Chapter 7: opportunity

She stared up at the stars, the fading twinkling stars in the night sky. Her head lay on her mother's lap, her mother's fingers raking through the soft threads of her hair and crooning. Just like every other day, she was in thought, thinking of her future and how it would play out; in every possible way.

"Mother," the woman looked down at the small child. "Do you think we will ever leave this pack? I don't like it here,"

"If our destiny is to leave, then we will leave. However, I would prefer not to," the girl tilted her head back, blinking her curious eyes at her mother, "this pack is as ignorant as a blind fish. They don't care about anything else but themselves, which makes it easier to hide your identity and secret. I'm afraid that if we were to move to another pack, they might not be as oblivious to reality as this one. Some would be able to smell your lies, and if the alpha is strong enough, your wolf,"

"So if the opportunity presents itself, I shouldn't leave?" She asked sadly.

"If you ever want to take that chance with open arms, then you have to make sure that nobody, not even the alpha, finds out about your wolf. Is that okay, Flower?"

"Yes, Mother."

_____

"Repeat it, you teeny bastard, I dare you!" Scarlette growled as she pressed down harder on his neck.

"Please, I beg you, don't hurt him," Luna sobbed. "Forgive his utterance. Please, he's just a boy!"

"This boy…" she spat, using the tip of the blade to cut his cheek, "is my age."

"You think you have the right to walk into my land and threaten my son's life?" Alpha growled, still going with his alpha instinct and forgetting the situation of his son. "How dare you!"

"If you think you can do anything about it, then try to stop me, Alpha," she spat out with apparent disrespect and hatred. I looked around. Where did the ash wolf go? "Your son lacks respect, manners, proper training and humanity. He will be the biggest mistake you will ever make if you crown him alpha, but it's all good. I've seen now that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree,"

"What insolence!"

"Enough," just one word, not even a shout or higher than a normal speaking speech. If anything, it was laced with boredom and disinterest in the current happening. But his voice sent a strange, pleasurable shiver down my spine. "Alpha Swindells, calm down. You don't seem to realise that she saved your son's life, not endangered him," Wait, he was paying attention to them? I thought he was staring at me.

"Your brat openly spoke nastily about the body of my Beta's newly found mate. He ignored the fact that she is mated, ignored the mate standing beside her and made such a disgraceful comment. If she hadn't leapt forward and pinned him down, my Beta's wolf would have done that and instantly killed him on the spot. If she wanted him dead, he would have been by now, but he isn't. Get my point?" Alpha looked around, finally realising what Scarlette did. He kept his mouth wisely shut, just as a guy with the same colour of hair as the wolf walked in with nothing but oyster-coloured oversized shorts. "Tell me, Alpha Swindells, what do you think I should do to your son for disrespecting me?"

"I'm sorry. I apologise on his behalf—"

"My visit here has been fruitful, that's the only reason I would leave here with your son's head still attach to his neck…" I focused on the guy wrapping his hands around Scarlette's waist and carrying her away from the choking boy. Scarlette let him carry her, bending her neck over to her shoulder to stare at his face. She has such a beautiful mate. He was blessed with aqua blue eyes, her favourite colour. And he had a birch skin tone, something I remember was one of her requirements in men. It was like all three men from the visiting pack borrowed their bodies from a god or something.

Scarlette was definitely going with him.

"Don't worry, no harm will come to your pack because I'm taking a souvenir for this wonderful journey, someone whose absence in the pack would take weeks to get used to, or never. And from my observation, I've concluded that I'll be taking her." At first, I didn't know he was referring to me, so I scrunched up my face in confusion as I looked around for who that is. It couldn't be Alpha Swindells daughters, Emma and Edna wouldn't be missed a bit. Eloise? Definitely, but something told me it wasn't her. He couldn't take the Luna, and would never risk taking the Beta or rather, I just knew he was talking about an omega.

Who was the omega that would affect the pack that much?

"You, standing over there at the tree," I looked at the trees, looking for who was standing by a tree. Then I realised I was the only omega by a tree. I looked at him and pointed at myself. "Yes, you."

"Alpha, you can't take Sabrie, she's mute and she doesn't have a wolf," Edna rushed out.

Emma quickly added. "Yes, you can take me, I'll go for my pack," Or yourself.

"No, I don't need you. We leave first thing tomorrow morning, make sure your things are ready by then. Alpha?" He turned to Alpha Swindells, who nodded reluctantly. My confusion only increased. Why did he want me? He had to have an alternative motive, right? People don't just do stuff for no reason. I'm not stupid, I knew he wasn't doing this to annoy them, but maybe because he knew the kind of trouble I would be in after they leave and was trying to save me, or perhaps he just took pity on the skinny little thing his new Beta Female would end up demanding for.

