FORDDEN AFFAIR

Emily'sPOV “I am home!” I said, shutting the door behind me. I was still holding my graduation cap and diploma. The house was unusually quiet. Which is weird because I know my parents are anything but quiet. I accept that they missed my graduation, but I expected a surprise at least. That's when I perceived a strange, rotten smell, I crinkled my nose in distaste. "Hasn't the house been cleaned?" I muttered to myself. "Mom? Dad?" I called out, but there was no answer. The only response was the creaking of the old wooden floorboards beneath my feet. Fear clawed at my heart, its icy fingers digging deep. I forced myself to move, my legs heavy as lead, as I made my way down the darkening hallway. The door to their room creaked open with a dreadful slowness, revealing a sight that made my very soul scream. On the bed, my parents lay still, their bodies twisted in unnatural poses, their heads resting on their legs like macabre puppets. Their mouths were stretched into ghastly, forced grins, their eyes frozen in a perpetual scream. My vision blurred, and I stumbled backward, my mind reeling in horror. I screamed. Stumbling backward, I fell on my butt, but it made a squishy sound. I looked down and saw blood mixed with a tangled-looking thing. An intestine. My eyes made it to my parents' bodies. Indeed, their stomachs were ripped apart. I didn't cry. Tears didn't flow, but I could swear…my heart stopped. **** I hated funerals. I hated death, and most of all, I hated the fact that I was alone. In a world filled with people, I was just by myself. I stood in the funeral hall, my eyes fixed on the wooden caskets that held the lifeless bodies of my parents. It still felt surreal that I was an orphan. Orphan…the word still sounds like sour milk that seems to make one frown when tasted. Tears flowed down my cheeks from the pain that the people that I had known all my life were nothing but ghosts now. The air in the hall was heavy, whispers of condolences which seemed to offer no comfort. People who had not seen eye to eye with my parents had come, people who say they were wicked, now say they were good. They were liars. All of them. Only I knew that my parents were the loving, most amazing people I have ever met. It was a wonder why…why had life decided to treat them this way? The boarding house students made a song, singing as my parents casket were being brought in. As the caskets were lowered into the earth, I felt a piece of my soul being buried alongside my parents. I felt crushed, and suffocated, as if I were in a crumbling building. The silence was deafening, punctuated only by the soft sobs of those who had come to pay their respects. But amidst the sea of sympathetic faces, I sensed the piercing gazes of judgment. The whispers began as a gentle hum, which grew louder with each passing moment. "Look at her, bringing bad luck to the pack," Mrs. Henderson's voice cut through the air, her words like a rusty blade scraping against my heart. "She's cursed, and her parents paid the price." The words stung each one a tiny pinprick that drew blood. Even at my parents, funeral they just had to remind me that I was nothing but an omega. Weak and lost. "Just like the prophecy," someone muttered, “omegas only bring bad luck." I felt that urge to pick a stone and hit it on the head. Yes, the Crimson pack is a pack filled with betas, Zetas, and people above the usual omega. It was weird that out of everyone, I was the omega. I had heard the whispers, the hushed tones, and pointed fingers. They do hurt, at boarding school, the supermarket, everywhere I go. I hear it. It made me popular in a bad way. But now, with my parents gone, the pack's disdain felt like a physical blow as it showed that I had nowhere else to go. Only my parents would accept me. Jake, a young beta who had always resented my family for taking the position of the pack’s renowned doctor, chimed in with a snide remark. "Should've never let an omega into the Crimson Pack." Bridget, the pack nurse, joined the chorus of condemnation. "It's always the weak ones that bring trouble. Her parents would still be alive if it weren't for her.” Each word was a tiny knife twisting in my heart. I felt like I was drowning in a sea of contempt, unable to escape the pack's collective scorn. My parents, respected and loved by all, had left behind a legacy of kindness and compassion. But I, their daughter, was seen as a pariah, a cursed omega who brought only misfortune. The funeral was over. As I walked past the mourners, the whispers followed me like a dark shadow. I felt like I was walking through a tunnel of shame, with no escape from the pack's judgment. I longed to break free from the shackles of their disdain, to prove them wrong and show them that I was more than just an omega. But for now, I was trapped in this prison of grief and shame, forced to endure the pack's scorn as I said goodbye to the two people who had loved me unconditionally. No one knew what caused the death of my parents, they were targeted but by whom? The alpha had gone through every person's mind, but none of them was the killer. So who did they point their fingers at? Me. They blamed me for their death even though most of the time, I was at school. I continued to walk, trying to shield my emotions from the harsh eyes of those who believed I was to be blamed for the tragedy. That was when the door opened and Alpha Edward Caldwell stepped in. With a confident stride, he emerged from the sea of mourners, his tall, broad-shouldered frame radiating authority. His salt-and-pepper hair was perfectly groomed, framing a face that exuded warmth and kindness. Deep lines etched his forehead and around his piercing blue eyes. Edward's presence was a beacon of calm amidst the chaos, his very being seem to absorb the venomous whispers and replace them with a sense of reassurance. His eyes locked onto mine, and I felt a sense of comfort wash over me as if he'd wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders. As a close friend of my father's, Edward had always been a source of support and guidance, and I knew he'd stand by me now when I needed it most. He stepped closer and he patted my head. I was shorter than him, I had to raise my head to properly look at the 176cm man. "I'm sorry for your loss, Emily," Edward said. "It's okay," I replied, my voice timid and quiet as I bowed my head in respect. Though everyone knew Edward Caldwell had always had a soft spot for me. An omega should be sold to become a breeder or a slave, but my father had begged him, and he had agreed to let me stay. This angered a lot of families who had their omega children thrown out. "Do you have a home, Emily?" he asked gently. I shook my head, I had just turned seventeen not too long ago. "I do not have a home, the city took the house as it wasn't safe. I was to be taken to the orphanage until I turned eighteen," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. The words hung in the air, stark and vulnerable. It was as if I had lost not only my parents but also the place that held the memories of a happy family. Without hesitation, Edward offered a lifeline. "Come with me. You can stay at my house."