The Omega's Revolt (completed)

Act 1 - Rose Among the Thorns

            The grey overcast skies covered the front porch in gloom as a tall young woman waited patiently for a shiny black Mercedes to pull over. A buttonman began to load her luggage into the boot while the caddie rushed over to her side of the car to open the door for her. 

            “It’s time, Madam,” an auburn-haired stocky woman dressed in a black suit said firmly to the young woman. 

            Behind the tinted lenses of her sunglasses, the young woman’s dark emerald eyes betrayed the storm that was raging within her. In a few hours, she would become Rosalee Smith-Bight, Luna of the Tiger’s Eye Pack and henceforth, her fate would no longer lay in her own hands. 

            Her heart ached as the slam of the car door sounded the death knells for any hopes and dreams that she had allowed herself to harbor. The only consolation that she had was the thought of her little sister and mother being able to lead the lives that their father had always wanted for them. 

            In giving up her freedom, she had fulfilled her father’s dying wish, at least for half of her family. Her only regret was not being able to see her sister and her mother one last time before she set out on her mission for their Clan. 

            To ensure that her uncle kept up his end of the bargain, she had insisted for new identities to be procured for her sister and mother a month before her mission. With their new identities and a sizable Swiss bank account, her sister and mother were given permission to leave their Clan, for as long as she remained useful to their Clan. 

            The night before their departure, her sister had cried herself to sleep in her embrace while her sickly mother berated herself over and over for being a useless woman. It was a dark moonless night and the three women had huddled together in one bed, desperately holding onto each other as if they would never see each other again. 

            Perhaps, they would never see each other again in this lifetime, and Rosalee knew that if she was successful on her mission, that would be the best for them all. After all, regardless of how her mission went, there was no way for her to leave their Clan again. 

            “We will land in Arizona in the afternoon and travel by car to the Tiger’s Eye Pack, where you will be initiated as the Luna during the full moon tonight, Madam,” stated the stocky woman matter-of-factly as they exited the car and headed towards a private jet. 

            “You will need to ensure that the Alpha consummates the marriage with you to honor the alliance between our Clan and his pack. I’ve prepared the necessary attire for you for tonight and you will remember your training-”

            Before the stocky woman could continue, Rosalee took her seat on the plane and removed her sunglasses to glare at the woman. 

            “If you’re referring to my w***e training, Nessa, I’m well-prepared and I don’t need you to remind me what I’m supposed to do as Luna. I’m no virgin and the things that I’m capable of in bed will charm any man, or woman, or do you want to find out?” 

            The mocking tone in Rosalee’s deliberate provocation did nothing to the stocky woman, and her face remained stoic, as if Rosalee had just said nothing of importance to her. 

            “I trust that you’d remember your mission for the sake of your family,” she stated calmly as she took her seat opposite Rosalee. 

            The muscle in her jaws clenched tightly as Rosalee bit back a retort. The safety of her family wasn’t worth risking over winning a meaningless verbal spat. Wearing her sunglasses again, she took a flute of champagne from the stewardess serving their flight and allowed the alcohol to relax her tensed body. 

            After the death of her father in their failed attempt to leave their Clan, Rosalee’s uncle, who was also the Skipper of their Clan, had taken them in and provided for them like family, as if he wasn’t the one who had ordered the hit on his own brother. They lived under one roof with the Clan Skipper like a big happy family, when in actual fact, it was just her uncle’s way to keep them under effective house arrest. 

            Unlike her father, her uncle kept many mistresses and strangely, they all gave birth to boys. Growing up in a house full of cousins who were determined to become the next Skipper and inherit the throne of their father taught Rosalee one thing, no one could be truly trusted. 

            As the oldest child of her father, she felt bound to protect her family after his death and instead of learning the ropes to become a dutiful wife from her aunt like her sister and her only female cousin, Julia, Rosalee had opted to train with her male cousins and younger brother under their Clan’s warlords and reapers. 

            Women held no power within the Clan and though she was granted the same courtesy extended to the female relatives of the Clan Skipper, she knew that she was only allowed to train with the boys because no one saw her as a real threat. This knowledge didn’t anger her nor did it dishearten her. Instead, she saw it as an advantage and an opportunity to equip herself with the skills to one day avenge her father, without fearing that she would be eliminated as a threat before she was ready. 

            Being the only rose among the thorns was no easy feat and the first time that she was sent on a mission with a reaper, her nostrils were filled with the smell of blood for days later. The cold blooded execution of the young son of a rival Italian mob haunted her dreams for many nights and she would often wake up, drenched in cold sweat as the lifeless eyes of the young man stared back at her while blood gushed out of the hole that she had put between his eyes. 

            Her first kill made her realize why her father didn’t want this life for them and why he had risked everything to try to leave their Clan. Even as the brother of the Skipper and as the Chief of their Clan, her father lived in fear like any of the mob bosses that one day, their rivals would come for them, or worse, for their loved ones. 

            Surely no amount of money or power or women could make a life in constant fear worth it, and it was then that Rosalee began to question herself. Had she been wrong to allow hate and revenge to fuel her actions? 

            Her doubts were quickly thrown into the back of her mind as she was assigned to more and more missions with the reaper training her. Out in the city, it was a dog eat dog world, and whoever doubted or hesitated would be six feet under at the end of the day. Rosalee learned this each time she succeeded to pull the trigger on her target before they could point their guns at her. 

            Soon, the metallic smell and the lifeless eyes that used to haunt her no longer bothered her. Her doubts were extinguished by the spectacular results of her missions. In a short span of seven years, she had become the youngest person within her family to complete her training with one of their Clan’s top reapers, beating her brother and all of her cousins. 

            On her twenty sixth birthday the previous year, her uncle had even thrown a party in her honor to celebrate her achievements. Her body tingled with excitement as she blew out the candles on her over the top two-tiered birthday cake, and hope ignited within her heart that she was finally one step closer to avenging her father. 

            The sparkle of hope was short-lived when the news of her cousin’s death in childbirth reached the Smith mansion. Her aunt’s heart breaking sobs echoed in the halls of the mansion for weeks, in stark contrast to her uncle’s frustrated outbursts. Her cousin had only been Luna of the Tiger Eye’s Pack for three years before passing away, and based on the reports of the bonebreaker who was part of her bride’s trousseau, it was a fully preventable death. 

            This blatant disrespect of the Tiger’s Eye Pack against the Smith Clan wasn’t just a slap on her uncle’s face, it also sealed Rosalee’s fate, removing her agency of her own life. Without another living female child to send to the Tiger’s Eye Pack as Luna to keep the centuries old alliance between werewolf pack and mobster clan alive, Rosalee’s uncle hit on the idea of sending a niece over. 

            Not just any niece, but one who was trained as well as any of his boys and could gain them the upper hand in their alliance once again. 

            When her uncle’s intention became clear, Rosalee knew that she had no other choice but to make full use of the bad hand that was dealt to her. Running away was out of the question. If her father had failed, there was no way she would succeed, not to mention she couldn’t just leave her family behind. 

            So she did the next best thing that she could and accepted her mission in exchange for the freedom of her mother and sister.