Chapter 37: Then The Curtains... Were Glass
[KATYA]
Katya had been in rooms with executives before.
He had voiced his opinions and even challenged them before.
He had done what any person in the meeting could, and frankly, he had never once been terrified of screwing up. His ideas were always solid, his posture straight, and his confidence clear in the room.
He may have spent most of his time in the research lab, but he knew what he always talked about and backed it all with hard, irrefutable evidence. That was how life had been for him.
Until he woke up in the hospital, and it suddenly was like Sergei and his guardian angel were competing on who would kill him first.
Now standing in front of the familiar conference room, Katya couldn’t help but fidget for a moment. He knew there had never been an omega chairman in the history of this city and nation before.
Omegas in their world belonged to him or in smaller, hidden roles.
He remembered when Yaroslav had introduced him as part of the Knox team, how everyone had reacted. Yaroslav had straight-up shot some alpha for daring to call Katya too pretty to even need his brain to sway decisions.
The man died before his head could hit the conference table, and the meeting had continued calmly as if nothing had happened.
But today, there was no Yaroslav to have his back.
There was no person who cared enough to speak to him or lean into expectations.
He was alone.
Completely and utterly alone.
An omega among vipers.
It didn’t help that Volkov and Anya stood right behind him, as if his being the chairman meant something.
He knew it didn’t.
It never would.
Power in this hellhole only ever belonged to the Moskowskys. The rightful Moskowskys. And Katya wasn’t even married to one anymore.
His divorce papers had been drafted without his consent.
His marriage to Sergei had been one big lie that was costing him his life.
Everything he had signed was probably just another game to make sure he remembered what he was. Where he was. And what the stakes were for him.
"Sir, we are ready for you," a woman suddenly appeared from within the room.
Her tone was respectful, like she knew Katya could order her head served to him for dinner and no one would ever question it. This was the kind of horror that had Katya wondering when the end would be.
But at the same time, he had his mother to worry about. So, with his head held high, Katya walked into the glass room with the most powerful alpha she had ever seen.
He had expected the scents to be strong and for them to try to force him to submit. He had expected them to make snide comments and try to trash him.
But they didn’t.
Hell, the only scent in the room was Katya’s.
It was so potent that Katya found himself feeling like a prostitute. All the alphas looked at him with so much respect.
They stood when he walked in.
They bowed when he sat.
And they didn’t sit. They were waiting for Katya to say something.
Even Anya and Volkov didn’t sit.
And that horrified Katya even more. Because if this were a test, he had already managed to fail spectacularly.
Instinctively, Katya stood up, not wanting to be the only one sitting. He was in a room of powerful alphas, and he had been trained that omegas were low.
So, he waited.
For some to sit first.
No one did.
For someone to speak about the situation in the room.
No one did.
For Anya or Volkov to tell him what to do.
No one said anything.
The alphas didn’t even look agitated with the position they were in. They were calm. Composed. Well. Mannered for scary people.
And Katya...
Unsure of what to do, he sat down again.
They didn’t sit. Still.
"Let us begin," Katya tried. Like that was going to make these powerful alphas take a seat.
They didn’t.
They only flipped open the folders before them, ready for whatever Katya wanted of them.
Katya was uncomfortable.
He didn’t know what these people were playing at. They were already scaring him with their calm states, and he didn’t know if he would make it out of here.
"Please have a seat," Katya tried, his voice low but steady. There was no sign of the scared omega who had lost everything.
Or maybe... maybe that omega was still there.
Still praying hard to the fates to save him while he tried to save himself by being useful.
But he noticed the change.
Only at his voice, only when he said something, did the alphas take a seat.
They still didn’t say anything, didn’t even give opinions. Hell, it was almost like Katya ruled over them, and it was uncomfortable as fuck.
’Maybe they are as trapped as I am,’ Katya thought to himself as she looked around the room.
Thirty-five executives who could buy Katya’s life ten times over sat still.
Waiting for him to say something.
"What’s on the agenda today?" Katya asked.
He didn’t know the slightest bit of anything. He was gambling with words, trying out whatever would work because at the end of the day, he had a mother who was sick and was at risk of being murdered by the Moskowskys.
"The formal introduction has been made to the world. Now it is time for the executives to introduce themselves to the new chairman," the woman from before said, and Katya froze.
What the fuck was going on?
He had so many questions. But he didn’t dare to ask. This was about his life. This was about his sanity. This was him having to work extra hard to secure his family’s peace.
"Okay, you can begin," Katya said as he looked at the woman he assumed was Sergei’s secretary.
"I’m Alpha Rahim. Your secretary, sir," the woman, Rahim said.
Katya stiffened.
Secretary.
An alpha secretary. Just great.
He was doomed.
They had given him someone to watch over him, someone to walk around with him pretending to be his secretary, while her presence forever reminded him that he had to obey, and make sure to do things right to avoid losing.
Oh, Katya felt like crying.
But he couldn’t.
Not here.
Not in this cursed building.
Maybe when he went back to the hospital and stayed beside his mother. Maybe when he finally had the courage to cry in the hospital washrooms because there was just no way this was happening to him.
"I look forward to working with you, Rahim," Katya said before he replied that he had dropped the title. He knew they would mock him. That Anya would correct him in the worst way.
So, before Anya could say anything, Katya corrected himself.
"Alpha Rahim, I hope it won’t be a problem addressing you as just Rahim," Katya stated.
Not asking.
But testing the waters.
He didn’t even know why he was doing this, but he had to try. He had to show he was dedicated, even if he didn’t know the first thing about sitting in this huge ass chair that made him feel like a toothpick on a pizza.
"No, sir. It won’t. It’s a privilege working for you," Rahim said earnestly.
That surprised Katya. She didn’t sound like someone who was kissing his ass for his position that even terrified him.
Because alphas were scary.
Sergei Moskowsky was the perfect example.
Damn, he would fail whatever tests Anya had for him.
Maybe he should have just asked for the medical lab where they would be cutting out his heart.
Because this?
This was worse than hell.
The introductions continued, and Katya listened. Noted down their names and what they were here for. Even understood their shares in the company. It was just what he needed to know what alpha could do.
Maybe because he was scared of pissing them off and them coming at him. Or maybe because this was his first time in the seat and he needed to do everything.
Strangely enough, the alphas answered him diligently. Like they respected his presence here. Like they didn’t prefer that it was one of them who sat at the high table.
Eventually, the meeting came to an end, and like robots, the alphas bowed, making sure to wish Katya a good day. The worst part of this all was that they were sincere in their greetings.
Katya wanted to believe them.
Gods, he wanted to.
Until he heard Anya mutter something beneath her breath.
"Welcome home, son."
And Katya...
He understood....
Sergei was back for his seat.
After all, the way Anya had handled Katya, it only made sense that she was Sergei’s mother.
Again, Katya stiffened in that seat.
Waiting for judgment.
