Cerulean Feathers

Chapter 2

The sidewalks were empty.

Neon lights were flashing brightly, reflecting off puddles that littered the road.

Hands were dragging Jonathan out of his room, away from the book he had been trying to read.

"What did we do wrong?"

A voice screamed. He knew it was supposed to be his mom, but it was so warped and ruined it wasn't much of anything.

He was thrown in the air, landing hard on his back as the door was slammed in front of him.

Car lights glared angrily at the boy in the street as the beast roared closer, the teen barely able to scramble to his feet and out of the way before the car trampled where he had been.

Jon stood on the sidewalk, shaking. Across the street, he saw him.

His perfect Alpha.

He was just standing there, staring at Jonathan with the same sneer from that day.

"Please..."

Jonathan pleaded, running toward him. The Alpha scoffed, pulling a gun from somewhere and pointing it at Jonathan.

The Omega froze, staring down the barrel.

"You're so pathetic."

He growled before pulling the trigger.

Everything went black as azure feathers floated to the ground.

Jon let out a yelp as he sat upright, the fear of the nightmare fading as quickly as the morning dew. Outside, he could hear a few cars rumbling across the street, muffled by the larger building between his house and the road. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, stretching his arms and wings. Then, he slowly stood, heading toward his bag of money and food to discover what breakfast would be that morning. After selecting a couple granola bars, he plopped back on his bed and began eating. He picked up the note from the day previous, reading it over again before swallowing his breakfast.

He wasn't sure what time it was, but he didn't want to be late for his first chance at a job.

So, he put on his false antlers (that he 100% did not steal from a kink shop) and forced his wings as close to his body before pulling on his small gray jacket. He secured his gun into his pants pocket, tucking it behind his jacket and out of sight. Then, after double checking his food and money was stashed in separate but secure places, he headed out.

As he was about to step through the crack in the wall, he spotted his hockey mask hanging on a broken windowsill. He paused, considering to bring it, then shook his head and stepped out.

No need for his mask if he was being a normal person for once.

As he walked the streets, he saw several antlered men and winged women, all looking rather bored as they strolled to work. Only a few people were in the air, flying with red, brown or black wings as they hurried to their job they were most likely late for.

The scents of individuals were lost against each other, but occasionally Jon would get a whiff of lemon or strawberries that would make him smile.

He always wondered what his own scent would be, but had never been able to figure out how to tell. His wings attempted to rustle themselves uncomfortably, impossible under the tight jacket.

I guess that's what happens when an Omega raises himself.

The first time he went through his heat he had thought he had just gotten really sick and barricaded himself in the bathroom before everything went black. Then, he awoke to a starving belly and claw marks on the wood door. But his wings had finally healed from his plucking.

Now, whenever he feels his heat he does the same thing, stealing more food to gorge on before he is unable to think. Jonathan was torn from his thoughts as he was suddenly shoved to the ground, blinking in surprise before looking up. It was an Omega female.

"Oh my, I am so sorry! Please don't hurt me! I-I swear I'll never do it again!"

The woman's gray and black wings were trembling as she stared, terrified at Jonathan.

Good, my antlers still look fine.

Standing slowly and brushing himself off, Jonathan glared at the Omega through narrowed eyes.

"Be more careful. The next Alpha might not leave you with just a warning."

The woman whimpered and nodded, to which Jonathan shoved past her again as he continued down the sidewalk. Jonathan watched the people around him, slipping into buildings and meeting with friends at cafés. Sighing, he checked the street signs to see how close he was to the meeting.

However, when he looked up the signs read Mallard and Doe.

He had arrived.

-

Jonathan quickly did a scan of the people around him, trying to see if there was anyone visibly waiting for someone else.

The majority of people were waiting for the light to turn green to cross the street, but there was a group of Alphas that seemed to be scanning the area at a nearby coffee shop.

They wore black suits and were seated at a table, their heads swiveling to scan the faces of people who strolled past.

Maybe one of them was "V"?

As Jonathan took a step toward them, he felt a hand on his shoulder and froze before whipping around, seeing another Alpha standing behind him.

"Hey, you looking for V?"

The Alpha asked quietly, glancing at the other people around them to make sure they weren't heard.

The light turned green and people began crossing the road. They were losing their cover.

"Yeah, is that you?"

Jonathan answered quickly, glancing around at the fading group of people.

Nobody was paying them any mind.

Yet.

The Alpha's blue eyes narrowed slightly at the bustling people around them, then shook his head.

"No, but I work for him. Do you want to take the job?"

Jonathan blinked at the man as he locked his narrowed gaze on Jon. Something about him sent chills down Jonathan's spine.

"Yeah."

Jonathan said quietly, slouching his shoulder nonchalantly. The man didn't move, but another one appeared, except this one had...

...wings?

Jonathan did a double take on the man who was staring back at him, his eyes dark and wings dove gray.

"Are you sure? You seem a bit young for a job with the description 'death-causing'."

Jonathan grimaced at the Omega's words, then nodded.

"I'm sure."

The two nodded, and the Alpha turned around.

"Follow us."

They immediately began walking away from the shrinking crowd, and Jonathan hurried to catch up. He fell in step with the Omega behind the Alpha, trying to stay with them and not get swept into the crowd at the same time.

As Jon was looking around though, he noticed the Alphas from the café walking behind them, their gazes hidden behind sunglasses.

That's never good.

He kept them in his peripheral as he pretended to scan the landscape, and they seemed to be doing the same.

They're following us.