The Moon Goddess' mistake

1. Stronger than them Gabriella’s POV My name is Gabriella and I am a werewolf omega in the Blue Moon Pack. I don’t know my parents, I live in the pack’s orphanage. My childhood was not happy. I was smaller than the other kids and they used to pick on me every chance they got. I tried to ignore and avoid them most of the time, but it seemed that that was making them even more creative in their bullying. At first they were mostly insulting me, but when I turned 12, I took my first beating. The orphanage had a school and the teachers were the ones responsible for our education as well as our upbringing of our moral system. They taught us common science - math, English and literature, physics, economy, etc., but we also had special classes like human history, werewolf history, werewolf law, where we learned about how packs work and all about our werewolf ways of living. We were taught about wolf ranks and pack hierarchy, but my favorite lectures were about our mother - the Moon Goddess and her greatest gift to us - our fated mates. One day I was sitting in the school park on one of the benches, eating my lunch and daydreaming about finding my mate. I was desperate to finally be loved by someone. I was so deep in my own thoughts that I didn't sense my worst nightmare approaching me until it was too late. I saw them standing in front of me and I could feel the anger radiating through them. “So you finally decide to show your face,” Ben, the self-proclaimed leader of their gang, said. I was just looking him in the eyes, trying not to show them my fear. “What do you want?” I finally asked. “You need to pay for what you did!” said Rob, and grabbed and pulled me upwards so I am standing now. “Let me go! I did what you asked, I did your homework!” I yelled. “Mrs Simmons recognised your handwriting and failed us anyway!” Ben yelled. “Are you really that stupid? Why didn’t you rewrite it with your own handwriting?” I couldn't believe their stupidity. My refusal to submit made them even more mad and that's when I felt a sharp pain in my cheek. I realised that Ben had slapped me and I was shocked. I knew they were mean bullies but they had never hit me before. The slap that I received from their “leader” seemed to be the sign they were all waiting for and that’s when my life went from worse to worst. After that day, Ben’s gang started finding all kinds of excuses to use me as their personal punching bag. The teachers knew I was being bullied but didn’t do anything about it. One day, when I was still 13, Mrs Simmons was tending my wounds, I could see her eyes were filled with tears. “Why are you sad?” I asked her. She looked at me in shock but recovered quickly and replied: “ I don’t like seeing you hurt.” “Then why don’t you do something to stop them” I asked, a little irritated. “Gabriella, you need to understand that in our world no one will fight your battles for you. There might be people in your life that would gladly fight side by side with you, but you are the only person you can count on.” She said softly. “But I am smaller than them and they outnumber me by a lot!” I argued, not really understanding how her response was supposed to help me. “But you are already stronger than them. Maybe not physically, but you are smarter and strong-willed. You refuse to submit to them even after all the beatings you have received. You are stronger than you think. Not many wolves can endure so much pain without screaming, begging or crying. You need to start appreciating your strengths and try to use them to your advantage.” She said and kissed my forehead. *** A couple of weeks later, one Monday, I was called in the principal’s office. He was Mrs Simmons’ mate and husband. He was just but strict and most students were afraid of him. His booming voice could easily make anyone bare their necks in submission. No one was being called to the principal's office unless they did something bad and I couldn’t help but wonder what might have I done wrong. I nervously knocked on the door and entered the office once I heard Mr Simmons’ permission to go in. I have never been here before. The room smelled like a library and that scent soothed my nerves somewhat. Mr Simmons was sitting behind his desk and in front of the desk there were two guest chairs. I heard that is where the students would sit once being called here. That thought made those chairs look like torture thrones and I was afraid to go near them. My mind kept going a million miles per hour trying to figure out what I was called for. On my right there was a soft looking sofa, a coffee table in front of it and two armchairs on the opposite side of the sofa. “Good morning, Mr Simmons. You called for me?” I greeted him nervously, still standing near the door, afraid to go further into the office. He nodded and gestured for me to sit on the sofa. “Please take a seat, Gabriella,” I was shocked that I was not forced into the torture throne, so I quickly made my way and sat on the sofa. I didn’t want to risk him changing his mind. Mr Simmons stood up and sat on one of the armchairs across from me. At this point, my hands were sweating and my heart was beating so fast that I was afraid I was going to die any minute now. “Gabriella, Alpha Gregory came yesterday to check on everything in the orphanage and after he was done with it, he requested to speak to you. That’s why I called you here. The Alpha should be here shortly,” he broke the silence, but instead of calming my nerves it made me even more nervous. “Sir, I am confused. Why would the Alpha like to see me? Why