackson was positive he would lose all ability to procreate.

"Enough," Jackson shouted at him, fighting to hold his arms down. The omega snarled.

"Get off me, you cocksucking shitface! I'll break your goddamn balls, do you hear me?! Get off!" He shouted back. Jackson was caught off guard. The omega definitely looked beautiful and ethereal, but nothing about that voice was delicate. His voice was rough, gravelly, like perhaps he had some damage to his vocal cords, and his words were crude enough to make Darren squirm.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Jackson said angrily, still fighting to keep those arms down. The omega was like a piglet, thrashing and squirming, struggling as if his very life depended on it. For a brief moment, the black case on his nightstand caught his eye. He still had the sedatives the seller had given him, but he immediately backtracked on that thought. This omega wasn't going to trust him if he drugged him, so he had to talk to him.

"My name is Jackson Colt," he introduced breathlessly, "I'm not going to hurt you, but I can't let you go if you're going to hurt me." The omega was panting hard now, clearly weakening his struggling, but not by choice. He was flushed right to the tips of his ears, his ruby red eyes flashing menacingly.

"I didn't ask for your name, you jackass," the omega sneered, making Jackson grimace, "And if you think I'm gonna believe anything that comes out of your mouth, you're fucking stupid!" Jackson sighed in frustration before glaring down at the omega.

"If you don't stop, I'm going to sedate you. I don't want to. I won't hurt you either way, but I can't talk to you properly if you're going to try and hurt me," he warned. The omega paused his struggles, still winded, and appearing to weigh his options.

"I'm sorry if you're scared," Jackson said after a moment, relieved he had the omega's attention, "It wasn't my intention. I just..." What was he supposed to say? That for the first time in his life, he'd made a completely impulsive choice by purchasing him from a black market auction? And why had he even done it in the first place? Somehow you smelled good didn't seem like a very good reason.

"I don't like to be touched," the omega said after a while, his voice a low growl. Jackson inclined his head.

"Understandable. I'm going to let you go now. If you come at me again, I will be forced to sedate you. Just give me a second to let go and stand up, alright?" He asked. The omega narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. Just watched him intently as Jackson released his arms and pushed himself up to his feet slowly. The movement made his vision swing around the room for a moment and he grimaced, reaching up to touch the back of his head. He drew his fingers back to see a bit of blood. He cursed softly, then glanced up as the omega sat up.

He held his hand out at the omega curled his lip at it, then got to his feet on his own. The omega wobbled as well, but when Jackson reached to help him, the omega recoiled and bared his teeth. No, more like fangs, Jackson noted. The guy had some sharp as canines.

He held his hands up in surrender and the omega curled his lip in repugnance before moving back so he could sit slowly on the edge of the bed.

Man, the omega was truly a sight to behold, Jackson thought grimly. That translucent skin, that white hair falling in loose locks to his shoulders, eyes glittering like rubies in the lights. He was definitely weak, though. Jackson could see the strain fighting had put on his body. His muscles were quivering and his hands shook as he planted them on his thighs, like he was trying to psyche himself up to get ready for another fight.

"What's your name?" Jackson asked after a moment. The omega shot him a dirty look.

"What? Is this some kind of power trip? Am I supposed to say I don't know, master with a doe-eyed look?" He demanded. Jackson scowled.

"I just asked your name. That's it. If you don't have a name--"

"Luca," the omega snapped, making Jackson frown, "My name's Luca."

"Just Luca?"

"No, Luca the Great," the omega responded sarcastically, then snorted, "Yeah, just Luca." Jackson frowned at that. He rubbed at his head again. He didn't think there was a concussion. More like he'd been knocked silly. Any harder, though, and he might've been dealing with a skull fracture. The thought made Jackson grimace. He studied Luca for a moment as the omega seemed to be catching his breath.

"How long have you been...?" He wasn't sure what the right word was. How long was he in captivity? He'd read that most omegas sold on the market were sold into slavery when they were just children. The way this omega behaved, he wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

"What," Luca asked dryly, "Sitting on the market? Like three days or so." Jackson stared at him.

Three days. That was it? Three days and he was a rabid animal?

"Have you always been a total shit?" Jackson asked. Luca blinked at that, then smirked and cut him an amused stare.

