One

Katana:

I knew turning eighteen wasn't worth celebrating because unlike others, I wasn't destined to live a regular life. The golden age should have been a big deal and throw me into new world of mating, love and motherhood.

Unfortunately, we were one of the "moon goddess's mistakes of creation," according to my mum.

So I longed for something else, freedom from hardship. Being an omega and ranked at the bottom of society, wasn't a joke. 

Separated from the rest of the pack, we grew up outside the border, where I never had the chance to live in a real house, eat three meals a day, or even enjoy the privacy of my room.

That's why I agreed to go with my friends when they suggested we have fun in the Wild Oaks, a forbidden forest located west of the border; the same location where the sun god allegedly broke the moon goddess heart.

Mortals were barred from entering the Wild Oaks for fear of the moon goddess's wrath. My instincts warned me against it, but my friends were determined to take me.

Amy and Zayn, my best friend and boyfriend, were among the five omegas my age gathered outside our worn-out tents, enjoying the evening breeze blowing through red-leaf maple trees.

Zayn cupped my butt, whispering in my left ear, "Now that you're eighteen, we can finally explore our bodies and make sweet love."

His breath's heat and his insistence on sleeping with me made me squirm with discomfort. I'd hoped to find my soulmate before having sex.I didn't mind Zayn being my fated mate. He was nice to me and bought me gifts, except that he'd become demanding for sex.

His eyes were wide and eager as he spoke. "At the end of the night, we'll be happy lovers, cuddling up on the grass..."

My best friend interrupted us and handed me a tiny loaf of chocolate bread as birthday gift. Relieved from Zayn's awkward conversation, I clapped in excitement. Plus chocolate bread was a luxury among us.

"In our next world, we won't be omegas but Alphas living in huge mansions and eating fancy meals every day," I said, savoring each bite of the bread.

"If wishes were horses," Amy chuckled as she smoothed my mess of blonde hair. "Wild Oaks, everyone. We leave at ten pm."

"Are we really going to defy the moon goddess?" I whispered to Amy, my mouth full of food. "Didn't Elder Logan say the sun god fucked and broke up with the goddess at the same location? What if she strikes us dead?"

Amy groaned. "Elder Logan made up that silly story to scare us. Let's go have some real fun."

Dragging my feet, I reluctantly agreed, ignoring my instincts warning me to stay back.The moon carved strange shapes against the midnight blue sky as we ventured into the dark woods, making my stomach growl with fear.

With a long stick in his hand, Zayn led the way. I didn't understand how everyone else was so fearless.

Inside the mysterious forest, everything was silent except for the soft crunch of leaves underfoot. Different trees formed small labyrinths, giving me a strange feeling of being watched.

Zayn's fingers curled around my waist. Driven by lust, he pressed his body closer, but I resisted.

"Not here, Zayn. I don't want the moon goddess to strike me with insanity."

His eyes turned cold and flinty as he sighed with exaggeration and walked away. "Fine. Have it your way."

He hadn't moved three steps forward when a chilling howl sent ice through my spine. Panic spread, and we shifted into our wolf form, racing in different directions to the omega camp.

Making sure to be as quiet as possible, I crept into the tent but froze at the sight of my mum, sitting awake and waiting.

"Katana, where have you been?" she spat coldly.

"I-I-I was outside," I stuttered, pointing outside and ignoring my pounding heart.

"You were outside? At midnight?" her voice rose like a raging bull. "You know you're not allowed to go out. It's dangerous!"

Guilt washed over me. "I'm sorry, Mom," I pleaded, my voice trembling.

"Sorry for yourself. Be lucky you're back safe," she grumbled and lay on her side of the mattress, ignoring me.

At sunrise, Zayn, Amy, and I headed to the apple orchard, collecting apples into baskets. The omegas toiled at the pack's food farm, exhausted but driven by the necessity to eat, else we'd die of starvation.

The Alpha, Beta, and other pack members lived in wealth and luxury inside those walls, while we slaved away, doing all the farm work.

I bent down to pick an apple off the ground when Zayn began coughing and hacking. He collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air and shaking violently.

