Omega's den

Luciana

With trembling hands and feet and tears rolling down my eyes, I picked up my bag as I made my way to other rooms in the quarters. I knocked on the first door, but the blaring glares I got from the occupants hit me like a rock, and before I could even speak, their venomous voices echoed in my ears.

“We don't have a place for a traitor like you,” and with that, the gigantic door was slammed in my face. I moved into the next and the next and the next, but each and every word that came out of their mouths was worse than the first.

“Talia?” I called out, trying to see if I could reach her, but I couldn't. Ever since the rejection, I couldn't connect to my wolf anymore; it seems she had grown weak and so had I. “Moon goddess, please don't make me lose my wolf too,” I cried.

I staggered my way through the hallway, going to the last place I never thought I'd seek refuge: ‘the Omega's den’; it was a separate cabin for just Omegas. They were distinguished and separated from the betas and Alphas because they were considered weak and trash. The only thing that saved me from the reality I was obliged to face was my friendship with Ruby, and now I've lost it.

I stood before the dusty old door that led to the rusty building with puffy eyelids; my eyes had already grown weary from crying. I placed a light knock on the door, which creaked open by itself. It seemed there was nobody in; with a deep sigh, I made my way inside and found a spot for myself. I freshened up and lay on one of the beds, hoping it was vacant.

A few minutes later, a loud slap on my face made me jump up to my feet with heavy eyes. I growled in agony as I held my cheeks, which had become red.

“What was that for?!” I fired at the person standing in front of me.

“How dare you lay on my bed, huh?” she fired back at me.

“Is that why you slapped me?” I retorted.

“Don't test me, or else I'll do it again!” The young girl standing in front of me fired back.

I stared at her in shock; I thought we were all omegas here. Why do they still have bullies? “What?!” I exclaimed.

“Enough!!” an elderly woman yelled as she walked in, making everyone in the room make way for her. It was then I noticed the multitude of ladies of different sizes and ages in the room.

“You'd better thank your stars Mrs. Bernice is here,” the bully retorted at me. Normally, in situations like this, Talia would snarl in anger, but I couldn't even feel or connect with her; she had suddenly become silent when I needed her most.

“Good evening Mrs. B!” everyone chorused as they bowed slightly to the elderly lady. It seemed like she coordinated the affairs around here. I turned to her with glassy eyes.

“Why are you here and not at the ceremony? Everyone knows the rules and dares not break them,” she fired at me. The silence that followed was deafening; my mouth became heavy with words. “Being an omega in this part of the world is already enough punishment. I'm sure you don't want more from the king,” she added.

“Oh!” she exclaimed in realization. “You're the one who got rejected today by Beta Damien, right?” she asked, making me bow my head lightly in embarrassment as murmurs filled the air. The weight of the day's events fell on me yet again; it seemed there was absolutely no way out of this humiliation.

“Well, since you're here now, you're still a junior to Jasmine here,” she said, gesturing to the bully. “So you're not going to have any bed; you're going to sleep on the floor with the others,” she said, pointing in the direction of the multitude of ladies in the room. I scanned through everyone with my eyes, and they were definitely more than fifty in number.

“You mean hierarchy still exists here?” I remarked, frustration evident in my voice as I stared blankly at her. All this suffering just because of a mate? Wouldn't it be better if Mom didn't place a spell on me and just let my enemies come for me? At least that would be better than all this suffering.

Now, I doubted if this spell would ever be broken. All the plans and dreams I had had suddenly been crushed in one night.

“You heard the old lady, bitch—get out of my space!!” Jasmine yelled at me.

I took my bag and brought out a duvet. I watched as everyone laid theirs on the floor and retired to bed; there was barely any space left for me on the floor. I sighed in frustration as I made my way out. There, I met a guy my age. I looked around, and it seemed like he was the only guy among all these ladies.

I moved to the corner in silence as I laid my duvet there and sat, watching the stars with him.

“I heard about your rejection,” his deep voice echoed in my ears, breaking the deafening silence between us.

“I don't want to talk about it,” I replied, looking away.

“It's fine if you don't want to; everyone here has a story they don't want to talk about too,” he said.

“What do you mean?” I asked, curiosity evident in my voice.

“You see Jasmine; the only reason why she's grumpy and authoritative is that she wasn't born as an Omega,” he said.

“What?!” I exclaimed.

“She used to be an Alpha,” he continued, making a “wow” escape my lips.

“What happened?” I asked.

“She betrayed the king's dynasty and was stripped of her powers by the moon goddess. So she's always bitter and grumpy; she doesn't associate with anyone. We are all nothing but trash in her eyes.”

“Oh,” I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. “That's sad.”

“I know, but it's a good thing though; at least it would teach her some manners,” he said sarcastically, making me chuckle.

“You have a nice smile; you should laugh more often,” he said, making my smile vanish as I stared at him. This was actually the first time I had smiled after today’s events. It's funny how he could make me forget all that in just a few seconds.

“Thanks,” I replied.

“I'm Chris,” he said, leaning his hands forward for a handshake.

“I’m Luciana,” I said with a smile as I took his hands in mine.

“It's nice to meet you, Luciana,” he said with a smile, which made his eyes crinkle at the corners.

“The pleasure is mine,” I replied. Silence filled the air once again as we both lifted our gaze to the sky, our minds a jumble of different thoughts.

“What about you?” I asked, breaking the silence between us yet again.

“Huh?”

“I meant, what about you? What's your story?” I added; his face curled up in a smile.

“Me?” he began. “I was born this way, Lucy,” he said. Hearing him call me Lucy made my eyes glassy with tears as I bit my lower lip, fighting them back. “Is it okay if I call you Lucy?” he added, making me stare at him in awe. Those were the exact same words Ruby had told me when we first met.

“Are you okay?” he asked, noticing the tension, which was palpable.

“Yeah… yeah, I'm fine,” I said, trying so hard to be brave. "It's just that you remind me of someone,” I replied.

“Oh, I'm sorry, but I didn't mean to make you cry,” he remarked.

“No, no, it's okay. I'm fine, and yes, you can call me Lucy,” I replied, my voice trembling with emotions.

“Okay…” he said.

“So tell me, what's your story?” I asked.

“Well, I'm not from here; I fled from my pack because my pack was attacked by a rogue pack, and I was the only survivor. I joined the Dark Moon pack a few years ago, and like every other pack, I faced the fate of being an Omega. But the good part is, at least I'm under the rule of the great Lycan king, so I'm safe,” he replied. His words made me wonder how the people of my pack were doing. If he was the only survivor from his pack, what had become of the fate of my people in the hands of my uncle?

The thought of this was like being pierced by a two-edged sword. I was weak and helpless, with no way to save my people, and now the only way I thought it was possible had just been crushed before my eyes. Oh dear moon goddess, why have you chosen to punish me this way? I cried inwardly, “Of all the men in the pack, you made my best friend’s lover my mate.”