...
Despite Paula's fury, I strained my ears to listen to Natalie's voice again but I could no longer hear it. Her smell was gone too.
"Get back to work, there's so much preparation to make for the Alpha's ceremony--
Disinterested, I brushed past her and bolted to the exit again but her warnings brought my steps to a halt.
"If you step out of here, I will report you to your father and make sure you're severely punished."
I froze, turning to her.
I rushed back to her and fell on my knees,
"I just want to save my friend, why won't you just let me go? They're going to kill her, Natalie is going to die if I don't save her right now."
Paula heaved a sigh, stepping away from me. Her fury stare dissolved into one that depicted boredom, "you can't save who is already dead, Omega."
"W-what?" My gaze snapped at her, "what are you--
"Natalie is dead, I saw the guards execute her just now. Now, they're setting her body on fire. Get over it and return to your duties, you don't want to annoy Derek again." She revealed heartlessly and walked away.
My body grew weak and the next minute, I fell to the ground. I listened for Natalie again but there was nothing. No smell. No words. No connection.
My jaw dropped but no words came out of my mouth. My heart wrenched tightly and I desperately clung to my chest, gasping for air. Tears trickled down my face.
"No, no please no."
I cried helplessly until my head started to ache. The one person that cared about me in the world was dead. Gone for life. I couldn't imagine life from here without her.
The whole twenty years of my life had been spent serving the pack but none of my efforts were appreciated.
What was so bad about being an Omega? Why was my life so different and unfortunate? I concluded that my curse was the reason no one wanted to associate with me but Natalie proved me wrong.
We had just one day! One day left before we get out of this hellhole!
Now she was gone, just a day to our freedom.
What did I ever do to deserve such a disaster? Why did the moon goddess create me to solely experience bad luck?
Why did she have to allow Natalie's death and keep me alive? Am I just meant to suffer for life?
As I pulled myself up from the floor, my head banged heavily with an ache. Miserably, I returned to my duties, forcing the last of my strength to work. My hands trembled as I scrubbed the floor with a brush, recalling all the happiness I had with Natalie for the entire five years of our friendship.
Natalie was more than just a friend to me. She was like my mate, my father, mother, and sibling put together. She was every positive thing that I never had for the past fifteen years of my life. She was the only one that sincerely looked out for me and showed concern when I was being mistreated.
She was the one always ready to go all fight mode for my cause. She would never stand me being bullied. Because of her, I saw a cause to live. The suggestion to leave the pack actually came from her. Her step-family weren't exactly nice to her too but her life was way better than mine, also she was a very strong wolf so no one could bully her. I had thought she was my savior, my chance to a better life.
But she was gone.
They were right. My father, Derek, Brittany, and every other member of the Crimson Pack, they were all right. Hanging out with me is bad luck, I was a cursed wolf and anyone who hung around me would partake in my curse. I used to doubt it until now. Natalie would still be alive if she hadn't gotten involved with a misfortune like myself.
I wondered how I was going to survive without her. I had gotten so used to her company and protection, I never imagined life without her. I stared at the unfinished work in front of me, my soapy hand moving to my face to wipe the tears off my cheek.
I was going to leave the pack tomorrow. It would be a little difficult without Natalie but I was willing to take the risk. I was positive Natalie wouldn't want me to remain here too. I wouldn't spend another night in a pack that took everything away from me and derived joy from my pain.
I would start life anew somewhere far away, I would be happy not just for myself but for Natalie too. All our efforts and struggle cannot be wasted.
Fully determined, I continued my work, leaving the tears to continuously stroll down my face.
It was exactly ten in the night when I was relieved from work so I grabbed my bag, stuffed my daily pay into it, and head out of the hotel.
I was glad knowing it was the last time I would be working here and my last night in the Crimson Pack.
Tiredly, I dragged my weak body home. I tried not to let the thought of Natalie's death weigh my mind too much, I try to let my thoughts be positive and dwell on the fact that in a couple of days, I would be free.
