The Omega He Couldn't Break

Chapter 1 — The Weakest Omega The first thing I learned about being an Omega was that people could look directly at me without ever really seeing me. They saw weakness. They saw the lowest rank in the pack hierarchy. Someone who was expected to lower her head when an Alpha walked past, step aside when a Beta approached, and be grateful for whatever scraps of kindness were thrown her way. I learned that before I was old enough to understand why. At seventeen, I had become very good at making myself small. I lowered my head when people stared. I kept my voice quiet. I avoided crowded places. And most importantly, I never gave anyone a reason to notice me. It was easier that way. At least, that's what I told myself. The morning mist curled around my ankles as I walked through the forest, clutching a woven basket against my chest. The air was cold enough to sting my nose. My worn gray dress brushed against the tall grass, already damp from the morning dew. My old brown boots sank slightly into the soft earth with every step. I had been awake since before sunrise. The infirmary needed herbs, and gathering them was one of the few jobs I was trusted to do. I bent down beside a patch of silverleaf and carefully cut the stems. One. Two. Three. I placed them gently into my basket. A twig snapped behind me. I froze. My heart immediately began pounding. I slowly turned. Nothing. Only trees. Tall, ancient trees surrounded me, their branches tangled together above my head. Pale morning light slipped through the leaves in thin golden streaks. A bird called somewhere in the distance. I exhaled. “Stop being afraid, Judith.” My voice sounded embarrassingly small in the forest. I picked up my basket. “Nothing is going to happen.” I said that almost every day. It had never worked. I continued walking. Soon, the trees began to thin. Through the branches, I could see the Silver Moon Pack waking. Smoke rose from the chimneys of the houses scattered across the valley. Wolves moved between buildings, carrying baskets, firewood, and supplies. Children ran through the streets. Warriors gathered around the training grounds. It should have felt like home. Everyone called it home. I never understood how a place could be home when I spent most of my time trying not to be noticed inside it. I stepped out of the forest. Then I saw him. Xavier Blackthorn. My stomach tightened. I immediately looked away. Everyone in the Silver Moon Pack knew Xavier. He was twenty-two, the Alpha's son, and the strongest young wolf in the entire pack. Even from a distance, he was impossible to ignore. He was tall—much taller than most of the warriors around him—with broad shoulders and a powerful build that made it obvious he had spent years training. His black hair was slightly messy from training, falling over his forehead. His skin was a warm bronze, contrasting sharply with the black training shirt stretched across his chest. His face was sharp and intimidating. Strong jaw. Straight nose. Dark eyebrows. And eyes so dark they sometimes looked almost black. Xavier rarely smiled. He rarely laughed. And he almost never wasted words. But there was one thing I had noticed. Whenever he looked at me, his expression changed. Disgust. I had never understood why. I had never challenged him. Never insulted him. I had barely spoken to him. Yet somehow, simply existing seemed to irritate him. I lowered my head and tried to walk past the training grounds. I almost made it. “Look who finally decided to show her face.” I stopped. I knew that voice. Ravenna Crowe. I slowly turned. Ravenna stood a few feet away with two girls beside her. She was beautiful. Everyone knew it. Her long black hair fell in perfect waves down her back, and her pale brown eyes were always surrounded by carefully applied makeup. She wore a fitted black training outfit that showed off her athletic figure. Unlike me, Ravenna never tried to make herself smaller. She wanted people to look at her. And they did. She knew exactly where she stood in the pack. Near the top. Her eyes traveled over me. Then she smiled. “Still collecting herbs?” I said nothing. One of the girls beside her laughed. “Of course she is. What else can an Omega like her do?” I tightened my fingers around the basket. Ignore them. That was the rule. Always ignore them. I tried to walk past. Ravenna stepped directly into my path. “Did I say you could leave?” I lowered my eyes. “No.” “No, what?” My throat tightened. “No, Ravenna.” Her smile widened. “That's better.” She reached into my basket and picked up a bundle of wolfsbane. She examined it between her fingers. “You know, I still don't understand why the pack keeps you around.” My jaw tightened. I had heard those words before. Too many times. My parents had died when I was young. At least, that's what I had always been told. I was raised by distant relatives who tolerated me because the pack required them to. I had no powerful family. No impressive wolf. No special abilities. And unlike almost everyone my age, my wolf had never fully awakened. For an Omega, that was humiliating. For me, it had made me practically worthless. Ravenna dropped the wolfsbane back into my basket. “Maybe they should just send you away.” Something inside me tightened. “I have work to do.” The smile disappeared from her face. “What did you say?” I looked at her. “I said I have work to do.” The girls beside her went silent. Ravenna stepped closer. “You think you're too good to answer me?” “No.” “Then answer properly.” I lowered my gaze again. “I have work to do.” She stared at me. Then she knocked the basket from my hands. It hit the ground. Herbs scattered everywhere. For a moment, I simply stared at them. My carefully gathered silverleaf. The wolfsbane. The moonroot. All covered in dirt. I slowly dropped to my knees. “Pick them up,” Ravenna said. I began gathering them. One by