When he opened his eyes again, his pupils turned white, and his breathing became labored. My first instinct was to run for help, and I did, crying all the way to summon our elders.

Little did I know that our visit to the Wild Oaks would bring calamity. A strange sickness spread like fire among the youths. One that made our skin red with boils and sores, and a terrible fever.

We were forced to live in quarantine, keeping our little secret to ourselves until one of us confessed to her mother.

My mom stared at me with horrified eyes, not believing what I got myself involved with.

"What have you done?" she shrieked in tears.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't know…"

Tears streamed down my face as my mom wept like a baby. I was all she had. The elders searched tirelessly for a solution to fix our condition, but nothing worked.

Instead, our health worsened with every passing hour until it finally reached its peak. Our immune system weakened, the illness killing us slowly without any mercy.

Death came knocking, but I held onto hope that somehow someone, anyone could save me. My mom cried day and night, begging the moon goddess for forgiveness.

On the evening of the third day, she rushed into the tent, brimming with hope. "We found a solution," she dabbed my fevered face with a wet rag. "The Alpha's bite holds the power to cure and counter the weakness of Omega blood."

"The… the Alpha? Alpha Damien?"

She nodded, and my heart sank.

"But the Alpha doesn't care about us," I cried. "I'm going to die."

"Don't say that," she chided me. "There's no harm in trying."

That same evening, my mom wrapped her shawl around my shoulders, and in a file, we hurried along toward the border, taking careful steps through the rough, rocky land.

Some parents held their half-dead children, while the stronger ones trudged behind. I was growing weaker by the second. 

Zayn and his mom joined my mom and me.Gone was the naturally thin Zayn with long, mousy hair. In his place stood a rake of a man with sunken cheeks and eyes, looking like a ghost.

At the border, tall guards dressed in all black carried assault rifles, looking down their noses at us, mocking our poverty and weakness.

"Alpha Damien doesn't give a fuck about you omega scum. He's not going to waste his precious time on the likes of you."

With a sneer, they let us in, and we rushed in droves into the pack. Despite my sickness, I was in awe of its beautiful and neat streets, with long trees and beautifully painted mansions lining the way.

Moments like these made me regret being born an omega, condemned to a life as a refugee, and constantly at risk. It's why many of our fathers preferred to go rogue rather than suffer persecution.

We waited patiently for the Alpha under a canopy facing an empty warehouse. My mom held me like an egg, cradling my head in her lap.

"You'll be okay," she said soothingly. "The alpha's bite will heal you."

My condition worsened, and I began shaking violently. My once smooth hand was now covered in tiny boils, and the pain in my armpits made it impossible to rest my arm.

It was now my turn and my mum helped me rise. "Go, my dear. May you receive favor."

My feet wobbled towards the entrance. The closer I got, the more anxious I became. I entered a semi-dark room, surrounded by dusty shelves.

Then I noticed a tall male backing me, strapping in a new pair of hand gloves.

"Sit," he commanded in a casual baritone without turning. I lowered myself into a chair, studying his jet-black hair and wondering if he was the Alpha I'd never met.

Suddenly, a sweet blend of musk, chocolate, coconuts, and strawberries hit my nose like a tsunami, stirring my wolf to life. The male turned around wide-eyed, and I almost fell out of my seat.

There were no adequate adjectives to describe the Alpha. Handsome was a huge understatement. Everything about him was perfect, like one who was personally curated by the moon goddess herself for her pleasure. His piercing hazel eyes looked right through me, captivating me in his presence, and a dark lock fell around his tanned face.

My teeth chattered as my eyes trailed down from his jawline to his muscular arms and back to his face contorted in raw shock.

A bond between us, stronger than I had ever imagined, called my soul to him.

I gasped in realization.

The Alpha was my mate!

His face darkened and filled with disgust. "Leave. I can't mark you," he drawled, his tongue flickering between his sharp teeth, piercing my soul.

At that moment, it felt like I was standing on a cliff, holding a fragile balloon filled with hopes and dreams; then a gust of wind blew the balloon out of my grasp, and it drifted away.

My supposed mate was sending me to my grave?