The Omega Queen

Rain - Falling in love

Glass shards pierce my skin, and pain erupts all over my back as I fall over a table, which breaks under my weight, and it takes only moments for everything to come crashing on the ground. Me included. The table was placed on the part of the backyard that was paved, and I hit my head on it pretty hard.

I lay there trying to understand what just happened.

After Andrea and Elly helped me get ready for the party, I went to look for Jordan, since I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. It is the first time I have attended a party as a guest. I just caught his scent when… someone pushed me?

Pack members gather around me. Despite the loud music, I can hear laughter and cruel words directed at me. I knew coming to the party was a bad idea, but Jordan would not budge. I wish I would have stayed in my room, away from everyone and everything.

Someone kneels next to me.

Oranges.

Jordan.

“Rain, the doc is on her way,” Jordan tells me as he pets my hair.

Someone laughs. “You can’t be really worried about the pack’s mongrel, Jordy.”

Ruth. My cousin.

Why can’t my birthday be today so I can leave already and never look back?

Jordan’s scent changes. He is so angry his body vibrates. Slowly, he stands. “If you ever touch her again, I will personally kick you out of the pack!” Jordan growls lowly, looking at one of the females. Probably Ruth.

Why does it not surprise me that she is behind me being pushed?

Another scent stands out to me—sandalwood. Kevin.

“Rain, are you alright?”

Despite the pain coming from my back and head, I can hear Kevin’s worried tone. “Yes,” I try to reassure him. He snorts.

“Why are you so worried for her?” Ruth asks in disbelief.

Jordan—who is still pretty much looking at her—barks, “Kevin, take Ruth away from here before I lose my temper.”

Kevin rushes to do as Jordan asked and grabs Ruth by her arms, and starts dragging her away.

“But, Jordy—” Ruth starts to protest, but Jordan cuts her short.

“My. Name. Is. Jordan! And if you ever insult or try to harm Rain again, there will be repercussions!” Then, looking at the crowd formed around me, he snarls, “Why are you standing here gaping like fools? Go eat, drink, and have fun!”

The crowd disappears, and I am left alone with Jordan.

He is angry… for me. But why?

Jordan squats and helps me sit. After a small inspection of my back, he lets out a series of curses. “No permanent damage, but the doc will have to pull out all the shards stuck in your flesh.” He looks around. “Why isn’t Viviana here?”

Viviana is the name of the pack’s doctor. The last time I went to her was when I turned ten years old. After that… I wasn’t allowed to anymore.

Another male approaches us, and for a moment, I think it is Mr. Smith until the scent of sour lemons reaches my nose, and my breath hitches.

“Return to the party, son,” Alpha Ben says. I grab Jordan’s hand because I don’t want him to leave. “I will take care of Rain.”

I already feel tears forming, and I blink fast, not wanting to cry. Safia lets out a little whimper. She has also been the target of Alpha Ben’s abuse. His wolf, Miklos, often chases Safia through the woods, hurting her each time he catches up with her.

“I got her,” Jordan informs his father.

I am relieved. Relieved because Jordan is not leaving me with the monster, with his father. While no one knows what Alpha Ben has done to me for many years now, I will never forget it. Most nights, I wake up frightened that he has snuck inside my room. Once, he almost did so, but he was almost caught by Dan and Victor, who were up late. Since then, he has stayed away from my room.

“But it’s your birthday. You should be talking with our guests, meeting new females,” Alpha Ben tries to persuade Jordan.

A male and a female I haven’t met before appear behind Alpha Ben.

“I said I will take care of Rain! She is a guest at my party, and it is my duty to take care of her when one of our pack members, her cousin no less, pushed her intentionally!” Jordan yells.

Safia lets me know Alpha Ben is shocked by Jordan’s reaction. If Jordan realizes it, I am not sure, as he is busy helping me stand. Safia blocks the pain I am feeling. “I don’t understand why Viviana is not here by now! What is taking her so long?” The way Jordan speaks makes me think he is worried about me.

