More than an omega

Hatred II

Rose grinned.

There was something disturbingly joyful about the way she watched Hazel tremble before her. The fear in Hazel’s eyes, the way her body shook uncontrollably, the quiet whimpers she desperately tried to suppress, it all seemed to amuse Rose.

She leaned closer until her lips were almost against Hazel’s ear.

“You don’t know this,” she whispered, her voice dripping with cruel amusement, “but your shivering and that pleading voice of yours are like music to my ears.”

A wicked laugh escaped her lips.

Hazel instinctively recoiled, her back pressing harder against the wall.

Her heart hammered violently against her ribs.

She knew.

There would be no escape today.

Not from Rose.

Not from the whip.

And certainly not from the people sitting around the table who had chosen to pretend they couldn’t see what was happening.

Hazel bit down hard on her lower lip, fighting desperately to keep the whimper trapped inside her throat. Tears blurred her vision as she glanced around the dining hall.

Someone.

Anyone.

She needed someone to help her.

But no one moved.

No one spoke.

Some continued eating as though nothing unusual was happening, while others deliberately kept their eyes away.

Hazel’s heart sank.

She was alone.

Again.

Her eyes fell shut in despair when she heard the unmistakable crack of leather against the floor.

Another Omega approached, carrying the silver whip.

Hazel’s stomach twisted.

Rose accepted it with a satisfied smile.

“Are you ready?”

The question was almost playful.

Hazel’s entire body began to shake harder.

Rose slipped on a pair of thick gloves, protecting her hands from the burning effect of the silver.

Then she looked down at Hazel.

“Kneel.”

The command carried authority.

Hazel’s body responded before her mind could.

She slowly lowered herself onto her knees, then crawled forward on all fours.

Rose tilted her head, inspecting her like an animal.

“Good.”

She smiled.

“You see what you are?”

Hazel remained silent.

“A lowly being.”

Rose’s smile widened.

“You belong on the floor.”

CRACK!

The silver whip came down hard against Hazel’s back.

“Ahhh!”

A scream tore from Hazel’s throat.

Her body jerked violently as unbearable pain spread across her back. She collapsed forward, her palms scraping against the cold floor.

Rose didn’t stop.

Another strike.

Then another.

Hazel’s vision began to blur.

Her breathing became uneven as she fought desperately to remain conscious.

“Please…”

The word barely escaped her lips.

Rose only laughed.

After several more strikes, she finally dropped the whip beside her.

“Do you know something?” Rose asked casually.

Hazel struggled to lift her head.

“Brother will be back tomorrow.”

Her blood ran cold.

Rose crouched beside her.

“Do you think he’ll use the baseball bat on you again if I tell him you disrespected me?”

Hazel’s eyes widened in terror.

She squeezed them shut immediately, trying to hide the fear that had betrayed her.

A shaky breath escaped her lips.

A tear rolled down her cheek.

Her fingers curled into tight fists.

Rose knew exactly what she was doing.

She knew Hazel was terrified of Alpha Liam.

And she enjoyed it.

Rose’s hatred for Hazel had always been frightening, but Luna Katherine’s hatred was even worse.

Yet neither compared to Alpha Liam.

He despised Hazel’s very existence.

Whenever he had the opportunity, he made sure she suffered for it.

“Wha-at… did-d I do?” Hazel stammered through her pain. “Wh-why… why do you ha-ate me this much?”

Rose stared at her.

Then she laughed.

Not a normal laugh.

It was loud, broken and almost deranged.

Her shoulders shook violently before her lips slowly curved into a bitter smile.

“Why?”

She reached down and gently twirled a strand of Hazel’s hair between her fingers.

Her eyes became distant.

“I’ve always hated you.”

Hazel’s brows knitted together.

“You know why?”

Rose’s smile disappeared.

“You came into my life and stole my father’s love.”

Her voice trembled.

“You occupied his heart.”

She swallowed.

“You made him forget about me.”

Hazel stared at her silently.

“I watched him laugh with you. I watched him play with you. I watched you become his first priority while I—his biological daughter—became nothing.”

Rose’s fingers tightened around Hazel’s hair.

“I was pushed aside because of you.”

A tear glistened in Rose’s eye, but she quickly blinked it away.

“I watched my father love a stranger more than he loved his own daughter.”

Hazel lowered her gaze.

“And when he died…”

Rose’s voice cracked.

“For a moment, I didn’t know whether I should cry because I’d lost my father or smile because the person who mattered most to him was the reason I lost him.”

Silence settled between them.

Then Rose’s lips slowly curved upward again.

“But you know what?”

She stood.

“It isn’t all bad.”

Her eyes gleamed with madness.

“I still have you.”

She picked up the whip and tossed it aside.

“And torturing you…”

Rose laughed softly.

“…gives me joy.”

She walked back to the dining table, sat down and resumed eating as if she hadn’t just brutally beaten someone.

Hazel remained on the floor.

Broken.

Bleeding.

Alone.

After everyone finally left, Angela hurried toward Hazel.

Her eyes were already filled with tears.

“Hazel…”

She carefully helped her friend to her feet.

Hazel could barely stand.

Every movement sent another wave of pain through her body.

Angela wrapped an arm around her waist and slowly guided her back to their room.

Once inside, she helped Hazel sit on the bed.

“It hurts,” Hazel whispered.

“Of course it hurts, silly.”

Angela forced a small smile before standing.

“I’ll get the first-aid box.”

She had barely taken a step when Hazel spoke.

“Not there, Angel.”

Angela immediately turned around.

Hazel wasn’t looking at her.

She was staring into empty space.

“Are you hurt somewhere else?”

Hazel slowly shook her head.

