The Omega Who Dared to Love a Beta

POV: Katherine A rough, muffled sound escaped my lips as, for the tenth time, kicked me in the stomach. Curled up in a fetal position, I heard her laughter—along with the laughter of the other girls watching the beating. “You really think I didn’t see you looking at him? You think a worthless omega like you has a chance with my man?!” She kicked me again, this time landing straight on my mouth. I tasted blood. One of Lyanna’s friends leaned in to whisper something to her. The blonde wolf with light eyes rolled her eyes and looked down at me with disgust for a few seconds before running off. The bitches who followed her disappeared too. And I was left lying there. I heard footsteps. And then— “Again?” It wasn’t Lyanna. With the little strength I had left, I looked up. “Mom, it was her again—” “Katherine, I will not tolerate you getting into trouble and coming home looking like a run-over stray!” “But it wasn’t my fault,” I coughed. “She—” “Of course it was your fault. You can’t even manage to stay out of danger. You’ve always been like this—a complete disaster since you were a child.” Yes. She was right. I curled up tighter and coughed again. If I had been smart and taken a different path, I wouldn’t have been chased. If I hadn’t looked at Lyanna’s boyfriend during lunch, I wouldn’t have been a target. Grabbing my arm roughly, my mother glared at me with fury as she growled: “Now let’s go to the hospital. I have a big announcement to make tomorrow, and no one can see you looking like this.” . . . As the nurse received me, giving me a once-over with visible irritation, my heart sank. “Again, Katherine? Isn’t it enough we have to deal with *real* injuries?” “Please, I just need a few stitches on my lip and—” “Hold on, level-two omega.” The doctor, an older wolf who smelled of tobacco, examined me with disdain. “You think we have time for childish fights?” My mother stood beside me with her arms crossed. “Just do the basics. She doesn’t deserve more than that.” I knew that being a level-two omega, which meant even lower than a level-one omega (which included most of the pack, minus a few betas like my mother and our Alpha), put me at a clear disadvantage. What I didn’t know was that being belittled *n front of my own mother, without her even trying to defend me, would hurt far more than the wounds on my body. The treatment was quick and painful. No anesthesia. No care. When the needle pierced my skin, I bit down on my lip to keep from screaming. No one cared about my pain. “There.” The doctor tossed his bloodied gloves into the trash. “And next time, learn to defend yourself—or stay in your place.” . . . The next morning, while I was setting up the hall for the big meeting that was only a few hours away, the knife slipped from my hand. “s**t!” The blade landed on my foot, opening a shallow but painful cut. Drops of blood stained the freshly polished floor. I took a deep breath. If my mother saw it, she would probably humiliate me even more. She might even lock me in my room for days without water or food, like she had done before. I remembered the first aid kit she kept in her room. She had gone out earlier, so I could take care of it without being caught. I climbed the stairs slowly, trying not to make any noise. My mother’s room was the one place in the house I hated entering. Everything in there reminded me of how insignificant I was. I opened the door silently. And froze. There was a man in the room. And he was shirtless. My brain shut down. I had never seen a body like his—broad shoulders, defined muscles, a scar that ran from his chest down his abdomen. He had his back to me when I entered, but then he turned around. And I saw his face. It was like the divine bells of the Moon Goddess rang in my ears. His eyes were amber: warm and deep. When they locked onto mine, something inside me trembled. “You…” His voice was raspy. He took a step toward me, and I should have stepped back, but my feet felt rooted to the floor. The wolf asleep inside me opened one eye — for the first time in my life. The stranger raised his hand slowly, like I was a frightened animal, and then his fingers touched my face. “You’re real.” I didn’t understand what he meant. All I knew was that when his skin touched mine, my whole body burned. “What are you doing here?!” My mother’s voice cracked like a whip. I jumped back so fast I stumbled. The man stayed where he was, still staring at me. He seemed to be in some kind of trance. I didn’t know what was happening between us, but it definitely wasn’t something that could be ignored. “Get out. Now.” My mother grabbed my arm. “You are not allowed in here!” Snapping out of the haze a bit, I looked at her and tried to plead: “I cut myself. I just wanted—” “I don’t care. Get back to work.” She shoved me out of the room. When I looked back, the stranger was still watching me. . . . The main hall was packed. In addition to omega wolves, the other Betas from the Inner Circle of Power were present, and so was our Alpha. I shivered. There was something about him that always gave me chills. My mother walked up on stage, wearing an expensive red dress that suited her perfectly. Many said I shared my mother’s beauty, but with my rank and status in the pack, that didn’t mean anything. Even if I dressed elegantly, no one would ever approach me with good intentions. Smiling like never before, she finally got everyone’s attention before delivering her big announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll be brief. It is with great pleasure that I announce that, in one month, I will be getting married.” WHAT?! Applause erupted. Stunned, hidden behind one of the walls, I felt a strange wave of imbalance. My mother was getting married? Why hadn’t she told me? An d to whom?! And then she extended her hand toward someone backstage. “My future husband… Damian Longsilver.” It was him. The strange man from the room. The man who made me feel different. Strange. Even powerful. My heart stopped. Because he wasn’t looking at my mother. He was looking directly at me.