The Rejected Alpha

Survival Tactics

TRIGGER WARNING: Read at your own discretion.

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*Mirabel's POV*

I do everything from the biggest chores to the minute ones. Cooking is my favorite pastime, not only because I get to spend time in the kitchen, preparing different dishes, but I also get to have a taste of everything I cook, which means I get to eat. Cooking about seven or eight different dishes for almost forty pack members is a piece of cake for me. When I first started to cook, I couldn’t handle that much and Alpha Sebastian got Agnes, the head omega, to teach me all the things I should know. After three years, I can proudly say that I have surpassed my teacher. I cook things that I have never seen or heard about and I can boldly say that my dishes are so good everyone would like to take a bite.

At first, it wasn't easy and I cooked the same type of food repeatedly and in excess too, which not only earned me punishments but also got beaten for wasting food. Eventually, I got it right and could satisfy all of their palates. The people living in the house eat so much food. I had to wake up very early every morning to start the preparation of breakfast of toast, bacon, and eggs and start the coffee machine. By seven thirty a.m., everything is ready for consumption. I can only eat while cooking. Anything I am able to sneak into my mouth during this time will serve as my meal. If, by any chance, I was caught eating any part of the food, then it is safe to say, I would be punished severely for stealing. By ten a.m., I would be making preparations for lunch and dinner starts at two p.m. By the time I finish cleaning up after the last eater, it's probably midnight and I will get to sleep for three hours. That is. If I didn't commit any crime that day, if I did, I would forget about sleeping and if I fell asleep by mistake. Then I would wish for death, because not only will the breakfast get delayed but everyone would have a very bad day.

My pack is big with a few hundred wolves, maybe four or five hundred. Alpha Sabastian is my uncle, my father's elder brother to be precise. He was once just an ordinary pack member with little to no strength. He is always at loggerheads with my parents and then one night, after my fifth birthday, there was a rogue attack that claimed the lives of many warriors, my parents included. Surprisingly, after the leader of the rogues killed my dad, alpha Cedric, and mum Luna Marie, they all just pack up and left. Then, after everything, Uncle Sabestian claimed victory and challenged anyone who dared him to be the next alpha. Naturally, no one was up for any fight anymore, as they were all too busy nursing their wounded or mourning the death of their loved ones to bother with him, and thus, my nightmare began. He finds solace in just torturing me, giving me chores I couldn't handle. I get beaten for almost anything and everything. He told me later never to show my face around the pack members. He said it was for my protection against the bad wolves that killed my parents, and then later he said everything was my fault and the pack was attacked because of me and the people that died that night were all trying to protect me. I was demoted to pack’s slave as soon as I lost my parents, a position worse than that of an omega. I was treated worse than a stray animal. Everyone tells me I am worthless and will never amount to anything more than their maid and a punching bag to their kids. It's sad, I know, but after holding up hopes to at least get my wolf at eighteen, like everyone else, she refused to surface. Not only did my last ray of hope at surviving get dashed, but my workload increased and so did the punishments I received from everyone daily.

Alpha Sabestian is pure evil and ruthless. He kills those that showed me the slightest sympathy, and those who aren’t so brave were too scared to confront him over many of his atrocious acts. Despite being the pack's alpha, he kept many women and has several children. He encourages pack members not to remain faithful to their mates if they find them, and those that don’t have their mates indulge in obscene acts just like the alpha, and the most disgusting of all is that, if a pack member finds someone or perhaps their mates, alpha Sabestian will, request to have s*x with the female first so he could bless their union and if they refused, he would then kill the male and still sleep with the female, I know all these things despite not moving around much because people talk and I listened, even if they think I’m not listening.

As I got older, I realized that nobody cares about what anyone is going through. I’d pray to the moon good at night to let me die peacefully and join my parents and to forget all about this struggle called life, but every time I prayed, it is either Selene was too busy and couldn’t be bothered by my selfish request or she just didn't care. Then, when I had the courage, I tried to put matters into my own hands, a decision I’m still living to regret to this day. I was going to end it all. On two different occasions, I tried, and each time I got thwarted by Sabastian.

After my thirteenth birthday, I developed a resistance to pain, since I could not escape it, I might as well just live with it. I don't feel anything anymore, no matter what anyone does to me, it still hurts, no doubt, but I just kind of take it all, close my eyes, and numb it all till whoever it is gets tired and leaves me alone. This is my survival tactic.

I was hiding like I had been told, but I was feeling very restless. This was supposed to be my resting time. I need to grab a few minutes of sleep while I still can, but I just couldn’t. Something kept gnawing at me like I needed to do something or left something undone, or perhaps I forgot to make Eve’s bed or arrange the laundry. Maybe I didn't really finish cooking. Did I leave the fridge door open? There are endless lists of possible things I might have left unfinished. The problem was, I am double sure I completed all these chores and nothing was out of place, but I wasn’t a hundred percent sure about it, and not being so sure was a problem, plus, something kept telling me to go out and make sure everything was in order. At first, I tried to ignore it, but since I’m still restless, there is no crime in trying to take a quick peek. Fortunately, no one was in the house. I would be in and out before anyone came back in, they were all already at the ball.

I slowly opened the door to the basement where I live and carefully opened the door even though I knew there was no one in the house, moving quickly but with caution, knowing anyone could still show up at anytime, I must not let them find me wandering about, because then, I would be in big trouble. I kept looking over my shoulders as I moved around carefully, worried that I might get seen by someone. It was very important to me to check on all these things just to be extra sure. I know I could never amount to more than just a slave to anyone, but if there is any way I could prevent being punished by the alpha or his children, then I’d gladly do it without a second thought.