*Alyssa's POV*
I laid in the bed, in the room that the Alpha had assigned to me.
The room itself was huge. The walls were painted a dark, yet crisp, blue that had an almost soothing effect. There was a walk-in closet the size of my old room. It had an attached bathroom. There was a small oak table, two old oak chairs, an oak chest of drawers, an oak armoire, and the oak four post bed, complete with canopy. It had a light pink bed set on it that reminded me of the bed that Sleeping Beauty was in when Prince Phillip kissed her. To say this room was luxurious would be an understatement.
In the chest of drawers, I found a journal. It was completely blank. So, I didn't think they would mind if I used it.
I laid back down in the bed, and wrote.
"Dear journal,
I lost my old journal. So, I will make you my new confidante. I will start where my old journal left off. My name is Alyssa. I was born into the Silver Moon pack. I was the pack's punching bag. Brian, the Alpha there, particularly took pleasure in making my life miserable. He would torture his wife, beating and raping her whenever he got the urge, and when he was done with her, he always came to me. Then, I would endure the same punishments. When his wife ran away, I bore the brunt of his malice. Not long after she left, Brian went to war with another pack, The Black Knights. He went to war over her, not because he loved her, or even wanted her, he just didn't want anyone taking his toys away. I used the war as my chance to escape. I left while he was gone, and I ran, and ran, and ran, as far and as fast as my paws would take me. I didn't stop running until I was caught by the Crescents. I had been so focused on escaping Brian, that I didn't hear the three wolves trailing me. They had bit my legs, breaking my left rear paw, and taken me to their prison. It was there that their Alpha saw me. He knew what I was. As soon as he saw me, he knew. He killed the wolves that hurt me. He assured me no one would hurt me, but I wasn't allowed to leave my cell. He said I was too valuable. I was his secret weapon. He would come and visit me every so often, letting me roam the rooms adjacent to the cells, so I wouldn't get silver poisoning. It was never friendly visits though. He just didn't want me to be like the wolf in the cell by me. That was my life, week in and week out, until she got there. As soon as I saw her, I knew who she was, but I prayed she didn't recognize me, not that she ever really saw me. Her mate came and rescued us. He let me go. He let me claim sanctuary among his pack. I know he could feel me, feel what I was, but I don't think he knows. I pray he doesn't find out. I will not go back to the way it was before. I will not be anyone's door mat again. If I simply mind my p's and q's, he may not figure it out. I hope she doesn't either. Selene, help me!"
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*James's POV*
I held my beautiful Lillian all night long, thankful to have her back.
I had just woken up and kissed her temple when I felt her stir beside me. "Good morning love." I said, placing another kiss on her temple.
"Good morning my love." She answered, peppering me with kisses of her own. "I should go check on the children."
She attempted to get up, but I pulled her back against me. Holding her hadn't been enough, my wolf and I needed her- needed to feel her warmth. "Sofia and Amira can tend to them." I kissed her neck and felt her tension release as she pushed further against me, caressing my chest.
When we finished, we held onto each other, high on the euphoria of it all. My wolf growled in satisfaction, and I shared the sentiment.
Lilly's stomach apparently did too, and I laughed at the sound. "Sorry." She apologized meekly, kissed my neck, rolled to the edge of the bed, and sat up. I watched in amazement, still in disbelief that such an angel could really be mine. She pulled on her panties and one of my shirts. She caught me staring, so she smiled and shook it at me. I reached over and grabbed a handful, unable to resist her beauty. She giggled and headed for the door.
I cleared my throat and whispered, "there's a full house sweetheart."
She quickly turned around and slid on a pair of my gym shorts. "I forgot." She laughed.
I was truly captivated by her beauty. Her hair was a mess, and she was wearing my gym shorts and a t-shirt. Yet, she was still the most beautiful girl in the world, and I thanked Selene for giving me the most precious gem.
This time, Lilly cleared her throat and put her hand over her tummy. "How about breakfast?"
I chuckled and stood, pulling on a pair of boxers and gym shorts of my own. "Good idea."
We walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Everyone was in there, including Alyssa, the children, and Warren.
"Good morning love birds." Warren poked.
Lilly blushed and buried her face in my chest. Wrapping my arms around her, I answered, "It certainly is. I'm glad to see you're up and around."
"Me too." He said. "It seems I have a certain little red wolf to thank for that too."
"No, you don't." Lilly huffed. "It wasn't me."
"Ok then." Warren answered amusedly, putting his hands in the air.
