I turned and walked back to the pack house. My bare foot made no sound on the polished stone floor.
My hair hung loose, still damp from the forest mist.
My skin still smelled faintly of pine and sweat. I didn't look back.
I didn't need to.
I knew Damian was still standing there in his human form now tall in all his glory looking senseless hot, eyes wide, mouth half-open, like someone had hit him in the chest with a hammer.
His voice still echoed in my head with the words "Mate." Moon goddess has to be fucking with us lily there is no way king and Damian are our mate! It has to be a fucking mistakes right? The moon goddess never makes mistakes in her pairing Sofia, she responded.
I didn't cry, I couldn't.
I didn't scream, but I really wanted to.
I just… walked.
One foot in front of the other.
The pack was silent everyone has gone to bed I
slipped into my small bare room, an empty storage room of the beta quarters in the pack house. My father built a small bathroom inside when I turned thirteen. I have a small mattress and a big blanket. I still don't know who brought them and kept them in my room five years ago, which I'm still very grateful for.
No one knocked or came to ask how my First shift went
No one welcomed me into the pack link.
No one cared. Is fine Sofia things will be different now. Our mate cares you will see. Lily said. No! He's just waiting for the best time to reject us. He's going to reject us Lily. Please don't get your hopes high, I said to her.
I pulled off my clothes stiff with dirt, and stepped into the shower.
Cold water.
No steam.
No luxury.
Just cold.
And the real ache not from shifting, but from realizing that the boy who'd watched me be crushed… ended up being my mate!
I came out of the bathroom and was shocked to find Damian seated on my small mattress.
What are you doing here? How did you get in hey?hmm through the door Sofia he said sounding cocky, about what I'm doing here we need to talk dear mate, he responded staring into my eyes.
Right you here for the rejection fine get on with it I'm tired I need to sleep, I said to him sounding uninterested but the look he gave me confused me before he said listen to me little mate I'm not here to reject you or to tell you to hide us being mate, I'm here to say I'm sorry and i will make it up to you just give me chance.
He said standing really close to me breathing down my neck and inhaling my scent and said the moon goddess never makes mistakes Sofia and I won't disrespect her by rejecting you. I know you are hurting and don't want me as a mate but please just give me a little chance to make it up to you.
I angrily pushed him away, hell no Damian I'm not going to stay mated to you or give you a chance to play me for a fool. I won't let you, save yourself the stress and reject me or I will do it myself!
Nobody is rejecting anyone Sofia I know I fucked up by letting Vanessa and her friends treat you bad, not just them Damian everyone else in the pack treats me bad! Including you.
That's not true, I never did anything... exactly my point Damian you did nothing absolutely nothing to help, you just stood there and watched! I'm sorry Sofia… get out, leave my room Damian leave go be with your girlfriend Vanessa!
Fine i will go but this discussion is not over! You're mine and I won't let you reject me he said and left my room.. leaving me confused why won't he reject me? He cares Sofia . Maybe we should give them a chance? No lily, he just playing with us.
I just crawled into bed, still confused and angry about today's situation. I lay on my bed thinking on till I drift off feeling exhausted.
I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock and I always woke up first.
At 4: AM, my eyes snapped open.
Same time.
Same routine.
Same curse.
My father Beta Luke had made it a law when I was just 11 after I lost my grandmother.
Sofia will rise before everyone else. She will prepare breakfast. She will serve the pack.
I pulled on my gray polo and a washed jeans and
tied my hair back with the frayed black ribbon I kept on my nightstand.
No mirror.
No makeup.
No reason to look pretty.
I was an omega.
I was a servant.
I was first to wake and walked Downstairs, the kitchen was dark.
The pack house was still silent but the pack Warriors will soon be up to train.
I was the only soul awake and also the warriors on night shift protecting the bother.
I turned on the kitchen lights, I opened the freezer, revealing rows of neatly stored ingredients, and pulled out a carton of eggs. Next, I reached into the cabinet and grabbed a bag of flour. The kitchen was my domain, and I knew every corner of it. Today's menu: crispy bacon pancakes, a favorite among the warriors. I set the ingredients on the counter and turned to the grill, where a rack of meat awaited its turn to be roasted to perfection.
My hands moved without thought.
My mind drifted.
Back to last night
Back to the shift.
Back to the pain, the real pain is not just bone breaking, but hope breaking, hope of finding a mate outside this pack. I don't mind being mated to other species, as long as I leave this pack.
But yet I ended up being mated to that piss of shit Damian and his wolf King having them as my mate.
The boy who'd watched them laugh at me.
The boy who'd stood beside Vanessa while she called me the mistake.
The boy who'd never once offered me a hand.
And now he expected me to… what?
Forgive him?
Accept him?
Love him?
I laughed a dry, hollow sound and the timer on the oven beeped like it was mocking me.
The kitchen buzzed with controlled chaos as I worked. I was the one who cooked for the pack house.
After about two hours when I was done cooking, the other omegas entered the kitchen.
While the other omegas floated between tables, serving the meals I crafted, I stood back, hands dusted in flour, waiting. Protocol dictated I didn't eat until everyone was served. I'd dine on the scraps left on plates, the crumbs, the overlooked bits of crust and afterward, I wash the dishes sometimes so I could eat the leftovers.
My father, the Beta, had drilled it into me: this was how things were done. The omegas are to served; while you do the cooking.
No thank you, no appreciation whatsoever..this has been my life for eight years since i lost grandma.
everything will be fine Sofia we are really special my wolf said to me. What do you mean by special lily? I will explain everything later, not now and we will be needing our mate for it.