Prologue
Warning: This is not a "typical" omegaverse, breaking the rules a little around it. Be aware of bullying, explicit scenes, violence, and death.
-Anastasia-
My small body struck the ground forcefully, my hands scraping against the rough surface and leaving painful cuts. I winced as the children's laughter surrounded me, taunting and mocking. I struggled to hold back tears, but they welled up anyway, a stark reminder of my vulnerability.
I didn’t dare turn around, but one of the other girls, Lisa, grabbed me and forcibly turned me to face her. “Look at her,” she laughed. “She’s crying. Are you still a baby? A baby Omega?”
“Omegas are so sensitive,” another girl chimed in.
“Always seeking attention,” Lisa snarled, her face inches from mine.
The group of girls laughed at my expense, while Lisa held my tiny arm in a vice-like grip. She was much stronger than me, having received her wolf powers and undergone her first transformation at the age of 10. It was unheard of for someone so young to manifest their abilities, but it proved her strong genes. In contrast, I was just a tiny Omega, destined never to attain such power. Life felt incredibly unjust.
“I-I was just playing by myself,” I stammered.
“Playing? So you’re a baby?” Lisa continued to mock, her friends joining in. They had all experienced their transformations at the ages of 12 and 13. Now, at 14, I remained the runt of the litter.
“Please, just let me go!” I pleaded, attempting to pull away. As I shifted my weight, Lisa saw an opportunity. She let go, allowing me to fall unprepared. I landed on the ground once more, this time without the chance to brace myself, and the side of my head collided with a rock.
I let out a small groan of pain, the shock preventing me from screaming. Normally, Omegas weren’t subjected to such treatment, but this was the consequence of having a traitor for a father.
Slowly turning my head, I hoped that my pleas would finally dissuade the girls from tormenting me. However, I was mistaken. They began to circle me, closing in from all sides, their sinister intentions gleaming in their eyes. I had no idea what they planned to subject me to.
“Please, I just want to go home,” I whispered.
“But we aren’t done,” Lisa said, reaching for me again, only for a commanding voice to interrupt, causing the girls to freeze.
“Hey!”
Lisa and her companions hastily stepped away from me, their fear evident as the young Alpha, Bruce, the future leader of the Silver Paws Pack, stepped forward. His Beta, Quinn, stood right behind him, ready to assist if needed. However, Bruce’s recent Alpha training had already made him remarkably powerful, and he exuded an aura that matched his imposing physique.
“What do you think you’re all doing?” Bruce asked, his deep blue eyes scanning each of the girls surrounding me.
They dared not answer, fully aware that Bruce could see right through any lies. Lisa pushed the friend closest to her, and they all scurried away like cowards.
“Come back here!” Bruce yelled after them, but the girls merely laughed as they fled, seemingly daring him to give chase. Bruce didn’t take the bait and instead shook his head.
I pushed myself up, drew my legs close, and wrapped my arms around them, hoping that the world would just disappear. But it never did. No matter what happened, it never stopped.
“Are you all right?” I heard movement, but I dared not look up. “Are you a new member? I don’t remember you.”
How could he? He had left for his training when he was 9, and he was two years older than me. Back then, my father had not yet been branded a traitor.
“Did you not hear me?” Bruce’s voice carried a hint of authority, but I understood that, as an Alpha, his tone would always command attention. I could do nothing but listen and nodded, avoiding his gaze.
“Then why won’t you look at me?”
“I just want to be alone,” I whispered.
I heard Bruce approach, and he took a moment to sniff the air around me. As a young Omega, my scent wasn’t particularly noteworthy yet, but Alphas possessed the keenest of senses. I felt uncomfortable with his proximity, and my instincts kicked in, compelling me to slide backward. However, this required me to look up from my position. Our eyes met briefly as I scooted away, and Bruce appeared taken aback.
“You’re the young Omega from our pack,” he pointed out.
I nodded, noticing Bruce glancing back at Quinn, who was studying me intently before refocusing on his Alpha. Quinn had returned a year before Bruce, with slightly shorter Beta training. However, I observed something peculiar in the way they exchanged a silent conversation. It lasted just a few seconds, but when they finished, the expressions in their eyes had shifted in a way I couldn’t quite comprehend. They both seemed quite intimidating. Bruce’s gaze ran over me, from my feet to the disheveled state of my hair, before settling on the head wound I had sustained. To my astonishment, Bruce smoothly tore off his t-shirt and then took hold of my chin, gently tilting my head. He pressed his t-shirt against the side of my head, causing me to hiss in discomfort.
