Her Second Chance

Tessa Morse's POV Nine Years Ago I despise these Alpha meetings. Fire Moon is hosting this year's event. I have done nothing but clean and get bossed around by that jerk Alpha Honi Rainwater and his ranked members the past week. They never ask either. They command. Sure they're ranked and all, but still. "Tessa take out the trash!" "Tessa clean this s**t up!" "Tessa take my laundry!" "TESSA TESSA TESSA!" All day, every day. Just once I'd like to be asked: "Tessa can you please..." instead being screamed at. I really hate it here, but I have no money to leave. My parents died six months ago in an attack and burying them wiped almost all of my savings out. I'm still very bitter Alpha Honi didn't help with the expenses and many other pack members have felt the same as he didn't help them bury their families either. My 18th birthday came around last month and as much as I prayed to the Moon Goddess to find my mate, did I?? No. Not that I'm surprised, but I'm getting really nervous. Especially since Alpha Honi has been eyeing me lately. I'm terrified of the day he will catch me with my guard down. Everyone to the front to greet the Alphas for the meeting! Alpha Honi's voice boomed through our pack mind-link. Great. This weekend was really going to blow a**. I made my way up front and stood with a couple of other Omegas that I cleaned with. "I wonder if the Moon Goddess will mate me to an Alpha?" I rolled my eyes mentally with Mare. She was constantly looking for her mate and as sweet as she is, I highly doubt our Moon Goddess would mate lowly commoners like us with Alphas. "Check out the very tall one in the back with the red hair!" Another Omega named Jill whispered. I desperately searched around the crowd for a way out, and made my way to the second back row. All of a sudden I felt a vice grip on my elbow and knew right away it was Garrett Luther. UGH! "Well hey there Tessa! Long time no see! You know we got interrupted when I tried to get to know you last time..." Garrett's green eyes glinted with lust and about made me vomit right there. "You must mean that night when you tried to kiss me and I punched you. Didn't you lose a couple of teeth too?" I snarked and smiled at him, not missing a beat. Not going to lie, I have a lot of pride in the fact I put Garret's misogynistic a** in the pack hospital to get his teeth fixed. That's what he deserved. Garrett Luther is a p***k who thinks women at Fire Moon are up for grabs and we just have to take it. Alpha Honi could care less that he has a predator in his pack, probably because Honi is one too. Well, that night when Garrett tried it with me, he learned fast I'm not one to just "take it." Surprisingly, I didn't get in trouble either. Garrett's face darkened. "That really p****d me off, but I'm willing to let it slide if you'll come to my house tonight and make up for last time." He has to be f******g joking! "I'll pass. Hey shouldn't you be standing guard?" I pointed to the front and Garrett paled. "F**K! We'll have to have this conversation another time Tess!" Garrett bolted for the front on the crowd. I rolled my eyes. I stayed back from the row of Alpha's making their way to the packhouses. These Omegas were giving me such a raging headache. "Oh look at HIM! I want him as a mate!" "That one is SO cute!" I'm going to need a shot of Tequila after today. Hell maybe the whole bottle to knock my a** out from the incessant chatter of these she-wolves until tomorrow morning. As the line of Alphas thinned out to the end, I caught a scent of sandalwood and rosemary. It made my mouth water and my wolf Athena pranced about in my head. Tessa our mate is here! It has to be one of the bodyguards accompanying the Alphas. I scanned the line which was done to the last two men walking at the end. There was a guard flanked on each side of them, but both of them were eyes front and did not appear to be disturbed. The two men in between the guards had to be Alphas. One of them was older with graying black hair and bright blue eyes. The younger one appeared to be a carbon copy of him and he is who Athena and I honed in on. He was beyond handsome with jet black hair and cobalt blue eyes. Suddenly he stopped and sniffed. HE SENSES US! Athena tried to force me to the front. Athena stop! We have to stay here!! The young man's blue eyes scanned the rows. The older man ahead of him turned his head back and said something to the younger one, making him follow him to the packhouse. Goddess Athena...I think our mate is an Alpha!! I didn't know what to think. This was unheard of. Omegas like me never get ranked mates. What does it all mean?? I don't know Tess but we need to find out. The only problem now was that all the Alphas were in the packhouse for the meeting. Unless you were assigned to the packhouse for duties, you were not permitted to enter. I was re-assigned from the packhouse months ago to clean other buildings and was pretty relieved about that. Less opportunities to be around Garrett and Alpha Honi who had been seeking me out more and more. I made my way back to the gym. Since the Alphas were going to want to work out and train, I figured it best to begin cleaning and making sure the workout equipment was working. I had worked on three treadmills when my head felt like it was about to explode. TESSA!! GET TO THE PACKHOUSE IMMEDIATELY AND COME STRAIGHT TO MY OFFICE! Alpha Honi shouted. Oh no, what did I do?! Apprehensively I walked to the pack house and entered Alpha Honi's office, where his Beta and two other Omegas stood facing him. There is no doubt that Alpha Honi Rainwater is a handsome man. He is Native American, with long black hair he keeps in a braid and dark brown eyes. His body