Chapter 3: Meeting The Blind Alpha

It was the big day the residents of Pack Douglas had been waiting for, the day the Omegas were selected to enter the Pack's main house. It was amusing for them to see how the weak Omegas struggled desperately to work there in the hope of earning a better life than before.

Of the 50 participants that day, Iris was one of them. She was dressed up very beautifully, her wounds covered up to not distract her appearance. So now she was the center of attention of everyone who was queuing up to enter the stadium where they would take part in the selection because of her gorgeous looks.

It was all orderly at first until the news of the three Alphas' arrival was announced. That's when they pushed each other which made Iris almost fall down in her white dress.

Without much protest, Iris tore off the tail of her dress. As a result she wore a knee-length dress, different from the others.

"Everyone is expected to step back. We will welcome Alpha Silas, Alpha Atlas, and Alpha Gael."

Everyone bowed in respect as they were the next heirs to the throne. But unlike Iris, she did not bow, instead she stared at the face of one of the Alphas that caught her attention, the Alpha with the white cane, Alpha Atlas.

Their eyes met for a few moments. And Alpha Atlas did not take his eyes off Iris until he had fully entered the gate.

It was a strange thing to Iris because she knew Alpha Atlas was blind, but what he did was as if he could see like the others.

"Hurry up and walk again!"

Unfortunately, Iris did not have much time to question the oddity because right now the most important thing was to survive and pass the selection she was about to face.

All the participants were gathered in the center of the stadium in a circular position. They were given numbers that were attached to their clothes. In front of each participant was also a table with enough space for a stove, simple cooking utensils and a small bell.

The host of the event took her place in the middle of the circle, signaling that the event was about to begin.

"Welcome Alpha Silas, Alpha Atlas, and Alpha Gael. It is an honor for us to have you all attend this event. Therefore, we want to present the best by selecting the best omegas to be selected to be the finest enough to be sent to the Pack's main house."

"There will be three stages of selection and all of them will be related to domestic skills. The first is that participants will cook and serve food with a set time and ingredients. Participants who pass the juror's assessment will proceed to the next stage, which is to find an envelope containing the room number for the third stage of selection. And for the final stage of selection, it will be announced after there are definite candidates who have passed the second stage of selection. If anything is unclear, participants can ask questions and I will open one question only."

Without hesitation, Iris raised her hand when the other participants were afraid and just took the announcement for granted.

"Please, participant number 41, Iris."

"There are no prizes and no victory without loss. I wonder what punishment will be given to those who do not pass the assessment. I'm referring to those who are still alive."

All the cheers that had been shouted by the audience instantly disappeared because of Iris' question. Aside from the fact that she was the only one who dared to ask, the question drew all kinds of reactions and gave the host a special burden because no one really knew the fate of the participants who lost but were still alive like the woman who helped Iris in prison.

"Speaking of punishment, that will be discussed after the event is over. Alright, I assume all the participants have understood and there's nothing more to ask."

Iris was very irritated because she didn't get the answer she was looking for. She just wanted to be sure about her fate and her fellow participants.

The horn was blown, signaling the selection to begin.

On the giant screen above the stadium, the time given to participants to complete the challenge in the first stage was only 30 minutes. That's a pretty short time because they still have to get the ingredients from the fridge provided behind them where there are only 5 fridges. That made everyone scramble to see who could get the ingredients first, including Iris.

Luckily, Iris had strong legs because if not, she would have been trampled like the other participants.

Seeing the people who were stepped on, Iris really wanted to help but if she did, then she probably wouldn't be able to serve the food on time.

While cooking, Iris held back her frustration. She wanted to finish it quickly and help those who were injured earlier. So with all the skills she had learned in the dormitory, she was finally able to make a meal before the time was over. She was the first to leave her table and then ran over to the other injured participants and helped them to get to their tables.

Of course, Iris' action drew everyone's attention. Because the scene was completely unfamiliar and the first time it happened because usually participants would not care about fellow participants let alone help like that. Because the principle is who wins who survives, everyone wants to win so when someone is unable to do the challenge given they are actually happy because the opponent is reduced.

But all these perceptions were broken by Iris. She did a rare thing by helping other participants because she didn't want to win alone, she wanted all participants to get justice and not return to that rotten prison again.

With only a few seconds left, Iris returned to her table and rang the bell to signal that she had completed the challenge.

Unfortunately, some of the participants that Iris had helped earlier couldn't finish their dishes which led to them being shot on the spot.

Iris was shocked. She had given up her time to save them but in the end they were killed, it really hurt her heart.

