Epiaode 3 - Anna

Anna Noelle's POV

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The following morning, I rose early and went straight to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the family.

My hands trembled as I cooked, haunted by the thought of what Helena said to me the night before. That there’s no mate would choose someone like me… a weak omega.

I know that. But is there really anything wrong with hoping that there's a mate waiting for me? That someone would choose me, even if I'm just a weak and lowly wolf... simply because I'm an omega.

It hurts. But even so, I'm happy because despite being an omega, I was still invited to the upcoming Mating Ball.

Lost in those thoughts of dreaming about my mate, I didn’t notice anyone entering the kitchen until a sharp, authoritative voice cut through the silence.

“Anna.”

I jerked my head up.

Helena stood by the doorway, her expression cold and unreadable.

The moment our eyes met, I quickly lowered my gaze. I didn’t have the courage to face the hatred burning in her stare.

Even without looking at her, I could feel the crushing weight of her presence bearing down on me.

“You three, come inside,” she suddenly commanded.

I flinched.

When I cautiously raised my head, I saw three young women step into the kitchen. They were Beta wolves. Judging by their simple, practical clothing, I immediately knew they were newly hired domestic staff for the grand mansion.

Still, it struck me as strange that Helena had brought them all the way out here.

“They are the ones who will pick up the meals from now on and deliver them to the mansion,” Helena said with a sneer.

Then her sharp gaze slid back to me.

“I won’t have my daughters coming out to this filthy, foul-smelling hovel anymore. I refuse to let them catch whatever wretchedness you carry. And I certainly don’t want my wealthy friends finding out that our food is prepared in a dump like this.” Her eyes narrowed. “Do you understand, Anna?”

I blinked rapidly and swallowed hard, my gaze dropping back to the floor.

A storm of tangled emotions churned inside me.

Part of me felt a flicker of relief. If the new maids collected the meals, maybe I wouldn’t have to endure Cindy and Wendy’s shrill voices, cruel insults, or degrading laughter face-to-face anymore.

But another part of me was terrified.

Because Helena would still come here. She would still watch me. She would still make sure I lived in absolute obedience to her every command.

“Well then,” Helena said sharply, turning to the three maids. “Pick up those trays and take them straight to the mansion. I need to wake my daughters for breakfast.”

Without another glance at me, she turned on her heel and marched out of the shed.

I stood frozen, watching silently as the three new maids each lifted a tray of food and carried them away toward the luxurious main kitchen of the mansion.

The moment I was left completely alone, a heavy sigh escaped my lips.

I had honestly believed Helena would never hire extra help. After all, she had always insisted that exhausting myself with every single chore was my only purpose in their household.

I shook my head, forcing the thought away, and began cleaning the kitchen tools.

Once I finished, I still needed to feed the animals in the yard before heading to the public market to buy ingredients for lunch.

This had become my daily reality ever since Helena locked me away in this place.

As grueling as it was, I endured everything.

I swallowed every ounce of exhaustion. Every demeaning insult. Every burning sting from the wounds Cindy and Wendy inflicted on me as I grew up.

I endured it all because I refused to abandon what my father had left behind.

Even if he had never explicitly said it, this place was the only tangible connection I had left to him and my biological mother.

If only they were still alive, my life wouldn’t be this painful. This is unforgiving.

I wouldn’t be trapped in this wretched little shed, breaking my back day after day just to serve Helena and her two ungrateful daughters.

*****

After finishing everything I needed to do today, I immediately rummaged through my belongings. I couldn't contain my frustration anymore because Aura—my silver-white wolf—had been badgering me all day about what dress I should wear to the Mating Ball.

I pulled a large box out from under my small bed and opened it. Inside, I saw the dresses my dad had given me long ago. These were the only clothes I managed to hide from Helena before she burned my things and turned my bedroom in the mansion into a storage room and a dumping ground for old junk.

It breaks my heart to see the things my father gave me, and how easy it was for someone like Helena to destroy and burn all of them.

"Why did you go quiet?" Aura asked in my mind.

"Nothing," I replied.

"Are you remembering what that woman did to the things Gabriel gave us back then?" she asked again. When I didn't answer, she spoke once more. "Why don't we just leave this place?"

"I don't want to leave behind the things Dad left me."

"Anna, look around you. This is all we have left, all that we have, and everything Gabriel left behind has been claimed by those rogues?"

"They aren't rogues, Aura."

"I don't care. They're rogues to me. Worse than rogues." She crossed her arms, making me shake my head.

While searching for something to wear, I heard Cindy and Wendy's voices downstairs, so I hurriedly put the clothes back in the box and hid it under my bed.

"Anna! Where are you!" Cindy shouted loudly.

I quickly stepped out of my room and went down to the kitchen where they were, with three beta servants standing behind them.

"D-Did you need me to do something?"

"Yeah. Because you're literally our servant. Here," she said, tossing a pouch of money at me. I failed to catch it right away out of shock, causing the coins to roll across the floor.

"You really are so stupid, Anna. Go on. Pick all of that up. Go to a nice boutique in the city proper and buy the dress that my sister and I want. And if you don't do that before Mother gets back, you know what will happen to you, little pathetic omega."

I swallowed hard at what Cindy said as she and Wendy looked at me with smirks. "Josie will go with you. You might try to steal from us, since you already stole Cindy's earring. You're not just a thief, you're also envious. Come on, sister, we might catch the stupidity of that girl," Wendy said, and they walked away from me, leaving behind only the beta servant named Josie.

I swallowed all of Cindy and Wendy's insults, and out of fear that they would hurt me again, I quickly picked up the scattered coins and put them back into the pouch I was holding.

*****

When we got off at the city proper, I held tightly onto the small bag containing the money Cindy and Wendy had given me. We entered the boutique written on the piece of paper that my companion, the beta servant, had handed me, which detailed the exact dress Cindy and Wendy wanted. I simply muttered a word of thanks to the beta servant accompanying me.

As we walked inside, my eyes nearly widened at how stunning the clothes on display were. I also noticed many young she-wolves like me inside, and I could feel the genuine excitement in their voices, undoubtedly because of the upcoming Mating Ball next week.

I couldn't help but stare longingly at the gorgeous dresses. Swallowing the envy blooming in my chest, I walked over to the counter and handed the slip of paper containing the name of the dress Cindy and Wendy needed to the boutique staff.

When we returned to the small house where I stayed, I immediately handed the two large paper bags to the beta servant so she could give them to the sisters. I then hurried upstairs to my room, pulled out a pale purple dress with ruffles on the sleeves and the hem of the skirt from under my bed, and laid it out. I thought it would be a lovely dress to wear to the Mating Ball.

"I just hope my mate won't be disappointed when he sees me at the Ball, knowing I'm just an omega," I whispered, gazing at the dress on my bed.

"Oh, come on! Of course he'll be happy! No matter what you are, he will accept you, Anna. So you don't have to be sad. Because I promise you, there is a mate waiting for us at the Mating Ball, and we're going to meet him very soon!" Aura cheerfully said in my mind.

Smiling, I turned to look out the small window of my room that faced the glittering and luxurious city proper in the distance.

“I hope it’s not too late to meet you, my fated mate,” I whispered to the sky.

And before I could say another word, I heard a faint, whispering voice carried by the wind:

Mate.