“Is she well?” the female asks.

“She is not,” Jordan replies.

“Is there anything I can do?”

Jordan pinches the bridge of his nose. “While I appreciate you coming here tonight, Princess Valya, Rain is my responsibility. She is… mine. Now, return to the party, have fun, and meet new people.”

Oh, wow. A princess, an actual real werewolf princess at the party, and Jordan is ditching her for me? Did he hit his head or something?

Alphas Ben’s awful scent changes, letting me know he is… upset about something. As long as I am away from him, I do not care how he is feeling.

“Oh,” Princess Valya says.

“Can you walk?” Jordan asks me.

My legs are trembling because of the shock, but with the pain blocked, I am sure I can walk. “I think I can,” I let him know.

“Good, because I need to take you to the clinic. I would carry you, but I am afraid I will make your injuries even worse.”

With the help of Jordan, I leave the party. I can feel Alpha Ben’s gaze on my back, his sour lemon scent burning my lungs. But Jordan’s presence helps me remain calm, his orange scent making me feel safe.

It does not take long to make it to the clinic. Doctor Viviana is busy helping two females that don’t belong to the pack. One of them is not a werewolf but of another species. Safia sends me the image of a bear, letting me know the female is a berserker, a werebear. A big gash is on her right thigh, while the werewolf female smells like silver.

Their scents tell me they are rogues. And they are injured.

“What are they doing here?” Jordan snarls as he helps me sit on an examination bed in the ER side of the clinic.

The berserker looks in Jordan’s direction. “We mistook this pack for that of Caleb Black’s. We didn’t want to step into your territory, but Cosasi vampires were after us. We will leave,” she says, getting down from the examination bed. “We don’t want more trouble than we already have.”

The Crescent Moon Pack is not the only pack living inside Baciu Forest. I was around fifteen when the Elders gave Caleb Black, one of the most feared rogues in the country, land near our territory. From what I have heard, he has built a village and gathered many rogues to live there. This year he announced he has a pack—The Black Ruby Rogue Pack. Many are scared of the rogues, and some packs have even tried to attack Caleb Black and his village, but intricate spells ward his territory, and no one can enter.

It is said that rogues are all bad. That they have chosen this lifestyle—not living within a pack that has norms and rules—because they want to inflict terror upon everyone, but Caleb and his pack have always left us alone. Before he and his pack established as our neighbors, feral rogues used to attack us. The last attack was three years ago, a day before Caleb moved into his new territory.

“Rogues, starting with Caleb Black, are the scum of the Earth,” Jordan growls. “Stepping inside my territory was a big mistake.”

His nails turn into claws, and I am afraid he will attack them at any given moment, so I take his left hand in mine.

Doctor Viviana stops cleaning the werewolf female’s wound and waits for Jordan’s orders. Even if he is not the Alpha of the pack, Jordan is slowly learning about what it means to be an Alpha and his future role within the pack. Everyone listens to him, just like they listen to Alpha Ben’s orders.

I don’t feel that the two females want to harm the pack. “Jordan, can’t you just forget they were here?” I ask. “Look at them,” I wave a hand at them. “They are injured. If they want to be on their way, let them be.”

Jordan whips his head in my direction. “Don’t you understand what our pack’s role is in protecting the Diamond Realm from anyone trying to destroy it?”

“But they haven’t tried to—” go to where the portal is “—do anything that would jeopardize our pack or our role in protecting the realm. Let them go, just this once,” I try to reason with him.

“Do you understand what you are asking of me?” Jordan asks in disbelief.

I painfully bite my bottom lip. Why am I trying to help two rogues I have never met before? But I can’t possibly let Jordan interrogate them when they are injured. Stepping into our territory was wrong, yes, but I am sure it was just a mistake. “They said Cosasi Vampires were after them. I don’t need to remind you how awful they are.” I shudder when I remember all the horrible stories Mr. Smith told me about them. Of how they buy or kidnap people of any species and take them to their castle… to do horrible things to them. “If you let them go, I will… I will do what you ask of me.” I hope he understands what I mean—that whenever he wants to touch me, I won’t say… no. Not even to… s*x.

