"Howl!"
I howled at the full moon, shifting back to my human form as I crumbled to the ground, drained. I pulled my half-torn clothes together, hoping to cover myself, but I barely had proper vision. At that moment, my whole world was shattering into pieces. The dreams I had, all the hopes I had aimed for, all gone within the blink of an eye.
"Why? How could you do this, Lucian...!" I broke into a scream, my hands hitting the muddy ground as the rain fell on my skin, feeling like sharp shards of glass.
It all started the very day I lost them both—my parents. I was just 5. "Happy birthday, Elara..." I still remembered my mom's gentle voice, until they were silenced by the truck that came crashing into our car. The only survivor, as if that was to be a great joy. I was taken to the orphanage, a place where peace never roamed a single day for me. Victim to the bullies each day, my life became a living hell, one that I found myself unable to handle anymore. Suicide? Was that an option? I had my young self think that every single day until he came—the young Alpha. Tales had it that he was made the Alpha of the Frostbane pack, Lucian. I still remembered the hands that stretched forward, welcoming me.
"I want her, Uncle..." he had simply said. But his words were the only hope I held on to. "He wants me. The Alpha wants me?" I had thought. He saved me from the nightmare I had faced in the orphanage, and I moved to work in his mansion at just 7 years old. But he never saw me as a mere worker. Young as he was, his heart was the kindest. I had myself believe he was the savior I had been waiting for so long, just like the old tales of princesses and knights. My own knight, but I should have known better.
I trained and trained, hoping to get stronger. Hoping that just once, just once, I'd be able to stand near him in battle. That was the least I could do, but to what gain did I achieve in the end? I was seen as nothing more than a weak omega, one disgusted by the pack's members.
But I never minded that, as long as Lucian always had that smile for me.
To think I seriously exploded with joy on my 18th birthday when I found myself mated to Lucian. The Alpha I had fallen for, now my mate. The one who stood by me through all the thorns; what a lucky union many would say, until I witnessed a side of him I never knew existed. Those hands that came slamming against my cheek, the very moment, the teeth grinding, burning with rage.
"How can I be mated to a low omega like you!?" Lucian had yelled out loud as the whole pack chuckled, mocking my very existence. My savior just stood right there—no, he wasn't my savior. He was the cause of it all. The same savior I had raised my head up to, to glare at each day, was no more. He was gone.
And as if that wasn't enough, he announced it right in front of the whole pack members, choosing to marry Corrine, the beta's daughter. While I was left broken on the ground, this time with nobody there to stretch their hand forward.
The thunder roared through the forest as I managed some little steps. My legs felt like they could detach from my body at that very moment.
I used the trees as support, walking through the dark forest, only to make my way back to the pack. They were all celebrating the new union that was soon to happen—their alpha wedding the beta's daughter. Did they even care to notice that I was still mated to this very same alpha? My chest tightened, aching me, but I kept on walking, only to make my way to my room, my clothes dripping with muddy water. As I walked into the shower, washing up, those tears that had ceased for the moment poured out of my eyes as I glared at my reflection in the mirror.
"Why am I still alive? Who was I even living for? I had no one anymore. Nobody." I grabbed the mirror, smashing it on the ground, as I grabbed a broken piece, pointing the edge at my wrist.
"I should just end it all now..." I said. But yet, in the end, I found myself unable to do just that. Only to throw the broken pieces away.
I stepped out of the bathroom, collapsing into the bed.
The next day found me walking through the hall, eyes cast down, as I made my way through some of the pack members passing by.
"Oh, what a weak, useless omega she is," I could tell some said.
"To really think such ended up being mated to our alpha. She deserved to be kicked out of the pack," another said, but yet I paid less attention to all the words.
Then I felt a bump, one that almost caused me to stumble back on the ground. I raised my gaze up only to gaze upon Lucian standing before me. Beside him was her—Corrine—glaring at me with a grin played on her face.
"Oh my, what do we have here?" she said, bending down a bit. "I really thought you would have left by now. I mean, I thought our dear omega had run all heartbroken," she mocked, chuckling slightly.
But my eyes went back to Lucian, who was still standing there. But was I expecting anything less? I should come to the reality of what was happening now.
I left no words for Corrine. Hoping to stand up, I walked past their side.
"Why are you still here, Elara?" I heard Alpha Lucian ask. His words caused a pause in my footsteps as I turned back to him.
"I heard what happened yesterday. You were all drained and covered in mud. How much more disgrace are you hoping to bring upon my name...?" he questioned.
"Disgrace..." I whispered, scoffing.
"What was I saying, funny in a way..." he said. As I noticed the sudden change in his expression, he was close, way too close, as his eyes darkened.
"Don't forget you are standing before the Alpha, Elara. You should look down..." he commanded. But I defied his orders. Why was he doing all this?
"Let it all be, Alpha Lucian. Why waste your time with this dirty slut of a thing?" Corrine chimed in, her words shattering through me.
"W...what did you say...?" I reacted, hoping to take further steps towards her, only to feel a sudden grasp on my wrist. It was Lucian. He forced a push on me with my back hitting the ground.
"I'm still talking to you..." he yelled. The whole pack present came to a pause, all glaring at me lying there on the ground.
"Do you even understand the gravity of your actions? As if being mated to such a weak omega like you wasn't enough, now you are after destroying my name." he said.
"I c...can't. I just can't take this anymore..." I blurted in whispers.
"What?" Lucian questioned as I raised my gaze to meet his, managing some steps back up.
"Why...why all this? You are not the Lucian I had fallen in love with..." I said. But the whole crowd silenced my words with an exclaim. "Did she just call the Alpha by his name...?" they all said. Then I felt a slap on my cheek. He had just slapped me.
"I won't tell you again. Know where you stand..." he said, glaring at me in disgust. My hands were placed on my cheek as I tried processing what had just occurred. The same hands that stretched to save me from my pains were now the same ones that came hurting me even more.
This, everything, I couldn't take it anymore... "I can't..." I blurted again. I stood well as our gaze locked on each other, even with his eyes burning with rage.
"I...Elara (surname), reject you, Lucian...." I announced. The whole crowd exploded with an exclaim. My feet gave up as I crumbled to the ground. My vision grew blurry in that moment as I felt a sharp sting in my chest. It felt like at that moment I was going to cough out blood and possibly die, but none seemed to escape my mouth. I only laid there on the ground groaning in pain. It was the effect of rejecting your mate—the pain that followed. To think it would be this hard.
I found myself unable to move an inch as I watched Lucian and Corrine turn their gaze away from me, making a distance. "He felt it too, right?" I wondered in my thoughts. The whole crowd stood glaring as I groaned.
My vision eventually blanked out, with the last words I heard of me being cursed by some of the pack members.
I woke up, finding myself in a room. As I tried standing up, I felt a slight pain. The pain was still there, that I could tell.
An old woman made her way in.
"It's good to see you awake, dear..." she said. Yet, I wondered how I found myself here.
"Nobody would pick you up, and I thought so. I couldn't just leave you there wounded...." the old woman continued.
But it was something expected; I was seen as nothing, and yet I had just disgraced their very lovable Alpha, rejecting him in public. I mean, a weak omega rejecting the great Alpha that many wished to be mated to...
Sometimes I found myself questioning if I made the right choice. Was love no more in Alpha Lucian's eyes? Did I have no choice?