Chapter 2 An Omega’s Burden
786 Words
The river was always the only place where I could breathe.
As Willow and I filled the wooden buckets, the gentle rush of the water drowned out the cruel voices that echoed through my mind every day. If I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine I belonged somewhere else—somewhere no one cared about ranks or bloodlines.
Willow glanced at me. “You barely slept again, didn’t you?”
I smiled weakly. “Was it that obvious?”
“You have shadows under your eyes.”
I laughed softly. “Those have become part of my face.”
She didn’t laugh with me.
Instead, she looked at me with the same sadness she always did, as if she wished she could take away every scar I carried inside.
“You know,” she said quietly, “my mother asked about you this morning.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“She wanted to know if you’d come for dinner one evening.”
My heart tightened.
Willow’s family had always treated me like a person instead of a burden. Her father greeted me with warm smiles, and her mother never let me leave their home hungry.
“I don’t think my parents would allow it.”
Willow sighed. “I know.”
Neither of us said another word as we lifted the heavy buckets.
By the time we reached the pack house, my arms burned and my dress was soaked from the water sloshing over the sides.
The courtyard was already buzzing with activity.
Servants hurried from one building to another, carrying flowers, barrels of wine, polished silver trays, and colorful ribbons. Lady Vivienne’s birthday celebration was only two days away, and everyone wanted everything to be perfect.
Or rather… perfect for her.
“Elara!”
I froze.
Vivienne’s sharp voice cut through the noise like a blade.
She stood at the top of the stone steps in an elegant emerald dress, surrounded by a group of girls who laughed at everything she said.
She smiled when she saw me.
It wasn’t a kind smile.
“Come here.”
I set the buckets down and walked toward her, lowering my eyes respectfully.
“Yes, Lady Vivienne?”
She circled me slowly.
“You look even worse than yesterday.”
Her friends giggled.
“I suppose carrying water suits an omega.”
More laughter.
I stayed silent.
Vivienne stopped in front of me and brushed a strand of my hair away from my face.
“I heard Father invited several Alpha families to my birthday.”
I nodded.
“Yes, Lady Vivienne.”
“They’ll expect perfection.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“So if I see one speck of dust anywhere, you’ll spend the night cleaning the stables.”
“Yes, Lady Vivienne.”
She leaned closer.
“And don’t embarrass the pack by letting anyone see you during the celebration. Hide yourself.”
Those words stung more than I wanted to admit.
Hide yourself.
As if I were something shameful.
She turned and walked away, her laughter fading into the crowd.
I picked up my buckets again.
“Elara.”
I looked up to find Alpha Rowan standing nearby.
Our Alpha wasn’t cruel, but he was distant. His attention rarely lingered on someone like me.
“The guests will arrive tomorrow evening,” he said. “Every servant is expected to work from sunrise until midnight.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
He nodded once before leaving.
By sunset, every muscle in my body ached.
I scrubbed floors until my hands were raw, polished windows until they gleamed, and carried endless baskets of supplies through the pack house.
When I finally returned home, the smell of roasted lamb drifted through the dining room.
My family was already eating.
No one had saved me a seat.
Mother glanced toward the kitchen.
“There’s leftover soup.”
I walked over.
The pot held little more than watery broth and a small piece of stale bread.
I whispered, “Thank you.”
No one answered.
Later that night, I climbed back into my attic room, too exhausted to cry.
I lay on my bed and stared through the dusty window at the full moon rising above the forest.
Every werewolf dreamed of the day their wolf spoke to them.
Some heard their wolf at sixteen.
Others at seventeen.
I had turned eighteen three weeks ago.
There was still only silence.
I closed my eyes.
“Maybe they’re right,” I whispered into the darkness.
“Maybe… I really am broken.”
Outside, somewhere deep within the forest, a lone wolf lifted its head and howled at the moon.
For reasons I couldn’t explain, the sound made my heart race.
- Writer
