Seized

Luciana

Chris and I stayed out talking about random stuff, and soon it was almost dawn. My eyes were puffy because I hadn't been able to get enough sleep; my mind kept going back and forth with thoughts, most especially how I was supposed to survive in this cubicle with the great number of people.

Turns out working as a maid was the only form of service the omegas could render in exchange for their protection by the other pack members. While there were a few betas working as maids, the omegas outnumbered them, and they had separate quarters. The maid's quarters prepared for the betas were more spacious with soft and cozy beds, just like the room I shared with Ruby, but here in the Omega's den, it was the exact opposite.

With this great number of people here, particularly females, I wondered how they had been able to cope and survive in such conditions. It's a good thing it's hard to see a male omega on this side of the pack; well, aside from Chris, I haven't seen any other male who was born as an Omega. The females of this pack seem to really be going through a lot.

If I had been able to break the spell, maybe just maybe I would have formed an alliance with the Lycan king so I could provide a more soothing space for the Omegas, but now, I was as helpless as they were. I could no longer bear the weight of my eyes as I closed them and succumbed to the darkness.

I woke up to the bright eyes of a guy staring right at me with a smile plastered on his lips. Strangely, I was not on the hard floor I had slept on the previous night; rather, I was in a tiny little room and on a bed. Though not soft, it was better than the hard floor.

“Ah! Who are you? And where am I?!” I yelled, jerking out of the bed. My hands instinctively went to my groin, checking for any abnormalities. Was I raped?

“Hey, hey, calm down, Lucy. It's me, Chris,” he said calmly, making my nerves relax for a while. I took a good look at the person in front of me as the blaring sun rays shone on him. I really didn't get a good glimpse of his looks last night, but staring at him right now, he didn't look so bad.

He had this blonde-messy hair and a sharp jawline that matched his masculine physique, his eyes were dark brown and he had this pointed nose which seemed attractive. “Oh, Chris,” I mumbled, relief washing over me.

“What am I doing here? And where are the others? Did you trick me?” I kept throwing several questions at him without even giving him the space to say a word.

“Okay there… Take a chill pill, Cheta,” he said, letting out a light laugh.

“What's funny?” I retorted.

“You really need to see how you look as you talk,” he said, turning his back to me and scribbling through some of his stuff, bringing out a mirror.

“What?! How did you get that?” I spat. “Aren't mirrors supposed to be banned in this pack?” I fired at him.

“Uh… And who said they were?” I retorted.

“The king, dummy. You certainly don't want to be caught holding one,” I replied.

“How was I supposed to know that? I'm just a refugee here. Why are they banned?” he asked, making me stare blankly at him.

“Uhm… Uh… I don't know; it's just what I was told too,” I stuttered.

“And you believed it?” he asked.

“Why wouldn't I? I've heard so many stories about the king's wrath, so it's best if I remain on the safer side,” I remarked.

“Okay, but at least take a look at how beautiful you look,” he said, handing me a mirror. Aside from Ruby, he was the only person who ever called me beautiful.

“No thanks, but thank you for the compliment. Unfortunately, being pretty is just an illusion for me,” I said as I slumped back on the bed, the weight of my emotions crushing me. It's been ages since I even looked in the mirror; I've even forgotten how I looked as a young princess hybrid. I wondered what I was going to see when I looked in the mirror.

I turned my gaze back at Chris, my curiosity at its peak. “On second thought, can I have the mirror?” I asked, making a smile plastered on his face.

I took the mirror from him, holding it in my hands, its bark was carved with a hard mahogany wood which felt smooth to touch, I had its wooden side facing me until I was ready to see my reflection.

“You still haven't answered my questions, Chris. Where is this place?” I said, trying to distract my mind for a bit.

An “oh” escaped his lips as he began, “This is my little room. Being the only guy, Mrs. Bernice gave me this little space so I could give the ladies the privacy they needed,” he explained.

