Reborn: The Rejected Luna

#4 - A Weak Omega

"Is this it?"

Irabel swallowed hard as she stared at a small, almost worn down building that her mother said was their pack house.

Against the harsh afternoon sun, the medium sized building with whitewashed walls looked like it would collapse any second. A few people littered the patch of almost dead brown grass that surrounded the front of the building, and Irabel wondered how they could stand so close to what she thought was a disaster waiting to happen.

And how in the world was she going to survive living in such a place?

It already felt like she had just escaped one piece of hell only to wake up in another. If this was their pack house, Irabel already knew that she belonged to or rather her new self belonged to a very poor pack.

From what she could remember, a pack house was one of the most prestigious buildings that not only served the pack's needs but it also reflected its well being. And going by what she was staring at, this pack seemed to be dying.

"This is home?" She blinked so many times as if she was hoping the sight would change to the majestic castle Belmont that had been her home her entire life.

"Are you sure you are feeling fine?" Her mother turned to her and placed her hand on her forehead, checking for her temperature. "Does nothing look familiar?"

The woman might not have been her real mother, but she had cared for Irabel from the moment she opened her eyes back in the market, asking her time and time again if she was okay. She even offered to carry her all the way home.

Irabel wasn't okay though, but she could not tell the woman that. Their walk from the market to their pack had the woman fuss over her like she was some delicate flower and somehow Irabel knew that insisting this wasn't supposed to be her life would not do either of them any good.

"I feel fine mother, stop worrying about me so much." Irabel said hoping that would get the woman off her back.

It was hard enough that she had to figure out whatever strange thing was happening to her, without having someone insisting today was just a normal day in her life and she had just forgotten a few things. While according to her it wasn't just a few things, but an entire lifetime lived.

"How can I stop worrying about you when you remember absolutely nothing?" Her mother cupped her cheeks tenderly. And when Irabel searched the woman's warm brown eyes, she had no doubt that she loved her. But what was even stranger was that in her heart Irabel knew they shared some kind of bond even if it wasn't a real mother daughter bond.

Irabel reached up and held the woman's hands that cupped her cheeks and a smile formed on her lips.

"You did say I had just forgotten," Irabel said. "Which means I will be able to remember, right?" She tried to put the woman at ease even though deep down she herself was far from being at ease.

"She would have been so proud of you." Her mother whispered after a moment of just staring at her.

"She? Who is she?" Irabel was taken aback by her mother's words but the woman only smiled and looked away, leaving her confused at her statement.

Irabel's day had definitely been strange and her mother's demeanour at the moment just added to it. For the first time today, the woman seemed to be hiding something from her, but Irabel didn't really care for it, because this was not her life after all.

"What is this I hear of your daughter's insult of a royal guard?" A male voice bellowed and Irabel felt an instant urge to bow to the figure but she surprisingly fought it, remained standing upright and only stared curiously at him.

The man approached them in quick angry strides that had Irabel think he would ram into them by the time he reached where she and her mother stood.

"Forgive me alpha, it will never happen again." The woman quickly bowed while Irabel stared at the furious alpha, and somehow his anger did not affect her in a way she knew an alpha could affect their pack member.

"You are damn right it won't." The man bellowed again while Irabel watched him with curiosity still.

He certainly didn't look like an alpha. At least the alphas she knew of. His overgrown hair and beard together with his protruding pot belly made him look more like a homeless man than an alpha.

"This time she'll be punished until she learns her lesson."

The man walked towards Irabel just as the air filled up with screams. Her mother was already in tears and Irabel wondered if she knew exactly what was about to happen to her.

"Please alpha, I swear, it will never happen again. Punish me instead. It was my fault for wanting her to see the world after so long." The woman pleaded but the alpha was bent on keeping his word and ignored the woman's pleas altogether.

"Come here you ungrateful child."

Irabel got yanked by her arm before she knew it and that whole part of her body burned causing her to scream out in agony. From her little knowledge of medicine she remembered, her arm must have been injured before. The pain was too intense and the alpha didn't seem to care that he was hurting her.

"Please!" The woman was still screaming and somehow Irabel felt some comfort at having someone cry over her like that.

"Stay away, or I'll be forced to make her punishment more severe." The alpha hissed as he stopped suddenly, making Irabel wince in pain. His tight grip on her hand was killing her and each of his careless movements left Irabel in more pain.

"What could be worse than this?" Irabel could not stop the tears that finally made their escape after failing to endure the pain. "Please…" Her voice was barely a whisper as she begged the alpha to let her go.

"Not a word out of you!" The man hissed, his grip on her getting tighter and more painful.

"Serves you right for embarrassing our pack."

