Reduced to nothing

                        ~ELARA~

“Papa,” I screamed loudly and sat up on the bed immediately, sweating profusely.

I had been dreaming.

I saw my papa in my dream, all dressed in white, smiling sadly at me. He's standing very far from me and no matter how I tried to get closer to him, he was still very far from me.

And then he said in a loud, echoing voice.

“You are not weak, my little moon. You're my daughter. Your mother and I will always watch over you.”

Just then, I saw a very beautiful woman standing beside my papa, smiling both sweetly and sadly at the same time.

I squinted my eyes to see her face clearly but I couldn't see it well.

Then, they both started to wave at him, and when I saw them disappear slowly, I screamed, “Papa.”

It was then I woke up.

I scanned my room with my eyes, still calling out for my father.

“Papa, papa, where are you? I just had a terrible dream. I don't know what it meant” I called out.

When I heard footsteps approaching my room, I smiled.

My papa was coming. As usual, he's always there for me.

The disappointment on my face couldn't be hidden when my help, Amara walked into the room.

She ran to me immediately.

“Miss Elara, you're awake. Are you fine now?” She asked with so much concern and pity in her eyes.

I was confused.

“I am fine. Did I sleep for too long?? I can't remember when and how I slept off. Where is my papa??” I asked.

Amara suddenly burst out crying and it surprised me.

“Amara, why are you crying??” I asked.

“Beta Darius is dead, miss. You fainted after hearing the news and seeing his dead body” she said.

And just like that, everything came rushing back to me. It hit me with full force that I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

My papa is dead.

My brain has tried to deny it and forget about it, but it can't be denied. 

My papa is really dead. Now, the dream I had made sense.

Tears rolled down my cheeks. Silent, heartbreaking, bitter tears.

I missed my papa. My papa told me stories of my mother at night. He was always soft, reverent, making me believe I was born from love, not tragedy as people in the pack always whispered how my mom died after giving birth to me and how I was a bad luck whenever I passed by.

He had brushed my hair, cooked for me, and shielded me from the cruelty of the pack as much as he could. When other pups had teased me for being “wolfless” he silenced them with a single growl, his Beta authority enough to make even the bravest shrink.

Now that man is gone.

My papa, my protector, my mother, my care giver, my world, my everything is gone.

I let out a loud scream of anguish and pain, and began sobbing loudly.

“Moon goddess, this pain is too much. I don't think I can survive this. I can't….” I cried out to the moon goddess, hitting my chest with my hand.

Amara was just beside me crying her eyes out too.

My father had been good to her. Despite her being my help, he had treated her very nicely.

“Where is my father's body??” I suddenly asked, wiping off my tears.

“Locked up in a room and no one is allowed to enter that room until his burial is decided,” Amara replied.

“No, I have to see my father. I want to see his face. I want to beg him again to wake up. I know he'll listen to me. He always listened to me. Let me beg my papa to wake up please” I cried out.

“Miss, please….” Amara broke down in fresh tears. “You can't go into that room. It's the alpha's instruction. Anyone who disobeys will be extremely punished.”

“This is not fair. This is not fair” I cried out and passed out again.

I didn’t know how long I stayed unconscious, but when I opened my eyes again, the room was darker, and my throat was raw from all the screaming I must have done earlier.

Amara was still there, sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, her eyes swollen from crying.

Before I could speak, the heavy sound of boots echoed down the hallway. My heart skipped a beat. Something about the sharp, synchronized steps made my wolfless body tremble.

The door slammed open with a bang.

Three tall, broad-shouldered men filled the doorway, their presence sucking all the air out of the room.

 I recognized them immediately…. the Omega Masters. They were the ones who kept the pack’s lowest rank in line, the ones everyone feared.

“What do you want?” Amara’s voice trembled as she stood protectively in front of me.

The man in the middle — Garrick, the head Omega Master sneered.

“Stand aside, girl. You have no authority here.”

Amara didn’t move. 

“She just lost her father. Can’t you give her some time?” she yelled.

Garrick’s lip curled.

 “Her father’s death is exactly why we’re here. The Beta’s pup no longer has Beta blood to protect her. The Alpha has decided — she’s been stripped of her status. From this moment on, she is an omega” he announced cruelly.

My blood ran cold.

No. No, this couldn’t be happening.

“I am Beta Darius’s daughter!” I shouted, my voice hoarse but defiant. “You can’t just….”

I didn’t get to finish. 

Garrick crossed the room in two long strides and grabbed me by the arm, yanking me off the bed.

“Your father is gone. His protection died with him. Now, you’re nothing” he told me.

The word nothing slammed into my chest harder than his grip.

I struggled, but his hold was like iron. “Let go of me! I have the right to mourn my father!”

“You’ll mourn while scrubbing floors,” another one of them said, laughing cruelly.

Amara tried to hold on to me, but one of the other men shoved her so hard she fell to the floor.

“Please!” she screamed. “She’s not strong enough…”

“She’ll learn,” Garrick said coldly.

Tears blurred my vision as I was dragged out of my room, my feet barely finding the ground. The halls I had once run through freely now felt like a prison, the shadows mocking me as we passed.

When we reached the servants’ quarters, the stench of sweat and harsh cleaning agents hit me like a wave. The sound of scrubbing, crying, and barking orders filled the air.

“This is where you belong now,” Garrick announced, throwing me forward. 

I stumbled and fell to my knees, my palms scraping against the rough wooden floor.

I lifted my head slowly, my pride warring with my pain.

I was Elara, Beta Darius’s daughter.

And yet, here I was.

On my knees.

Reduced to nothing.

A bucket of filthy water was shoved toward me. 

“Get to work,” Garrick ordered.

When I didn’t move fast enough, he grabbed a fistful of my hair and hissed, “You either start cleaning, or you won’t live long enough to finish mourning.”

My heart broke into pieces, but I reached for the rag anyway. My tears fell freely, mixing with the dirty water as I began scrubbing the floor.

For the first time in my life, I understood what true helplessness felt like.

And somewhere deep inside, beneath the grief, beneath the humiliation, a spark of something dangerous lit in my chest.

I would endure this.

But I would not stay here forever.