barely even friends
then somebody bends, unexpectedly
just a little change
small, to say the least
both a little scared
neither one prepared
Beauty and the Beast
The next few days flew by peacefully. My routine consisted of waking up for kitchen duty followed by training, before helping prepare dinner. Some evenings I hung back and helped Ma clean after dinner, and others I spent in Uncle Eddie's room, helping him learn new spells and potions.
Let's just say I was his first and only test subject for these kinds of things, and over the years I had experienced some very unpleasant situations when his experiments failed miserably.
I hadn't seen much of Alpha Rowan either, aside from his occasional appearance at training, which was nice. However, his wolf still came to my room every now and then, and if I was being honest, I really enjoyed his company.
The nights were getting weird though. Either my ear's were playing tricks on me or there was actually a woman screaming on a random occasion.
"Skittle, would you be so kind as to pass the jar of gorgon blood?"
With distaste, I picked up the container of a dark red, almost black, liquid.
"That better not be for anything I might possibly have to drink," I said with a slight gag.
"Oh hush," Uncle Eddie waved his hand at me. "I must concentrate!"
Zipping my lips with my fingers, I motioned at the door and quietly slipped out.
I made my way to the dining hall and helped myself to some lunch. Taking a seat at one of the empty tables, I let out a sigh as I took a bite of my sandwich. Uncle Eddie entered the hall a moment later, and settled down in front of me with a tray of food.
"Quite different from our old pack, ah Reya? I can't remember the last time we ate in their bum of a dining hall like this," he mused, slurping up a spoonful of soup.
"I guess so," I shrugged. "I definitely don't feel like gutting the entire kitchen staff, that's for su- "
"Reya, was it?" a sickly, sweet voice interrupted me.
I looked up to see Serena standing beside my table, with two other girls behind her.
"Can I help you?" I asked warily.
"I just wanted to let you know that we've figured out your little secret," she smiled at me.
My heart almost stopped as my mind began racing about what she could've known, but I managed to calmly take a sip of water.
"Oh really?" I asked cooly. "Enlighten me, please."
"Carla saw you and the Alpha a couple nights ago," Serena nodded to one of the girls. "You really think you can fuck your way out of being an Omega?"
I let out a cough as I nearly spat out my water. "I'm sorry, what?"
"I don't know who you're trying to fool, perhaps your old daddy over here, but we can all see past your innocent act - you're nothing but a little whore who's climbed in bed with the Alpha," Serena seethed.
I barked out a laugh. "I seriously don't even know what you're talking about," I deadpanned.
"I noticed your late night meet up with him outside of his office," Carla interjected. "Don't take us for idiots. Alpha would have no other reason to associate with the likes of you."
"I think it's best you three get going before this turns into something it shouldn't," Uncle Eddie stepped in, hand on his side as he glared at them.
"Mr. Willows if you actually believe anything she says, you're stupider than we thought. Maybe that's why you're an Omega," Serena mused with a gleam in her eye.
My wolf was fuming.
I pushed myself up and stared directly in her eyes. "Say one more word about my father and I swear to goddess I will make your life a living hell."
With that, I picked up my glass and plate, nodding to Uncle Eddie that it was time to go.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Serena gripped my shoulder tightly.
"Let me go, Sabrina," my tone was bored.
She simply dug her nails into my flesh.
With a roll of my eyes, I turned around and dumped the remaining contents of my glass over her head.
"You fucking bitch!" she raged.
"I've been called worse, Sardina, you'll have to do better than that," I chuckled and folded my arms.
"Gold-digging slut," she screeched.
"Oh, that's rich coming from you," Uncle Eddie smacked her arms away with his wooden spoon, as she attempted to lunge at me.
"Dad, come on," I tugged at his sleeve. "It isn't worth it."
"What's the meaning of this?"
We turned to see Conrad, Alpha Rowan's uncle, watching us intently.
"She dumped water on me, Beta Conrad! Why are we letting such lowlifes join our pack?" Serena's words echoed throughout the dining hall. The tables around us had already been watching the commotion, but now all eyes were glued in our direction.
Beta? I had no idea he was the pack Beta. It wasn't common for a relative of the Alpha to be put in such a position.
"Is this true Ms. Willows," he asked me calmly.
"She was making false accusations, verbally ridiculed my father's intelligence, and refused to let go of my arm, all three for which I do not stand for," I counted on my fingers as I listed each one.