“No.”

She placed a trembling hand over her chest.

“It hurts right here.”

Angela’s expression softened.

She understood.

This pain wasn’t coming from her wounds.

It was coming from somewhere much deeper.

Without saying another word, Angela pulled Hazel into a careful embrace, making sure not to touch her injured back.

“I told you, didn’t I?”

She gently stroked Hazel’s hair.

“You need to become stronger.”

Hazel remained silent.

“You have to stop letting them live inside your heart. They’ll keep hurting you as long as you allow their words and actions to control you.”

Angela pulled away and wiped the tears from Hazel’s cheeks.

“Hazel, you have to grow stronger, okay?”

“I ca-an’t.”

“Why?”

Hazel’s lips trembled.

“I d-don’t have a w-wolf.”

Angela sighed.

“Stop underestimating yourself.”

She turned Hazel around and carefully began disinfecting the wounds on her back.

Then she froze.

Her fingers lightly traced some of the older scars.

There were too many.

Too many scars for someone so young.

Angela’s eyes filled with sadness.

“Why did you refuse?”

Hazel remained silent.

“When we had the chance to escape this goddess-forsaken pack, why did you refuse?”

“If we w-were caught…”

Hazel swallowed.

“It w-would have been treason.”

Angela rolled her eyes.

“Can you stop being such a scaredy-cat for once?”

Hazel said nothing.

She simply stared ahead, lost in her thoughts.

“What are you thinking about?”

Angela’s question pulled her back.

Hazel blinked.

Then, unexpectedly, she asked,

“Do you think my mate will like me?”

Angela froze.

“Where did that come from?”

Hazel lowered her eyes.

“I was just thinking…”

Her fingers nervously twisted together.

“What if he doesn’t hate me?”

Angela’s heart clenched.

“And what if he saves me from them?”

For a moment, Angela couldn’t answer.

Then she forced a smile.

“He will.”

Hazel looked at her.

“He will?”

“Yes.”

Angela nodded firmly.

“Your mate will find you, Hazel.”

Hazel released a tiny breath.

“Hmmm…”

For the first time that day, a small flicker of hope appeared in her eyes.

Her mate.

The mysterious person she had never met.

The person she hoped would one day come and take her away from this nightmare.

Perhaps…

Perhaps he really would save her.

Later that night, Angela watched Hazel sleep.

Hazel lay on her stomach, careful not to put pressure on her wounded back.

Angela gently stroked her hair.

“Sleep well,” she whispered.

Then she quietly left the room.

She had barely stepped outside when Madam Harper approached.

“Where is your partner?”

Angela immediately straightened.

“She is down with a fever, Madam.”

Madam Harper frowned.

“What a misfortunate child.”

She shook her head before walking away.

Angela watched her disappear down the hallway.

Her hands clenched into fists.

If only they knew.

Hazel wasn’t sick.

She was simply broken.

And no one seemed to care enough to notice.

Meanwhile…

“No!”

Hazel’s sleeping body suddenly jerked.

“Please, Papa!”

Her brows furrowed deeply as tears escaped the corners of her closed eyes.

“No… Papa, don’t leave me…”

Her breathing became ragged.

Her fingers clutched the bedsheet.

The nightmare had returned.

The memory she had tried so hard to bury.

The memory of the night she lost everything.

Years Ago

“Hazel, be a good girl and run inside, okay?”

Alpha Raymond crouched before his thirteen-year-old daughter and gently kissed her forehead.

Hazel stared at him with wide, frightened eyes.

Behind him stood five rogue wolves.

Their snarls echoed through the night.

“Papa…”

Her little voice trembled.

“Let’s leave together.”

Alpha Raymond smiled sadly.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart.”

He gently pushed her toward the door.

“Papa will be there soon.”

“Papa—”

Before Hazel could finish, he shoved her inside.

The door slammed shut.

CLICK!

He locked it.

Hazel’s eyes widened.

“No!”

She rushed toward the door and began pounding against it.

“Papa!”

Her tiny fists struck the wooden door repeatedly.

“Papa, don’t leave me!”

Outside, she could hear growls.

She could hear the terrifying sounds of fighting.

She could hear her father’s voice.

“Run, Hazel!”

“No!”

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Papa, come back!”

Her voice cracked.

“Please!”

But Alpha Raymond never answered.

Hazel sank to the floor, clutching her throat as a terrible coughing fit overtook her.

She gasped for air.

Her small body shook violently.

Then she remembered the teddy lamb in her arms.

She hugged it tightly against her chest.

She couldn’t stay there.

She had to find Papa.

She had to know what happened.

With trembling legs, Hazel eventually forced the door open.

What she saw made her blood run cold.

Bodies.

Warriors.

Rogues.

Blood covered the ground.

The battlefield that had once been filled with warriors was now eerily silent.

Hazel clutched her teddy lamb tighter.

“Papa…”

She stepped forward.

Her little feet trembled as she walked through the battlefield.

Then she spotted someone.

A warrior.

She recognized him immediately.

He was one of their pack warriors.

Hazel ran toward him and tugged desperately at his clothes.

The warrior looked down.

His eyes widened when he recognized her.

“The Alpha’s daughter?”

“Papa…”

Hazel pointed toward the house.

Her lips trembled.

“Papa… there.”

The warrior immediately understood.

He rushed toward the building.

Hazel followed closely behind him, her tiny legs moving as fast as they could.

Like a frightened little shadow, she refused to let him out of her sight.

The warrior reached the door.

He forced it open.

Then he stepped inside.

And froze.

The color drained from his face.

His blood ran cold.

Whatever he had seen inside that room…

It was something a child like Hazel should never have witnessed.