Pack Tensions
538 Words
What was to be a brief stop at the post office turned into her very own nightmare as Chloe sensed eyes boring into her the moment she stepped in. Two women were standing near the counter, sharp scents of disdain hanging around them, whispering intent.
“She was a null,” one spoke loudly without concern, continuing their flow of ridicule. “How he supposedly got her to shift!”
“Sure looks like a null. Are you sure she’s shifted?” The other with a smirk had responded.
“Really, from there to being mated to Jackson, imagine!” the other one continued, scoffing.
With her hands tightening around the package she was mailing, Chloe strode forward. “Do you have a problem with me?”
The two women froze in place; the taller one, Vicki, smirked across. “Well, duh!”
“Not too smart to provoke me,” Chloe cautioned, her wolf bristling at the thought of being restrained.
“Or what?” Vicki said, her eyes taunting.
The tension in the air had become so palpable that someone seemed to have placed a bet on it: “Is she going to kill her?”
“No, I’m not gonna kill her,” Chloe replied, maintaining steady tone while her heart raced. She turned towards Vicky. “Just don’t make me regret that I didn’t.
Vicky had forced a laugh. “You’re weak, b***h. Too weak to be an alpha’s mate. Right?”
“Yeah,” said another voice. “She’s an Omega. She shouldn’t be mated with Jackson.”
“I’m not an Omega,” Chloe said in a low, steady voice.
“Yeah, you are,” Vicky retorted. “You have always been nothing, Chloe. Just because you can shift now doesn’t change that, and I’m not the only one who has noticed.”
Chloe got closer; her wolf was howling for her to attack. “Don’t you get it? Even if Jackson wanted to, he couldn’t choose you. You’re not his mate, Vicki. Not now, not ever. So, I can’t even be your competition because there is none. You were a mistake, one Jackson will never make again.”
Fury marred Vicky’s face. “Let it go, Vicky,” Chloe soothed. “Move on before you are hurt. Live to find your true mate.”
“Hell no, I’m not letting this go, b***h!” Vicky hissed. “You’re an Omega. You don’t even deserve to live. Mark my words, next time I get a hand around your neck, I won’t stop squeezing.”
As Chloe moved away, her heart raced. The crowds parted for her. At the counter, Jana, the postmistress, handed her a receipt. "Well done back there, Chloe," she said softly.
"Really?" Chloe asked, still shaken.
"I meant the one with Vicky. The alpha's mate needs to be strong. No letting a bully like that walk over you. If she wants to summon a blood test, she will be the one torn apart, not you."
"Oh, thank you," Chloe said, allowing a small smile.
"Give it time," Jana added. "That's when the pack knows they can trust you, and they will push you until they do."
"Thanks, Jana."
"Anytime."
- Writer
