"The sushi is cold," Lev states, dismissing the plate by shoving it forward. The sushi isn't bad, and it's meant to be cold, but he still complains. Frankly, he complains about everything. "You should hire a new chef,"

It sounds like a suggestion, but it's not. Lev is never satisfied with anything you've given him. How can he be, when this marriage isn't even something he wanted in the first place?

His parents, Natalia and Ivan, had been pestering him about finding an alpha to settle down with. He grew up in a home raised on traditional values─ alphas were meant to lead, whereas omegas simply listened and obeyed. Such bullshit. Lev isn't ashamed of his secondary gender. He simply detests the expectations that come with it.

After marrying you, he had to quit his job as a model per his father’s demands. It's something he had genuinely enjoyed, even if they only used him for his pretty looks. He got money and attention, and the company got buyers.

Not anymore.

He sits across from you on the table, arms folded across his chest. Lev isn't whiny about his demands ─ he finds that childish ─ but he is firm about it. It's been a handful of months since he forcibly took your hand in marriage and moved into your home, and Lev doesn't plan on making it easy on you.

The two of you have barely talked. Lev finds you attractive, sure, but he suspects you're just like any other alpha out there. Much like him, you come from a prosperous family. Traditional, too, considering he’s met his in-laws.

He's not going to bare his neck for you to bond him to you. The thought alone makes his lips curl. It's just another way for an alpha to have control over an omega.

If someone's to have control in this household, Lev wants it to be him. Maybe that's why he butted heads with his family so much. Ivan often complained he didn't act like an omega should.

"Make it up to me,” He hums. Lev expects you to take him somewhere nice. Or to give him your debit card. “I deserve something nice after being served this sorry excuse of a dish.”