Jordan’s scent becomes stronger, and Safia lets me know he appears to be hurt by my words. “We will talk about this later. But for now, you need help,” he says fast, as if remembering why we came to the clinic in the first place. Still looking at me, he says, “You have ten minutes to make yourselves scarce. Viviana, Rain fell over a table full of glasses. She needs medical attention.”

Doctor Viviana comes over to me to inspect my wounds while the two rogues make their way out of the ER room. One of them, the berserker, stops and turns around. “Thank you for your help. While I don’t think we will meet again, I would like to know the name of those that helped me and my friend tonight.”

Jordan growls in annoyance while I let the female know what she needs, “I am Rain, and this is Jordan, the future Alpha of this pack. And you already met Doctor Viviana.”

“Rain,” the berserker says. “I am Victoria, or Viki for short. And my friend is Cosmina.”

I give her a small smile, and she leaves.

Jordan sighs, annoyed. “I will have to have a word with the guards patrolling the territory. And you,” he snaps at me, “being this soft won’t do! Don’t you understand that we can’t put in jeopardy the portal that leads to the Diamond Realm? You, me, and everyone living in this pack are bound to keep it safe until the lost heir to the Diamond Throne returns!”

Every pup born in the Crescent Moon Pack is taught the story of Queen Sera and her mate King Aris and their legendary love. It is said that twin hybrids—Luca and Lavinia—were born from their union. Lavinia died soon after the birth, but Luca lived long enough to have pups of his own and to sit on the throne and rule the Diamond Realm, but a series of problems with the Ruby Realm, the Vampire Realm, led to Luca’s disappearance and death of his pups. For many years, it was believed that the line of Queen Sera and King Aris was gone until word came out that Laviana was alive. And now everyone is waiting for a descendant of that line to return to the Diamond Realm and sit on the throne that belongs to them—which has sat unoccupied for many generations now, a regent ruling the Diamond Realm.

“I know, but I also know the two females posed no threat to the portal or the Diamond Throne.”

Jordan shakes his head in disapproval at me, and he is still shaking it an hour later while he takes me to my room. Luckily, the wounds I sustained were not that deep, and after Doctor Viviana removed all the shards from my back, she gave me an injection to accelerate my healing.

“If word gets out of me letting two rogues leave, my father would probably send me to the Elders to be punished,” he groans.

“But no one will know,” I try to reassure him. “Except for Doctor Viviana and us, no one knows of the two females that ended up in our territory. Everyone is at the party, and the clinic is far away from the Packhouse so that their scents won’t be noticed.”

I don’t know when I became so confident around him. Just hours ago, I was afraid he would… force me to do things… but he had never pushed me more than I could handle. I did not like him opening my shirt and looking at my chest, but his mouth and hands on me were like nothing I expected. I actually… enjoyed it. After I got over my fear of him hurting me.

Jordan opens the door to my room, and I enter. He follows me. Suddenly the space seems so small, so cramped. I am alone with Jordan… in my room. It is the first time he is in here.

He looks around, his brow furrowing as he sees the mattress I sleep on. Old stains cover it, and in many parts, the fabric is ripped apart. I tried many times to fix it or clean it, but without materials and proper cleaning products, there is so little I can do.

“You are so exasperating, you know?” he says and pulls me to him, his arms coming around my waist. “You not only made me miss my party and my chance to find my mate, but also made me let two rogues get away.”

I lower my gaze. “I am so sorry. I never wanted to be a bother to you. If I had stayed in my room, none of this would have happened.”

Jordan suddenly laughs, and my eyes snap up at him. “I am just messing with you.”

He brushes his fingers over the mark on my left shoulder—the crown of flames. I always wondered what it means and why did it appear after the fire that killed my parents.

