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Darcy stood outside The Perfect Match, her hand unconsciously drifting to her fading bond mark. She shouldn’t be here, she’d never wanted it to come to this but Johnny had severed their bond, and her choices were limited to say the least. She wrapped her arms around her waist, gathered up her courage with a deep breath and stepped through the doors.
The inside of The Perfect Match building was blindingly white, there were very few splashes of color and all of them belonged to the people waiting to be seen. She walked to the security desk, showed her ID and Status cards then signed in. Darcy put her bag on the 3d scanner and walked through the one over the glass doors. Grabbing her bag she looks for mostly empty row and finds one that only one other person in it, and he’s definitely an Alpha.
Pulling out her phone she picks up where she left off on the trashy bodice ripper Jane had recommended. It was filthier than what she normally read but the closer she was to her heat the more she liked it. She read a few pages but between the book and the amazing smelling Alpha two seats over she had to stop. Darcy switched out to her work email account and went through them instead. Working for Jane and Stark meant she was always fielding requests for lectures, charity events and requests for completely inappropriate heat partner offers.
“Darcene Lewis. Report to cubicle 8.” Darcy looked at the numbers and found the one she was called to, right near the amazing smelling and extremely hot Alpha. She took a closer look at him as she passed, and he looked familiar but she couldn’t place him.
“Ms. Lewis, formally Mrs. Storm bonded mate of Alpha Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four?
The man across from her sneered as he read her file from his screen. “Why did your Alpha file for separation of the bond, Ms. Lewis?”
Darcy was confused, “This is a match interview, what does my former Alpha have to do with any of this?” She shifted uncomfortably at his question.
“It has everything to do with this. Alphas break bonds when the Omega has somehow failed in their duties, we need you to understand this so you know why we don’t match your kind.”
“My kind?” Darcy leaned forward, “I’m an Omega who needs a heat match, your job, as required by law is to help me do that.”
“No, Ms. Lewis, it is not. Your Alpha broke your bond and immediately filed for a new bond license with another Omega. He listed that you were no longer compatible, so by all means, tell me why after ten years of being bonded to you he decided that?” Darcy gasped. It had only been four months, the wound was raw and she was stretched thin trying to make it on her own again after so many years of having the safety and comfort of the bond. She started to sob.
“Hey, what the fuck are you doing to this Omega?” Darcy could smell the Alpha that had been sitting near her, he was right behind her and she almost flinched as he laid a hand on her shoulder. He smelled like gun oil, sandalwood and freshly mowed grass. It was intoxicating. He squeezed her shoulder gently and relaxed into his touch.
He looked up as soon as she’d walked in, her scent hit him immediately. Vanilla and tuberose, he smelled in the breakroom, when he walked by the labs, in the commissary every day and it drove him nuts. Darcy Lewis, mated to Johnny Storm. He’d never hated a man more.
Darcy sat near him, he could smell her shame and anxiety as she came closer. Brock couldn’t understand why she was here, and quickly looked up her status on the registry. Her bond had been severed. Johnny and him were going to have a come to Jesus talk as soon as he was done here. She walked past him, and he knew he was going to request her as a match. Maybe meet up with her before, tell how attracted he was to her. If he was lucky she’d say yes to a date. Which considering the shit storm his life was he’d probably get shot down.
Brock heard Darcy start crying and lost it. He went to her cubicle and put a comforting hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed it as she relaxed into it. “What the fuck are you doing to this Omega?” He saw the man behind the desk push the panic button on the wall next to him.
“I repeat,” he looked at the nameplate on the desk, “Mr. Marshall, why the fuck did you make this pretty Omega cry?”
“Alpha Rumlow. I’m sorry, but I was telling her we can’t service her kind here.” Brock grinned coldly he could smell the terror rolling off the Beta in waves.
“Her kind?” Brock snorted, “Do you mean gorgeous, desirable and smells amazing, because if that isn’t what you meant I’d like an explanation.”
Brock could feel her shudder under his hand, and smell the sadness leave her scent.
“Ms. Lewis has a broken bond and our policy states that an Omega with a broken bond is…” Brock watched the guy flinch as he went to finish his sentence, “obviously not worthy of another Alpha. Can't receive our services.”
“Are you telling me you turn away Omegas in need of a match when their Alpha turns out to be a bastard?” Brock shook his head, “You make them turn to those shitty street Alphas who sometimes force bond multiple Omegas and turn them into prostitutes or even sell them?” He was edging closer and closer to a full blown rage. “Is that what your telling me you piece of shit?” He could hear security's footsteps getting closer, and literally smell the anger coming off the other Alphas in the room. How had they not known about this policy? It wasn’t in any of the material he’d read and from the smells in the room neither had anyone else.
“Sssir,” Marshall started, but before he could finish Brock interrupted. “You know what? Fuck you, fuck this organization and fuck renewing my contract. You can bet I’m going to call every decent Alpha I know and tell them all about your fucking disgusting policy and they are going to tell every Alpha they know and we are going to destroy you.” He leaned over Marshall’s desk as he spoke. “You know, when we’re done, you and everyone else involved is going to wish their mother’s had swallowed.” He turned to Darcy and held out his hand. “Come on lets get you the fuck out this shit hole.”
Walking toward the doors he saw almost all the people get up and follow them out. Brock grinned and looked at Darcy. Once outside he tugged on her hand and she walked with him to the nearest coffee shop. “You wanna find a seat while I get our coffee?”
She smiled at him and in that moment he owned the world. “Sure,” she looked at him and her smile turned into a smirk, “I’m pretty sure you know my sugar bomb combo.”
“Yeah, you order it enough.” Brock laughs, she’s perfect. She always was and he’d felt sick when he was pining over her. She’d been bonded, but now? Now he had a chance, he would have never thought this would happen.
“I’ll get the table, but you have to let go of my hand first.” Darcy chuckles.
Darcy grabs an empty table near the back. She’s been around STRIKE enough to know they liked their backs to the wall if at all possible. She watched him while he stood in line and knew she was blushing every time he caught her looking; it was adorable because he would duck his head and grinned like a maniac.
She’d been so angry and embarrassed at The Perfect Match office but the second he touched her she felt calm and the way he’d protected her was better than anything Johnny had done for her the entire time they were bonded.
Optimism was something she hadn’t felt in months, and yeah she still wasn’t totally over Johnny but she had a feeling that those feelings weren’t going to stick around much longer. Especially with the way Brock was looking at her. This wasn’t how she’d expected the day to end, it was so much better.