We all laughed, and Lilly made breakfast for everyone. As she was cooking, I found myself staring at Alyssa. I still couldn't figure out what it was that was making her so hypnotic.
"How are you sir?" She said, snapping me from my trance.
"I'm great." I replied. "How's your room? Would you still like to swap to smaller accommodations?"
"She will stay right where she is." Lilly scorned. "I like having her close. It makes me feel better knowing she's safe, especially given where we took her from."
I saw Alyssa wiggle in her seat, though I'm not sure anyone else noticed. "I'll be okay. I did find a journal. I've been writing in it. I hope you don't mind."
"Of course not."
We all ate the delicious meal that Lilly set before us, with idle chit chat. Lilly kept staring at Alyssa also, though I didn't quite know why.
Jackson and Autumn through their food at Alyssa, and the poor girl was covered. Lilly and I apologized simultaneously, but Alyssa didn't bat an eye. She just grabbed napkins and cleaned the kids. When she was done, she started towards the stairs, presumably to go change. As she walked by Ophelia, she accidentally bumped her shoulder. Alyssa apologized, but Ophelia had a disconcerting look on her face.
"What's wrong?" Lilly asked.
"She's... she's... she's a..." Ophelia stuttered.
Amira grabbed Alyssa's hand, and she shook lose and ran to the stairs.
"She's a what?" Lilly inquired, putting authority in her voice.
"Stop! Come here Alyssa!" I ordered. To my surprise, she ran up the stairs anyway. "Come here, now!" I ordered again, putting all of my authority into the command. She still didn't come. I turned to face the group again, with a bewildered look on my face. A look the rest of the group shared.
"Omega," Samuel, Amira, Ophelia, and Warren said in unison.
My face contorted in confusion. "What?"
Samuel stood and walked to the end of the stairs, peering up them to where Alyssa had retreated. He sighed then explained, "She is an Omega. In all my years as a wolf, I have only ever seen one other. They are rare, very rare, and special. An Omega is a wolf who doesn't fit neatly into the pack hierarchy. They have a natural ability to soothe the people around them, almost like hypnotism. That feeling is especially echoed in Alphas, who have an overbearing urge to protect them. They are drawn to them because Omegas often need the most protection, and that's what Alphas live for, to protect their pack."
"That explains a lot." Lilly and I said together. She put her hand on my shoulder and kissed my cheek. I clasped my hand over hers as Samuel continued.
"Omegas usually don't last long though." Samuel continued and lowered his head, almost as if he was in pain. "Omegas do not fit into the hierarchy of wolves because they do not have to follow the Alphas orders. They can choose to do so if they want, but the Alphas word isn't law to them like it is to us. Because of that, many times they are killed, either by the Alpha or jealous pack mates."
"That's awful. Interesting, but awful." Lilly said, voicing what I had been thinking.
"They have a healing ability also. They heal quickly, even more quickly than you or I. Notice she doesn't have any burns or scars from the silver?" Lilly nodded, rubbing her own wounds. I gently squeezed her hand and listened as Samuel finished. "They can help others heal too. Its almost magical to witness. If you can keep her safe, James, and make her feel at home here, she is a priceless member for your pack."
"Lets go check on her." Lilly said, pulling me up into a standing position with her.
We walked up the stairs, hand-in-hand. Lilly knocked on Alyssa's door, but she didn't answer. So, I opened the door. Alyssa was sitting on the bed, in a fetal position, crying and trembling. "Please, please don't hurt me." She pleaded.
"I'm a man of my word." I told her matter-of factly. "I promised you no one would ever hurt you again, and I intend to keep that promise."
Lilly laid in the bed behind her, and pulled the sobbing girl into her chest. She rubbed her hair and shushed her. "You're safe here hun. No one will hurt you. Calm down."
I sat on the edge of the bed, placed my hand on Alyssa's calf, and told her, "You don't have to be afraid. We will protect you."
Alyssa nodded and took deep breaths until she was calm. "Why didn't you tell us?" Lilly asked in her sweetest voice.
Alyssa didn't say a word. She just handed Lilly her journal and went to the bathroom to collect herself.
Lilly read the page, then dropped the book and ran into our room. I picked up the book and read it myself. Then, it was like a light bulb clicked on over my head, and everything made sense. I just didn't know what I was going to do about it.
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~~~~~~* A/N: I hope you all are enjoying the story! There will be more to come soon! As always, I appreciate all the votes and comments, and I'll do my best to answer any questions, as long as it doesn't give away future parts to the story! Until next time, later loves! *~~~~~~