Jordan places his index finger under my chin and tilts my head up. This is one of those rare moments when I wish I didn’t have face blindness. I wish I could see… Jordan’s face.

“The party is not important, not anymore, at least. As for my mate… I will find her during the next Full Moon.” He lowers his head and nuzzles my mouth with his own. My heart starts to beat fast, but not because I am scared. I am nervous… and excited… and I wonder—wonder if he will touch me the way he did earlier. When his mouth was on my n*****s, I felt tingles between my legs. It felt… different from when Alpha Ben abused me.

“Then why are you here with me?” I dare to ask.

“Because I am in love with you, Rain,” he tells me.

I try to push him away, to tell him that he is lying, and to stop making fun of me, but his scent tells me he is being… honest.

Jordan, in love with… me? “But you… you bullied me. You… you hate me. And… and….”

His lips are hot on my mouth, stopping me from babbling even more. My knees bend, and he lowers me on the mattress, my heart pounding in my chest. I am not scared of him anymore… I am curious to see what his touch will do to me, what sensations he will unlock next. Safia blocks all the horrors that happened to me with Alpha Ben, allowing me to relax enough with Jordan that I don’t have a mental breakdown by having him on top of me.

“I never hated you,” he murmurs as he lowers one of the straps of the dress. He kisses my bare shoulder. “I was angry because your scent… has always called to me.”

My scent did what?

He cups my left breast, his thumb circling my n****e. I shiver beneath him. “Are you scared?” he asks.

“Nervous.”

“We won’t have s*x. I want to wait until you turn nineteen. But that doesn’t mean I can’t touch you, right?” he asks as he reveals my breast. “You taste so good,” he murmurs, and his mouth closes on my n****e, sucking it hard. The tingles return.

“Jordan,” I moan, my head pushing into the mattress. Thank the Goddess that I am a werewolf and for the shot Doctor Viviana gave me, as I am almost healed.

“I love the way you say my name,” he says against my skin. “I love you, Rain.”

This time, I don’t try to analyze his words. I only… accept them. Am I craving love and touch so much that I believe the first person that tells me ‘I love you’? But Jordan’s scent still tells me he is being honest. My heart pounds so fast I am sure it is louder than the music from the party.

“When?” I ask.

He lifts his head and looks at me. “When what?”

“When did you know you were in love with me?” I want to know.

“When you arrived at the party. The most beautiful female I have ever seen. And you are all mine.” Is he claiming me? He swallows hard. “Do you think you could ever love me?”

Yes.

Did I really just think that? I can’t fall in love with Jordan, not after everything that he did to me. And his father… his father will never accept Jordan being in love with me. When Jordan finds his mate, I will be left… heartbroken. And I can’t, not when freedom is so close.

“I don’t know.”

He nods like he understands my hesitation. “I will win your trust, your love,” he promises me.

And Jordan does just that, as for the next eight days, he showers me with gifts—from a new cell phone to clothes and books—to affection. Instead of spending my days cleaning the Packhouse, Jordan takes me to the waterfall, and we spend many hours there, kissing and bathing and… talking. Sometimes I draw while he looks at me. I don’t know if anyone from the pack knows what is going on between Jordan and me, but it does not take long for rumors to start. Jordan denies them all. He is keeping me a secret for my well-being. I think it is better this way too, not wanting Alpha Ben to know the truth about my relationship with Jordan. He only thinks Jordan is… f*****g me. But except for kissing and touching, Jordan has never pushed for more.

It does not take long for the walls around my heart to crumble and for me to fall in love with Jordan.

During the Full Moon, a loud knock on my door wakes me up. I open the door only to find a box on the floor with a bow on top of it.

Another gift?

I open it and inside is a gorgeous green dress and a pair of shoes. From what Safia tells me, it matches my eyes.

A note lies on the dress.

’I am waiting for you by the waterfall,

Xoxo Jordan.’