Alicia's Fate

Set-Up

Alicia’s vision slowly cleared from the blinding slap. She had absolutely no idea what she had done wrong or why the Head Omega had exploded in fury. She had been meticulous: all the fruits were washed, diced, and chilling in the fridge. The vegetables were prepped, three dozen pancakes made, and the coffee grounds were ready. All that remained was starting the coffee machine and warming the pancakes. Everything was, technically, prepared.

​Martha, radiating pure annoyance, shot Alicia a venomous look and walked toward the stove to heat the soup.

​Just then, two other Omegas, Doris and Kate, whose sole purpose seemed to be dispatching Alicia on endless, pointless errands walked in, chatting animatedly. They paused when they saw Alicia slowly pushing herself up from the floor, her Mickey Mouse top and shorts still visibly damp from the creek.

​"Well, this is certainly more entertaining than making coffee," Doris said with a short, cruel laugh. She was the meaner of the pair.

​"What did you do this time, sweetie?" Kate asked, dripping with fake concern. Neither of them cared what had happened or why a clear, angry hand-print was already forming on Alicia’s cheek.

​"I will tell you what she did," Martha snarled, walking back toward them. Alicia stood with her head downcast, numbly curious to hear the accusation.

​"After I carefully put away the fresh supply of meat we received yesterday, which was safely sealed and working perfectly, this dimwit here switched off the power supply to the main refrigerator!" Martha’s voice rose to a screech. "I don't know for how long, but I'm afraid everything has spoiled."

​The accusation landed like a physical blow. Suddenly, everything clicked for Alicia. She hadn't realized her mistake, but she immediately knew how it happened.

​I didn't switch it off, Alicia thought desperately, her memory flashing back to yesterday. She remembered the mountain of supplies, the endless sorting, and the three of them standing in the corner, gossiping, never lifting a finger to help. She had checked and double-checked the refrigerator, ensuring the heavy door was shut and the power running. Her only lapse was not returning to triple-check, an impossibility given her workload.

​"But I didn't..." she tried to interject, the words catching in her dry throat.

​"Oh, my!" Doris exclaimed, her voice dripping with mock severity. "That was such a dreadfully dumb thing to do, wasn't it? Should we report her to the Alpha? Did everything in there spoil?" she rattled off the questions, her eyes narrowed with manufactured hostility.

​"Not quite," Martha said, puffing out her chest with exaggerated self-importance. "I got there in time to switch the power back on. I saved the food supply."

​"That is great then," Kate said, the look she exchanged with Doris chillingly subtle. A glint of satisfaction passed between them. It was clear now, one of them had tried to set her up. "So, are we reporting her to the Alpha or not?"

​The question hung heavy, but Martha quickly shut it down. "No need. We can deal with her after the ceremony. There is still too much to be done, and the guests will be up soon.I can't serve them all by myself, can I?"

​The girls immediately agreed. They had deliberately engineered a prank, a cruel attempt to get Alicia punished for daring to step on their toes. But they hadn't thought it through, if the meat had spoiled, all the Omegas would have suffered the consequences. They needed Alicia too much to lose her now.

​"Get changed and be back here in a minute," Martha almost spat, gesturing with disgust at Alicia’s damp clothes. Alicia turned and hurried out of the kitchen, the high-pitched, triumphant giggling of the Omegas echoing behind her.

ALICIA

I moved in a daze to the room to change out of my wet clothes. There's really not much to be done in the kitchen now, but I needed to go back there to wait at the table and serve the dining as they eat. I was feeling numb and didn't notice I was walking past Olivia and James, who were practically all over each other.

"Hey," James called, and I froze in my tracks hearing his voice. When I raised my head to see him, I anticipated feeling the pain of being rejected. I think that was why he called too, to flaunt his girlfriend in my face, but unexpectedly, I felt nothing, numb even, it didn't even feel like I had pined for him in the early hours of the morning. ​"Bring me a glass of warm milk," he said, his voice unusually soft, almost gentle.

​Both Olivia and I stared at him in stunned surprise. James had never spoken to me with anything less than contempt. And now, with his glamorous Luna-to-be practically draped around him, he simply asked for... milk? Since when did the ruthless Alpha heir drink warm milk?

​"Right away, sire," I replied, my voice flat and dull, betraying no emotion. I gave a quick, stiff bow and walked away, catching the furious tail end of Olivia’s voice as she began berating him for his unexpected kindness toward me. It was indeed the first time, and I wished he would stop this immediate, unwanted attention. The last thing I needed was James drawing the pack's notice to the freshly rejected slave.

​When I got to the kitchen, the Omegas stopped giggling as I walked in.

​"What took you so long?" Kate whined, her voice high-pitched with annoyance. "It's time to serve the table." She thrust a tray piled high with breakfast at me.

​I ignored the tray and walked straight to the fridge to get the milk.

​"Did you not hear me just now?" Kate sputtered, furious at the dismissal.

​I ignored her once more. Serving the dining table had always been Kate’s and Doris’s chore; I had only ever assisted to keep busy or stave off a beating. I realized I had let them walk all over me for too long. With the ultimate humiliation of the mate bond severed, I felt a dangerous, liberating indifference. I no longer cared. If they wanted me locked away for defiance, then so be it.

​"Have you gone deaf or something?" Doris challenged, her face shoved inches from mine. I ignored the taunt, focusing only on pouring the warm milk into the glass and setting it carefully on the small serving tray.

​But as I made to leave, Doris lunged. She snatched the tray away, the sudden, violent motion causing the glass to topple instantly. The milk glass shattered on the tile, its warm, creamy contents splattering everywhere. I lifted my head, my eyes blazing with genuine, raw anger. Doris had a look of satisfied, vile triumph plastered across her face.

​"What is all this commotion? And where is my milk?"

​James strode back into the kitchen, his voice laced with Alpha impatience. He surveyed the messy scene, the shattered glass, the spilled milk, before his gaze finally settled on me.

​I was acutely aware of his stare, yet I felt nothing. No pain, no shame, no desperate pull of the mate bond. The numbness was absolute. It was exactly what I needed. Perhaps the Moon Goddess wasn't entirely cruel; the rejection process had been brutally fast. I felt a distinct, almost giddy sense of peace.

​"She was too clumsy and dropped the tray on purpose!" Kate wailed, instantly pointing a trembling finger at me.

​"I will get you a fresh cup, Alpha," Doris cooed, instantly dropping her swagger to rush toward the fridge.

​I remained silent. There was nothing to say; the truth would be ignored anyway.

​"No, thank you. I think I just lost my appetite," James announced, his voice flat. He took one last, unreadable look at the destruction before turning on his heel and walking back out.

​I grabbed the mop and broom to clean up the mess.

​"Look what you've done," Doris hissed, stalking toward me, her voice venomous. "Making the Alpha lose his appetite is a new low, even for you." I knew she was going to hit me. My hands tightened on the mop handle. I was going to stand up to her, just this once.

​"You should have let me take the milk to him then," I said, my voice low and steady, my eyes locked on hers. "Instead of dragging the tray."

​The sheer audacity of my response, the unexpected anger blazing in my eyes, must have startled her. Doris’s smug expression dissolved. She took a distinct, nervous step back and swallowed hard, whatever insult or threat she was about to utter dissolving on her tongue.

​"Let's just serve the dining today," she stammered, grabbing a tray piled high with food and quickly fleeing the kitchen, with a wide-eyed Kate right behind her.

​I stood in the center of the mess, still clutching the mop, savoring the small, strange victory of their retreat.