The Night Movers - ch. 30 (Patreon)

Unbeta'd/Unedited

The scent of bacon dragged Ridley from his sleep, his stomach growling loudly. Was he dreaming? Hallucinating? He cracked his eyes open to find a strip of meat dangling just over the tip of his nose, almost threateningly. He frowned, looking around. He was no longer in Steele’s bed, but his own. When had Steele carried him back? 

Oh, well. He’d rather spend his morning with Rain anyway. Ridley stretched, cataloging every ache and pain in his body after last night. His joints popped loudly, a high-pitched sound escaping with his effort to stretch every muscle and tendon at once. Rain giggled at the sound, pulling his hand back to allow Ridley to wrestle himself into a sitting position. Once he was upright, he opened up obediently for Rain to pop the bacon into his mouth. He moaned in ecstasy, eyes closed so he could savor the salty sweetness for as long as possible. 

Ridley had only had bacon twice in his life but he could confidently say it was better than sex. 

“Are you a wizard or something?” Ridley teased as he chewed. “Did you magic yourself something to eat?” 

Rain flushed, smiling shyly as he shook his head, stuffing his mouth with a large piece of bread drenched in butter and some kind of red jelly. Ridley huffed a quiet laugh as he watched Rain attempt to chew the food now stored in his puffed out cheeks. He looked like the squirrels that used to exist back in the day. 

“Are you not talking to me today?” Ridley asked once the boy swallowed, nudging him softly with his shoulder. 

Rain shrugged, his voice just above a whisper as he said, “I don’t know when I’m allowed to speak and when I’m not.” 

His words pierced Ridley’s soul. He would never say his life had been easy. Like most people living in the district, he’d grown up with nothing, living on meager government rations and the occasional rat or rodent dumb enough to show themselves in their presence. But he’d never lived as someone else’s property. He’d never had his life dictated by others' whims. Considering everything Rain had endured, he was shockingly resilient. Ridley just wanted him to have some happiness.

“If we’re in here, you can talk to me whenever you want. Out there—” Ridley gestured vaguely. “—it’s just better to let them do the talking…or so they tell me.” 

Rain nodded, then offered Ridley a bite of his other piece of bread, smiling when Ridley made another happy sound. The jam was made of raspberries and the sweetness made him a little dizzy. When he finished chewing, he inspected the rest of the food on the tray before them, noting a pile of scrambled eggs, more bacon, oatmeal—Ridley’s usual meal—and fruit. 

Actual fruit. 

How rich were these alphas? Clothes and jewelry were one thing, but eggs? Meat? Fruit? Vegetables? Clean water? Those were rarer than any gem or precious metal. The oligarchs hoarded those things, deliberately made it so that food only grew on their lands, tended by their servants, seeds kept hidden in safes like stacks of cash. 

They’d turned food and water into luxury items years ago, then priced them as such, ensuring the end of the middle class and the return of peasants and indentured servitude. In the beginning, they’d allowed them all a limited supply of fruits and vegetables, but they’d genetically modified them so that there were no seeds, making sure they couldn’t grow their own. 

Now, the 0.001% lived behind sky-high walls covered in razor wire, while the rest lived on only what the government allotted them. Monthly rations of rice, potato flakes, hot cereals…protein supplements that made up for the nutrients their food lacked. They would have stopped feeding them entirely–would have let them die off like they did the weak, the elderly, the infirm–but they needed someone to do the labor. They needed them just well enough to slave in the heat, but not well enough to revolt. They were shockingly precise in their evil. 

They didn’t even feel bad about it. They’d bred what little humanity existed in that class away long before the old US fell. The oligarchs were sociopaths. They believed that the poor were parasites, sucking away their resources, but it was really the other way around. They just didn’t know because they’d made capitalism their religion and they killed in its name without remorse. 

