Alpha’s Unwanted Mate

Chapter 5

Adaline pov

I was woken up to my mother's hands shaking me furiously.

“What is wrong with you? You slept through your alarm, your phone is going off. I looked at it. Why didn’t you tell me you were beta Alarick’s omega? You never made breakfast and your father is furious!” I stared at her through half-lidded eyes that felt too crusty to pull open. She looked foggy like there was a film covering my eyes. I opened my mouth, but all that came out was a whimper. I never felt like this before. I never had worse than a cold before. My mother then did something I never thought she would ever do. She gently placed her hand on my forehead and brushed it down my cheek, resting it on my neck. A tear fell from my eye from the sudden motherly quality I had never received before.

“You’re burning up. I’ll text your Beta and let him know and then I’ll call the pack healer to come to look at you. This had to happen on Alpha Tate’s twentieth birthday! You were assigned one of the caterers for it. I’ll have to let him know as well. Of course, all you do is give me trouble.” She snapped at me, yanking her hand off of me as if I was trash. I whimpered again and rolled over into a tight ball. My eyes closed and I fell into a restless sleep.

I was woken up again sometime later by the healer. She was nice and gentle, lifted my tongue, and took my temperature. I heard her mutter 106.2 degrees and click her tongue. That must have been bad. I heard my mother ask her if I could still work today and was surprised when the healer told her to leave us alone.

“I’m sorry you have to go through this. I was an Omega also before I was chosen to be a healer. I’m not sure if you know the story. Would you like me to tell you?” She asked quietly. I’m sure she was trying to distract me from what she was doing, taking out a needle, and preparing me for a blood sample. I nodded and she continued. “I was in college when the honorable healer chose me. It surprised a lot of the pack that she chose an Omega instead of an Elite or a warrior, but I was the smartest in my grade and that must have mattered more to her than rank. I am not a proper healer, you know. Of course, I’m properly trained and I know about everything. But I don’t have the crescent moon mark on me and I don’t have the advanced healing touch that true healers are gifted by the Moon Goddess. But I do have a good calming quality that helps during checkups. Hopefully, I come across the true healer so I can train him or her properly, or else I’ll have to choose someone also. I’ll be choosing an Omega, anything I can do to help someone have a better life.” She finished quickly after that, looking to the side as if she was lost in thought over conversations she must have had in the past. I fell back asleep only to be awoken by voices by my bedside later on.

“It looks like she has the flu but there’s something else. Somehow, she ingested a small amount of wolfbane and it’s stopping her rapid healing process. I have been to four other Omega households this morning, it seems like someone slipped it into the lunch food as a joke for the second lunch at school, so only Omegas would have ingested it. The flu has been going around the school. Many kids have coughs and sniffles, but because we’re wolves, we heal properly, so it’s never seen as more than a cold for a day and then gone. Because of the wolfbane, however, she’s going to heal slowly like a human. She will be weakened for a few days. It says here on her chart her birthday is in two days. Let’s see, today is Friday. Her birthday is on Sunday. I’m going to say she should be able to go to school on Monday, but I’ll stop by on Sunday to see how she’s doing. Give her plenty of liquids and try to give her some soup and crackers. She will probably throw it up but she might not and it’ll help her get stronger. Keep a bowl beside her and check on her frequently. Give her these meds every three hours.”

I could hear her rambling on instructions and I frowned at the blurry look of my mother, nodding her head and frowning down at her watch. Finally, the healer stopped talking altogether and my mother didn’t even act as she noticed. She placed the meds on the table instead of handing them to my mother. “I’ll have an Omega that’s free come take care of her.”

“Of course. I won’t have time for that. Plus, she’s only an Omega. I can’t be bothered to do any of that.” She snapped matter of factly. I watched the healer lower her head to hide her disappointed face and I closed my eyes and curled into my ball again, drifting into sleep while they muttered back and forth.

“It’s okay sweetie, you’ll be fine.” I woke up to Lyell's mother gently wiping a cool washcloth on my face.