"See, that's the problem with you alphas. Anytime an omega steps outside the little circle you drew for them, they're labeled defective. Gods above, go fuck yourself," he tacked on, reaching up to rake a hand through his hair. He grimaced at the feel of his long hair threading between his fingers and drew his hand back. He hated the smell of the shampoo they'd used on him.

He smelled even worse than he had before. Or was that even the shampoo? He couldn't tell anymore. All he knew was that he needed to get away from this house, away from the alpha, before his heat hit. And he could feel it, fuck, he could so feel it creeping up on him. Like a literal flow of magma consuming him.

"You're hurt," Jackson said after a moment, making Luca blink and scowl at him in confusion, "You have bruises and marks from your captivity. Can I treat you?" Luca glared at him.

"What part of I don't like to be touched do you alphas not understand? Also, what are you? A doctor?"

"I'm a surgical resident."

"I have no fucking idea what that means."

"Yeah, most people don't. At least let me get a first aid kit for you to use yourself," Jackson said, making a move for the bathroom. Luca shot to his feet, ready to fight him off and Jackson held up his hands to indicate he meant no harm.

"First aid's in the bathroom," he said, "I'm just gonna grab it and bring it back. And, for the record, if you want to escape and get home safe, you might want some clothes on first because something tells me a naked omega on the run is going to draw attention, especially when it's so close to your heat." Jackson watched Luca stiffen, and a strangely becoming blush coloring his already flushed cheeks. He looked like a cherry. Nice and ripe and red from his ears down.

When Luca made no move to go after him, Jackson went to the bathroom and came back in just ten seconds flat. He was surprised Luca still hadn't made a move to run. But then, the omega was still shaking and had sat back down on the bed, clearly looking worn out.

"When was the last time you ate?" Jackson asked, coming forward with the first aid kit. Luca didn't make a move to grab it, so Jackson slowly knelt on the floor in front of the omega and opened the kit. Luca still eyeballed him like he was a venomous snake.

"Not sure. Doesn't matter."

"It does. How old are you?"

"Not important."

"Look, it's not going to hurt you to tell me anything. I was telling the truth about not hurting you. Even if I wanted to, I took an oath to do no harm. If anything, I sold my fucking soul to do the exact opposite," Jackson muttered, taking out some ointment and smearing some onto his fingertips. Luca frowned, watching him closely, then tensing as Jackson neared one of the cuts at his knee. He recoiled and Jackson stopped reaching for him before looking at him.

"Not all alphas are out to hurt people," he said. Wrong thing to say because Luca barked a hard sarcastic laugh.

"Oh, no, you're just a jolly fucking bunch. It's not like you go out of your way to fuck people over or anything, literally and figuratively."

"Look, I don't know what kind of alphas--"

"You're all the same," Luca sneered, snatching the ointment out of the kit and Jackson sat back on his knees, watching Luca sloppily apply it to his cuts, gritting his teeth in the process, "You spew biological bullshit to excuse why you rape people, and let's face it; you guys are just fucking rapists. It's just nobody wants to accuse you because it's a biological thing."

"It is a biological thing, but rape is not. There is no excuse for it, no matter who does it."

"Yeah, you say that now."

"I say that a lot," Jackson said dryly, "Look, just finish up there. I'll see what I can find in terms of clothing. Can I trust you to stay here or are you willing to get lost in our mansion? Are you even from here?" Luca blinked, as if the thought had just occurred to him that he may not be in the same city he was in before he was caught.

"Uh, Sterling, right?" He asked. Jackson inclined his head. Luca studied him for a moment, then narrowed his eyes as he pulled himself up further on the bed, taking the first aid kit with him.

"If you live in a fucking mansion, you live on the Northside. Means I've never even fucking been near it let alone in the streets of it. Whatever. I'm not leaving until I get clothes," he muttered, looking down at the kit. Jackson relaxed at that.

"Alright, then I'll see what I can do about some clothes."

Luca didn't answer, just went back to applying the ointment, only more carefully now. As if he'd done it a thousand times before, which, for some unfathomable reason, made Jackson's gut clench in tight in pain. He didn't like the thought of Luca being hurt often.

And he didn't know why he didn't like it.

Which he also didn't like.

One thing he knew he liked, though, was the way Luca smelled.