Omegas like Ridley were only good enough to clean their houses, cook their meals, raise their children. Even poor alphas were considered nothing more than animals, their strength used to ease the lives of the rich. Which is why Ridley didn’t understand how Titus and the others had access to so much. Money was one thing. He saw the way those betas had thrown cash at them. But where were they getting their food? How did they have access to clean water? Hot water? Electricity down here in this abandoned hotel? It couldn’t be bartering. Could it? If so, what the fuck were they trading worthy of all this? 

“They must really like you,” Ridley said with a gentle smile. “Nobody offered me this kind of food when I arrived.” 

Rain blushed. “Jensen brought it.” When Ridley gave him a knowing look, he hurried to add, “He said it was for both of us.” 

Ridley grinned. “Oh? Is that why my pretty little pet is so giggly?” he teased. “Jensen brought you a courting gift?” 

Rain flushed from his neck to the roots of his hair. “No,” he cried. “I-He’s just nice.” 

“To you,” Ridley finished. 

Rain’s eyes went wide. “Is he not nice to you?” 

Ridley opened his mouth to say he was kidding, then thought about it. Jensen did seem pretty nice, but he didn’t really know any of them. The others had made an effort to get to know Ridley, but Jensen and Ryker stuck close together. They both seemed similar in temperament and interests. They were both deep thinkers. Maybe they had a thing with each other? 

Alpha-alpha couples existed, but they were rare, oftentimes they spent too much time fighting for dominance. 

But Jensen and Ryker were both freakishly level-headed. It was as hot as it was unusual. 

“He’s actually really nice,” Ridley finally confirmed, watching the tension bleed from Rain at that. 

They fell silent after that, opting to spend their time enjoying their surprise breakfast rather than wasting it talking about alphas. They ignored the provided wooden forks and spoons, opting to feed each other with their hands.  

They ate until there was nothing left, both of them staring forlornly at the now empty tray. Ridley contemplated licking the plate clean, but then thought better of it. Only when he got to his feet did he note that Steele had dressed him in one of his oversized button-down shirts and nothing else. What had happened to his clothes from last night? What had he even been wearing last night?

He set the tray on the dresser, flushing as flashes of last night returned in bits and pieces. He’d been so desperate, so clingy. Begging and pleading for Steele’s attention. For his pups. Oh, god. That was so embarrassing. Though it was hot in the moment. 

Did the others know? Had Jensen smelled Steele all over him? Had he been jealous, or had he just turned all his attention to the new omega in the room? Ridley’s mood soured a bit at that, though he really had no right to be jealous. He wanted Rain to be happy. He wouldn’t even mind Rain being happy with Jensen. He just wanted to be happy with Rain and Jensen too. Did that make him selfish?

He had just turned to return to the bed–wondering if Rain would be down for a little light makeout session–when Sugar and Diesel entered without knocking. The moment Ridley stopped, Diesel’s arm immediately snaked around him, pulling him close in one smooth motion, giving him a filthy kiss as his hand slid under Steele’s shirt to grope his ass. Ridley whimpered, kissing him back. 

When he released him, Ridley floated towards Sugar without thought, bees buzzing in his belly as the taller alpha’s hands gripped his thighs, lifting him into his arms to make it easier for Ridley to kiss him. Once more, Ridley couldn’t help but notice their differences. Diesel kissed like Ridley was his favorite indulgence, a decadent dessert to be gobbled up. Sugar kissed Ridley like he owned him, like he had a right to take whatever he wanted. 

Ridley supposed Sugar did own him. 

They all did. 

Would Sugar fuck him with that same lazy possession? He was dying to find out. 

He had to force the thought back before he started getting wet. When Sugar set him back on his feet, Diesel said, “Get dressed, strawberry. You too, petal.” 

Dressed? Were they going back to the arena? What time was it? The problem with living underground was this constant sense of losing time. 

“Where are we going?” Ridley asked before he could stop himself. 

Sugar fixed him with a flat stare, probably for Rain’s benefit. He hoped. “We have a meeting. Make sure you both look presentable. Day looks. No white. Wear your collar. Find something collar-adjacent for your pretty new pet. We don’t want people thinking he’s for sale.” 

