Only Omega

Chapter One.

The next morning was the Sunday prior to the last week of school and graduation. I was sleepy from the night before and both Bridget and Vicky were passed out cold.

Vicky was asleep on the guest bathroom floor, Bridget was lying on the kitchen counter when I got downstairs. The place looked mostly cleaned up apart from some empty beer bottles, a few kids here and there and the occasional broken lamp or picture frame. 

I headed straight for the kitchen cabinet to grab myself an aspirin then grabbed a glass and filled it with water. Swallowing the pill, I chugged the glass of water and slammed it down onto the kitchen counter, startling Bridget from her sleep, causing her to fall off the table onto the floor.

"Okay I'm up, I'm up" she muttered with a groan as she pushed herself up off the floor. It was then that Vicky came barging into the room with a baseball bat in hand, clearly stunned by the loud thud of Bridget's fall.

"What is it, what's going on?" she demanded, glancing around nervously while I leaned my back against the kitchen counter, rubbing at my head to try and sooth the pounding headache from my hangover. I groaned.

"My head is killing me" Vicky lowered the bat, giving a sigh of relief. She glanced down at her bare feet and alcohol stained dress as she tried to remember the events that had unfolded the night before, however judging from the way she had furrowed her eyebrows up in confusion I figured that she couldn't.

"Tell me about it, is it just me or is the room spinning?" Bridget asked when she tried to stand up too fast and ended up falling back into the kitchen table while rubbing at the side of her head. Bridget's hair was a mess and her makeup was smeared, her lips were swollen and she reeked of Kyle.

"What happened last night?" Vicky asked, glancing from Bridget to me when she realized that Bridget might pass out at any second. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to remember but all I got were blurs.

"I was dancing, Bridget went somewhere with Kyle and you were chugging down a bottle of Vodka or two" I said but then suddenly froze when I remembered something. Hayden. Vicky noticed my reaction and raised an eyebrow at me, asking.

"What, what's wrong?" I slowly looked up to meet the eyes of my two best friends as they looked at me both suspiciously and curiously. Gulping, I shook my head from side to side trying to clear it but all it did was make me dizzy.

"I found him" was all I said as I stared down at the polished marble flooring of the pack house kitchen. Vicky and Bridget shared a look then turned to me, seemingly dead serious only to erupted into excited squeals.

"Oh my gosh Rachel, why didn't you tell us? That's great, who is he?" they frantically asked, crowding around me as I took a few heavy breaths, trying to go back to when I first realized that he was my mate. In that moment I hadn't noticed it but thinking back, I had caught the faint scent of an Omega. Hayden was an Omega.

"You guys can't tell anyone that I found him, okay?" I said, glancing up at both of them, knowing all too well that if word got out to my parents that I was mated to an Omega that they'd have him killed, he wouldn't be worthy of being mated to an Alpha's daughter.

"What, why not?" Bridget asked, tilting her head to the side. She had turned eighteen in January and was mated to Kyle, a next in line tracker for our pack. Even though it wasn't a high rank it was still higher than an Omega and Bridget being the pack Doctor's daughter made it the perfect match so of course she wouldn't understand.

"Because he's an Omega" I breathed, causing Vicky's eyes to widen as she stumbled back against the kitchen counter with her hand shooting up to cover her mouth in shock. 

She was the Gamma, third in command's daughter so she knew exactly what it meant. It was against the law for an Omega to be mated to a higher title wolf and it was also not allowed, considering that the Alpha bloodline had to be kept as strong as possible.

"But that means that-." before Vicky could finish, I cut her off with a nod as I fiddled with the bracelets dangling from my wrist.

"We can't be together" Bridget was about to say something when one of the warrior's sons, Dustin, stepped into the kitchen with a clenched jaw, looking between the three of us with an empty gaze.

"The Alpha would like to have a word with you" he said, meeting my eyes then turned to head back out the door, not even bothering to see if I had followed.

I knew that my father wanting to see me that early in the morning could only mean trouble but I sucked it up and looked at Bridget and Vicky.

"Don't tell anyone" they glanced at one another then nodded, stepping aside to allow me through. I made my way upstairs to my father's study and knocked lightly on the door before cracking it open to peer inside, praying that the stench of alcohol on me would be strong enough to hide the scent of an Omega.

"Ah Rachel come in" I stepped inside, only to be met by my family, Tristan and his parents. They were seated around the fireplace and desk, waiting patiently for me to enter. When I did, my father motioned towards a spot on the sofa next to Tristan.

"Have a seat, dear" I reluctantly took my seat, glancing around at everyone. including Tristan, who was staring down at his hands, trying desperately not to meet my eyes while my brother was leaning with his hands propped against the fireplace, bent over as Nicole lightly rubbed his back in circles. He looked pissed.

"What's going on?" I asked, not sure what to expect when my mother reached over from her seat in the arm chair to affectionately grasp my hand in hers. I glanced down at our hands while my father stepped around to stare out the windows that lined the far wall of his office.

"We know that you didn't find your mate last night, dear so we've decided to choose one for you" my head whipped around to stare openly at my father's back, not believing a word he had said.