"Thank you for making my dream a reality, Nat," I mumbled into the night, a slightly bitter smile finding its way to my lips.
Soon, my eyes were filled with tears again, and my vision blurred.
I paused when I sighted a daffodil, Natalie's favorite flower. I plucked one and sniffed it, my bitter smile growing.
Slowly, I kissed the petals. It was the time of the full moon so my strength gathered quickly. Wiping my tears off, I sniffed.
I held the flower to my chest, stood up, and continued my journey home. Somehow, I felt a sense of my best friend beside me, I felt a sense of her subtle encouragement.
My grief was relieved a little before I got home. I went behind the building and arrived at the basement that contained my small crowded room, dimly lit only by the moon.
Flipping the switch to activate the light, I started to take my bag off and get myself ready to wet my pillow, when I perceived a presence. It was strong, evil and familiar. At this point, I looked around my room, scanning the small, suffocating perimeter with my eyes and realising I skipped that routine before turning the lights on.
My gaze landed on my bed and my body went limp with shock when I found Derek on it. His cold gaze was on my packed luggage and a stoic expression rested on his face.
..."W-what do you want?" "It's the full moon," he turned to me, "and I noticed that you didn't come to my chambers so I came to see why." "I just got back from work and I'm exhausted," I said, my gaze fixed on him. Derek started to get off my bed and walk to me. Each step he made fueled up disgust in my system, I felt like charging at him and snuffing life out of him, but I relaxed, knowing it was impossible. An Omega like me had no strength compared to a wolf of the Alpha bloodline. Derek would kill before I even made a threatening move at him. He pointed at my luggage, "why is that packed?" He asked."I don't think that should be any of your business." "Lousy bitch," He mumbled with a scoff, "let me guess, this is probably ready because on your twentieth birthday tomorrow, you plan to escape from here?" Instantly, a cold shiver ran down my spine, and soon, my entire body started to quiver. Derek smirked, noting my body response. "I see you really believed that a wolf like
I confirmed Derek's absence before dashing towards my luggage. Wiping the beads of sweat gathered on my forehead, I noticed the zip was undone and the padlock broken, lying beside the luggage. Panic set in my belly pit as I stretched open the bag and examined the content- the few clothes I owned were still in the luggage as I left it. A pair of flops. My undergarments. A smaller bag where I stored my toiletries that I rarely used. I paused thoughtfully, took it out, and poured out the content. "No. Please no.." I mumbled as I scattered the content on the floor with my hand, searching for it with my heart jumping towards my throat. It wasn't there. My wallet was missing. My heart leaped into my mouth and my eyes started to water as I miserably went through the content again, even though the realization already hit me a minute ago. I picked them one after the other into the bag, praying and hoping that my eyes were playing tricks on me. That my hard work for the past three years ha
....The wolf was lying lifeless by the time I got there, a pool of blood by his side. I noticed a sharp cut on his stomach, a gash that revealed thick lumps of his flesh, and a slight view of his bone. His chest slowly rising and falling was the only physical evidence of life in him. He was losing so much blood and looked so pale. Immediately, I knelt beside him and brought down my bag, I zipped it open and pulled out some of my clothes from it as fast as I could, and held it over the wolf's wound. It got soaked with his blood in no time so I grabbed more clothes and applied pressure again, my heart racing as I feared for the wolf's life."He's losing life," Amy spoke for the first time since we arrived here, her voice was fidgety. "He won't die. I can't let him die." "Ellen--" "No, Amy. I'm going to save him. I will save this wolf!" My emotions clouded me. Tears blinded my eyes as I took out another cloth from my bag, adding it to the already bloodied ones. In a flash, I was de
