Alone

Luciana

I lay in my bed as I buried my face in my pillow in sobs, my mind drifting back to the thunderous voices of everyone in the pack as they screamed at me, calling me names.

“Backstabber,” “desperate bitch,” “traitor,” all these words echoed in my ears as my tears continued to flow uncontrollably. My mind drifted back to Ruby as the hurt on her face kept playing out in my head. The thought of our friendship being ruined because of the mate bond made my stomach hurt.

She has always been my biggest support ever since I came into this pack when I was seven. She was an orphan just like me and had saved me from being bullied several times.

flashback (eleven years ago)

I sat on the lonely roads of the pack’s market as I didn’t know where to go. I was weak and tired, and my body felt numb. I closed my eyes, trying to sleep when the voice of someone jolted me awake.

“Look who we have here?” The voice of a boy my age echoed in my ears as he stood in front of me with a smirk on his face, with two others behind him.

“Who are you?” I asked with a bit of fear in my voice. “Please, I don’t want any trouble,” I replied as I stood up in defense.

“Give me your bag,” the boy at the front said, gesturing to the bag that hung loosely on my shoulders. I moved my hands, gripping it tightly because I knew I couldn’t give it up. This bag contained my last meal, which I had planned to eat for dinner before bed.

Being a seven-year-old homeless wolf was already enough suffering for me.

“Oh, so you really think you are a match for us?” their leader retorted.

“Wanna try?” I replied with a smirk on my face, making them all growl at me as their eyes collectively lit up in light yellow, making me smile. So they were even omegas and they dared to challenge an alpha like me? I thought.

I growled back at them, and I could feel my eyes light up also, but instead of them running in fear, they all laughed at me in unison, making me etch my brow in surprise.

“So you’re an omega like us?” one of them said amidst laughter.

“What? That’s not true, I’m an alpha, I'm Luna,” I yelled back at them with conviction in my voice.

“You wish!” the leader said before landing a blow on my face, which sent me to the ground as they all surrounded me, throwing different hits from different directions before they took my bag and ran away.

I lay there crying as I wondered why they weren’t scared of me. Minutes later, I ran as far as my legs could carry me to the flowing river in the woods as I stared at my reflection in the waters. I lit my eyes up and was shocked to see that they flowed bright yellow instead of my normal alpha eyes.

What happened? I wondered in awe. My eyes, why do they glow differently? Just then, my mind drifted to my mother's words before she was killed.

“Ximena, you must run very far away from here and never return until the time is right. Your powers would be hidden from now on until you come of age and find a mate just like your father found me, alright?” she said before hugging me with tears in her eyes.

My powers, mom hid my powers, I whispered as it dawned on me, my skin had turned pale too. But why did she have to give me the eyes of an omega? I wondered as my heart sank in frustration. So I’ll have to stay like this until I’m eighteen? Oh dear moon goddess, please guide me, I prayed inwardly. Just then, the sound of the loud bell echoed through the air as I raised my gaze up to see the towering building of the castle.

I dusted myself off and made my way through the woods, heading to the palace. I entered through the back gates into the castle as my eyes widened at the magnificent building and designs inside it.

Just then, I heard approaching steps, which made me quickly find a hiding spot as I peeped at who it was. My eyes met with a man who had a crown on; he was dressed like a king, or maybe he is the king, I thought. His wife, with three other children who looked older than I was, trailed behind them. There were two boys and a girl; she was so pretty.

She walked elegantly beside her mom as they walked down the hallway, making me remember how I was with my parents. The thought of that alone sent cold shivers down my spine as sadness took over.

“You’ve always been nothing but a failure, Carmine. Your brother has always been better than you; you can’t be king with this behavior,” the king thundered.

“But father, I tried really hard today; I did my best,” the boy, who I suppose is Carmine, retorted.

“Your best isn’t enough, son!” His father fired at him, his gaze piercing through his.

“Your father is right, Carmine. You were such a failure out there today,” the queen added.

“That’s why I tell my friends that he isn’t my brother, mommy he can’t even fight,” the princess added with a tiny voice.

“Don’t force it, Dad; he obviously can’t be better than me,” the second boy added with a smirk on his face. I felt so sorry for Carmine as I wondered why they were all against him. But it was none of my business anyway as I made my way through the palace in search of a place to hide for the time being.

I walked for what felt like an eternity through the hallway. Minutes later, my nose caught the sweet aroma of food, making me trace my way to the kitchen where it was coming from. But on my way, I saw different girls my age gathered at the front of the kitchen, chatting and laughing.

I quickly joined them without knowing why they were here, as I thought maybe they were all waiting for the food. While I stood among the crowd, three pretty girls walked up to me with a smirk on their faces.

