Her mother was standing there with a furious look plastered on her face.
"Why did it take you so long to open the door? What were you doing!"
"I-I-I was sleeping." She hates how she always ends up stuttering in front of people.
"Have you seen the time? Who's going to make breakfast for everyone? Ava has school to attend!"
"Mom, it's her birthday. Please," Ava said with a pained expression.
"So what? Does that mean she will get a day off? She should do one thing right. She couldn't even summon a wolf. Do you understand how embarrassing it is for me? I can't believe I gave birth to something like her. Good for nothing!"
"Mom! It's not her fault," Ava's eyes were tearing up. She didn't like how her mother hates her sister so much.
"Who's fault is it then? Look at you, you are younger than her and already have a wolf. Your future is so much brighter than hers. People talk behind my back because of her! I wish I never gave birth to her." And she stormed away, leaving her daughters behind.
"I am sorry," Ava said as she hold Amethyst's hands. Amethyst smiled.
Her younger sister has grown up so much.
"It's not your fault, Ava. Don't fight with Mom. She's hurt, too."
"But-"
"There are so many things we don't understand. Maybe she's doing that for me," her lips trembled as she said those words, they felt strange, even to her.
For her? Was she being so harsh on her so that instead of disgust, others will pity her?
She could only lie to herself.
"Your older sister is proud of you but don't fight with her for me. Now, go. I need to go back to work," she gently pushed her.
Wiping her tears, she took a deep breath. The kitchen was empty.
She liked cooking. It always gave her a strange sense of peace.
She finished soon. The kitchen soon filled up with people, as if they were waiting for her to finish cooking.
So many people yet nobody bothered helping her. One by one, everyone filled their plates. They were chatting among themselves as they ate.
She could only look at them with a heavy heart. The food was almost gone, leaving nothing for her to eat.
"They gave less ingredients again," she thought with a bitter smile.
Everyone ate except her, again.
She could see them giving each other a knowing look. They deliberately took more food.
Ava rose to offer her some but her mother hold her hand.
"Are you done?" Ava nodded her head.
"Good then," saying this, she threw away rest of the food into the dustbin.
A few chuckles could be heard. They were enjoying the show.
Amethyst was hungry but she stayed silent.
"Mom, amethyst-"
"Oh, Ava. She doesn't need to eat. She's already this fat. Probably that's the reason why she doesn't have a wolf. Anyone would be embarrassed of being with her," someone from the crowd said.
"And I can bet that she doesn't have a mate either!" More people started joining.
"Wait, isn't it her 18th birthday? She'll find her mate today."
"I'll keep my camera ready to record the rejection."
Amethyst didn't say anything. She has stopped hoping for love.
"I'll get a job and leave this place. Only after I am gone, will they understand my important!" she thought.
"Hey, don't people die if their mates reject them?" Her eyes widened. No matter how bad life was, she didn't want to die.
Not when she has secretly kept a piece of bread to eat later.
"Like she has a mate. Have you ever seen a wolf-less omega have a mate?"
For the first time, she thanked those people in her head.
"A person who's rejected by everyone, how'll they get accepted by their mate? He'll probably reject me out of embarrassment. It's better not to have a mate. Love isn't that important anyways. I'll adopt a child and live with it, " she mentally high-fived herself.
"Thief! Thief!" It's the beta's daughter, Stella.
She was holding a piece of bread that was looking oddly familiar. Amethyst mentally cursed herself for not hiding it perfectly.
Her screaming bought everyone to the kitchen, including the Alpha's family.
Amethyst's cheeks turned red. She was getting called a thief in front of her crush.
"What happened, Stella?" The Luna asked, her face wrapped in concern.
"Luna, Amethyst stole this bread and hide it in her room."
Anyone with eyes could see that it's looking old, not something they would eat.
The Luna, who's aware of what's going on, looked embarrassed herself. She pities Amethyst for having a fate like this.
"It's nothing serious, Stella. Leave it."
"How's that not serious? She's stealing food today. She'll steal something else tomorrow. We should punish her." And a bunch of 'yes' could be heard from the crowd.
Nobody asked her why she stole a piece of bread, it's insignificant but the reason wasn't.
Nobody asked why a gamma's oldest daughter had to do this.
"Today's a very important day. It's the first day of the year. Everyone, get back to doing your own things," The Alpha said and everyone stopped.
He instantly left the place with his wife. Amethyst closed her eyes. She knew what was coming for her.
She has faced this situation before. The Alpha would half-heartedly say something and leave the place, giving her to the others so that they could punish her.
She closed her eyes, waiting for a slap. She could hear Vivian defending her and saying how cruel they were but everything soon faded away as a strong smell reached.
Her heartbeats quickened. She has never felt this way before. She looked at Evren, his eyes were looking at her.
She could see how shocked he looked. Disbelief was written all over her face and she simply gave him a understanding smile.
Even without a wolf, she knew that he's her fated mate.
And she also knew that rejection was closer than she thought.