It's Either You, Alpha, or the Rogue

003: Another Threat

Chapter 3

~Aria~

I blinked, still in a daze from what just happened. My head was spinning, trying to make sense of everything, but before I could figure anything out, I felt a sharp tug on my ear.

“Ouch!” I yelped, reaching up to grab my ear. I turned and saw Selena, her face twisted in anger. She was pulling my ear hard, and it hurt more than I wanted to admit.

“What happened in there, huh?” she demanded, pulling even harder. “Don’t you dare lie to me!”

I winced, trying to keep calm even though my ear was throbbing. I still didn’t know what I’d done wrong. Everything had happened so fast. But now I had to deal with Selena’s temper on top of everything else.

“Nothing happened,” I muttered, my voice small. “I swear, nothing happened.”

She didn’t believe me. I could see it in her eyes. Her grip tightened, and she pulled my ear again. “Liar,” she spat. “You did something, didn’t you? The Alpha shouted at me because of you! What did you do?”

My heart dropped. The Alpha had shouted at her? Because of me? I didn’t understand. She knew she didn't knock on the door, that was why he shouted. So why blaming me?

“I didn’t do anything,” I said, my voice shaking a little now. The pain in my ear was getting worse, but I didn’t dare pull away. Selena was mad enough already.

She let go of my ear, but the anger on her face didn’t fade. She took a step closer, still glaring at me. “You provoked him, didn’t you? You said or did something, and now he’s mad at me!”

I shook my head quickly, my heart racing. “No, I didn’t. I didn’t say anything, Selena. I swear.”

But she wasn’t listening. She crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing. “The Alpha doesn’t shout at me for no reason. And now I have to deal with him, thanks to you!”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, barely able to get the words out. “I really didn’t mean to...”

Selena huffed and shook her head, clearly not impressed with my apology. “Sorry won’t fix this,” she snapped. “You better stay out of his way from now on, Aria. Or I'll kill you.”

Hearing Selena threaten me, saying I should stay out of her way or she’d kill me, made my heart race. Fear gripped me, and I couldn’t breathe properly. Before I could even process it, she grabbed my ear again, harder this time.

“Repeat what I said,” Selena growled, her face close to mine. I could feel her anger, and it made me freeze.

I kept quiet. I didn’t know what to say. My mind flashed back to what the Alpha had warned me. "Don’t tell anyone we’re mates." I had to keep that secret. No matter how scared I was or how much pain I was in, I couldn’t tell Selena.

When I didn’t speak, Selena’s eyes narrowed, and she glared at me. “You’re lying. I can tell you did something to provoke the Alpha, and now he’s mad at me. You’ll pay for this, Aria,” she hissed. “I’ll make sure of it.”

She was ready to punish me, I could see it. My heart pounded in my chest, and without thinking, I grabbed her hand and yanked it away from my ear. The words spilled out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Selena. I didn’t do anything!” I said, my voice trembling but firm.

For a moment, Selena just stared at me, completely shocked. I couldn’t believe I had done that either... Standing up to her like that. The look on her face was pure surprise, but it quickly turned to anger.

She raised her hand and slapped me across the face, hard. The sting burned my cheek, and I gasped in pain. I could taste blood on my lip from the force of her slap.

“Who do you think you are?” she sneered. “You think you can talk back to me now? We’ll see about that. You’re going to pay for what you did.”

Before I could say anything else, Selena straightened up, her voice cold and commanding. “You’re going to clean Collins’ office. Right now. And I don’t want to hear a single word of complaint, or you’ll regret it.”

I didn’t say anything. What could I say? My cheek still throbbed, and my heart felt heavy with fear.

Selena glared at me one last time before storming off. I touched my cheek, still feeling the sting from her slap. It hurt, but the fear in my chest was worse. I didn’t know how long I could keep this up... hiding the truth, avoiding the Alpha, and now dealing with Selena’s anger.

I started walking toward Collins’ office. I didn’t want to go, but I didn’t have a choice. Right now, all I could do was survive. When I walked into Collins’ office, I already had a bad feeling in my gut. I didn’t want to be here, but I didn’t have a choice. Selena had sent me, and if I didn’t do what she said, things would get worse.

Collins was sitting behind his desk, looking at me with a weird smile. I didn’t like it. Something about the way he was staring made me uncomfortable. I tried to focus on my task, keeping my head down, but then he stood up and walked toward me.

“You know, Aria,” he said, his voice low and smooth, “you don’t have to work so hard. You could make things easier for yourself.”

I froze. My stomach turned as he got closer. I didn’t like the way he was talking. “I... I just need to clean the office,” I muttered, hoping he would leave me alone.

But he didn’t. He moved closer, and I could feel his breath on my neck. “You don’t get it, do you?” he whispered. “You’re just an Omega. Do you know what that means?”

My heart started racing. I didn’t like where this was going. I took a step back, trying to keep distance between us, but he grabbed my arm, holding me in place. His grip was tight, and it hurt.

“Stop struggling,” Collins said, his voice cold now. “You’re an Omega. Ask around. Omegas are tools, meant for satisfaction. It won’t go down the easy way if you keep fighting.”

Panic shot through me, and I felt my whole body freeze up. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was serious. He thought he could do whatever he wanted because of my rank, because I was just an Omega. Fear gripped me, and I screamed, hoping someone would hear me, someone would help.

But Collins just laughed. “No one’s coming to help you,” he said. “If you keep struggling, I’ll make sure the Alpha hears about how you tried to steal from me. You know what happens to thieves around here, don’t you?”

My heart sank. I knew he was telling the truth. The Alpha wouldn’t question it. An Omega like me wouldn’t stand a chance against Collins’ word. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. I didn’t know what to do. My body was trembling, and fear made it hard to think.

“I don’t want any trouble,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “Please, just let me go.”

Collins smirked, tightening his grip on me. “Then stop fighting,” he said. “Be smart, Aria. This will go a lot smoother if you just accept your place.”

I felt trapped. My mind raced, but I knew I couldn’t let him win. Even if it meant risking everything, I couldn’t let him do this to me. I had to find a way out, but I didn’t know how.

Tears streamed down my face as I stood there, feeling helpless and scared.