One

Selene's POV

I turned the last of the cinnamon jar into the bowl as I glanced at Carey, my best friend who was seated at the table top looking listless and sluggish.

"Carey, help me with sugar," I said to her and she quickly picked the small jar of sugar on the cupboard and placed it in front of me.

"Thanks." I was currently making some cookies for the meeting today as Dakota had ordered me to. Everything was going well for now and I pretty much hope it goes on that well as I had no intention to offend that witch today.

Dakota was the daughter of the Grand Elder and she was also friends with the alphas. To be even more explicit, she was well on her way to becoming Luna of the pack anytime soon. Not to mention, tomorrow is the coming of age ceremony. It was the day everyone would find out if she was destined for the alphas.

Majority hoped she was anyway and even if she wasn't, she would still be the Luna since her father was so influential in the pack and it was obvious he wanted her to be Luna.

Carey suddenly looked at me as she placed her hand under her chin. "Did you hear the rumors?"

"What's that?" I lifted my eyebrows and gave her a look, knowing that I was about to get the unfiltered and full package of whatever was happening in the pack that I had apparently missed.

Whenever it came to rumors and gossips in the pack, Carey was always up to date and on point.

She quickly shuffled closer and mumbled, "I heard the elders and the alphas had a meeting about the Luna."

I couldn't help raising a brow. "A meeting?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Apparently, the Grand Elder wants the witch as Luna even if she turns out to not be his mate so they had a meeting to discuss the benefits." By witch, she was referring to Dakota; it was a term we called her between ourselves.

She sat back on the stool and picked at her fingernails. "Don't you think these high class people have too much going on for them?"

Of course, they had. From the administration to the power holding, all the bigwigs were in charge. People in the lower circles, especially us who were omegas were never considered in important decisions of the pack.

I turned my lips down and I couldn't help but think of my parents. Five years had gone so quick since their deaths and a lot of things had changed since then. I couldn't help but wonder if things wouldn't be as they were right now if my parent had being alive or if they were still alive when it was discovered that I was an omega.

My parents were pack warriors and both of them had served the previous Alpha and Luna. They had died with the two of them on the battlefield five years ago and my once rosy life of being the only daughter of the pack generals became nothing but a past.

At first, I received help from some of the people when they died and some of the members had even wanted to adopt me. They all believed I'd follow in my parents footsteps and be one of the best fighters in the pack.

But they were all disappointed when I turned out to be an omega. The lowliest of wolves. And it marked the day of my suffering of being one of the pack maids. It was as though everyone had suddenly become forgetful and they couldn't remember my parents sacrifices for the pack.

"Selene..." I felt a sudden shove, jolting me out of my thoughts and I returned to my senses. I looked at my hand inside the dough before moving my gaze to Carey who seemed worried.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

I gave a small cough and forced a smile, not wanting her to he worried about me. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She didn't seem very convinced but fortunately, she didn't persist. "Let me help you with that. We don't want that witch ranting on you if the meeting finishes before you're done."

I watched as she pulled out the trays and arranged the doughs on it. I couldn't help but smile.

Carey was my BFF of three years. Unlike me, who was a birth member of the pack, she came to the pack three years ago as one of the war fugitives and the alphas had agreed to let her in. She was also an omega like me and she was the only friend I ever made.

"What do you think the meeting is all about?" She suddenly asked, giving me a look over her shoulder.

I shrugged. "Who knows? You know we are not allowed to concern ourselves about things like this. Even if they're planning to sell us, we wouldn't know anything."

She sighed and turned to the oven, her tone changing slightly as she asked, "Are you not nervous?"

"Nervous?"

"The coming of age ceremony tomorrow," she continued. "Are you not nervous we won't find our mate?"

I could not help but pause for a moment at her words. "Are you?"

"Of course, I am." Her eyes seemed to lose a little of its usual light. "Selene, you do know that this is our chance to leave all our sufferings. If our mates turn out to be influential in the pack, no one will look down on us anymore. We won't have to do this anymore."

I would be lying if I also didn't have the train of thought or placed my hopes on tomorrow. It was a chance of redemption for both Carey and I. And, I hoped nothing would ruin it all.

The cookies were done and as the timer rang, we stopped chatting and silently arranged them on the saucers alongside the mugs of coffee. Carey grabbed one of the trays and I followed behind her with another one as we approached the conference room where important matters of the pack were usually discussed.

The moment we reached the door, I could hear Dakota's shrill voice even from the closed doors. She grumbled, "That lazy, insufferable... hag is still not here with the refreshments. Why do we even keep such useless people in the pack?"

Carey immediately looked at me and I didn't need anyone to tell me things might not go as peaceful as I hoped today. One thing to note about Dakota was that she was a spoilt brat who absolutely looked down on the lower class. She treated omegas badly and for some reason, she especially hated me to the core and she never hesitated to make sure my life was miserable.

I breathed gently before I reached out and knocked on the closed marble doors. It was a male voice that sounded from inside and he said, "Come in."

I pushed the door open with the tray resting on my other arm for support as I walked in with Carey beside me.

There were quite a lot of people in the conference room. My gaze immediately went to the three men seated at the forefront of the table.

In the middle, was a tall figure seated upright and his attention solely on the files in front of him. He was donning a black suit which outlined his upper muscles every time he moved. He was quite good looking and elegant too if one would ignore the cold expression on his face as though someone owed him money.

He was the oldest of the triplet alphas; Alpha Declan.

On his right was Alpha Damon who was slouched on the table lazily with the papers in front of him clearly unopened. He didn't seem interested in whatever was going on and I wasn't surprised. Everyone knew that Alpha Declan was mostly in charge of official matters as the other two barely had any interest in leadership.

Alpha Daniel who was seated on the left had both his arms and legs crossed. His papers were opened up but he seemed just as disinterested in them. In fact, he seemed as though he would rather be elsewhere at that moment.

They were the three alphas of our pack and were triplets. After the death of their parents in the war, they had taken over the pack. At first, everyone had doubts they would be able to rule well as they were all just eighteen and there were a lot people against them in the beginning. But, they had managed to keep a tight hold on their position.

Alpha Declan was the brains while Alpha Damon and Daniel were the fighters. They were legends in the pack and the role model every parent used to inspire their own kids.

Well except of course, their awful habit of looking down on the lower class.

There was a sudden bang jolting me out of my long thoughts and when I looked over, I saw Dakota seated in the front and she didn't hesitate to glare at me coldly the moment I looked over.

"And what are you waiting for?" She snarled at me and I quickly stepped toward the table ignoring the worried glances that Carey threw my way.

I began to arrange the refreshments in front of each person and I was soon at the head of the table where the alphas were seated.

As I reached over to place the saucer in front of Alpha Declan, I couldn't help but notice the patterns on the files in his hand. I couldn't decipher what they meant however but before I could look away, he suddenly looked up at me, terrifying me so bad that the saucer fell from my hands and all its content soaked the papers in front of him.

There was a familiar gasp almost immediately which I recognized to be Carey's. But before I could react, a loud slap landed on my face which tilted to the side instantly. I reached out to palm the burning cheek and tears glazed my eyes.

I didn't even need to look up to know who the culprit was. It couldn't be anyone other than Dakota.