"What do you mean 'choose'?" I questioned, looking to my mother for an answer but she, like Tristan, refused to meet my eyes. It was Dalton who answered me, turning away from the fireplace to snarl in outrage.

"They gave your hand to the Beta's son!" he stuck his finger in Tristan's face, causing him to shrink back and Nicole to get in between the two so Dalton wouldn't kill him. Tristan's father was my father's Beta and second in command, making him of nearly as high a ranking as me. It made sense that my parents would pick him to be my mate, considering that he hadn't found his mate yet.

"What?" I demanded, jumping to my feet as I turned to my father for answers. Both Tristan and his parents were quiet as I started yelling in frustration. I had found my mate but they didn't know, they could never know.

"You can't do that, I'm only eighteen, I still have my whole life ahead of me and you're giving me up for marriage all because I couldn't find my mate?" my mother grasped at my hand to try and calm me but I wouldn't have it, yanking my hand out of her reach as I continued my rant.

"I'm too young for this and I don't see a way for me to marry someone I don't even love!" when I got closer to my father he rounded on me, sticking his finger in my face as he growled out in a demanding tone "You're never too young to be mated and you WILL learn to love him over time like I did your mother, is that understood?" 

My jaw clenched as I tried to fight back my tears, my fists balling at my sides, causing my claws to dig into the palm of my hands. I was breathing hard as I fought back against the pain of my shattering heart.

My parents weren't real mates, their parents chose them to be together to strengthen the bloodline. I couldn't stay away from Hayden, let alone marry someone other than my mate, it would kill me.

"Dad, please you don't understand I can't-." he cut me off with a snarl that sent my whole body curling in on itself as I shrunk back into the corner with my hands covering my ears and tears streaming down my face.

"I asked you a question Rachel, now answer me!" I shook my head, trying to convince myself that none of it was real, that it was only a bad dream but it wasn't and the nightmare just wouldn't go away no matter how desperately I wished it would.

"Yes! Yes I understand!" I cried, pushing my head in between my knees so I wouldn't have to look at him, at any of them. My hands were still covering my ears so I wouldn't hear him, hear them.

"Good now I don't want to hear another word about it, you will marry Tristan after graduation and that's final" my father slumped back into his office chair, looking over some papers on his desk as if nothing had happened while my mother scrambled to get to my side. I flinched away from her and met my brother's angry eyes, filled with so much rage while Nicole whispered to him, trying to calm him down before he did something he would regret.

"Rachel, honey" my mother began but I cut her off by hurrying towards the door, stopping only to glance back at my father who met my eyes with a cold gaze, a gaze set in stone.

"I hate you!" I screamed, slamming the door behind me. I sprinted towards my room where I shut the door loudly then slid down it, crying and screaming, yelling and thrashing as I thought about what they did to me. The separation from Hayden would kill me and not just emotionally but physically as well. We were two halves of a whole and without our other halves we bleed until we die. 

I had no idea how long I was locked inside my room but I knew that it felt like forever.

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I eventually got up off the floor to take a shower in my bathroom and get dressed in some baggy grey sweatpants along with a white tank top. My hair was up in a high pony tail when I walked back into my room where Vicky and Bridget were trying to bang my door down.

"Rachel we heard what happened, you have to let us in" Vicky called from the other side but I decided to ignore her and slumped down on the foot of my bed with my head in my hands. I was trying to think of anything other than Hayden but it wasn't working, he was all I could think about.

"Rachel please, we know you're in there" it was Bridget and with a heavy sigh I got up off my bed, heading over to unlock the door. I knew they wouldn't leave me alone until we talked.

"Finally, people were starting to stare" Vicky said, jabbing her thumb in the direction of the hall where a bunch of pack members stood, eyeing the situation.

It was a pack house so it was built to fit the majority of the pack.

Bridget wiggled her way over to my bed and plopped down on it, snatching one of the magazines up from my night stand.

"Look, I know it must be hard but Tristan is a good guy and-." Vicky began once I had closed my bedroom door but was cut off by Bridget who chucked a pillow at her.

"And he isn't her mate, do you have any idea how hard it is to be away from your mate?" Bridget asked, looking between Vicky and I with the most serious expression I've ever seen her wear.

"I'm dying on the inside" she concluded then went back to skimping through the magazine like nothing happened. Vicky blinked at the girl, dressed in one of Kyle's over-sized T-shirts with her hair down then turned to me, giving a nod.

"Okay so I don't know what you're going through but think about it, your dad would never approve" Vicky said, moving to take a seat in one of my lumpy pink, bean bag chairs. 

I glanced her over, noticing that she was wearing a pair of loose fitting boxers and an old shirt with her strawberry blonde hair up in a bun.

"Aren't those types of relationships the most romantic? You know like Romeo and Juliet?" Bridget asked, being the one that always saw the cliché in everything. Vicky gave her a neutral look that said she wasn't impressed with Bridget's IQ.