Until when the jurors went around tasting the food, she almost stuck her fork down their throat because she was so mad.

"What did you serve?" the juror asked.

"Nothing special," Iris replied reluctantly.

The three jurors tasted the food and know what happened? They vomited blood.

The guard pointed a gun at Iris and made her kneel like a suspect caught in the act.

"I don't know what happened, but I swear I didn't put any weird ingredients in my food," she explained.

Things were very tense, especially since Iris was sure that no one would dare to defend her. And Iris guessed that someone might have put something in her food while she was helping the other participants.

"It wasn't her fault. I saw contestant number 37 sprinkle something on her food."

Iris looked in disbelief as Maria defended her. But the woman was right, indeed when participant number 37 was searched, she was found carrying a vial of powder that was clearly poison.

Iris breathed a sigh of relief, but not for that contestant. She was shot on the spot for killing the jurors.

As a result, the remaining participants from this first selection were only around 40 of them. The others died and were killed.

The text on the big screen reappeared, explaining the terms of the second stage, in which participants must get an envelope containing access to the third stage. Those who failed would be shot on the spot.

Iris really cursed this event because it was just like a mass murder. But she had no choice to back down, only to go forward and finish this game of the higher-ups. So when the second horn was blown, Iris immediately ran to scatter like everyone else.

The envelopes they were looking for were everywhere, under the grass, on chairs, and even floating in the air.

Iris's choice fell on the hanging envelope because she could easily get it as there was little competitor as most were looking for the one below. She used a rock to throw at the rope that tied the envelope until it fell and she got it.

Unfortunately it wasn't as easy as Iris thought it would be. As she walked to join the successful participants, she was tackled and the envelope was snatched away.

"That's mine!"

But it was no use, Iris was ignored. The participant smiled wryly without any guilt.

Iris couldn't help but look for another envelope because she didn't want to go back to prison again. So she targeted the one envelope that was still hanging. It was her only hope to qualify for the next stage.

It wasn't that difficult for Iris to get the envelope, but this time her gut got in the way.

It turns out that there are still many other participants who haven't gotten the envelope, one of whom is her room mate in the dormitory. That's why this challenge was difficult for Iris because she couldn't bear to see her friend being shot but on the one hand if she gave the envelope, she would be shot.

"Iris, please give me the envelope. I really need it, I really want to go to Pack's main house."

Iris looked at the envelope in her hand. "If I give it to you, then I will never go there. I also desperately want to be free from this misery."

"You're usually so kind, you even helped the other participants earlier. Why won't you help me, your roommate? Have you forgotten our struggle, Iris?"

There was no way Iris could forget the hardships and joys they went through. But this time it was about her life.

"Sorry, Noura, I can't give the envelope to you because I need it too." Iris quickly turned around because she couldn't look at her friend's face any longer since it made her feel guilty for a mistake she didn't commit.

Who would have thought that her friend would snatch the envelope from Iris and join the successful participants.

Iris wanted to scream but the gun was already pointed at her head, she was ready to be executed. Gunshots also began to be heard from the furthest participant who had failed.

"My stuff was stolen, you have to believe me," she pleaded.

But what happened? Iris remained unheard.

The trigger of the gun was pulled and ready to fire. At that moment Iris was completely lost but on the other hand she was also enraged.

"Stop, put your weapons away!"

It was Alpha Gael, he stood in the tribune and made all the audience surprised.

"I saw with my eyes that contestant number 41 did get her envelope and it was stolen by contestant number 40. I'm sure all the audience here also saw it unless all of you are blind," he said again.

The audience began to whisper. Iris' fate was determined by their opinions.

Not long after, Alpha Atlas also stood up. He looked at Iris for the second time, this time without her knowledge. "I agree with Alpha Gael. With my sharp hearing, I was able to hear the debate that took place between participants 40 and 41. So I can confidently say that the last participant to qualify is participant number 41. Do you all agree?"

The entire audience stood up with the exception of Alpha Silas.

"Agreed!"

"Contestant number 41 wins!"

"Punish the one who stole it!"

Iris was touched by the support for her. But she wasn't happy when she saw her best friend being shot dead in front of her.

"There are 25 participants left who will move on to the next stage. Congratulations, you will soon have a place in the Pack's main house."

Even though without them knowing, the selection was nothing, there was still something worse when they managed to qualify and had to live in the Pack's main house.

Unfortunately Iris didn't know that yet. She still had thoughts like the others that the Pack's main house was a safe haven for Omegas when reality said otherwise.