is fit even for being in his late thirties. But Honi has taken most of the women in this pack to his bed, mated or not. He is a cruel, vicious Alpha who hits first then asks questions later. Take the two Omegas in the room now. Both young girls are likely underage and have clear handprints on their faces. It made me furious. "Omega Tessa. These two little b*****s used a furniture polish that I do not know what was in it. The polish rubbed off on an Alpha's pants when he leaned against a table and caused irreparable staining. DID YOU TRAIN THEM TO USE THIS POLISH!!" Right here is why I hate this man. Why not ask that stupid Alpha why he was leaning against the table so closely!? Yet another day here at Fire Moon, where Honi can dish out punishments without using critical thinking, and we just have to grin and bear it. "Alpha, I have not worked in the pack house in several months. In fact I have not met these two Omegas before. Though I can tell you from my time working here until you reassigned me, that I was trained to use Orange Oil polish on the antique furniture." "That is what we used as well, Alpha." the first Omega whispered through her tears. "FROM NOW ON I COMMAND THAT THE FURNITURE IN THIS PACK HOUSE ONLY BE POLISHED WITH LEMON PLEDGE! UNDERSTOOD!!" "Yes Alpha." all three of us told him. He was in too much of a rage for me to counter that store polishes are not what you want to use on antiques, but he will figure it out eventually. "Tessa Morse. Effective immediately you will be working again in the packhouse. You will be cleaning my personal office and spaces. Understood!" "Yes Alpha." F**K! That was the last thing I wanted! "You all are dismissed except Tessa!" Being alone with this Alpha scares the s**t out of me. But I'm not going to show him that. "Tessa, I brought you back here because I need people I can trust. I have watched you for quite some time and I believe you are one of those people. You did not agree with my decision to switch the furniture polish, didn't you?" "Only because the previous help drilled it into my head that if you want to preserve the look of antique furniture, you shouldn't use cheap polish. It will cause streaks and stripping to the wood stain. You have beautiful antiques, Alpha, and I don't want to see them destroyed. But if you wish for us to use the Lemon Pledge on them, that is what we will do." "THAT is what I like Tessa. You'll do it because I SAY SO AND I AM THE ONE IN CHARGE HERE!" It took everything I had in me to keep a straight face. This was a f*****g control play for Honi...all over furniture polish! "Starting tomorrow morning, you will be leading the packhouse cleaning crew. And the first thing you will do is command them to switch back to the previous polish. Is that understood?" Honi's dark eyes narrowed as he stared at me. "Yes Alpha." "You are dismissed Omega." I left his office and ran for the packhouse bathroom. I vomited right in the toilet. It wasn't for my cleaning abilities that the Alpha wanted me in the packhouse. I saw the lust in his eyes as he looked me up and down, the plan to seduce me clear in his face. I'd heard the stories from other Omegas he bedded. I was still a virgin and desperately wanted to keep that for my fated mate. But deep down, I know the horrible truth. Athena you know if he commands us to sleep with him, we won't have a choice. It's either protection here at Fire Moon, or the woods and rogues. A rogue death is something I wish on no wolf. I watched helpless months ago as rogues ripped my parents apart right in front of me. They are literally a wolf's death walking unless that wolf is trained to fight and fight hard. Not if we can get our mate to take us away, Tessa. Right. Our mate. He will save us. I cleaned my face and walked out of the bathroom. Suddenly the scent of sandalwood hit me again. I turned and there he was, staring at me. Goddess, he was absolutely gorgeous. "Mate." He whispered. I was elated, until I saw the look of horror on his face. "You're an Omega?!" He snapped. "I am." "My name is Brent Serrano of the Midnight Moon pack. My father is the Alpha and I'm in training to take over." "My name is Tessa Morse." "Tessa, our Moon Goddess doesn't usually mate omegas with ranked wolves." "I know." I whispered. Brent came closer to me. Judging from his stance, he was fighting taking me in his arms. "Goddess why did you do this to me!?" I heard him whisper. "I saw you outside when I came here. I knew you were my mate and told my father, but he told me I have to reject you or he won't give me my pack." I swallowed hard. So much for him taking me away from here. "I understand." I will NOT let this man see me cry. "This is killing me Tessa. I know how painful this is going to be for both of us. But I am going to be an Alpha and I need my pack. They need me. I'm so sorry." "Just get this over with so we can both move on." I said flatly, trying not to let any emotion get into my voice. "Very well. I, Brent Serrano, future Alpha of the Midnight Moon Pack, reject you Tessa Morse as my fated mate." "I, Tessa Morse, accept your rejection Brent Serrano." I felt my heart break into a million pieces. He immediately ran off. COWARD!!! Athena howled in my head. I went back into the bathroom to cry and pull myself back together. I thought I would be more heartbroken, but I guess I'm stronger than I know. I am NOT going to feel sorry for myself. And I'm definitely not waiting for Brent Serrano to come to his senses. Athena, we're on our own girlie. If we are going to survive here we have to stay out of Honi's way. And we are going to need to train for the moment that we can't. So starting tomorrow we are hitting the gym before duties. You good with that? YES!