One year earlier— Nova
What does it mean to be an omega? To be born beneath everyone else? To be destined
for nothing—to be no one? What do
you do when your birthright is servitude, endurance and submission? When even
the Moon Goddess herself has decided your life should be one of mockery and abuse?
Hope? Dream?
An omega can't afford to hope or dream—it's futile, laughable even.
And yet… even with the knowledge that I could never escape the cruel fate bestowed upon me by the goddess herself, I still wanted
to try. To run. To leave this pack behind. To start over… as human.
That inkling of hope was why I was here, listening to Cami, when I should be working.
Camille Sanders—my best and only friend—was one of the few omegas in the Blood Moon Pack that didn't treat me like absolute garbage for being almost twenty and still wolfless.
"So…" she pressed, her eyes wide with anticipation. "What do you say?"
I already knew my answer.
"Look, Cami, I can't, okay?" I kept my voice low. "Not after what happened the last time,I can't go through that again." My eyes darted toward my boss, making sure he wasn't watching. I was supposed to be at the grill, flipping burgers and taking orders, not whispering about reckless ideas with Cami.
"I understand Nova, but this time, it's gonna be totally safe, no one is going to try to force us to do something we don't want to do—" She paused, desperation flashing across her face. "—plus, they're going to pay really well. My… informant told me they just need a couple of dancers for the bachelor party. That's it. And if it's just the two of us and we play our cards right, we might be able to make over four grands… each."
I gasped with wide eyes, much to Cami's satisfaction
Four grands.
That money could fix a lot of my problems.
I hesitated. "Who's your informant? And who the hell is paying over eight grands for just two dancers? This sounds dangerous,Cami."
She chewed on her lip looking over her shoulders. "Okay… I wasn't gonna tell you just yet, but it's—" She leaned in, voice barely above a whisper. "Alpha Kain's bachelor
party. You know he's getting married soon. Plus, we would actually get to meet important people in the pack, so…"
I stared at her, disbelief crawling up my spine.
"Meet?" I cut in, my voice flat and cold.
"Cami, they already see us as trash, the people to take on the jobs that they find beneath them. Stripping at the Alpha's party would just prove them right"
My chest tightened with anger—at her, at the pack, at the whole damned system.
"They already think omegas are lowlives. You think shaking our asses for a bunch of high-ranked wolves will make them respect us? It'll just make them disregard us even more."
I shook my head, a bitter taste in my mouth.
"I'm out, Cami. I won't give them another reason to treat us like dirt. Plus imagine what my parents would do if they found out."
Ah—yes. My parents.
Or more accurately—my adoptive parents—the two people who never let me forget I was nothing more than a burden.
My aunt and her shitty excuse for a mate had spent years making it clear that I wasn't theirs and their hatred only intensified when I turned sixteen and failed to shift with the rest of my peers.
That was the day my life went from miserable to unbearable.
Cami sighed in frustration. "Fine. But the party's still a couple of days away. If you change your mind, call me."
"I won't." I rolled my eyes and stood up. "Now, are you gonna order something, or are you too broke for that?"
She grinned. "Too broke for overpriced burgers. I'll see you later."
+++++++++++++
Work was 'uneventful', but the meaning of that word was very different for me than for others.
Maybe others wouldn't call constant taunting and disgusted glances from every direction uneventful, but this was my normal.
This was my life. And I had gotten used to it a long time ago.
The bistro's location being tucked away on the outskirts of pack territory—made it an frequent hangout spot for the omegas, which
meant I was constantly subject to ridicule by anyone who knew who I was.
And that was everyone.
At least the pay was decent. If I kept working overtime, maybe—just maybe—I'd save up enough to leave this god forsaken pack behind.
But overtime meant even more danger.
Overtime meant walking home after
sunset—and for someone like me, that was a death sentence.
"Hey, Vince, I'm done with my shift. See you later." I made sure my boss heard me.
"All right. Stay safe."
Yeah, right. He knew how dangerous it was for me but he didn't care, never asked. And I never told him either
The road was dark, my phone's flashlight already flickering as its battery drained. I
picked up my pace, barely able to see.
If I had a wolf, I wouldn't need a flashlight.
Fuck this.
The eerie silence around me pressed in when my flashlight finally went off, making the
night feel heavier. I forced my feet to move faster. I just needed to get home. I didn't want to be anyone's punching bag.
Not tonight.
Then, I heard it.
Behind me.
The crunching sound of dry leaves when stepped on.
A chill ran down my spine. I gripped my bag like a lifeline, heart hammering as I picked up the pace. Every few steps, I stole a glance over my shoulder.
The footsteps grew louder.
Closer.Scarier
And immediately without thinking,I broke into a run. My legs burned, my breath came in gasps, but the footsteps only closed in.
Oh Goddess or anything that is out there please not today, just save me this time.
Then—
THUD.
Pain exploded across my skull as something heavy slammed into my head from behind. I cried out in pain, my eyes watering as my vision swam, the world tilting as my body crumpled.
Through the loud ringing in my ears, I heard it.
Laughter.
And despite my blurring vision, I saw them.
A small group of teenage wolves, grinning like they had just gotten a new toy
Me— I was their not so new toy
Here we go again.