“Hey you!” they yelled, referring to me, as I turned my gaze towards them.

“What rank are you?” they asked in unison.

I opened my mouth to say ‘an alpha,’ but the thought of getting laughed at just like those boys did earlier made me stop to rethink. “Omega, I'm an Omega,” I replied, and immediately the bright smile they had on their faces turned into a look of disgust.

“You're one of the losers?” the girl in front said with a scoff. "Then you will become our new toy,” she said as she tried to pull my hair but was stopped by another girl. She was different and wasn't part of the three bullies.

“Let her be!” she growled at them, making her eyes light up with oceanic blues as they all shared deadly glares before the three girls left me alone.

“I'm so sorry about that; that was Mira, Mia, and Maya,” the girl who defended me said. “They're jerks; never mind what they say, alright?” she said with a sweet tiny voice.

“Alright, thanks for defending me,” I replied.

“It's fine. By the way, I'm Ruby,” she said with a smile, gesturing her hands toward me for a handshake.

“I'm Xim…” I tried to speak but I quickly paused before continuing, “I'm Luciana,” I replied with a smile before taking her hands in mine. We stayed that way for a few seconds staring at each other with a smile before the growling from my stomach echoed in our ears, making me have an awkward look of embarrassment on my face.

“Sorry,” I said with a sheepish smile on my face, which made Ruby let out a soft laugh.

“It's okay; here, have this,” she said, handing me a loaf of bread, which I hurriedly took from her and stuffed into my mouth, making her let out a laugh.

“You're so funny, Lucy,” she said with a smile. “Is it okay if I call you Lucy?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied with a nod, with the bread still stuffed in my mouth.

“So what type of maid are you?” she asked, making me etch my brow in confusion. “Maid?” I asked.

“Yes, maid; that's why we are all here, remember?” she replied. “It's fine if you don't know yet; Mrs. Suzy would just fix us somewhere,” she said, but I just nodded; everything still felt strange to me.

“Did your parents drop you off here?” she asked.

The mention of them made me bow my head in remorse. “No, they are dead,” I replied, making her previously cheerful voice turn sad.

“Oh… Well, no need to worry, because that makes the two of us. I've always dreamt of working in the palace too. So, best friends?” she asked excitedly.

“Okay, best friends,” I replied with a smile.

Flashback ends

The door swung open, revealing Ruby as she walked into the room, making me sit upright. I just sat on the bed, unable to find the right words to speak. But she didn't even look in my direction. She just went straight to the closet and began packing my things.

“What are you doing?” I asked in confusion.

“What does it look like I'm doing, bitch…” she spat at me, her voice laced with venom.

“Ruby…” I tried to speak, but she quickly interrupted me.

“Don't, don't you dare say my name, you traitor. After everything I've done for you, you had the guts to want to accept the mate bond with my boyfriend? Really, Lucy?” she fired at me.

“Ruby, look, you have to understand.”

“Understand what, Lucy? Tell me exactly what I'm supposed to understand here. You know exactly how much I’ve loved Damien since childhood, and just when he's finally going to be mine, you came into the picture. You want to ruin it all!” she yelled, with tears welling up in her eyes.

“It's not my fault; the moon goddess…”

“Oh, please cut the crap. You could have easily rejected the bond, Lucy, but instead you were pleading with me so you could have him all to yourself, all for what? Lucy? All because you want to feel accepted in the pack, all because you don't want to be seen as a weakling anymore…” she said, making me shake my head in disagreement.

I wanted to tell her that wasn't true, that wasn't the only reason why I wanted to accept the bond, I was this close, this close to unlocking my powers, but it seems being rejected stopped the process. I just needed to be with him for just a few days, maybe, just maybe the spell would be broken then.

But how was I supposed to explain this to Ruby? What difference would it make? I was already rejected in front of everyone, and now they all saw me as, ‘the mate snatcher.’ “Mother, I need your help,” I cried inwardly.

“Well, newsflash Lucy, all you're ever going to be in my eyes from now on, is a weak Omega,” Ruby spat, her voice laced with a mix of emotions jolting me out of my thoughts, making my eyes widen in awe. “Now leave my room; I can't be roommates with a traitor like you.” She fired at me, throwing my bag to my face and pushing me out of the room as all my pleas fell on deaf ears.

Just as I got outside the room, my eyes met with the three witches, Mia, Maya, and Mira, with wicked grins on their faces.

“Bye bye, loser,” they all said in unison as they shared treacherous laughter before heading inside the room with Ruby.

My knees immediately grew weak as I fell to the ground, biting my lower lip as I tried really hard to fight the tears that threatened to fall. I'd just lost the only friend I had; where was I going to go?