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Merchant walked through the cozy apartment with a laundry basket on his hip. The beta hadn’t done laundry in two weeks and was almost out of clean clothes. He grabbed dirty clothing off of the backs of chairs and floor of his room, before moving on to Leon’s room. There he found a neat pile of dirty clothes, some of which he recognised as his own. He grabbed one of Leon’s shirts, holding it to his nose and taking in a deep whiff. He could smell sweat and Leon’s soap, but none of the omega scent that drove others wild. Merchant giggled and put it back in the pile, dragging out all of his clothes that had gotten tangled in the mess. Some of Chris’s clothes were in there too, and Merchant felt a pang of affection for Leon’s packmate. He hummed as he left the room, dumping the clothes into the washing machine and turning it on. The washer hummed to life and he thought no more of the circle of clothes on the floor of Leon’s room.
Leon had gotten home late that evening to find Merchant lying on the couch, watching the TV and yelling at the characters for their stupidity. Leon chuckled, announcing his presence by gently knocking on the doorframe, causing his beta to sit up and shoot him a stupid (and definitely not adorable) grin.
“Leon! You’re home!” He reached out for the omega, letting Leon grab his wrist, dragging it along his neck to scent it. Leon knew that Merchant couldn’t detect his scent, but he still liked to coat the beta in it, showing to the world that this amazing man was his. It settled something in him, deep and primal. Leon purred seeing how Merchant leaned into the contact, closing his eyes and humming along with the purr. Leon let Merchant’s hand drop before standing up and stretching.
“I’m going to go change, be right back.” Leon said, turning away before Merchant could respond. He walked to his room, yawing as he went. He knew something was off as soon as he walked into the room, the scent having changed ever so slightly. It smelled less like Merchant than before. He looked around the room before spotting his nest. It had been utterly destroyed, all of Merchant’s things taken out and everything else stirred up. Leon let out a quiet whine, trying not to let anyone know of his distress. He stalked around the nest, feeling rage bubble up in him, white hot and cold at the same time. His nest was destroyed. He clenched his jaw, hands working themselves into fists. Leon slammed his door shut as he left the room, eyes fixating on the beta lying peacefully on the couch.
“What the fuck,” Leon started, breathing heavily. Merchant’s eyes landed on him and widened. “Did you do to my nest?”
Merchant just stared at him for a moment, the TV playing softly in the background.
“What nest?” Merchant’s voice shook.
“The nest,” Leon stalked closer. “That was on the floor of my room.”
“I didn’t know that was a nest.” Merchant’s mind raced, thinking of the pile, nest, with clothes from Leon’s packmates. He had taken all of his own clothes out of it and left it all messed up. Oops.
“You didn’t know it was a nest? Couldn’t you smell it?” Leon growled, snapping Merchant out of the spiral of his thoughts. Merchant stared at Leon for a moment, opening his mouth to speak and quickly getting cut off.
“Of course not. Of course you couldn’t smell it. You’re a beta, what should I have expected? You can’t smell worth a shit.” Leon ran his hands through his hair, turning on his heel to go back to his room.
Merchant’s mind spun. You can’t smell worth a shit. He was a useless beta, nothing special or helpful about him. His mind took him back to his parents house, the words that rang and echoed from the halls.
Can’t smell for nothing
Useless beta
Wish he was an alpha or omega or something, would be better than this
If he can’t smell for shit then he’s not worth shit
Merchant subconsciously let out a high, whining keen. The same one his alpha-pup sister had taught him to get his parents attention.
Leon heard the whine from his room, freezing as he remembered how he had left Merchant. He was still angry, but once he had taken a deep breath and seen his nest again he realized that it had been an honest mistake.
The keening sound came again, louder this time, and Leon dropped the fabric in his hand to rush out to the living room. Merchant was sitting there, eyes blankly staring after where Leon had left, still making that awful sound.
“Merchant,” Leon murmurs, “Merchant, are you okay?” It takes a moment for Merchant’s eyes to focus on him, but they well with tears when they finally do.
“I’m sorry,” He pleads, “I’m sorry.”
Leon closes the gap between them, pulling Merchant to lay back on the couch, kissing his face and scenting him.
“It’s okay Merchant, it’s okay. I’m not mad at you, it wasn’t on purpose. I know you never would've done it if you knew what it was.” Leon shushed his partner, letting the beta snuggle into him.
“Sometimes I really hate being a beta.” Merchant quietly confessed. Leon ran his wrist up and down his back,
“Why?” Merchant nuzzled into Leon’s neck, wishing he hadn’t said anything.
“Betas are useless. I can’t smell, I don’t have a mating cycle, I can’t even mark you as my mate! There’s nothing good about it.” Merchant stared blankly at the wall. Leon bit his lip before grabbing Merchant’s wrist, running over the pack markings there. He felt Merchant relax as fingers ran over the bite mark Leon had left.
“You, Merchant, are a good beta. One of the very best. I love you so much, whether you can smell or not. Whether you have a rut or not. Whether you can mate mark me or not. We’re pack, and you’re my mate. I love you.”
Merchant looked up at him, tears in his beautiful grey eyes. Leon leaned down, gently kissing his face.
“I love you too.” Merchant whispered. “So, so much.”