“For sale?” Ridley echoed, startled. 

“Mm,” Sugar said, offering no more explanation. 

“What’s happening? Where’s Titus? Where are we going?” Ridley asked, peppering them with questions as he moved to hover closer to Rain. 

The other omega crawled to the end of the mattress, then sat on his haunches. He pulled the collar of his shirt up over his nose, then inhaled deeply, using Jensen’s scent to soothe himself. Ridley wished Titus was there. He’d tell Ridley what was happening, even if knowing might make him feel worse. Titus might not like him, but he always leveled with him. 

Diesel and Sugar exchanged a look that told Ridley he wouldn’t get a straight answer. 

Instead, Sugar said, “We’re going to meet the curator.” 

Rain gasped like those words had claws. “Why?” he wailed, looking at Ridley with wide eyes. 

Who the fuck was the curator? Like…a museum? Did they even have museums anymore? Diesel gave a heavy sigh, then shook his head like he’d known this would happen. “We’ve been summoned.” 

“What does that even mean?” Ridley asked, looking at each of them in turn, hoping one of them would provide him with something that would let him know exactly how much he should freak out. 

“We’ll tell you on the way there,” Sugar said. “Just get dressed.” 

“But-” 

Sugar gave him a sharp look. “Don’t argue.” 

Ridley snapped his mouth shut, chest tightening. He hoped it was for Rain’s benefit and not because Sugar had decided he could treat Ridley like his servant. Ridley gave him a snotty look, nose in the air before he turned on his heel, dismissing them before they could do the same to him. 

He could have sworn he heard Diesel snicker. Ridley didn’t know what was so fucking funny. 

Once they were alone, he turned to Rain. “You know who this curator person is?” 

Rain nodded solemnly. “Everyone knows the curator.” 

“Not everyone,” Ridley prompted. “Who is he? Why would he summon them? Why do we have to go?” 

Ridley’s skin felt feverish, a strange thrum humming beneath his skin, not fear, but maybe a close relative. 

“We should get dressed,” Rain said quietly. 

Ridley made a noise of frustration. “Fine, but you can talk while we do.” 

“Okay,” Rainwhispered. “The curator calls himself Vesper. I don’t know if that’s his first name or his last name…or if it’s a real name at all. Maybe he made it up.” 

“Okay…what does he do?” Ridley asked, flinging open the doors of his wardrobe. 

“He procures things for the ones behind the wall.” 

The oligarchs. 

“Things?” Ridley echoed. 

Rain nodded, little lines forming between his brows. “Orochi once said Vesper ran a luxury acquisitions network.” 

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” Ridley asked, rifling through his new clothes, trying to figure out how to dress to meet someone he knew nothing about. 

“He does what the men in the arena do. He’s…a broker.” 

“You mean he traffics omegas?” Ridley spat. 

Rain nodded. 

Ridley looked over at the door. “But then why does everyone seem so afraid of him? I thought Titus was the king?” Ridley said, putting on his snootiest voice. 

Rain shook his head. “I don’t think I’m explaining it right. Vesper doesn’t sell omegas. Or at least not just omegas. He sells…access. He only deals with the rarest, most high-value items. He only sells to the richest of the rich. The oligarchs, the government, black sites and medical military contractors, generals. Anyone with money and power. If one of the upper echelon wants something, they go to the curator. If someone finds a…high-value item that they know will fetch a big price, Vesper facilitates the sale.” 

“And what does he want with us?” Ridley asked. Rain stared at him for just a moment too long. “What? Why are you looking at me that way?” 

“Like I said, he only deals in the rarest specimens.” Rain took a deep, shuddering breath. “He probably wants you.” 

Ridley’s heart rate tripled, a metallic taste filling his mouth at the idea. “What? Me? Why?”

