“Master, I brought Gin.” Jerrod bowed his head as he said it. Roland was at his desk scribbling down something on some important looking documents but paused to motion them in. Or rather motion Iyasu in since Jerrod stepped back to let Iyasu walk in before closing the door. Iyasu stood there awkwardly until Roland looked up from his papers again.

 “Come closer.” was all he said as he put down his feathered pen and sat up to give Iyasu his full attention. Iyasu didn’t like how those eyes seemed to take in his whole body, lingering at the places where the shirt and pants clung to his form. He almost felt more naked than when he was showering in front of a whole group of people.

 He slowly walked closer wishing he could hide his body from Roland’s gaze. Roland sat forward with his arms crossed on the desk.

“My, those clothes do suit you, perhaps I will permanently make you a house slave in the future.” he said with a chuckle. Iyasu stayed silent.

“What’s wrong? I’m sure even a simple creature like yourself can do a little housework. Perhaps I can have you play as my personal pet as well since you’re nice to look at.” The statement made Iyasu glare at the man before he could control himself. Roland arched a brow at that and stood up causing Iyasu to shift uncomfortably.

“Now, now, I don’t like that look.” Iyasu tried to look down as Roland moved into his space but his head was yanked up by his chin.

“You better control that attitude of yours or I’ll fix it for you.” He hissed the words as his grip tightened to a painful extent. Iyasu held back the concern that threatened to surface on his face. That effort was lost when Roland seemed to watch his face too intently before letting go. 

“On your knees.” Roland said coldly. Iyasu froze at those words a second too long because he was being pushed down by his neck and forced to the ground instead. He pushed himself up into a kneeling position and fought the urge to curse at the alpha. He instead kept his head down and balled his hands into tight fists to sooth his anger.

“Look at me.”

He obeyed the order faster this time and peered up through his eyelashes to see Roland standing too close and towering over him. 

“Good boy.” Roland smiled and swiped a loose dread behind his ear before running his hand over Iyasu's cheek and under his chin again to make him look up further.

“Now when I ask you to get on your knees, or any other command, you are to say ‘yes master’ and do it without question. Whenever you answer to me or address me in any way you call me 'master'. Do you understand?” Roland's head tilted as he said it. 

“Yes.” Iyasu said in a clipped tone. The sudden slap across his face took him by surprise, making him almost fall sideways. 

“Yes what ?” Roland’s eyes had that dark edge again but it was mixed with a hunger Iyasu didn’t want to acknowledge. He instead tried to steady his breaths that were becoming heavy from resentment and adrenaline, he spoke through tight lips.

“Yes, master.” The words tasted disgusting in his mouth, he felt his dignity rip apart just from saying that phrase. He wanted to die, he wanted to hide away or rip Roland’s throat open to satiate the feeling of humiliation that seeped into his soul.

“You will clean this entire estate by yourself from top to bottom since you’re such a glutton for punishment. My room will be the last to clean, hopefully you’re timely with the other rooms.” Roland stepped away as he said it but he had an expectant look on his face that made Iyasu speak.

“Yes master.” It was no easier to get the words out a second time. Roland motioned for him to stand and waved him away when he did.

“Jerrod will show you the cleaning closet, everything better be spotless.” He warned Iyasu then sat back at his desk like nothing happened.

Iyasu said nothing, he walked out as quickly as possible to get away from Roland. He was starting to feel more than just fear and anger around the man, he started to notice a familiar smell around the alpha. It was the same scent from all those nights he spent recovering, it was a scent all alphas had when they wanted something more. A bout of denial took over Iyasu as Jerrod led him back down to the west wing but the more he thought about it the harder it was to deny reality. There was a musk in Roland’s scent that only grew stronger when Iyasu was on his knees in front of him, the thought made him want to vomit.

