OMEGA DANGER

Thunder and lightning ripped through the grey sky, loud and terrifying, the winds howled as if in mourning and grief. The carter manor stood as imposing as ever, long windows glowing with soft orange light. Rain lashed against its ivory walls in relentless sheets, washing away the brilliance of the pristine white façade until it stood ghostly beneath a sky of bruised charcoal clouds. Lightning flashed across the clouds, lighting up rows of perfect white roses and lavender tulips, bending under the wind, their petals torn loose and scattered over the soaked grounds like scraps of silk. The old English oak trees groaned under the pressure of the wind; their crooked branches bent low to touch the ground as though it were mourning with the wind. Every bush, every hedge, every carefully planted flower struggled desperately against the weather, their beauties reduced to trembling shadows under the rain. Suddenly the large oak doors of the manor flew open. A blast of cold wind rushed through the entrance as Lady Victoria Carter stepped out, her elegant coat whipping behind her dramatically. Age had taken the strength from her lungs but not the sharpness from her tongue. “You worthless disgrace! I rue the day you stepped into this house! Into this family. You’ve brought us nothing but shame and—” she shouted, then bent over in a coughing fit. One gloved hand pressed to her chest while servants hurried towards her, only for her to wave them off. The second she caught her breath; her anger came right back. “I said get him out of my sight!” Two huge alpha guards dragged a stunning omega across the polished threshold before tossing him down the rain-slicked marble steps without a hint of mercy. His body hit the stone with a sickening thud. A battered suitcase followed after, landing beside him. Then another. Clothes, books, and a few framed photos spilled across the flooded driveway, swept along by the rushing rainwater. “N-No…please…. please mom d—” “DON’T CALL ME THAT YOU VILE CREATURE!” coughs harshly, “don’t you ever call me that!” “please…” the omega sobbed, scrambling on shaking hands and knees to grab his things before they were carried farther into the storm. His pale fingers trembled as he reached for a photo already starting to dissolve in the rain. “I’ll do better…I’ll try more…. please don’t send me away…” His desperate pleas were lost under another crack of thunder. Lady Victoria stepped down one stair, staring at him with open disgust. “My son should never have married a cursed omega. Every day you stayed in this house was another stain on the Carter name. from this moment onward, you are no longer a member of the Carter family.” The omega looked up at her, eyes red rimmedfrom crying and in a shaky whisper he quietly asks, “Has your son returned home?” Lady Victoria’s eyes narrowed in bitterness “No.” He lowered his eyes “…I see” A young woman came out beside her, arms folded neatly across her chest. Monica carter, she looked at the omega like something more disgusting than dog poop stuck at the bottom of her designer heels. She huffed “I’ve always hated omegas but you stand out; fragile, pathetic, wolfless, disgusting crybaby and worse…. a weak womb. Can’t even do what you were made for. You’re the cause of everything that has been going wrong.” She paused, letting her words sink in before continuing “A cruel beautiful curse, that’s what you are. Maybe you’re a witch. You should have long died with your kind” Before the omega could react, she drove the pointed toe of her heel into his side. He cried out, curling in on himself as another wave of pain crashed over him. “Get up,” she sneered. “You’re embarrassing yourself. Disgusting” Monica spat on him for good measure before turning away and headed back into the house with her mother. The huge oak doors slammed shut behind them with a deafening boom, cutting off the warmth of the manor like he had never belonged there at all. High above, servants stood silently behind the rain-streaked windows. Some looked away. Others watched with quiet pity. A few stared with obvious disgust. But not one of them dare came outside. The storm kept raging and the beautiful omega stood underneath it, rain landing like marbles on his pale skin. Tears mixed with droplets of rain. He looked at the closed doors and wiped his tears. This was the fourth time. Different from the last but similar. With a weary sigh, Cassiel clutched the handles of his battered suitcases until his knuckles turned white. The rain continued to pour as he stumbled away from the Carter manor, leaving behind the towering iron gates without daring to look back. His soaked clothes clung to his slender frame, and every step felt heavier than the last. Cold water seeped into his shoes while the wind bit mercilessly at his pale skin making him look even paler. Each step away from the Carter manor felt unbearably heavy, as though, the estate itself refused to loosen its grip on him. He looked at the rows of ruined tulips and felt his eyes burn with tears. He had planted those a week after his marriage to Ethan Carter. Victoria had said she loved them…. A few months later things changed. Lady Victoria’s words echoed relentlessly in his mind. “…I rue the day you came into this house…into this family!” “my son should never have married a cursed omega….” The look on her face had scarred him. Was he truly cursed? He had asked himself that question more times than he cared to admit. Every home he had entered eventually became another place he was forced to leave. Every family welcomed him with polite smiles, only for those smiles to sour into disgust. Every whispered conversation fell silent the moment he appeared, replaced by wary glances and pitying stares. Beautiful… but cursed. The words clung to him like a second skin. Perhaps Lady Victoria had been right. Maybe everyone had. If misfortune followed him wherever he went maybe he was the reason. Maybe he had always been. A bitter laugh threatened to escape his lips, but it dissolved into another quiet sob before it could be heard. He didn’t know which hurt more. Being abandoned…. Or slowly beginning to believe the things they said about him. The guards watched from beneath the shelter of the gatehouse until he disappeared down the road. No one called him back. By the time Cassiel reached the main road, the storm had eased just enough for passing cars to return. Their headlights swept over him one after the other, illuminating the lonely omega dragging two worn suitcases through puddles.