chapter 2 - Birthday

Esme's POV

I got up this morning with nothing but pure excitement. I haven't got my wolf yet but today should be the day I'm sure of it and I couldn't be any more excited. Both me and Finn haven't had much good luck over the years so I'm hoping we both find our mate as well as finding our wolf.

Wishful thinking.

"Good morning Esme! Happy birthday" Finn says with excitement cladding his voice. He's just as hopeful as me.

"Morning Finn! You excited for today?" I ask waiting in anticipation for his answer. We both have the same shitty luck but hopefully today luck will be on our side.

"I am. I'm hopeful to get my wolf today! It's just a shame that I have to work as well"

"Yeah, I know. Your lips turning a purple kind of shade. How are your bruises on your stomach and back? Have they healed yet?" He asks with concern written on his face.

"I'll be okay. It's my birthday today so no one will bother me. I'm very certain that"

I hadn't even been at work for an hour and Elisa had summoned me to do the living room floor by hand and also the kitchen floor by hand because they don't like me using the mops.

"I expect all of this to be in pristine condition when I get back from shopping for tonight's ball. Is that clear" Not sure if it was a question or not.

"Yes"

"What did you say mutt"

She's beginning to piss me off today. 

'Keep your cool Esme. Just grin and bear it.

"I said yes I will have it all clean. But It's My birthday today and I was planning to spend some time with my brother. So I would like permission to leave earlier please"

But of course, my request was answered in all the wrong ways for me. Hopeful to leave earlier denied.

"No. You do not have permission. You can leave just before the Ball starts and you are to not attend it either"

I sighed knowing I wasn't going to enjoy today.

It's now 14:30 and I am just finishing the dining room/living room floor and all the polishing. We don't have a huge pack house like some other packs because our alpha's girlfriend and his father prefer to spend the money on pointless stuff.

Voices echo all over and my mind becomes a jumbled mess of emotions and control.

"Hello, Esme. I've waited a long time to meet you"

'Who's that'

I almost say the words out loud but I stop myself short. Instead, I only look around the place to make sure I haven't truly lost my mind.

"It's me silly. Your wolf! My name is Alana and it's very good to talk to you now!"

"Oh my god!" I say in my head. I hear Alana chuckling to herself because of my excitement and I can't actually contain it either. The smile seems to be growing and it's only when I hear her voice that it fades and I retreat back into the scared person I really am.

"Are you going to do any work today" I hear the most brittle voice there is around her.

Adeline.

"I've already done the living room and I have..."

** SLAP **

"Don't talk to me unless I tell you can!"

"I'm sorry. But You asked me a question"

The next thing I feel is her hand gripping my jaw and the bruises that had cleared up the other day will probably reappear with the amount of force and bone-crushing pressure she is putting on my jaw and most probably breaking it...Again... I'm struggling to hold back my tears and I'm also certain she's trying to break more of my ribs to make me weaker when she slams me to the floor in an attempt to do some permanent damage.

'Esme. Listen to me okay hold on and don't show her no mercy. Don't back down and certainly don't cry.

It's very hard but I'm trying my best!

"If you EVER answer back to me again I will gladly snap your neck and send it to your beloved brother. Is that clear"

I don't answer her which riles her up even more.

"I. SAID. IS. THAT. CLEAR. BITCH."

"Yes," Then the next thing I know I'm been dropped to the floor completely but I can't hold my weight up standing up so I tumble to the ground in a pile of limbs and pain.

An hour had passed and I heard footsteps entering the house. Now I have my wolf I am now able to hear things and smell things so much better. But the smell I am smelling is delicious! It's a mixed combination of Coconut and Lily and it smells divine.

'MATE. Esme our Mate is inside the pack house' The small smile I manage to squeeze out is hard but feeling her prance around in my mind like a little puppy makes me feel much better. Her excitement fills me with such hope that maybe my mate can help me out! Can give me the freedom and the painless love I have only ever dreamt of. This could be my ticket to getting out of here. But then my excitement recedes and my heart falls into my stomach when I realise what this could also mean.

More Pain and maybe not a happy-ever-after ending.

"Mate," I say so quietly I think even my wolf struggled to hear me and she lives in my head. It's only when I realise that the lingering sensations of my mate is currently standing Cm's in front of me that I realise that it is none other than Alpha Dylan Langley.

No this can't be. Not him.

"No...No this isn't happening"

"Out. We need to talk. But not here."

I can feel the sickness building in my stomach and I can't get rid of the taste of blood in my mouth from every little slap I took, I most likely bit my cheek or something when battling with the wicked witch of the West. Being an Omega in the pack house is challenging, My life is not mine anymore and it hasn't been mine since the Alpha told me I wasn't to go to school and I was to work as a slave earning next to nothing for food I couldn't even buy or get from the house. I am the lowest of the low, the weakest of the weak. My life here is filled with constant reminders of my status. I am constantly pushed around, ridiculed, and ignored by the other pack members. I am nothing but a burden to them and my parents seem like they have spent years avoiding any topic of conversation with me and my brother Finley. Our lives changed the moment they abandoned us and rejected us as their children.

I used to dream of finding love, of finding my mate, A thing so precious and so warm that it sweeps you off your feet for life. But that hope was crushed when I found out that the Alpha, the most powerful and respected member of our pack, was my mate. It was a cruel joke, fate's way of mocking me. How could someone like him ever want someone like me? Or I'll rephrase that...Why would I want someone who allows his friends and girlfriends to beat me up every day?

I have learned to keep my head down, my mouth shut and my opinions to myself until I am at home with Finley. I learnt to not speak unless spoken to. I have no voice in this pack, no say in anything. My feelings and my life are not worth much to those around me. I am just a pawn in their game.