does he even know of my existence? Have I done something wrong?” I asked hesitantly. Mr Simmons opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by the knock on the door. He stood up and went to open it and bowed his head in submission, greeting his guest. “Good morning, Alpha! Please come in. Gabriella is already here.” I stood up and bared my neck in submission. “Good morning, Alpha Gregory!” I said softly. “Good morning, Mr Simmons and Gabriella!” the alpha said and shook hands with the principal and then me. Alpha Gregory sat in the armchair and we followed, sitting where we were seated before. He looked at me with a warm smile and said “Gabriella, as you may already know, I was here yesterday to check on things in the orphanage. While reviewing students’ progress, I was impressed with your results and decided to give you the opportunity to transfer to Blue Moon High.” To say I was shocked would be an understatement. My eyes went wide. I opened my mouth and tried to say something but no words came out. Hell, no words formed in my brain! I was sure he would take this offer back, realizing he had made a huge mistake, but he just chuckled softly and continued: “I can see you did not expect that.” I shook my head no “Of course it is up to you whether you accept or not, but before you make your decision let me tell you what it would mean for you if you accept.” I just nodded and he continued “If you accept my offer you will be given a room in the packhouse and you will become a full member of the pack. As you know, all pack members contribute to the pack’s life by doing a job of their liking and preference, depending on what jobs are available at the moment. Usually, parents work to support their pups while they attend school…” He trailed, shifting uncomfortably in his armchair. I looked up at his apologetic eyes. I don’t feel bad about not having a family anymore. Sure, I wanted to be loved and important to someone, but I believed strongly in the Moon Goddess and, since she was the mother of all werewolves, I considered her my mother too. I often spoke to her and most times that made me feel better. The Alpha was giving me the chance to start my life on my own and take my destiny in my hands. Even though I was only 14, I was ready for it. So I decided to break the uncomfortable silence: “It’s alright, Alpha. I understand. Please continue” He cleared his throat and nodded. “As I was saying, you will be given a job but it will be part time and your schedule will be compliant with your classes and school workload. You will be paid and will be able to eat in the common dining room like all pack members. fees will be taken care of by me personally.” He paused and looked at me, trying to read what I was thinking. At this point, I was already convinced that this was my big chance. I wasn’t afraid to work. One big part of our education in the orphanage was teaching us different jobs and letting us practise so that we could fit in society once we turned 18 and become full members of the pack. “So what do you think, Gabriella? If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask.” Alpha Gregory said. “First I would like to thank you, Alpha. This is a huge opportunity for me and I feel honored by your offer. I have a couple of questions though.” The Alpha smiled softly and gestured for me to continue. “First, I would like to know what jobs would be available for me?” “At the moment we have a few jobs available in the kitchen as a few of our cooks retired recently. We also have available jobs in the laundry section and the school library. If you have anything else in mind, I could check if there is a spot available for you.” “No, that’s quite alright. I love cooking and reading, so I will probably choose between kitchen staff or the library” “If I may suggest, Gabriella, I think the kitchen job would be the wiser choice for the time being, since you will live in the packhouse anyway. It will be more convenient for you” Mr Simmons spoke for the first time. I smiled gratefully at him and nodded. “My next question, Alpha, is who else from the orphanage is coming?” I asked curiously. The Alpha seemed taken aback by my question and maybe a little confused. “You are the only one. Honestly, I did not come here looking for the perfect candidate. I saw your progress and spoke to your teachers and what I heard impressed me and I decided to give you this opportunity. Do you think there are others who deserve the same?” He asked with curiosity in his tone. I thought for a minute before I replied: “I believe there are many capable students here. If I may make a suggestion?” The Alpha nodded, so I continued: “If only one spot is available for transferring to Blue Moon High, you should give everyone a fair chance. I will participate in this competition and if I turn out to be the best, then I will come. But there might be other students that are smarter than me. I don’t think it’s right to rob them of this chance.” I couldn’t decipher the look on the Alpha’s face but Mr Simmons seemed… proud? Alpha Gregory was silent for a minute, maybe thinking of my suggestion. Suddenly, he stood up with a bright smile on his face and said: “Gabriella, this conversation only proved that I indeed made the right decision choosing you. I will think about your proposal.” He extended his hand to me, I stood up and shook it with a shy smile on my face. “Mr Simmons, please gather all the students tomorrow morning. I will make some announcements personally” Mr Simmons nodded and shook the Alpha’s extended hand. I was dismissed after Alpha Gregory left.