The Unwanted Omega

Chapter3

As Omegas, they learned early on that banding together was the best strategy for survival.

"She's in the kitchen. I spotted Melissa and David getting cozy over the nachos," Lara responds, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

She's a few years older than Andrea, tall and attractive, and always willing to assist if needed.

"That's a shame," Andrea sighs, her arms folded over her chest. "I was really hoping to try Kael's new dip recipe."

They laugh, and Andrea feels a bit more at ease. She can let her guard down a bit, knowing that Melissa is distracted, at least for the time being.

"Is she still on her bullying spree?" the shorter Omega asks, his voice unusually soft.

Andrea barely catches what he said, and the noise from the party-goers doesn't help. She takes a moment to focus on his words. She thinks her silence made him a bit anxious.

He tries to fill the silence and project more confidence. "That kind of behavior usually stops in middle school. You're all almost adults."

Andrea shrugs. "She's always kind of had a grudge against me, I suppose. And being an Omega, I'm an easy target. I guess it's sort of an occupational hazard."

"Hear that," Lara retorts with a hint of sarcasm, raising her glass of champagne before downing it in one swift gulp. "She's significantly younger than me, yet I still find myself having to tolerate her constant reminders about my place in the pack as an Omega. Can you believe she pilfered my mom's cherished necklace and we were powerless to do anything about it?"

"I'd like to say that shocks me, but it doesn't," Andrea sighs once more. "Did you eventually retrieve the necklace?"

Lara shakes her head. "But that's trivial compared to what she subjects you to, Andrea," she grimaces. "She finds it easy to target you when you're both at school."

"Her disdain for me began before we even started school," Andrea chuckles with a hint of bitterness. It's a painful memory, but sometimes discussing it aids her in dealing with it. "It started when I was just four years old. She set my hair on fire."

"She did what?" the shorter Omega gasps in disbelief.

Andrea nods, somewhat amused that anyone would still be this taken aback by the horrendous acts Melissa committed.

"Yes," Andrea affirms. "She must have purloined a lighter from somewhere. One afternoon, as I was passing by her, she seized my ponytail and just lit it. I suppose she mistook my hair for tinder."

Her mom had been right there, though. It's one of the final memories Andrea has of her before her untimely passing.

She'd appeared almost out of the blue, rushing Andrea back to their modest house and placing her in the tub. She sang to Andrea while washing her hair, trying to remove the burnt sections before cutting her hair.

Andrea remembers the tears that flowed when she saw her long red ponytail fall to the bathroom floor. But before she could even touch her newly cropped hair, her mom had gathered her own hair into a fist and cut it off as well.

"I think your hair is beautiful," he says, jolting her from her thoughts. Andrea blinks at him for a moment before realizing he's addressing her and not Lara.

"O-oh," she stammers, taken aback. "Thank you. I seldom hear that."

Metallic hair was an uncommon genetic trait within the pack. This attribute further singled Andrea out, as if that was even possible. She had always cherished her hair, mainly because her mom shared the same red hue.

But when her mom passed away, any fondness she might have had for it vanished, leaving her with nothing but trivial insecurities that shattered her self-esteem.

"Your hair is distinctive," Lara concurs, a sincere smile broadening across her red-painted lips. "It's not something this ordinary pack gets to appreciate every day."

"And that's exactly why it feels like wearing a bright red target on my back," Andrea interjects. "Except the target is 'not' on my back, it's on my head."

That elicits another bout of laughter from them, although it carries a hint of empathy. While Omegas typically suffer some form of abuse, Melissa seems specifically intent on subjecting Andrea to every kind of torment.

Even if Andrea knew what she had done to earn Melissa's scorn, it wouldn't alter the situation.

"She's irked by the thought that a lowly, bottom-ranking Omega could outshine her," Lara proposes. At first, Andrea thinks she's teasing. But Lara turns to the other Omega and nudges him in the ribs. "Don't you think so?"

He stutters over his words, his cheeks turning crimson. Not one for the limelight, Andrea interrupts him before he can utter a word.

"Ease up, Lara," Andrea chuckles, feeling a bit flustered. She can feel her cheeks warming despite her attempts to stay cool. "Quit kidding."

Lara looks genuinely affronted.

"Me?" she scoffs, a hand elegantly placed on her collarbones. "Kidding? Andrea, sweetheart, you're easily one of the most alluring wolves here. And that's a list Melissa can't even come close to, let alone top."

The other Omega nods in agreement, too bashful to speak aloud.

"Thanks," Andrea murmurs, feeling utterly embarrassed. She gazes down at her feet. She recalls how her mom used to tell her she was beautiful when she was a child. It's a compliment she hadn't heard since her mom's passing, and she's uncertain how she feels about hearing it now.

"Oh, no," the short Omega exclaims suddenly, his eyes fixed on a point just beyond Andrea's shoulder.

Andrea doesn't need to turn around to know that Melissa has finally made her appearance from the kitchen, presumably in search of something, or someone, to torment. She's on the prowl.

Andrea keeps her head down. Part of her knows it won't help much. If Melissa is truly looking for her, she'll find her.

Lara simply shakes her head. "You can relax. She's fawning over the Alpha like a dutiful little lapdog," Lara spits, her lip curling in a snarl. "It's baffling that no one else sees her for the monster she is."

"She's a masterful actress with an exceptional talent for pretense. She's fooled the entire pack into believing she's the darling wolf everyone thinks she is," Andrea adds.

"The moment someone of importance is around, she becomes the model wolf with flawless manners. The moment they're gone, she drops the facade and transforms back into a hellhound."

"It's quite unnerving how she can manage to be nice at all," Andrea muses. "Even if it's solely around the higher-ranking wolves."

"I feel like she manipulates them too, and they're utterly clueless," Lara says, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "She spread a terrible rumor about me last year. Every wolf ranked above Omegas believed I was carrying a lethal plague that would kill them if I came near."

"That was her?" Andrea exclaims, her eyes going wide in shock.

She naturally didn't believe any rumors that circulated within the pack, primarily because they usually involved her. And, honestly, she thinks she would be the first to know if she was secretly a common dog masquerading as a wolf.

"I thought it was just a silly prank by some kids," Andrea says, surprised by a rumor that didn't involve her.

Lara shakes her head and is about to say something when cheers erupt, and Andrea turns just in time to see Kael and Chelsea enter the room. They're both flushed, and Andrea is instantly reminded of the sight of them naked on the grass. She feels like shriveling up and disappearing.

Everyone is so loud, shouting their greetings and best wishes over each other. Andrea says her farewells to her fellow Omegas.

Andrea wants to extend her birthday wishes to Chelsea. She hasn't seen her all day due to her training, party preparations, and efforts to dodge Melissa. She begins to walk towards them, keeping her gaze low in case Melissa spots her.

And, somehow, Melissa does.

In one moment, Andrea's eyes are on the floor, making her way through the swarm of wolves gathered around Kael and Chelsea, and in the next, she's face down on the now-demolished table that once held most of the food.

There's laughter and a loud ringing in her ears. She suspects the shattered glass has pierced the skin on her hands and arms, but the laughter inflicts the most pain. She doesn't need to glance back to know that Melissa had subtly stuck out her flashy, expensive heel in front of her, sending her crashing into one of the buffet tables.

If there ever was a moment when Andrea wished the earth would open up and swallow her whole, it's now.

The laughter subsides before falling completely silent, and she loathes the way her he

art flutters when a voice calls out to her.

"Andrea? Are you okay?"

It's him... Of course, it's Kael.