“Okay… It's a good thing you have a bed to lay on,” I said sadly.

“If you need a bed to lie in once in a while, you can use mine; at least I'm not so cruel to wake you up with a resounding slap,” he said with a smirk on his face. The memory of Jasmine's hands on my face kept playing in my head again. I was certainly going to make her pay for ever laying her hands on me when the time was right.

“Thanks, but why are you being kind to me?” I asked.

“Because I'm kind,” he replied sarcastically.

“I'm serious, Chris. You barely even know me,” I said, making him heave a deep sigh.

“Okay, let's just say we're two drivers in the same boat,” he said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

He took another breath before answering me, “I was also rejected by my mate,” he replied, making me etch my brow in shock as everything now made sense to me. He was only trying to provide me comfort because we shared similar experiences.

“Before my pack was attacked, I was mates with the most beautiful beta in the pack, but she rejected me and chose another beta like herself because I was an omega,” he said, bowing his head slightly in pain. “I don't even know if she's alive or dead,” he added.

“I'm so sorry…” Those were the only words I was able to muster.

“It's okay. Just try to get a bit more rest before coming out. In a few hours, it will be the Mate marking ceremony, and all omegas are expected to serve at the party,” he said before going out.

I heaved a deep sigh in frustration. I had just hit a string that really hurt Chris by bringing back hurtful memories of his mate and his rejection. Everything just seems to hurt here, and it's suffocating.

With that, I raised the mirror up to my face, but I wasn't prepared for what I saw. My skin glowed in my reflection, and my eyes lit red instead of their normal yellow. I brought the mirror down and wiped it clean with my duvet; maybe I was hallucinating, I thought.

But raising it up to my face one more time, I found out that I wasn't. My reflection revealed the Alpha princess of the Reflection Pack. I was staring right at the real me; I was staring at Ximena. My heart leaped for joy as I desperately wanted to scream my lungs out. I finally got to see the image of how beautiful I had turned out to be. The last time I had a glimpse of myself in the mirror was at my seventh birthday with my parents eleven years ago, and now getting to see the beauty I was now after so many years made my heart glad.

If only my dad were alive to see how beautiful his little girl had become. The thought of their demise made my heart ache yet again. I really miss them so much.

The loud bang on the door made me flinch as the door flung open, revealing a great number of palace guards standing before me.

For a moment, I sat confused as to what the palace guards were doing here all of a sudden. Just then, the hoarse voice of the one who looked like their leader echoed in my ears: “How dare you bring a mirror into the kingdom?”

I sat there frozen, my mind a jumble of thoughts as I began searching for an escape route. At this point, I was doomed and was still sitting on the bed with the mirror in my hands.

“It's not hers; it's mine,” a familiar voice echoed in the room. Just then, my eyes met with Chris’s as he smiled at me, making me shake my head in disbelief as I mumbled a “no,” but he just stared at me and gave me the “it's okay, I got this” look.

I watched as the guards dragged him out with them, as one of them took the mirror from my hands and smashed it to the ground. But at this point, I didn't care about my reflection anymore as tears flowed down my cheeks. My mind could only think of one thing.

“What's going to be the fate of Chris?” My knees grew weak, and my heart became heavy. Everyone in the room gave me deadly glares as they kept mumbling hurtful words.

“She isn't even up to a day here, and she's already making trouble,” someone said.

“I doubt if Chris will make it alive,” another echoed.

“She's going to make things really complicated for us if we keep her here.”

“She wouldn't if we all stayed away from her,” another voice replied as the others made their way out of the room.

I just sat on the floor, frozen, as all I could let out was stiffer sobs. The one person who had been nice to me here had just been dragged out on his way to face the wrath of the Lycan king, and I couldn't do anything about it. “How does bad luck keep finding its way back to me?”

“Oh, mother, please come take this burden you call a spell off me. I can't handle this anymore,” I cried.