“What are you doing here?” I croaked. I flinched, not only was my throat sore and dry but I was being rude. Calmly, she lifted a glass of water with a straw to my mouth and I took a few big sips, clearing my throat. “I’m sorry. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy you’re here. Just because you’re a warrior and taking care of an Omega who is not your child will make you look bad.” I whispered.

She smacked the washcloth down on the dresser and stood up, pacing back and forth. I could quickly see she was upset and I tried to sit up, only to fall back weakly. “I’m sorry.” I whispered, afraid I had angered her. She was the one I considered as a mother. If Lyell wasn’t gay I would have wished we were able to marry so I could have her be my mother.

Quickly she stopped, noticing my fear, and sat down, holding my hand. “I’m not going to sugar coat it since I’m sure you’re used to it. I knew your parents were a piece of work but never heard them talk of you or disregard you like that. We all train and fight together but we’re not very close at all.” I nodded at her when she paused, waiting for her to continue. It must have been something my mother said to anger her, or my stepfather for that matter.

“Whilst we were training, a little Omega girl came running up to your parents. I was getting some water so I was close enough to overhear. I heard about how you and four others were sick and unable to recover properly because one of the pups in the school spiked Omega food with wolfbane. How disturbing. I’m glad so many of the Omega brought their lunch or we’d have all of them out today. Anyway, the pup explained to your parents that Alpha Titus is refusing to spare any of the Omega left to take care of you because of Alpha Tate’s birthday party today. The other four are being taken care of by their parents and the Omega told them they would have to take care of you themselves. Your stepfather told her that there was no need to waste time on a lowly Omega when he needed to be at the party, in case the rogues attacked during the celebration. And your mother told her, and I quote, what’s the use of wasting time doing that? If she dies she dies. Not much of a waste of life, since it’s just an Omega. She should just be glad I let her stay at my house. But if she does die, she had better drag herself outside first or I’ll be very upset if there’s an awful smell.”

I couldn’t quite stop the two tears that fell slowly down my cheeks. I looked down, nodding my head. It’s to be expected. I wish I could live somewhere else, but the packhouses were just for the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, or the Elite who didn’t want their own house.

“So I stomped over there and I got in their faces and told them to give me their house key. And they glared at me but I stood my ground. Finally, your mother asked me what for and I said to her that anyone would be honored to take care of such a sweet and kind little girl and I’d gladly come over here and take care of you. She got red-faced and a crowd was gathering, so your stepfather handed me the keys and told me how weak I was to risk a threat to the Alphas by taking care of a lowly Omega. I didn’t even care what else he said. I took the keys and left and came straight here. Awful parents. Absolutely awful. Don’t worry honey, I’m going to help you through this.” She finished with a kind smile.

I couldn’t stop the rest of the tears that broke out and she quickly scooped me close and held me to her chest. I wished with all my being that I could live with her instead, but I knew it was impossible. Pups lived with their parents until they were old enough to get an income and get their own place or move into the packhouses if they had a good title. The only time pups could live somewhere else was if their parents were deceased and they went to live with a family that was willing to raise them.

I quieted down fairly fast and got off of her lap, embarrassed over my weakness. She and Lyell were the only two I trusted, but it still hurt to show how weak I was. She noticed my discomfort and nodded, quickly getting my medicine and helping me take it. She told me to rest and promised to come back with more later on.

Once she left the room, I sat back and checked my phone. Mostly they were all from Lyell, but there were a few from Beta Alarick. First there were a few texts of me gathering sewing equipment and coming to his room to mend his outfit for the party. Then I saw where my mother texted him explaining my condition and apologized for my weakness. I received another one where he apologized for my sickness and hoped I would be well and asked me to let him know when I was feeling better. Then a few from Lyell yelling at me for not telling him I was Alarick’s personal Omega. I sighed and chuckled, closing my phone. I'll have to deal with that on Monday. As for now, I had two full days to rest and I couldn’t help but feel excited about that, knowing this will probably be the only vacation I’ll ever receive.

I laid back down and closed my eyes, faintly wondering about the party and how it was going before I fell into a dream. It was a familiar dream of a boy with hazel eyes and black hair playing pretend marriage with me in the sandbox behind the kindergarten before an older man came and yanked him away and beat me for talking to the boy.