"They both die in the end" Bridget looked like she had a bucket of ice water dumped onto her then paled, looking at me with wide, horror filled eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that-I-." I waved her off, running a hand through my hair as I went to sit down on the edge of my bed "I know you didn't but Vicky has a point, forbidden romances never work out"

The words hurt coming from me but I ignored it, mostly because it was true, plus it wasn't a simple case of not being allowed to see each other, Hayden and I would be able to see each other and even talk every day but we wouldn't be able to hold hands, to kiss and that part would be what would end up killing us both.

"So what are you going to do?" Bridget asked and I sighed deeply, staring at the wall opposite me, thinking through every possible solution but shook my head when I couldn't come up with anything "I don't know"

Vicky nodded, processing the words then shot up from her seat and started towards my bedroom door.

"Where are you going?" I asked her, causing her to stop and look back at me in all seriousness "I'm going to kill your father" 

I breathed a laugh but Bridget looked ready to throw the magazine she was reading at Vicky to make sure she wouldn't end up killing the strawberry blonde haired girl instead.

"Relax Bridge she's just kidding" I said when I noticed that the bubbly blonde wasn't breathing. Vicky glared at me, turning to grip the door knob then glanced back at me from over her shoulder with a sinister gleam in her eyes .

"Who said I was kidding?" she questioned, flinging the door open, about to storm out when she noticed Tristan standing on the other side of it, his hand raised as if he was about to knock.

"You" Vicky hissed, glaring holes into his skull while Bridget actually did chuck the magazine that time but it was aimed at Tristan who ducked just in time, dodging it.

"What do you want?" Bridget asked, standing with her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed into slits.

"I'm here to talk to Rachel" he replied, shooting a quick glance in my direction "No" Vicky said matter-of-factly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

Tristan sighed and ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair, chocolate brown eyes squeezed shut while his shoulders were drooped.

"Look I really have to talk to her so-." this time it was Bridget who objected, stepping forward to push past Vicky, jabbing a finger in his chest "You listen here Mr, I don't care if it's the end of the world, Rachel doesn't want to talk to you so, NO" 

Tristan looked like he was about to argue but I stepped in, preventing Bridget from clawing his eyes out. She really wasn't a patient girl "It's okay guys, really" 

Vicky shot me a sceptical look then shared a look with Bridget before they both stepped aside, waving him in and shutting the door behind him so no one would accidentally overhear the conversation but I knew that it was because if Tristan tried to make a break for it they would have him cornered.

"So-." I tried to start the conversation only to have Tristan interrupt me, going over to lean with his hands perched on the surface of my desk, hanging his head so I couldn't see his face.

"I know it's Hayden" I stumbled back in surprise and stared at his back in shock while both Vicky and Bridget gaped at him like he had just grown three heads.

"Wait that loner from school who doesn't talk to anyone?" Bridget asked with her head tilted to the side.

"Hayden as in Hayden Wells, that Hayden?" Vicky questioned at the same time but Tristan and I both ignored them, continuing on as if they hadn't said anything to begin with.

"How did you-?" Tristan turned around to look at me with sadness in his eyes, cutting me off when he said "Know? I saw you two at the party"

I thought back to the party, how I had caught sight of Hayden then went to him like a moth to a flame, how we had kissed. Those passionate, self-igniting kisses that left me utterly breathless and craving for more. Tristan had seen them, he was there.

"Well how do you know that it wasn't just a kiss?" I asked, my jaw tightening as I looked him over, trying desperately to act natural but he wasn't having any of it.

"That wasn't just a kiss, it was more than that and I know it so don't pretend like it wasn't, Rachel" defeated, I sunk down on my bed with my head in my hands, not sure what to do or what to say so I asked the only question I could "What do I do?" 

Tristan leaned back against my desk with his arms crossed over his chest, staring at the floor as if he was in deep thought. Vicky and Bridget looked between us, waiting expectantly for an answer.

"You pretend to be my fiancé and when the time comes, you and Hayden high tail it out of here" Tristan eventually said and when I looked up at him in shock, I was met with a serious expression that made it clear that he wasn't kidding. Tristan was one of my best friends and I knew he would do anything for me just like I would for him.

"You're serious?" I asked in pure shock, causing Tristan to push off my desk, stalking his way over to me so that he was towering over my form, eyes boring into mine.

"Yes I am, it's the only way you two can be together" I took a deep breath in and closed my eyes. If I ran off with Hayden I'd have to leave my friends and family behind, I'd have to leave my life behind but I knew that when it came to Hayden I'd give up anything to be with him.

"I'd be leaving everything behind" the words escaped my lips before I even realized that I'd spoken them so I opened my eyes to look back up into Tristan's chocolate brown ones.

"You'd be leaving this life behind to start a new one with the one person you want to start it with" Tristan said, glancing out my bedroom window and at the forest that covered the horizon. It was dark outside and the moon was already high up in the sky which meant that it was getting late.

"Okay" I eventually muttered, staring at the endless black stretch of forest ahead. Vicky looked ready to object and so did Bridget but one glance at my tear filled eyes and they silenced themselves. Soon the tears escaped, making their way down the side of my face.

"You'd give up anything for him, wouldn't you?" Tristan asked, his eyes also fixed on the horizon. I nodded, knowing that he couldn't see it "I'd give up everything for him" I answered truthfully, blinking past a new round of tears. 

I had only ever met him once.