Jerrod gave him a schedule of the other slave’s routines and left him to it after giving him the cleaning supplies. He started with the kitchen since he figured that would be the most challenging and in his best interest to check off while it was empty. The other slaves already prepared breakfast and were now preparing to serve Roland and the mistress in their lavish dining room. A part of him was glad for the peaceful silence and the lull of cleaning countertops and cleaning the floors. It was a pretty impressive kitchen boasting electric stoves and a big high-tech fridge, Iyasu could never dream of this type of tech being in the ghetto that he used to live in. 

He was washing the dishes when he felt a presence enter the room. He jumped and turned to see an attractive woman who looked to be in her early 20’s. She had large brown eyes and curly-wavy hair that she tied back with an old scarf, she wore the same uniform as him instead of a dress like the other women. Most notable though was the fact that she was a darker brown like Iyasu was when most of the house slaves were fair-skinned. She certainly stood out among some of the others. 

“Did I scare ya?” She asked with a playful smile that Iyasu didn’t think could exist in a hellhole like this.

“No not really.” he said though he was still staring in surprise. The girl peeped down the hall before coming over and grabbing a dish from the clean pile to wipe dry. 

“W-wait, uh, you don’t have to do that!” Iyasu looked back at the entrance of the kitchen before trying to stop her. She moved away with that same cat-like grin as she placed the dish in the open cabinet.

“It’s okay I wanna help! Everyone’s talkin’ bout how Master Roland’s been houndin’ ya ever since you got here. I’ll take the blame if anyone sees me helpin’.” She said in a sweet voice as she dried more of the clean dishes to put them away.

“You really don’t have to do that.” He said hesitantly but he continued to finish the last of the dirty dishes. He couldn’t afford to get off schedule, who knows what will happen at the end of the night. The girl shrugged nonchalantly. 

“Ain’t tyna butter you up, I feels bad for ya is all. Plus I’m a little curious about the northern boy everybody’s been gossiping about.” Her smile turned into a coy little smirk.

“Name’s Sandra by the way.” She added.

“Iyasu, nice to meet you.” He said quickly before she could utter his unwanted name. “Didn’t realize my presence would be such a hot topic.”

“Of course!” Sandra turned to him with excitement in her eyes. “A learned nigga who's tasted freedom is unheard of ‘round here.” She wiped the last dish off and put it away before turning to him. “Especially an omega, you’re like a damn unicorn to the rest of us.”

“Are you an omega too?” Iyasu asked, wiping his hands and trying to change the subject. He felt his cheeks heat up from the admiration in Sandra’s voice.

“Nope, I’m an alpha.” The statement made him gawk at Sandra without thinking.

She certainly didn't smell much like an alpha to him, then again he was used to being around alphas who tried their best to make their musk known in the most obnoxious ways; sometimes even through less natural means. She was pretty small for an alpha too, even more petite than some of the other women he's seen. Not to mention it was rare for someone to rival his short height unless they were much younger. Iyasu felt bad for reacting the way he did though, she had a look on her face that said she expected that type of reaction.

“I’m actually the head maid here so it was only a matter of time before we would meet. You’ll be working wit’ me afta today.” Her warm smile was back as she offered a hand. Iyasu accepted it, he almost felt normal again from the casual conversation. 

“Thanks for helping me, I appreciate it.” He smiled back at her, it almost felt strange to meet a slave as carefree as her.

“No problem I-yasu.” The way she said it sounded a bit off with her accent but the sound of her saying his name restored yet another bit of humanity in him. It was nice to hear, he could see himself wanting to talk to Sandra again, maybe even becoming friends. He didn’t plan on being here long but it wouldn’t hurt to be closer to people who were in the same shitty situation.

“I’ll let you get back to it.” She said in a low voice when she heard commotion from the hallway.

With a wave she was gone, leaving Iyasu to replay the interaction in his mind. He never realized how much he took advantage of the most simple pleasures like meeting a friendly person that valued him as an equal. He savored that feeling of normality as he cleaned through both corridors and all the unlocked rooms. He was still cleaning one of the rooms on the east wing as the sun was rapidly going down. By the time he finished all the accessible rooms upstairs he was already exhausted.