Endangered

Tonight was the night! The Beta's son's eighteenth birthday. Preparations for the part had been going on for weeks and it had finally arrived. Sophia could hardly contain her excitement as she raced to the bathroom to quickly shower. She could hear people out the pack house already; the party would be starting soon. She glanced out of the window in her bedroom when she had come out of the shower, only to see other pack members bringing out food onto the buffet table and putting the last pieces in place. The barbecue was already lit and pluming smoke up into the sky. She squealed with excitement as she ran to her wardrobe, pulling through all of her dressed until she found the right one. The one. The one she had picked for this very special night. For you see, tonight was not only the Beta's boy's birthday, it was also her sweet sixteenth. Sophia Williams. Omega born female of the Birchwood pack. The party was in no way for her of course, with her being an omega, but still, her sixteenth birthday, the time she may be able to find her mate. Images flashed through her mind of whom her mate could be, she was damn sure he was in the pack, he had to be. She hoped whoever he was wouldn't look down on her because of her rank. A mate wouldn't do that though, she shook her head, pushing the thought from her mind. A mate was the perfect match, they were born to love you, to cherish and protect you. Sophia pulled on her sapphire dress. It was a corset type at the top and flare out at the hips. It was short and cute and almost elegant looking. She brushed her dark brunette hair down, wresting with the brush to tame it into shape. Her hair always had a natural wave, her mother and father thought it was cute, she found it highly annoying. Giving up on the brush, she grabbed the straighteners and set to work. It didn't take long before her hair was all nicely uniform and she rushed to the vanity table to start putting on her makeup. As always she kept it as nude as possible, but still lovely. Her perfectly marcara-ed eyelashes framed her brilliant amber eyes perfectly. She smiled in the mirror, blowing herself a kiss with those full lips that she had painted a pixie pink. Even for an omega, she was hot and she hoped her mate thought so too. She flicked off the light on the vanity table, stepped into her black heels and practically danced out of her bedroom door, nearly running straight into her father. "Slow down there," he chuckled, righting her before she fell completely. "Sorry, daddy," she apologised. "You look gorgeous, sweetheart," he smiled warmly at her before taking another look at the dress, and frowning, "Don't you think that dress is a little... short?" "Daaaaad," she groaned, knowing this was coming. "Okay, okay," he held his hands up in defeat, "Its your birthday, you get a free pass today." Sophia squealed happily, "Thank you, daddy," she stood on her tiptoes and kisses him on the cheek, leaving a nice pink lip print. "You’re welcome," he said scrubbing at the lip stick print on his cheek with an unimpressed face, "Go have fun." Sophia didn't need to hear any more. She pranced down the corridors, making her way to the stairs that she descended slowly in her heels. She wasn't used to heels and didn't want to start the night in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. The party was just starting as she went outside. Most of the young pack members were already out and mingling. She spotted Rob, the Beta's son stood with the Alpha's son Jake, talking with a load of Delta females. They were all being very flirtatious and coy with them, and the two males were drinking it up. Sophia skipped over to them, the other females turning to look at her with disgust as they noticed Rob and Jake's gaze flit to her. "Happy Birthday, Rob!" she cheered happily, sending him her best toothy smile. "Thanks, Soph," he smiled back, but looked very awkward. "Run along now, little Omega," one of the girls said, waving her hand at her to leave. "Bye, mutt!" another said, giving her a sarcastic wave. Sophia smile faltered a bit, but didn't disappear. She was used to this kind of treatment being an Omega, didn't mean it didn't hurt any less. "Oh ok," Sophia said, not making eye contact with the bitches and concentrating on Rob, "Happy Birthday again," she said before giving him a little awkward wave and turning on her he to move to the drinks table. Well, that was embarrassing. She grabbed herself a Coke and popped the car open. It was strikingly obvious that she didn't have any friends in the pack as she was the only one stood alone. Then she smelled it. That strong, invigorating scent. It smelled like cinnamon and pine. It was amazing. Sophia turned to see where it was coming from when her eyes locked with Matt, the son of the Third. His eyes were wide and staring straight back at hers, unfortunately his face seemed to say that he wasn't overly happy. It's OK, Sophia told herself, the bond will hit him in a few moments. She smiled wildly at him as he continued to stare. Her love for him was already so strong and he was so handsome, she couldn't have asked for a better mate. Other people were starting to stare now, including the group she had just been embarrassed by. She didn't care though; she wanted them to see her with her mate. Matt's green eyes pierced into hers before darting around, noticing the gazes upon them. Any moment now, she told herself, her confidence slipping slightly. The