Rain shook his head helplessly, like the answer was failing him. “I don’t know. But I know it’s not because of me. Nobody knows I’m here and nobody’s ever thought of me as special.” 

The matter-of-fact way Rain said that made Ridley want to cry. Rain was beautiful. He was soft and sweet and he smelled good and when he giggled, it sounded like music. How fucked up was the world they lived in when someone was upset they weren’t special enough to be bought and sold like livestock? It showed how indoctrinated they all were from birth. The world had sold them all on this lie that the only good omega was one coveted by an alpha. 

And Ridley was right there, buying into it. Last night, he’d needed Steele to want him. He’d let Steele degrade him in a hundred different ways and then he’d thanked him for it. 

But maybe that wasn’t the same thing. Steele was frustrated with Ridley—with the situation they had all found themselves in—but he didn’t mean the things he said when they were swept up in their desperation for each other. Ridley knew that deep down. Things said in the bedroom had to be looked at through a different lens. Right? 

“They…” Ridley trailed off. “You don’t think this curator person could…keep me. Right?” 

He hated the way his voice wavered. 

Rain gave him a pitying look. “It’s not him keeping you that you have to worry about. It’s him auctioning you off to the highest bidder.” 

“He can’t do that, though. I’m…claimed. Titus wouldn’t let him do that,” Ridley said, almost like he was trying to convince himself. 

“That’s probably why Vesper’s summoning us. He’s probably pissed that they claimed you without asking. He has access to every chipped omega in the district. Maybe even outside of it.” 

Ridley shook his head. “My chip was removed. They deleted me from the database.” 

“Which is even more suspicious,” Rain said. “Vesper has probably heard people talking about you. If he tried to track you and found you didn’t exist, he’d wonder how and why you were removed from the database.” Rain frowned at Ridley. “Why would they remove you from the database?” 

Fuck. 

“I don’t know,” he lied, hoping his scent didn’t give him away. “They don’t include me in decisions like that. Queen is just a title. They were just trying to get under the other alphas skin by making it look like I have some kind of real power. In the end, I’m just another omega, just like everyone else.” 

Rain studied his face, chewing on his bottom lip like he was deciding whether or not he would call Ridley out on his bullshit. In the end, he just sighed. “We should…probably start getting ready. We don’t have to dress up like you did last night, but Vesper is all about…presentation. So it wouldn’t hurt to make an effort to look…extra.” 

Extra? Casual but extra? What did that even mean? Ridley began to flip through his new wardrobe, sliding items from one side of the closet to the other, trying to find something that fit Rain’s idea to look effortlessly extra. Whatever the fuck that meant. When he glanced back, he saw Rain sitting silently on his bed, hands clasped in his lap. 

Ridley frowned. “You don’t want to look?” 

Rain just shook his head. “Can you just pick something for me?” 

“Are you sure?” Ridley asked. 

Rain gazed up at him with wide, hopeful eyes, then bumped his cheek into the back of Ridley’s hand. “I belong to you. Don’t I?” 

How was he supposed to answer that? He cupped the boy’s face, then combed his fingers through his inky dark strands. “Do you want to belong to me?” 

Rain nodded, then leaned forward, pressing his forehead to Ridley’s belly, wrapping his arms around his waist. Ridley heart was in a vice grip. All he could do was hug him back for a few moments, before separating. He dropped to his knees before the other boy, catching his gaze. “I’ll find you something pretty. No white. Okay?” 

Rain nodded, a smile splitting his pretty face. 

Once Ridley was on his feet again, he flipped through all his options. He needed to dress Rain first. He found a pair of low-rise jeans that were fitted at the hips and over the ass but then flared wide. They had many useless cargo pockets on them, but they had hugged Ridley in all the right places. They’d do the same for Rain. 

Rain put them on without question, then waited patiently. Ridley pulled a cropped black bubble sweater off a hanger. It had oversize sleeves that slipped over the boy’s hands but left a large portion of his mid-section showing. Ridley winced when he took in the bruises left by Rurik. He’d somehow already forgotten.

