Have Been For A While
I walked across the hallway with my head ducked down. It was easier to pretend I was any other normal teenager if I kept looking at the ground. I couldn't see the sneers or the eye-rolling or the looks of pity as I went to my locker.
It was the pity that was the worst. Pity for the Omega who went to school for three hours a day and then to the Pack House to cook and clean until the royal family (finally) decided to go to bed. They called it "training". What it really was was unpaid labor. Royals knew how to circumvent any rule. Especially when it came to money for Omegas.
The House Servant Amendment of 1892 made it clear that all wolves "called to service to the royal families" (Omegas who were forced into it) were to be paid a small stipend for their labor. The history books called this a "wonderful moment of generosity from royal families." What it really meant was that Omegas realized that s*****y was eliminated in the United States for humans. And if the humans could do it, so could the Omegas. Omegas revolted. Pack Houses went into disarray because no one else was trained to keep up with the demanding work. So the royals got together and made a small amendment to their constitution to get their servants back to work.
Of course, when all the new Omegas were trained, the ones who revolted were severely punished. Because we wolves are a vengeful lot. And the amendment that they so thoughtfully put into the constitution didn't mention how much an Omega would be paid. Interesting how rich folks do s**t like that to struggling wolves.
In less than twenty-four hours, I would become a house servant working eighty hours a week for a grand total of twenty dollars. A quarter an hour. Five days a week working fifteen-hour days. One day working five hours. And one "whole" day off. The Luna was positively gleeful when she announced how "generous" my time off would be. As if a day and a half off every week was something I should celebrate. Of course, she used the caveat of, "But if there's an event or anything we need you for, we'd expect you here working." Which meant, "You're going to get a day and a half off over my dead body because you can't expect me to load a dishwasher or clean up a spill."
I glanced down the rows of lockers to see if my best friend, Allison, was at hers. She was the only wolf in our school who was my friend. Although "friend" could be a relative term. "Tolerate" was more like it. But I didn't care. She didn't make me feel like absolute s**t so I called it a win.
I looked down at her locker and felt my gut clench. I should've seen it coming. But I never saw it coming. I knew it would eventually. But I hoped it wouldn't. On today of all days, they had to go and pull this crap. On the day of my Calling, the day my future would be sealed, my best friend and my mate were making out at her locker.
I thought something was going on between the two of them. There were too many hushed phone calls. Too many times Allison hid her phone from me whenever we ate lunch together or she visited me while I worked at the Pack House. There were too many times she disappeared while I was working only to emerge from nowhere with her hair mussed up and her lipstick smeared across her lips smelling familiar yet doused in perfume.
As if he felt the same punch in the gut, Dmitry, otherwise known by his nickname Dima, my mate, looked up and turned directly toward me. My heartbreak kicked up a notch as I took in his bright blonde hair and icy blue eyes. His perfect mouth formed a sneer. No matter how many times I saw that sneer it hurt like a razor blade slicing my skin.
"Oh. s**t," I heard someone mumble behind me.
I sucked in air between my teeth.
"Isn't that Allison?" someone whispered to my right.
"Yeah. And Dima," another person answered them.
"And they're a couple?" the first person gasped.
"Have been for a while," the second voice continued to whisper as if I wasn't standing right there. "Now that Brielle is going to her Calling tonight and Dima's going to deny her, they didn't think they should have to hide it anymore. Allison was only Brielle's friend to get close to Dima. Now that Brielle's out of the way, Allison is hoping to be the Beta's mate."
My mouth formed a perfect O as I tried to keep oxygen flowing through my lungs.
"Yeah because last year she was hoping to be the Alpha's mate," someone hissed. "She wants to be a royal so bad she's willing to step on anyone to get it. Even an Omega. She's just like her mom."
"The wolf doesn't play far from the den," someone else muttered.
I bit the inside of my lip. Allison's mom was pretty bad. Always scheming on how to get her mate as close to the Alpha as possible. Always gushing all over the Luna. I never thought Allison was that type of wolf. But I was wrong. So very wrong.
Allison looked at me. She didn't look ashamed or guilty. She tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder. She smirked as her hand snaked up Dmitry's chest and onto the back of his neck. She squeezed her invitation. Dima looked down and kissed her again.
"Not smart," someone else breathed. "Messing with the mating bond like that."
"Yeah," I heard. "They've been doing it for months. The Mating Bond's all but broken between the two of them. Exhibit A, Brielle's standing and watching and not writhing on the floor in pain."
I glanced down at my feet. It was painful. It hurt just like every time Dima made out with a she-wolf. Every time it was like someone was squeezing my heart with an iron grip. The first time I fainted. I learned quickly to regulate my breathing.
But I wasn't on the floor curled up in a fetus position. I was standing. I was strong. Even though I was the weakest, I was still strong.
I looked back at Dima.
"Dima's going to reject her," someone sounded bored. "It's not like he's going to mess with it anymore after tonight."
"Poor Brielle," someone else sighed. "Tough break for an Omega."
I straightened my back. There was the pity I hated so much. It crawled up my spine, into my scalp, and burrowed into my brain.
"Maybe. Maybe not," someone muttered. "With a mate doing stuff like that, I'd be thankful if he rejected me."
I slammed my locker shut, hugged my books to my front, and walked out of the school for the last time.