group of Delta females shook their head at Matt sympathetically. Why were they being sympathetic? Sure, she was an Omega but that shouldn't matter to mates. Matt finally started walking towards her, his eyes set on her. Sophia sighed a little in relief; finally he was making a move towards her. She smiled brightly at him, she wondered what he'd do when he got to her, would he hug her maybe even kiss her. She shuffled her feet eagerly. Matt leant in and whispered to her, "Can I speak to you? In private?" Oh... not exactly what she was expecting but, "Okay," she said softly. She went to take his hand but he pulled it away, leading them towards the trees that that bordered the clearing the pack house was situated in. Finally once they were far enough away from the party Matt turned to her with a glum expression. Oh no. It was at that moment she knew what his next few words would be. "I, Matt Lowdrey, reject you, Sophia Matthews, as my mate," he said coldly. Sophia felt a stab in her heart at the words; the pain was intense as it felt like part of herself was being ripped away. "I'm sorry, but I had to," Matt apologised, but his gaze was still firm, "I need a strong female Third at my side for the future, not -" he gestured at her like she was filth, "An Omega." Sophia held her head high, fighting the pain in her heart and the heavy feeling knotting in her stomach. She felt tears welling in her eyes, but refused to let them fall. She gritted her teeth in her closed mouth to stop the scream she wanted so badly to let out. Matt must have noticed the tears in her eyes because he said, "Come on, Soph, don't cry and make me feel worse. I'm sure you'll find someone soon, someone a bit more... on your level." Sophia didn't speak, just nodded as the overwhelming sadness took over her. She wanted to drop dead right at the moment. Her own mate. The one who was destined to be with her, had rejected her all over a stupid rank. Fine. She didn't need him anyway. "Let's get back to the party," Matt said with a half-hearted smile and held his hand to her to lead her back. She shook her head, stepping away from him and sent her gaze to the floor, "I need a few moments alone," she whispered, afraid her voice would c***k if she spoke any louder. Matt hesitated for a moment before moving around her back towards the party, he rubbed her shoulder on the way past. It was supposed to be comforting but all it felt like was icy betrayal and it took all of her strength not to shun his touch. "See you back at the party," he said before making his way back through the trees towards the festivities. It enraged Sophia more that he was just so calm about it, surely he felt the bond sever, surely it caused him pain like it had her. If it did she would never tell as he showed no sign of it at all. She couldn't stay here, she couldn't go back to the party, she was too ashamed. Ashamed of herself. Was she really that bad to make her own mate reject her? She needed a run to clear her head, but she didn't fancy leaving her dress out here for anyone to find. She decided she would run in human form as she kicked off her heels, placing them neatly next to a tree. Then she took off as fast as she could, running in the opposite direction of the party, running as far away as she could, letting the tears run down her cheeks openly, whimpering in loss of her mate. Sophia finally collapsed on the ground, uncaring at this point whether she dirtied her dress or not. She was exhausted; it felt like she had been running for hours. She had ended up by the lake, the pale moonlight shimmering off its surface. It was so peaceful and tranquil. The perfect place to clear her head after what had just happened. She sat by the water’s edge, dipping her toes into the water and letting the cold water soothe her aching feet. She let her face fall into her hands and she cried. She cried for her mate. Cried for how he'd damaged her. The hole in her heart would never heal. She would have to carry around the sorrow and emptiness for the rest of her long life. She turned her tearful eyes to the full moon and prayed, prayed hard for the moon goddess to let her have another mate, to give her a second chance at happiness. Though from the moon goddess' first choice of a mate, it didn't seem she liked Sophia very much. It was very, very rare for a wolf to get a second chance of a mate, and Sophia definitely wasn't feeling lucky but she prayed anyway. She sat there a long time after her tears had long dried, just contemplating existence, when she heard her name being called in the distance. It sounded like her pack. She wasn't ready to see them just yet, so she ignored the calls. She didn't want to be disturbed right now; the calmness of the lake was soothing her injured soul. Sophia was suddenly grabbed roughly from behind and a gag shoved into her mouth. Before she could comprehend what was happening, her hands were bound tightly with thick rope that was burning her skin where it touched. Wolfsbane. This wasn't good. Sophia panicked and tried to struggle away but more hands grabbed her before she felt the sharp scratch of a needle entering her arm. Her world suddenly turned on its head and everything was blurry. Regardless she tried to fight away but the hands just kept grabbing her and pulling her back. "Dad!" she tried to scream around the gag but it was seriously muffled and sounded slurred. She felt her head fall back and her vision went black.