“I can cover them with makeup…or find you something else.” 

Rain shook his head. “Leave them,” he said softly. “Let them see what he did to me.” 

Ridley blinked rapidly as tears threatened. What was wrong with him lately? Rain just activated this need in Ridley. This desire to keep him safe. Had Rain known any peace in his life? Any joy? Had he had any sense of autonomy, ever? 

“Do you at least want to pick out your shoes?” Ridley prompted, tickling the boy under his chin, butterflies erupting in his belly when the boy’s eyelids fluttered. 

Ridley dropped his hand. They had no time for Ridley to do the dirty things threatening to make an appearance in his head. Rain chewed on his lip once more as he viewed the many shoes in the bottom of Ridley’s wardrobe, then grabbed a pair of platform sneakers covered in silver rhinestones, glancing up at Ridley hesitantly, like he worried he would say no. 

“Pretty,” Ridley murmured. 

It took two pairs of thick socks to help keep the shoes on Rain’s feet and not slipping around uncomfortably. If he was going to stay with them for any length of time, Ridley needed to convince Titus to bring Rain to Linus, too. 

Ridley grabbed a silver belly chain with star-shaped crystals. When he wrapped it around Rain’s waist, the little stars dangled just so, twinkling in the light. Some pretty silver and pearl earrings went on next. But then it was time for them to find something that represented a collar. Ridley showed him the chokers Linus had picked out for him, letting him be the one to decide. 

Ridley’s eyes went wide as Rain chose a black chain that wrapped around his slender throat three times before attaching to a heart shaped clasp that sat just at the dip of his throat. Ridley’s fingers shook as he put it on, partially because he’d never collared anyone and partially because Rain was warm and smelled like flowers after it rained and he was looking at Ridley in a way that made his belly swoop. 

He knew if he just leaned in, brushed their lips together, licked across the seam of his lips, he’d open for him just like he had last night. There was something so heavy about that. He was no better than an alpha. All he wanted to do was push Rain back on the bed and show him that sex didn’t have to be painful, didn’t have to hurt. 

He shook his head, breaking the spell. What the fuck was wrong with him? Had Steele’s pre-rut bumped Ridley back into heat? Was he destined to just live his life perpetually horny because his alpha’s couldn’t sync their cycles? 

He turned back to his closet, pulling out silky black pants that hung low on his narrow hips before ballooning out, then gathering at the ankle. He topped it with a leather muscle tank that clung to him like a second skin then tucked the pants into his same heavy lace boots from the night before. When he finished, he stared at himself in the mirror. 

“It’s missing something,” he said, a knot forming in his belly. 

Rain whined, fretting as Ridley’s scent did something that spooked him. He reached out and patted the other omega absently as he tried to decide what was missing. In the meantime, he pulled his collar out from beneath his shirt, letting the pearl dangle. When Rain saw the single teardrop, he leaned into the drawer and pulled something silky from Ridley’s drawer. 

They were elbow length black satin gloves. Ridley’s brows went up as he contemplated the look. He pulled them on and then eyed himself in the mirror. Rain added a pearl bracelet, then an ear cuff that looked like a nautilus shell. 

“Good?” Ridley asked, heart thudding heavy against his ribs. 

Rain frowned then picked up one more thing. It was a metal cuff that fit in the center of Ridley’s lip, then came down in a point like a bird’s beak. He was right. That did add something. He slipped it off, then smiled when Rain frowned. 

“I still have to do my makeup. Yours too.” 

“Oh,” Rain said softly. “Right.” 

Once their hair was done and their faces painted, Ridley returned the lip ring to his lower lip then added a delicate silver chain that hooked over Rain’s ears and draped across his dainty nose. He wanted this Vesper to see that they were both unmuzzled. The jewelry would draw his eye right to it. 

He didn’t know what this…curator wanted with them, but he refused to act like a victim, lest he become one.