Sold To The Cruel Alpha: His Omega Mate

CHAPTER TWO

Alina’s POV

"I, Conrad Roy, reject you, Alina Mario, as mate."

I heard these words on a day that should have been the most beautiful day of my life, a day that was meant to give me comfort and joy. In that moment, my world shattered.

I was scrubbing; it was something I did well at, and that was something I could be proud of. As an omega, there were not many things I could do for my pack; I wasn't an alpha, so I wasn't strong enough to hunt or fight; I was not a beta either, so that was out of the question. As an omega, all I could do was serve and do it well. Someone passed through the corridor and kicked the bucket of soapy water all over the floor. I tried not to say anything; it was no use to get angry, so I ignored it like I did with everything.

I was an omega and I was an orphan; in a pack like this, I didn't have that many rights. I survived on the grace of my uncle and aunt, the Alpha and Luna of our pack; they had taken me in when no one would have bothered, so I was grateful to them, and beside, I was happy, and nothing could dampen it. I had turned eighteen today, which meant that I was now an adult, which meant that I would find my fated mate today.

It was the one day of every werewolf's life that they looked forward to. I tried to ignore the fact that I was not like others and smiled.

Today would be different; I would find my mate, and he would be mine; we would raise a family together, and it would be mine. I would have a family of my own to love and cherish.

I scrubbed the floor, mopping up the water, and then I stood. I hurried to my room in the basement of my uncle's home. It was a damp and cold room, and no one came down here. I walked to the box I had my clothes stored in and pulled on a dress. It was an old dress, white and soft. I loved it because my mother had worn it when she was around my age. I shrugged on the dress; it fell a little above my knees because my hips were a little wider than the dress was meant for. I looked at the cracked mirror on the room wall, running a brush through the straight black curls on my head, then I put it in a simple plait.

I looked at myself and smiled. I may not look as fancy as anyone else, but I hoped I would.

I strode out of the house through the forest. The pack mating ceremony was held every year. It was one of the days in the year that all packs agreed not to start arguments. The decades-old war that had left many people dead and without their families always simmered at the surface like a bomb ready to go off at any time.

The Moon Claw Pack held their mating ceremony on the eighteenth of every December. All newlyweds would be given a chance to socialize at the ceremony and scent out their mate. With a population of over a thousand people, it was necessary.

I walked down the stone path; it was faster, and I would have no contact with too many people.

I stumbled against a rock, and a string arm caught me. I looked up to find a woman staring at me; she was very beautiful, her hair a soft brown that fell over her shoulders and to her back. She wore a simple brown tunic that was almost too coarse for a woman this beautiful. She looked into my eyes as if she were trying to read some sort of secret. She patted my face and smiled.

"What you seek is not here," she offered. I frowned. A crashing noise had me turning. I saw nothing but birds perched atop thin branches. When I turned back, she was gone. I looked around me, wondering just who she was.

I could hear laughter up ahead, the smells of roast beef and fish, and the smell of alcohol from the camp. Smiling to myself, I moved forward to join them.

I walked into the ground and looked around, where everyone was happy and smiling, some already paired up. Just to my left, a couple was kissing deeply, the alpha's hand beneath her dress, as they groaned almost as if they planned to mate right there. I looked away and turned to scan the rest of the room, trying to find my own mate. The further I walked into the room, the more agitated I became. Then the scent hit me, wild and citrus with a hint of pine, and my whole body stiffened.

I had found my mate.

I rushed forward to him, my heart beating faster like a bass drum, and my lips feel dry like I hadn't drank water for over a year.

I looked at him; hopefully he was a tall alpha with a slim build. I had seen him a few times; he was a builder and one of the best in the pack. I looked at him, and he sneered, pulling away from me. His lips curled in annoyance.

"What are you doing?" he asked, and I stumbled. What did he mean? We were mates.

"I am your mate," I said, and he laughed, his arms curling around the waist of the woman beside him.

"You are not; how can I be mated to someone with no wolf?" I hissed, my chest stinging. I pushed closer to him, reaching for his arm in a desperate plea and attempting to get him to look at me. I may not have had a wolf, but I was part of the pack; we were mates. I felt it; should he not feel it too? But I guess he didn't because he pulled away roughly, his arms slapping mine away. I stumbled from the force.

The packed ground was quiet. My skirt prickled with awareness as I looked around me. Everyone in the room was staring at me, some hiding their smiles behind their hands, others with small winces that were meant to convey sympathy.

I looked back at the male who was supposed to be my mate. He strutted to me, his scent overwhelming me and his eyes boring into mine.

"I, Conrad Roy, reject you, Alina Mario, as a mate."

I winced in pain, a pain so severe that the mating bond broke, shattering into many pieces like fragile glass.

Some of the guests were chuckling in the background. I curled in on myself, shame filling me like a web. He walked back to the girl, his arms wrapping around her waist in a loving gesture.

"She is quite worthless."

"An orphan, and she thought she could be something," others muttered all hateful words.

Unable to stand the taunts, I pulled away and ran across the forest floor, my feet sinking into soft moss and into the ground below, tears falling from my eyes all at once. What I wanted was a chance.

Was that too much to hope for? Was I that bad? I wondered. The tears blinded me, blurring everything around me.

My feet kicked against a stone, and I stumbled across the floor. A sudden weakness overtook me, and I collapsed into the soft moss as the words of the woman I had seen earlier echoed.

"What you seek is not here."