“How often does this happen?” he inquired, inching closer to me, his muscular frame now even blocking out the sun. I tried to avoid letting my eyes wander. This wasn’t improper. I was just an insignificant Omega now.
“Not often,” I lied.
“Don’t think you can lie to me,” he asserted, his voice carrying that dark tone once more, and I glanced down.
“It doesn’t hurt,” I tried to argue instead.
“We both know it does. Now, answer my question.”
“Whenever they feel like it,” I evaded.
Bruce smiled slightly, his expression almost amused, though his eyes still carried a subtle warning.
“How often is that?” he asked.
“Whenever I am alone, and... I’m always alone,” I admitted.
Bruce sighed and then turned to Quinn, who was standing behind him. “Do you recognize the girls?”
“I know who they are,” Quinn replied.
“Go find them. I will meet up with you.”
Quinn seemed somewhat reluctant, but Bruce was the Alpha. He turned away, letting his dark eyes slide over me before walking away.
“W-Where is he going?” I whispered.
“To get the others so I can have a word with them.”
“N-No, please don’t.”
“Why?”
“Because it just gets worse!”
“Not after I’ve spoken with them.”
“No, but it will. Just leave it be. Please, just leave it be,” I begged, my desperation driving me to reach out and grasp his extended arm. He appeared shocked, and I quickly realized what I had done, retracting my hands. “Just... let it be.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Yes! Yes!” I exclaimed.
I had already tried seeking help from Bruce’s father, but no one believed that Lisa could be behind such cruel pranks against me. Besides, I was just a little wolf.
“At least let me help you get home,” he suggested. “I know you don’t live in the pack house.”
I shook my head and attempted to move away from him, but he wouldn’t let me go. He grabbed my arm, pulling me back before pressing the t-shirt to my head once again.
“Don’t move. It hasn’t stopped bleeding.”
I reached up, ensuring that I touched the t-shirt and not him. “I-I can do it.”
“But I’m doing it.”
“Just let me go home.”
“I will take you there.”
I shook my head determinedly. “N-No, I’m going alone.”
Bruce didn’t appear pleased, but before he could voice his objections, I forcefully pulled away from him and scrambled to my feet. My small legs carried me as fast as they could, taking large strides as I glanced back to see Bruce wasn’t following me. However, his eyes held a promise I couldn’t quite decipher. Nevertheless, I pressed on and almost ran back to the rundown house at the edge of the border, a place without heating for cold days.
I burst inside, slamming the door shut, and then tiptoed through the house, attempting to avoid making any noise. However, the ancient floorboards protested loudly, and as I passed the living room, they creaked even louder.
“Michael?” My mother shot up from the couch where she lay every day, crying and barely eating unless I insisted.
“N-No, it’s just me.”
“Where’s Michael?” she asked, calling for her deceased mate.
“Mom, Dad isn’t here anymore. Remember?”
She looked confused, surveying the place we had moved to when we lost everything.
“Tell him I want him home now,” she instructed me, her frail, bony fingers pointing at me. “Right now.”
“O-Okay, I’ll call him.”
“Yes, call him,” she murmured, slowly lying back down on the couch, where her tiny sobs filled the room.
I tried not to let the heart-wrenching sounds tear me apart, but hearing her cry every day intensified my own misery.
I continued to the tiny bathroom, turning on the tap even though the plumbing needed repair that we couldn’t afford. We were at the bottom of the pack hierarchy. I removed the t-shirt, only to realize I had taken Bruce’s clothes with me.
“s**t,” I whispered, but I didn’t dare return it to him either. It was better to keep my distance. Soon, Bruce would know my status, and he would never look at me the same way again. I preferred to remember him as he was today, rather than as another pack member who hated me for crimes that weren’t my own.
In a reckless moment, I lifted the t-shirt, my body reacting unexpectedly. I knew I shouldn’t, but something compelled me to press my nose into the fabric and inhale deeply. I whimpered, feeling a warmth surge through me, shocking my lower belly. I quickly pulled the t-shirt away, not sure what had come over me or what this sensation meant, but I didn’t want it to happen again.
I set the t-shirt down and began to wash my hands so I could clean the wound on my head. However, as I put my hands under the cold water, something changed inside me. I felt a contraction deep within before it felt as if I had wet myself. My skin burned with heat, and the world around me seemed to take on a reddish hue.
Despite the pain, I couldn’t even scream. I simply slid to the floor, resting against the cool wall as I felt a strange heat and discomfort between my legs. It took me a moment to realize what had struck me—my very first heat, a trait unique to Omegas. But why now? What had triggered it?
I couldn’t call for help, and I knew I wouldn’t find any assistance here. My mother wouldn’t hear me. I knew that I was in for three agonizing days.
