Page 24 of Choosing Her Alpha
"No bother at all. I'm glad you are here. You guys are good. I didn't even hear you. That's kind of amazing. And you work fast too. Thank you for doing this. I don't think I could inhale that smell all day and still stay sane. I was hoping I could bother you, actually."
"Miss." Girta's smile grew bigger at the compliment, showing her teeth, which most drones never did because it could be considered a challenge. "You couldn't be a bother if you tried, I'm sure. What can I do for you? Are you hungry? We don't usually bring breakfast this early, but it would be no trouble."
"Well, morning tea and some of that fresh fruit would be amazing. I don't get much fruit at home. I hate to be demanding, but also, I really need some regular clothes. Not pink. Just something normal. A long tunic? Leggings, maybe? Not these rainbow jewel colors, either. By the rod, no."
Sasha giggled a little and waved her hands around her. She liked the colors of this room, the brightness of it, but she did not want to be associated with it. She was not one of these jewels, nor would she ever be.
The drone woman looked confused. "Miss Bella and Madam Terasa didn't get you a wardrobe?"
Sasha pursed her lips. "Yeah, they did, but it's not right. I'd like something regular. Something your daughter would wear, maybe? I'd be so much more comfortable. Terasa said you would get me what I needed. Oh, and some medicine for a headache, please?"
"My daughter? But you are not a drone." Girta wore a scandalized expression.
"You won't help me?"
"Miss, don't say that! Of course I will help you. I'm just sure that Miss Bella has already provided clothes."
Sasha tried to think of what to say. Clearly the drone didn't want to counter whatever Miss Bella wanted. She must be in charge in this room.
"Alpha Kane and Terasa said you could get me what I needed, but I really need different clothing. This is all so... strange for me. I didn't sleep last night, and I feel like I'm getting sick now." She made a sour face, hoping to tug at the older woman’s heartstrings.
"I'm not comfortable in these clothes." She pulled at the gauzy pink nightgown they had put her in last night. There was a rack of pink clothing the same color inside her tent. Sasha was not going to wear any of it.
"I'm going to see Kane today. I don't want you to worry. I'll tell him a new outfit was my idea. And you don't have to worry about upsetting Bella, either. I'm not going to be staying in this room again tonight. I think I’ll go home after my appointment. So, can you help me? I promise I won't let you get into trouble."
Poor Girta didn't know what to make of her. Sasha was upsetting the hierarchy of the room. Drones knew to follow orders and recognize the roles of a household. It was part of their training. It kept them safe. She wanted to help the little omega, wanted to give in and obey, but the woman’s loyalties were obviously already reserved for someone else. It was going to take more than one conversation to change her mind.
"Well, I'll go see if I can find you something. But until then, let me show you where the teeth freshener is at and all of that, and when you're finished, there will be some tea and fruit. And your head hurts, you said? I know a tea perfect for that. Does that sound alright?"
Sasha thought there was tension in the other woman’s shoulders and bitterness in her scent, which made her think that Girta wasn't going to follow through on the clothes thing. She was too unwilling to risk her position or earn a punishment for a girl she didn't know.
Girta led her downstairs to a vanity that held the toiletries, as well as four entire drawers devoted to hair care products.
Sasha tried to soothe her and convince her that doing what Sasha wanted was a good idea, but Girta was stubborn. A mature looking drone with creases at the corners of her eyes, she must have worked her position for a long time to be so loyal and not fall to Sasha's influence. Drones always loved Sasha and wanted to please her.
But Girta wasn't hers. She was Bella's. What was she doing, manipulating drones just to get different clothes?
Sasha always made an effort to treat the bottom social class like the human beings they were. The ruling class that Sasha was part of was composed of breeders, betas, and alphas. They had risen from the drones that survived what the history books called the desolation of humanity hundreds of years ago.
War, plagues, famine, an alien invasion—they had survived it all. After the desolation wiped out billions of people, it was drone technology and alien stem cells that had overcome the infertility problem plaguing humanity.
Drone science had produced the original alpha.
Drones were born with simpler endocrine systems and senses. They were "common" in every way. Couldn't identify pheromones. Weak eyesight. Weak hearing. Average strength. Yet with numbers five times breed population, they were the foundation of everything, and Sasha tried to treat them with the respect they deserved.
Which meant she tried not to manipulate and control them. Usually.
Girta, however, didn't care for her respect, and wasn't going to be influenced by kindness or a breeder's special brand of mental manipulation.
After Girta left, Sasha took in the glory that was the bathroom Kane had built for his harem. Brushing her teeth and using a toilet that gave her a surprise when it squirted cold water at her bottom, she decided to investigate the bottles and jars herself and find a new scent.
It wasn’t that she hated smelling like a vanilla cake. It was kind of nice. But it grated that someone else had decided she was going to smell and look like a dessert.
She was not staying in a harem and becoming a jewel in the alpha's colorful jewel box. That was not for her. She'd go back home, straight to the Administration building, and ask for the Selection now. Even without having her fist cycle and her maturation, she was technically old enough to choose.
But it was risky. They might just contact Merrick. But she would not be part of some strange, powerful alpha's harem then, either.
Pulling open cabinets and looking though drawers, she thought this must be what shopping was like. She got to sort through soaps and creams, sniffing everything. She thought she'd try the shower afterwards, but it had about twenty knobs and no instructions. After getting blasted with icy water twice from two different directions, she gave up and went to the big tub.
