"The chain marks on the child's legs mean he was chained, right?" Elian said.
His voice was quiet, but there was tension in it. He already knew the answer.
"Yes," Nicholas said. "All the omegas in the breeding house are chained to make sure they don't escape."
Elian's jaw tightened.
"But he is just a child," Elian said in disbelief.
"They do not care," Nicholas replied.
Kasteil flipped a coin.
The soft metallic sound cut through the heavy atmosphere. It was small, but it drew attention. The coin rotated in the air once before landing back in Kasteil's palm.
Elian glanced at him, then looked back at Nicholas.
"Isn't that pedophilia?" Elian asked.
The word tasted bitter in his mouth.
"It is," Nicholas said. "But the humans see us as nothing. They don't care. They wouldn't count this as pedophilia."
"But he's a child," Elian said.
His voice rose slightly, frustration bleeding into every syllable. He felt like he was repeating himself.