A girl Irabel did not know came and stood in front of them while she smiled smugly. She was tall, slender with long flowing blond hair. She was beautiful and by the proud way she carried herself, Irabel knew she must be someone important in the pack. And the daggers she was throwing at Irabel made her know that this girl didn't like her one bit too.

"Just let the guards have their way with her father, after all that's what omega's are for."

"Omegas? Am I an omega?"

Irabel panicked at the girl's words and her eyes darted frantically between the alpha and her mother. Her mother's face held a sad look while the alpha's eyes lit up as if he was considering her daughter's suggestion.

"Please, it will not happen again." Irabel pleaded when she realised that this punishment was going to happen and there would be no one to help her. Not even her mother. The woman had been silenced into submission by her alpha's authority. "Please…" Irabel whispered, her eyes pinned to the ground. She did not want to offend these two which she would do if she kept looking at them.

"Not so bold now huh?" The girl laughed in her face and Irabel wished she could slap that right off of her face. "I should have gotten the soldier to give you a few lashes too, then you would know your place, filthy omega."

"Too?" Irabel wondered if her earlier accident in the market was not an accident. And the alpha's daughter's knowing look confirmed it for her. But what she didn't get was why.

"Is this the Green Forest pack?"

"Who wants to know?" The alpha roared as he spun around with Irabel still in his grip.

A soldier dressed in a similar attire as the one Irabel argued with at the market was standing a few meters away from them as if he was afraid of catching a plague.

"This pack's alpha has been invited to the Crystal Moon castle." He replied.

"The Crystal Moon." The name sounded familiar to Irabel but she couldn't remember where she had heard it from and maybe she would have if her thoughts didn't get interrupted.

"Ouch!"

Irabel screamed out in pain suddenly. Her sore shoulder just connected with the hard ground after the alpha dropped her like she was a hot potato.

"Father, I'm coming with you."

Irabel heard the daughter say as she nursed her injury.

"Because of this stupid creature I missed the chance to meet our alpha king and this is my chance." The girl whined and her father pulled her into his embrace.

"Of course Ella sweetheart. You will be the most beautiful within the castle walls and this time he will surely look your way." The Alpha replied and placed a kiss on his daughter's head that left Irabel staring despite her pain.

The two may have been the meanest pair Irabel had ever come across, but the relationship that they displayed in front of everyone hit her hard and unearthed memories she had been trying to bury.

Once upon a time she was that daddy's girl. And her father wanted her to get her happily ever after just like the alpha did for his daughter. Her heart ached at the memory and she struggled to keep all the hurt bottled up.

The alpha's daughter seemed like an only child and therefore the pack's future alpha, just like Irabel was.

Suddenly she felt all alone when she realized how much of a curse her being awake was. Even without understanding what had happened to her, Irabel knew that this new life would be spent alone, among people who neither knew her nor cared for her the way Belmont adored their princess. From a princess and future alpha she was now a lowly omega that could easily be thrown to the dogs, or in this case wolves.

"Take her to the dungeons." The alpha pointed at Irabel, a displeased look on his face. "I'll deal with her later."

Later sounded good to Irabel and a look at her mother revealed her own relief. But maybe she thought too soon, as a pained cry tore from her lips when a guard picked her up just as roughly and dragged her towards what she assumed to be the pack's dungeons.

The pain in her body was killing her once more and there was nothing she could do to save herself. The guard was strong, maybe stronger than the alpha and his grip on her felt like it was digging into her skin.

"You better behave yourself little girl." The guard warned as he hurled her into a small cell. "Am I clear?"

Irabel only shook her head in response as she bit down hard on her lips. She had pain in her hip after landing hard on the floor and it made her realize that her mother's statement was right. With all the old injuries and soreness of her body, it was clear that she had not yet shifted, otherwise her wolf would have helped in her healing.

She sighed painfully at the thought. This meant that she was not only an omega, but a weak omega with no wolf and therefore an easy pick for all the bullies. This was never allowed in her father's pack but she already knew that her new one was a definite exception.

The cell, as expected was cold and dirty. One place Irabel never thought she would end up in.

"Why didn't I remain dead?" She thought bittetly as she scanned the small room while hugging herself. Her eyes trailed up and down the room until a shiny object caught her attention and when she moved to pick it up she winced in pain. Just as she thought, something had broken when she landed and she was in more pain than before. The sight of the object however made her endure the pain to get to it.

It was a small mirror that was scratched in places, but knowing she could still see herself, Irabel lifted it to her face with trembling hands.

She stared at the image in the tiny mirror but she was not prepared for what she saw next.

Her beautiful blonde hair had been replaced by some seriously matted and dirty looking ginger locks. Her beautiful freckles seemed to have disappeared and her small lips had been replaced with plump ones. Her once sparkling eyes where filled with pain and sadness. This was definitely not her.

"Who are you?" Irabel inched closer to the unknown image in front of her.

"And how am I you?"