The Alpha and her Luna

The Alpha's Daughter

The party is in full swing, and I'm decked out in my black pants and white tuxedo shirt. The black bowtie is a little tight around my neck, but I've grown used to it. Our Luna likes to show off for visiting guests and she's certainly gone all out for tonight. There are streamers hung, and huge white sprays of flowers on every table. Sarah and I, and about  other servers are milling about the room carrying trays full of food. Our friends snatch far more from our trays than anyone else, but there's plenty for everyone and the whole pack knows it.

Mom's in charge of food tonight, and she's made trout. That might seem like a simple dish but her skill is well known in the neighboring packs as well. They look forward to dinners at Silver Moon, and my mom can turn any meal into an experience. Once the finger foods are finished mom kisses my forehead and shoos Sarah and I out into the common room to visit with our friends while the meals are being finalized.

They've saved seats for us, of course, and when Sarah and I flop down into the chairs there we dissolve into the animated chatter of a bunch of teenagers at a party. Sarah nods toward the front of the room and she whispers to me, "That's Chloe. I don't remember her being that pretty."

I sit back and turn my eyes toward the front of the room, nodding. "Yeah, I don't either, but really I barely remember what she looked like. I don't think I ever really spoke to her. Never had a reason to."

Sarah sighed and says wistfully, "Imagine being her. Everything you ever wanted just handed to you."

Me, I felt differently. "Imagine being her. Probably being harassed to find your mate, or choose a mate, and knowing that whoever you choose will probably run this pack. She's probably sick to death of mate talk, unless what they say is true and she found him while he was away." I point to a young man standing near her and laugh. "Maybe that's him. He's cute. She could do worse."

Sarah grabbed my finger and pushed it away. "Don't point, Liv! It's rude!"

My eyes crinkled up at the corners and I nudged her with my elbow. "Like he's not used to it." I'm teasing though, and it isn't much longer before the announcement is made that dinner will be served in twenty minutes. Sarah and I groan, but we get up from the table and disappear. Our friends are used to it, so it doesn't need an explanation really.

Before you know it the servers are all flooding the room with trays laden with plates of fragrant trout, field greens, and twice baked potatoes. The Alpha's table is always served first, and since my mom pushed me out the door into the common room ahead of everyone else I quickly make my way toward them. It's not like I haven't done this a hundred times before, and they rarely noticed I existed. Sometimes I imagine they think the food just magically appears in front of them. Tonight was no different, really. Until...

When I make it to Chloe I put the plate in front of her without much thought. I didn't even really look at her. I was busy looking at the plate, so when her hand darted out to wrap tightly around my wrist the tray I was holding teetered and nearly toppled before I managed to get it under control. Normally I'd make sure not to make any eye contact with anyone at this table, but tonight my vibrant green eyes lifted to make eye contact with her icy blue ones. I swear I felt a shock in my skin where she touched me, but surely that was just endorphins and fear, wasn't it? I drew in a quick breath and instantly started to apologize. "I'm sorry. If you tell me what's wrong I'll fix it. Do you not like trout? I can have my mom make something different."

Her mouth just hung open slightly as she gaped at me, and as I floundered for words and my eyes fell back to the table. She finally released my wrist. It was like the flesh was burning where her fingers had touched. I still didn't know what I had done wrong, but her voice was dismissive and cold when she murmured,  "No, just go away."

I scurried away faster than I should have and remained poised for our guests, but I still had work to do, and over the next hour I lost myself in that work. It wasn't until all the plates were placed and people were happily eating that Sarah and I flopped back down at the table with our friends, carrying plates of our own. There was an extra plate of trout too, and I pushed it toward the boys, who attacked it like they hadn't already eaten a full dinner. It wasn't until I started to eat that my mind wandered back to the strange encounter with the Alpha's daughter. Whatever I did I was sure I'd hear about it later, and I admit I was a little anxious about that encounter. Punishments were fair here, and I couldn't think of anything I had done that was egregious, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

When dinner was over Sarah and I returned to our duties. "I'll pay you 10 bucks to go get the plates from the Alpha's table." I said to Sarah and she grinned before hopping in their direction to do it. I glanced in that direction while I worked and more than once I found the Alpha's daughter glaring in my direction. It made me uncomfortable, but when you're an omega you learn to disappear into the background, and that's exactly what I did.