Bride of the Blood Oath

How to get a man

“Exactly why you’re not supposed to say those kinds of things”, I hushed him up.

“Firstly, I can very much mate with Luna or Beta and give my mum an heir as she wants, I’m just more attracted to men, it’s not rocket science. Secondly, I know I can’t do much to save you from my mother and sister, but I won’t let you suffer some kind of pain. Heck, I didn’t know that lord Edmund had rejected you and you were brought back here to this boring hellhole with my mother at your neck again”, he said.

I smiled dryly. The irony of things was that Leofric, the biological child of Rosalind, was the only sane person I knew in the whole of Ironfang Bastion.

“It isn’t just your mum that hates me”, I said, pain evident in my voice.

“You mean Sir Roland, right?, Whenever I have a difficult task, I will make sure he does it. I would’ve given him some random punishment for fun, but he has my mum’s protection and since he has known me as a child. He doesn't respect me much. But–“

“It’s alright. Keep your voice down”, I said. “I’m to work with Constance at the kitchens for three days. I had better prepare and head out there to get my work done for today.”

Leofric pulled me into an unexpected hug, but knowing the kind of person that he was I had no other option than to hug him back while praying in silence that his wicked twin sister or guard or worse Rosalind herself wouldn’t pop out of nowhere.

“Sorry about what happened”, he said while still hugging me tightly.

I wasn’t sure exactly what he was apologizing for. There were lots of things that had happened to me the past few days. I had gotten rejected by my second mate, had to travel a painful journey back to Ironfang Bastion just to get threats about taking the only “sacred” thing about me and actually getting me assaulted. There were a lot of things to receive an apology for, but because I barely got any apology for the things I suffered, I took the little apology I got seriously.

I cried briefly into Leofric’s clothes before pulling away and luckily he let me pull away from his hug.

“Thank you”, I said.

“I honestly think you should train to get strong. I have a gut feeling that you’re stronger than this, stronger than this shadow of yourself. I hate seeing you like this”, Leofric said.

“Leo, I’ve trained before quite a number of times. Your mother–“

“Lady Rosalind doesn’t let you train enough. An Alpha who is learning how to use his power trains at least three times a week. A Luna who is learning how to use her power trains at least four times a week. Betas who are learning to use their powers train at least five times a week. My mother only let you train once a week for only a few months. She did that on purpose, she –“

“Excuse me Leo, I need to go”, I said, making my way out of the dark room.

The last time I and Leofric were caught talking about the horrible things that his mother did to me, I was all to blame. He wasn’t able to save me when I was caned bare back outside for others to watch. I couldn’t risk it happening again.

Besides, there was no way Rosalind was going to let me train more because she wanted me to remain weak. She derived joy from seeing me treated like a weak and worthless Omega. A part of me had begun to accept that indeed I was weak and useless.

After an hour of getting dressed in my room, trying anything simple that I could find I headed out to the kitchen. I was grateful not to meet anyone who spited me too much on my way to the kitchen. The only awful thing I got from the Alpha, Luna and Betas on my way to the kitchen were stares and some spat my way. But when I got to the kitchen, I felt more at peace.

The Kitchen was the place Omegas found a way to escape the harsh realities of their nature. The kitchen was where Omegas worked as they did not have any powers for political disputes, wars and protection. The kitchen was a home for Omegas.

I got filthy stares as I walked in. It was no surprise as they knew that I had opportunities to mate with an Alpha, I also had my big personal bedroom and bathroom, along with other benefits which a good number of Omegas had never experienced at any point in their lives. But I knew that there wouldn’t try to harm me as much as higher levels of werewolves.

I walked up to Constance because I knew almost everyone in the kitchen. It was usually my punishment spot.

“Good evening Lady Constance, I-“

“I know why you’re here Edith. I’ve told you that you can always call me Constance, it’s not like you aren’t treated preferentially anyways and can literally give orders. Pick up that basket and follow me”, she said.

I did as she told me to without any complaint. I followed her to the cold storage room where varieties of fruits were kept. She opened up the door to the room and we both went in. Since she was the head of the kitchen, she was the one who kept the keys to some of the places like the cold room. She was one of the few Omegas who were treated with a bit of respect.

She stopped to bananas which she put in the basket that I held.

“So you got rejected by Lord Edmund”, she said, searching for more fruits to carry while I followed her lead quietly, my head face down.

She picked up some berries and put it into the basket then turned to face me.

“You know I don’t bite right?”, she asked looking at me with her eyes filled with thick black mascara.

Thankfully I was in no obligation to answer her question. It seemed the news that I had gotten rejected by my second mate had gone round. It explained why I some Omegas at the corner of the kitchen snickering at me when I was searching for Constance.

“It’s fine. You don’t need to tell me yourself that you got rejected because the news of your rejection is the most trending discussion at Ironfang now, and it’s okay to be ashamed of it. I mean, who wouldn’t be ashamed?”, she said, as she continued to pick her fruit.

I was yet to utter a single word at her.

“Did he reject you because you’re a virgin?”, she asked.

The question was so random that I nearly dropped the basket of fruit by mistake.

“Did I startle you, dear?, she asked.

“I–“

“Have you really never been touched?”, she asked.

“No, I haven’t”, I replied.

There was no point avoiding questions with a nosy woman like Constance.

“And you told lord Edmund that?”, she asked, flabbergasted that Edmund knew about this.

“It is already a known thing. Everyone knows I’m a Virgin. I am sure you knew that too even before asking me”, I said.

“You do have quite a sharp tongue. I wished you had it with Alphas, Lunas and betas”, she said.

I looked down again, refusing to give another response to her. If this was some kind of trap, I wasn’t willing to fall victim. I came here to serve my punishment time and think of all the miserable things that were going to happen to me in three days' time and not to fight with werewolves who were like me.

“The first thing that attracts a werewolf to you is to be a naughty good girl, not some well reserved boring woman. Being an Omega already bores all the high lords. Try to be different from what everyone labels you to be”, she said.

I looked up at her unsure about where she was headed, but my gut told me it was something that was going to be of use to me soon.