"I'm not sure as to what accusations Serena was making, but I'm sure it's a simple misunderstanding that can be easily resolved," Conrad smiled warmly at all of us. "Are we going to have to take this discussion elsewhere to do that, or can I count on you ladies to sort it out civilly?"
"You can rely on us, Beta," Carla gave him a shy smile, feigning innocence.
"Good," he seemed pleased. "I would hate to give punishments, so don't make me have to be the bad guy, okay?"
With a nod of acknowledgement to Uncle Eddie, he left the hall with Serena and her posse trailing closely behind.
~*~
I was sitting in my room, eating my fifth granola bar after yet another embarrassing training session.
The book I was currently reading was relatively boring, so I set it down and left my room in search of something else to do.
The halls were fairly empty, so I decided to use the opportunity to begin memorizing all escape routes and guard posts. I didn't know when I would need to use them, but my mission to find the Blood Alpha had been paused for too long, and I was getting anxious.
As I was walking by the main doors, I heard a commotion off to the right. Creeping closer, I was about to peek around the corner when two pack warriors rushed by me and out the entrance. Conrad was hot on their trail, barely sparing me a glance as he passed me.
Confused by their hurry, I turned around the corner and crashed into someone. Based on the tingles igniting all over my body, I didn't even have to look to know who it was.
Hands gripped my arms lightly, steadying me, and I peered upwards to meet the honey irises of Alpha Rowan.
"Sorry," I muttered, bracing myself for his usual angry outburst.
"It's okay," he said quietly, taking me by surprise. "Are you alright?"
All security systems in my brain were ringing warning alarms. He was never this nice.
"Uh, fine, thank you," I took a step back and immediately felt cold from the lack of his touch.
"Is everything okay?" I gestured behind me, asking about the warriors.
He opened his mouth, but paused, and then let out a sigh.
"There were some Reds close to our borders, but it's nothing to worry about," his eyes never left mine as he spoke. My ears perked as he said the word Reds, but I hid my interest.
"Are you going out to find them?" I asked.
He gave a single nod in response.
Moving aside, I brushed my hair back. "I better get out of your way then, don't want to keep them waiting."
He waited a second before walking past me.
Be careful.
The words almost came out of my mouth, but my brain decided against it. I didn't care about him.
Perhaps a tiny bit. Only because of his wolf, of course.
~*~
It was almost midnight when I heard someone knocking on my bedroom door.
It couldn't have been Alpha Rowan's wolf - he just scratched the wood when he wanted to be let in.
"Hello?" squinting through the hallway light, I saw the outline of someone standing there.
"Miss, you're needed to clean the dungeons tonight," a gruff voice replied.
For fucks sake.
I knew my mate was being too nice earlier.
I sighed and let him know that I would head down after changing, and he abruptly left.
My hands absentmindedly grabbed a random pair of sweatpants and a shirt - clothes I would likely never again after a couple hours. The halls on the way to the cells were dead, as hardly anyone used this particular route in the pack house.
My breaths were coming out short as I descended the staircase. The pungent odour of blood was even stronger this time, and I still couldn't find a light switch. Two cells were stained bright with the liquid, quickly informing me that this was going to take much longer than last time.
Luckily, my brain didn't seem to be going as nuts as last time, which hopefully was a good sign. Rolling the mop into the centre of the first cell, I dumped a bucket of water all over the ground, before proceeding to push the red mixture towards the drain with shaky hands.
It had only been about ten minutes when I felt a wave of panic wash over me.
Not again.
Images and words kept flashing and replaying in my head as I tried to focus on cleaning. My body was slightly trembling, but I refused to let myself get carried away with another attack.
All of a sudden, I heard the sound of footsteps sounding somewhere above me. Whoever it was had to be coming towards the dungeons, as there really wasn't anything else in the corridor. As I had suspected, the door clanged open and shut a moment later.
As my beast expanded our senses, we were both shocked when we inhaled the enticing scent of our mate.
What the hell was he doing here?
Taking a deep breath, I worked on composing myself but went stiff as he came to stand in front of the cell.
He was wearing all black once again, and he looked devilishly angelic under the moonlight.
I couldn't deny the fact that he was one attractive man.
Curse his stupid face.
He glanced around the space, his expression devoid of all emotion as usual, and met my eyes.
Wordlessly, he walked over and gently took the mop from my hands, before picking up from where I left off.
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