I was curled up on the cold floor after my father left. I remained in that position until dawn and the creaking of my door brought me back to full consciousness. I crawled on my stomach to stare fully at it as it cracked open and Derek sauntered in. He was dressed in the ceremony regalia, a navy blue Armani suit, and looking all ready for the handover. I stood up while he stared at me with a mocking gaze, "I see you took my words lightly." He cackled. "You put my father up to this, didn't you?" My teeth gritted as I asked. I'm pretty sure my father wouldn't want anything more in the world than my inexistence. Yes, he hates me to that extent. And I had no doubt Derek was involved in his sudden contradiction. "It doesn't matter. I hope now you have accepted that you can never leave the pack under my watch?" "I'm old enough to leave if I want to, I do not need even your permission." I tried to remain confident. Derek scoffed, "you can keep trying if you want, but you should know t
..."You cursed wench!" Mira Tate screamed at me, staring down at her white dress with a mixture of distaste and fury. I tore my gaze from the crowd of desperate stares fixated on us and started to apologize to Derek's girlfriend, Mira. Another of my worst nightmare. She was Derek's girlfriend and as you must've guessed, she was just as cruel as him. At the slightest chance she gets, she never ceased to display her cruelty. "I-I'm so sorry.." I started to say."Oh, I'll make you sorry!" She snarled and in an instant, a handful of my hair was in her fist as she pulled me back and forth, causing a burning sensation on my scalp. I cringed, as her grip tightened, trying to tear myself from her grip. "Let me go, you're hurting me!" I cried, struggling. At this point, I was sure she had successfully uprooted some strands of my hair as the pain aggravated. "You fuckin bitch, you purposely did this, didn't you?" She gritted. "To disrupt the event and ruin my dress, you piece of shit!"
A cry flew out of my mouth as the soup burnt into my skin. A pin-drop silence fell over the room and soon I was scampering for help, my eyes burned with pepper so I had to squint them. Mira had gotten out of the kitchen somehow, leaving me to fear for myself and more for the man-wolf who was supposedly my mate, standing by the doorway. Why was his scent familiar? I noticed he was still staring at me, a flash of anger resting in his eyes. I was unable to tell who the emotion was directed at but I feared it was for me. I was an Omega and this man looked extremely powerful. As he started to move, my fear heightened. I wondered where he was going because his movement was further into the kitchen. Was he going to kill me? Trample on me for daring to be his mate? My life flashed before my eyes as he made each step.While Amy jubilated about having a companion, I saw my life flash before my very eyes. "Get out of my way!" The burning pain disappeared for a moment when I realized he was ma
Lost in my world of fantasy, I didn't notice my father storming towards us until Alpha Ace stopped walking. I noticed him in front of us, his gaze flashing past me without an iota of care for my burns. "Alpha Ace, I heard what happened. I'm sorry for whatever trouble she must have caused you, I will ensure she is punished to whatever length you might desire." He apologized, his eyes blazing with fury."Allow me to take her from here." "Step away," Alpha Ace thundered. "W-what?" My father stuttered. Ace said nothing, so he continued and lowered his hands, "My daughter is irresponsible, I'll understand if you choose to punish her yourself. Please, do whatever you want with her." "Your daughter?" He glanced at me, as though seeking confirmation. I nodded once, "he's my father." "I see," he eyed him briefly, "the wolf who did this to you, do you know who she is?" I gulped before speaking. "Yes." "What's her name?" "Mira. Mira Tate. She is Alpha Derek's Luna."He turned to my fath
...I was still in Ace's embrace. His thick manly fingers stroked my hair, his eyes lovingly watching me. I felt uneasy and relaxed at the same time, the mate bond brought the latter feeling. The fact that he acknowledged me as his mate gave me a mixed feeling. I wasn't used to being loved, but this powerful Alpha seemed to have accepted me and that didn't settle well with me. It made me scared and skeptical. Was I in a dream? Or a nightmare, because I already sensed a terrible ending from this. "Are you nervous?" His voice had me staring back at him unexpectedly. I started to look away but his finger caught my chin and tilted my face back up to his. I nodded, gulping again. "Don't worry, I will punish the one who hurt you. She will pay for every single tear that you shed," he vowed. His eyes held a sincerity that I couldn't bring myself to fully believe. If he was truly going to punish everyone who hurt me, then the Crimson Pack wouldn't exist anymore. His fingers stroked my ch