A Secret Alpha Mate

Isla I had never been so cold before. The rain was lashing, and I felt a sense of loss so heavy that it physically weighed on my chest. I floated in and out of consciousness as I heard voices yelling that they found someone still alive. A light flashed across my eyes and then disappeared. I was being carried and ended up somewhere warm. Confused and mentally exhausted, I drifted into the abyss. I woke up to Abigail gently shoving me awake. “Are you having that dream again?” She asked. “Yes,” I replied, wiping the sleep out of my eyes. I was exhausted but saw the first tell-tale signs of dawn outside the small window, so I knew I couldn’t go back to sleep. As soon as I sat up, I felt the dream slip away. Abigail looked at me remorsefully. “You haven’t had that dream in a while. Was anything different about it?” I shook my head. This was the only dream that I ever remembered having. Recently, it had been coming more frequently and felt more and more vivid. But every time I woke up, I couldn’t remember much besides the overwhelming feeling of grief. I felt the chills so deeply and the pain so gut-wrenching I wanted to cry out, but then the haze and confusion pulled me back to reality. I woke up shivering and cloudy, as if I had just forgotten something important. There was something that I couldn’t seem to remember every time I woke up, something almost tangible that begged me to grab onto it. But as I desperately clutched at my memories, I was only left with frustration. Abigail patted my back. “Everyone else has already headed downstairs. I tried waking you a few times.” I looked at the five other empty mattresses on the floor of our small attic room. Shit! Being even a second late meant the worst shift assignments since Meghan took over as lead Omega. I couldn’t tell if the ‘power’ had already gotten to her head or if she was overcompensating for how much we all loved our previous lead Omega, Janice. Janice retired and returned to the pack she was from without saying goodbye to anyone. I told Abigail to go down as I got dressed but she waited for me. Abigail had been around since I got here as a kid, and she always looked out for me. My earliest memories were of working in this packhouse alongside her. She trained me to do everything to the highest standards of the pack, covered for me when I made mistakes as a kid and has taken beatings and punishments for those mistakes. Even though she was twenty years older, she was my closest friend and felt like family. I quickly threw on some leggings and a shirt. It didn’t matter what we wore to the morning meeting; our uniforms depended on our assigned chores. I hurried down the stairs leading into the kitchen behind Abigail. I tried to hide behind the others unnoticed as Meghan talked about Hailey’s upcoming birthday ball, her bleach blonde ponytail punctuating every sentence. “I need everything to be perfect. My name is riding on this.” I looked at Abigail and rolled my eyes, trying to hide a laugh. We all knew she was sleeping with the Alpha, which was the only reason she got the role. His Luna was not his true mate, but not many people know that. Outside of the packhouse, no one did. They tried to hide it for a reason we didn’t understand. In public, they played the part, but we knew that people who are true mates would never have eyes for another, and the Alpha had made it very clear he had eyes for a few Omegas, more than a few. Usually, the head Omega position was a position of respect gained from years of experience, not a bleached blonde ponytail and a skin-tight dress. I didn’t have much contact with her before she was made the lead, but I knew from the other Omega's gossip that she was lazy and always tried to pawn her work onto others. Meghan looked up from her hot pink clipboard when she heard my giggle. Her obnoxiously tall heels made it so she could see me over the other Omegas. Her dull blue eyes seemed to flicker as she plastered a smile onto her face. “Ah, Isla.” For the past few weeks, she has been singling me out for everything, and I had no idea why. “It looks like you just volunteered for deep cleaning duty.” I smiled in return. “That sounds great, thanks.” Meghan looked slightly shocked but composed herself. “That’s what I like to hear from a mutt. You’ll take what’s given to you. Lucky to have a roof over your head even if you have to clean s**t stains off the toilets for the rest of your days in exchange for a lumpy mattress.” She raised one eyebrow and smirked at me. It was almost as if she forgot that she was an Omega too. In this pack, Omegas were treated like filth. I haven’t been to any other packs, but I heard once that Omegas sometimes got treated like a part of the pack in other places, but those could just be rumors. Packhouse Omegas were rarely allowed to leave the packhouse here, so how would they know? Meghan must have said something while I was deep in thought because she marched up to me and pulled my hair so hard I let out a yelp pulling me from my thoughts. “Listen to me when I’m talking to you, mutt.” That got a few laughs from the Omegas trying to stay on her good side. Even though no one respected her, the Alpha’s anger was not to be messed with, and she had his ear… and d**k. She pulled me behind her, and the Omegas made a path. My scalp burned as she let go and pushed down; my knees hit the floor with a dull thud. “You’re lucky you’re even considered an Omega, mutt.” She glared down at me, and I held my gaze steady, meeting hers. The few uncomfortable laughs she was getting fueled Meghan, mistaking them for people actually on her side. “You should have died with your rogue parents; not like you’re much use here.” Abigail pushed through the others, trying to get to me. No one was laughing now; they knew she had taken it too far. I considered myself lucky every day to be taken in by the Silver Moon pack, blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. As an orphan rogue, I never would have survived another year in the wild, especially as young as I was when I was found. I knew what I was and where I came from, but I wasn’t ashamed. I didn’t remember anything before I was ‘adopted’ by this pack and started working in the packhouse, but I know I was lucky to be taken in. I tried to stand up, but she kicked me down. I took a breath, looked her in the eyes, and got to my feet. “I am blessed to be part of this pack. It is an honor The Alpha saw fit to bestow on me.” I emphasize the word Alpha for her benefit. “I am not a rogue, I belong to this pack, and you can say what you want about me, but you can’t say that I don’t belong here. I am just as much part of this pack as you are.'' I jutted my chin, looking up at her even though she was a good half-foot taller than me in her heels. She raised her eyebrow but seemed taken aback by my sudden defiance. Honestly, I was too. She gestured towards the linen closets, her lips pulled over her teeth, a gesture others might mistake for a smile, but I knew it was a challenge. “I think it’s only fitting that you’re cleaning all the bathrooms on the Alpha floor.” She tilted her head, her ponytail falling over her shoulder. “Alone.” She added. I already knew this would be torture, their bathrooms were enormous, and it usually took a team of five to do them in a day. "Make sure you take extra care of the Alpha's office bathroom, or there will be hell to pay." I turned to walk away, not wanting her to see how defeated I felt. I had to start immediately if I was going to make a dent in all the work. “Oh, and Isla?” I turned back without saying anything, waiting for her to go on. “It's a deep cleaning day, and I think we’re all out of gloves.” She smiled sweetly and laughed, turning back to her clipboard.