The Omega's Choice

"Anytime now, you'll find a prince charming," Elara says to me as she pauses her chores, looking up at me with a grin, then she shrugs. "Well, he might look like an undercooked pizza, but a mate is always charming in the eyes of a mate, right?"I roll my eyes at her as I continue wiping the windows. I still can’t believe I’m eighteen. It doesn’t feel any different. I thought it would.Maybe I would have the shimmer of a wolf that has reached the ripe age for mating.But no. I feel the same way I felt at seventeen... sixteen... fifteen... fourteen...and so on.Nothing much changes save for the body developments.I woke up to the same scratchy sheets, the same creaky bed, and the same whisper of dust hanging in the air. But technically, I’m an adult now. Not that it changes anything in the pack house. I still have chores. Still have rules. Still have to keep my head down."I can't wait till I turn eighteen though. Just three months left." Elara sighs dreamily."Shut up and clean," I te

I can’t sleep.Every time I close my eyes, I see him—his face, his eyes, the way his lips twitched like he was fighting himself. And then the way they flattened when he said it. Coldly. Without hesitation.“I reject you as my mate.”Those words echo in my head like a curse. They sit in my chest like glass shards, sharp and immovable.I’m curled up on the small bed in the omega quarters. The thin blanket does nothing to soothe the fever that’s taken hold of my body. I feel hot and cold at once, my skin prickling like fire is crawling beneath it.My heart hurts—literally aches in a way I didn’t think was possible. I press my palm to my chest, hoping it’ll somehow hold the pain in, keep it from seeping out and cracking me in two.He chose Zara. Of course he chose Zara.Kira stirs inside me. She's been crippled by the betrayal for the past few days, but now, I don't feel her sadness.What I feel is her anger. Hellish storm of anger inside me."You know what's crazy about this, Tamsin? W

I try to keep my hands steady as I fold the white linens and carry them outside to dry. The breeze is soft, the sun warm against my skin, but none of it touches the cold buried inside me. Every step feels like I’m walking through fog, like my soul has been fractured and no one sees it. No one wants to see it.“Hey, can you not let that corner drag on the ground?” Elara snaps, her voice sharper than usual.I blink and glance down. The edge of the sheet is just brushing the grass. I lift it quickly and secure it on the line. “Sorry,” I mumble.She doesn’t respond. She walks away without looking back, joining two other girls near the baskets. They’re laughing about something—something I’m not a part of. Not anymore.We used to do everything together. Chores. Late night giggles. Whispered dreams about what our future mates would be like. Now she barely speaks to me unless she has to. I walk over to her, pretending like nothing’s changed, hoping she’ll meet me halfway.“Elara,” I say g

I don’t want to be here. Not in anyway possible. The whole pack is buzzing with excitement, stringing up lights and tossing flower petals around like it’s some fairytale, but my chest feels like someone parked a truck on it. Alpha Nox and Zara’s mating ceremony is tonight, and everyone’s acting like it’s the damn royal wedding. I tried—really, really tried—to sit this one out. I figured if I just stayed tucked away doing laundry or scrubbing dishes, no one would notice. No one would need me to participate in anything remotely linked to the event.But of course, someone did notice me. At this point, I've completely realized that the lady I looked up to as perfect all my life, is nothing but a low and petty bitch.Pity I had to get my heart literally broken to figure that out.“You’re requested in the Luna’s quarters,” someone had told me. Requested. Like I was being summoned to the Alpha's office for killing three random pack members.Now I’m standing in Zara’s room, surrounded by

"Duck!"I blink, hear the sharp whistle of something slicing through the air, and drop just a breath too late. An arrow zips past the space where my head used to be."Silas!" I shriek, spinning around with wide eyes and hands on my hips. "You nearly took off my ear!"The older man grins, lowering his bow with a shrug. "I told you to duck. You were the one admiring the squirrels like they were your long-lost cousins."I can't help the laugh that bubbles out of me, even though my heart's still thudding."You can't throw out life-or-death commands like you're offering tea, Silas. Warn a girl properly next time.""Next time, listen faster."We've already caught three squirrels. Well, Silas caught them. I'm more like moral support with a good eye and a lot of commentary. The late afternoon sun filters through the canopy, and there's something peaceful about being out here with him. The scent of the forest mixes with the ever-present smell of herbs clinging to him like a second skin. It'