Yes, that has to be it.

______

I walked out of my cottage with a nasty headache. During my sleep, I had quite a disturbing dream. I could tell that the dream was to remind me of something important, but I forgot what the dream was about the moment I opened my eyes. The headache came from trying so hard to remember and from how much I thought the previous night.

Finally, I'd been presented with an opportunity to leave like I always dreamt of. However, I wasn't certain if I should. The possibility of the alpha finding me out was almost a hundred percent. Only from the other day, I could already tell that he was a clever and smart one, one that would find me out eventually. Then the thought that if I manage to escape his seeing eyes, I would face his pack. What if his pack was worse than the one I grew up in? What if they took beating me to a whole new level? What if the way they treat omegas is the worst? What if life becomes more unbearable?

Since I'd been handling my pack for years, I already knew how to handle their usual brand of cruelty. A whole new brand would take a while to get used to. I imagined myself facing torture until Zinnia reminded me that Scarlette would be the Beta Female, meaning I wouldn't have to suffer that much. It was after that I went to sleep.

I assumed Alpha Swindells already found a way to convince the gorgeous alpha not to go with me. It was noon already and no one had come for me. So, I spent the morning cleaning my cottage. I rubbed my forehead, contemplating whether to visit the clinic for drugs and risk getting yelled at, or not. After standing there outside my cottage for minutes, I decided to see Eloise instead. I already had my bag filled with my important items, like my mother's clothes, my good shoes and other valuables, just in case.

I stealthily manoeuvred my way through the alpha's flat, sneaking to her room. I paused when I heard voices inside, Edna's and Emma's, and they sounded pissed. "…Have a chance if he didn't choose her. I know he wants her as a slave or some sex thing, but I would make a better toy!" Edna screamed. I almost felt sad for her, until I registered the meaning of her words. It strangely hurt to think he was taking me for sexual purposes. Well, wouldn't be the first.

"And why do you think he wants her for sex? Not every man is as shallow as the ones in this pack," if it came from Eloise, I wouldn't have been surprised at all, but it was from Emma. "I've heard enough to know that Alpha Ajax never gets intimate with his pack members. Everyone knows that when he wants sex, he goes for unsuspecting humans,"

"That can be a rumour, Emma, a big one! Do you want to tell me that as sex-craved as alphas can be, a big bad alpha, especially one as sexy and hot as Alpha Ajax, would wait until he gets to a human city to release himself? Oh come on, you're smarter than that,"

‘I agree with the hot statement,’ Zinnia chirped. I rolled my eyes.

"It's possible, Edna. I heard he goes to clubs or pubs, and just picks a random girl. Tell me, if you are human and you see that hunk, won't you drop your panties for him? Don't answer that, we already know you're a slut," Eloise replied, making Emma giggle. "The point is that I'm sure his taking Sandy doesn't have anything to do with sex. It can be that he pitied her knowing father would kill her the moment they leave, or he took pity on how miserable she looked—"

"Or the fact that his new Beta Female is her friend and would end up demanding for her anyway," Emma added, the first clever words I've ever heard her say. "And, sister, you will never have a chance with him,"

"Why is that?"

"For one—"

"He doesn't have a mate, Eloise," Edna snapped irritably, "everyone knows that. His lineage hasn't found one since the time of his eleventh great-grandfather, just like they never bear female children. Everyone knows that when the time comes—which is soon—he'll need a Luna, and his Luna could be me. He can choose me," Wow, talk about cocky.

"I was actually going to say you can't get him because I'm sure he doesn't value public items," Eloise said blatantly, drawing a hiss from Edna and a laugh from Emma. I turned and left them, no need for eavesdropping. There I was praying I would never get a mate and he was cursed to never find one. Wish we could switch places. Well, that put an end to every possibility of him being my mate.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't realise where I was going, so I bumped into someone, increasing the pain in my head by a hundred percent. I groaned, placing my hands on my head. A loud ringing sound disturbed my hearing, I couldn't hear anything other than the incessant sound. I felt my body moved by someone, forcing me to open my tear-filled eyes. I blinked away my tears before I was dropped in a car. That alone was enough to make me panic and try to jump out, but dizziness stopped me.

Then it stopped. It was brief, but I could swear I felt someone holding me and the word, “mate” echoing in my mind as I drifted into the darkness of my mind.