one. My palms scraped against the stones. I didn't cry. I wouldn't. Not in front of them. Then I heard footsteps. Heavy. Steady. The laughter around me suddenly disappeared. I knew who it was before I looked up. Xavier. He stopped a few feet away. His dark eyes moved from Ravenna to me. Then to the herbs scattered across the ground. “What happened?” His voice was deep and cold. Ravenna immediately changed her expression. “Nothing, Xavier.” His eyes moved to me. “Is that true?” I hesitated. I could tell him. I could tell him Ravenna had knocked my basket down. But what would happen? Would he believe me? Probably not. No one ever did. “Nothing happened,” I whispered. Something flickered across Xavier's face. I couldn't tell what it was. I lowered my head. “Then get out of the training grounds.” I looked up. “What?” “You heard me.” “But these herbs are for the infirmary.” “I don't care.” His voice was colder now. “This area is for warriors.” I swallowed. “I was only passing through.” “Then pass through somewhere else.” The words hurt more than they should have. I gathered the last herb and stood. My knees were dirty. My palms were bleeding. I pressed the basket against my chest and walked away. I could feel everyone's eyes following me. I hated that feeling. Being watched. Being judged. Being reminded that I didn't belong. I had almost reached the edge of the clearing when I heard it. “Pathetic.” Xavier's voice. I stopped. For one second, I wanted to turn around. Instead, I kept walking. I wouldn't cry. Not there. Never there. --- By afternoon, the entire pack had gathered in the main square. The Alpha had called an assembly. I stood at the very back, hoping nobody would notice me. Hundreds of wolves filled the square. Warriors stood near the front while families gathered behind them. At the center of the raised platform stood Alpha Damon Blackthorn. He was a commanding man in his early fifties, with broad shoulders, dark hair streaked with gray, and the same intimidating black eyes his son possessed. Xavier stood beside him. I immediately looked away. “Our scouts found tracks near the northern border last night,” Alpha Damon announced. The crowd became silent. “Three unfamiliar wolves crossed into our territory.” A murmur spread through everyone. Rival packs weren't unusual. But trespassing this close to the village was. “We don't know their intentions,” Damon continued. “Until we do, no one is permitted to travel beyond the marked boundary without permission.” My stomach tightened. The forest was where I gathered herbs. If the northern border was restricted, the infirmary would eventually run out of supplies. I raised my hand. Several people turned. I immediately regretted it. The Alpha noticed. “What is it?” I stepped forward nervously. “Alpha, the infirmary needs moonroot and silverleaf. They grow mostly near the northern stream.” A few warriors laughed. My cheeks burned. Damon looked at me. “You will wait until the patrols confirm the area is safe.” “But—” “You will wait.” I lowered my head. “Yes, Alpha.” I stepped backward. Then I felt it. Someone was watching me. I slowly looked toward Xavier. His eyes were fixed on mine. For one strange second, everything disappeared. The voices around us faded. The wind stopped. Even my heartbeat seemed to become distant. Something stirred deep inside my chest. Not fear. Something else. Something ancient. Xavier's eyes widened. His hand suddenly went to his chest. At the exact same moment, pain exploded beneath my ribs. I gasped. It felt as though something had burned through my skin from the inside. Xavier took one step toward me. “What was that?” I shook my head. “I don't know.” The pain disappeared. Just as quickly as it had arrived. The noise of the square returned. People continued talking as if nothing had happened. But Xavier was still staring at me. And for the first time in my life, I saw something in his eyes that wasn't hatred. Fear. Then his expression hardened. “Stay away from me,” he said quietly. I frowned. “I wasn't doing anything.” “I said stay away.” He turned and walked away. I watched him disappear into the crowd. My hand slowly pressed against my chest. My heart was still racing. Something had happened. Something neither of us understood. --- That night, I couldn't sleep. Moonlight spilled through my small bedroom window, painting silver lines across the wooden floor. I stared at the ceiling. I kept thinking about Xavier. The strange pain. The look in his eyes. The way he had touched his chest at exactly the same moment I had felt that burning sensation. I turned onto my side. Maybe I was imagining things. Maybe exhaustion had finally gotten to me. I closed my eyes. Then I heard it. “Judith.” My eyes opened. I sat upright. The room was silent. My heart began pounding. “Who are you?” Nothing. Then the voice came again. Older. Deeper. Almost like a growl. “They have lied to you.” My breath caught. I looked around the room. “Who?” The candle beside my bed suddenly went out. Darkness swallowed the room. A cold breeze slipped through the window. Then— “They have lied about your blood.” I couldn't breathe. “What does that mean?” Silence. I climbed out of bed. “Who are you?” The voice whispered again. “Remember.” My hands began shaking. “Remember what?” The room suddenly became freezing cold. Then, somewhere beyond the walls of the house, a wolf howled. I slowly walked toward the window. The forest was completely still. And then I saw them. Two golden eyes glowing between the trees. Watching me. I stepped backward. The eyes disappeared. I stood there, trembling. I didn't know it yet, but that night was the beginning of everything. The beginning of the end of the life I knew. Because Judith—the weak Omega everyone had spent seventeen years looking down on—wasn't weak. I wasn't weak. I had only been sleeping. And something inside me had just begun to wake.