A Dreamlike Nightmare
I had never been so cold before.
The rain was lashing, and I felt a sense of loss so heavy that it physically weighed on my chest.
I floated in and out of consciousness to the sound of distant voices. Someone called out to others, saying they found someone alive.
A light flashed across my eyes and then disappeared.
I was swaying, being carried. I ended up somewhere warm.
Confused and mentally exhausted, I drifted into the welcomed abyss.
I woke up to Abigail gently shoving me awake. “Are you having that dream again?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied, wiping the sleep out of my eyes.
I was exhausted, but the first tell-tale signs of dawn creeping through the small window told me I couldn’t go back to sleep. I forced myself to sit up, and the dream left me.
There was something nagging at me to remember, something almost tangible that begged me to grab onto it. But the more I desperately tried to remember, the more it slipped away.
Abigail looked at me remorsefully. “You haven’t had that dream in a while. Was anything different about it?” I shook my head.
My entire life, this was the only dream I could ever remember having. Though I couldn’t remember the dream itself, I could not deny it coming to me.
I felt the chills so deeply, the pain so gut-wrenching, I wanted to cry out. But then this haze crept in and pulled me back to a reality that, for a moment, felt less real than my dreams.
Recently, it had been coming more frequently and felt more and more vivid. I woke up shivering, with an overwhelming sense of grief and the feeling that something important was just out of reach.
Abigail patted my back. “Everyone else has already headed downstairs. I tried waking you a few times.” I looked at the five vacant mattresses on the floor of our small attic room.
Shit! The realization jolted me awake.
Even being a second late meant the worst shift assignments since Meghan took over as lead Omega. I couldn’t tell if the ‘power’ had already gotten to her head or if she was overcompensating for how much we all loved our previous lead Omega, Janice, who retired and returned to her home pack, and how wildly incompetent she was in comparison.
I told Abigail to go down while I got ready, but she waited for me, as I knew she would.
My earliest memories were filled with Abigail. She took me under her wing when I was first brought to the packhouse and I was raised working alongside her.
She trained me to do everything to the highest standards of The Silver Moon Pack, covered for me when I made mistakes as a kid, and took on the punishments to save me. Even though she was about twenty years older, she was my best friend. She was my family.
I quickly threw on some leggings and a shirt and hurried down the stairs leading into the kitchen behind Abigail. It didn’t matter what we wore to the morning meeting. Our uniforms depended on the shift we were assigned.
I attempted to blend in behind the others unnoticed as Meghan prattled on about The Alpha’s daughter, Hailey’s upcoming birthday ‘ball’.
“I need everything to be perfect.” Her bleach-blonde ponytail swung, punctuating every word.
I looked at Abigail and rolled my eyes. We all knew she was sleeping with The Alpha, which was the only reason she got the role.
His Luna was not his true mate, but outside of the packhouse, no one knew that. They tried to hide it for a reason we didn’t understand.
They played the part in public, but we saw what happened behind closed doors. People who were true mates would never have eyes for another, and the Alpha had made it very clear he had eyes for more than a few Omegas.
“My name is riding on this,” Meghan said. I tried to cover my laugh.
Meghan looked up from her hot pink clipboard when she heard my giggle. Her obnoxiously tall heels made it so she could see me over the other Omegas. Her dull blue eyes seemed to flicker as her eyes landed on me.
I took a steadying breath preparing for the bullshit. “Ah, Isla,” she said, plastering on a smile that made dread curl in my stomach. “It looks like you just volunteered for deep cleaning duty.”
For the past few weeks, she has been singling me out seemingly above the others, and I had no idea why.
I smiled in return. “That sounds great, thanks.”
Meghan’s mouth opened slightly, but she composed herself and narrowed her eyes. “That’s what I like to hear from someone like you. Take what is given and feel lucky you have a lumpy mattress in exchange for cleaning shit stains from toilets for the rest of your days,” she said with a sympathetic smirk.
It was almost as if she forgot that she was an Omega, too. My hands balled into a fist, but I showed no other response.
In this pack, Omegas were treated like filth. I hadn’t been to any other packs, but I heard a rumor that at some places, Omegas were treated like a part of the pack. But here, we were rarely allowed to leave the packhouse unless they were the lucky few assigned to garden upkeep.
So, how would those who spread that rumor know anyway?
Meghan must have said something while I was deep in thought because she marched up to me and fisted my hair so hard I let out a yelp. “What the—” I stopped myself, gritting my teeth.
“Listen to me when I’m talking to you, scum,” she spat which got a few small laughs from the Omegas, who were trying to stay on her good side.
Even though no one respected her, the Alpha’s anger was not to be messed with, and she had his ear… and his dick.
She pulled me behind her by the hair, and the Omegas made a path. My scalp burned as she let go and half tripped, half threw me; my knees hit the floor with a dull thud.
“You’re lucky you’re even considered an Omega, you rogue mutt.” She glared down at me, and I forced myself to meet her with a steady gaze.
The few laughs that trailed behind, though they turned uncomfortable, were fueling her. Meghan mistook them for people actually on her side.
“You should have died with your parents. You’re not much use here.” Meghan laughed, but she was alone now. Everyone knew she had taken it too far.
I saw Abigail push through the silent crowd. I silently begged her to stop, it was too late for her to claim this one on my behalf.
I tried to stand, but Megan pressed a heel into my shoulder. I inhaled a pained breath, looked her in the eyes, and got to my feet.
“I am blessed to be part of this pack. It is an honor The Alpha saw fit to bestow on me.” I emphasize the word Alpha for her benefit. “You can say what you want about me, but I am just as much part of this pack as you are," I told her.
I jutted my chin up at her, even though she was a good half-foot taller than me in her heels. She raised a brow, but her wry smile faltered. She seemed just as taken aback by my sudden small display of defiance as I was.
I knew what I was and where I came from, but I wasn’t ashamed. I didn’t remember anything before I was ‘adopted’ by this pack, and I considered myself lucky to be taken in by Silver Moon, a pack blessed by the Moon Goddess herself.
I wouldn’t have had a chance at surviving alone in the wild as young as I was when I was found.
"Even the Alpha can make mistakes," Meghan seethed.
"Clearly." I raked my eyes up and down her body. When my gaze landed on her face again, it was twisted with rage, she was shaking.
I heard an echo of a slap before I registered the sting on my cheek, and I realized she hit me with the clipboard.
Everyone held their breath.
“Yes, you do belong here,” she said with mock sympathy, pressing a manicured hand over her heart, but I could see the anger still simmering in her eyes.
I had messed up—bad—but I didn't care right now.
“Show us just how good of a little Omega you are by cleaning all the ranked family’s bathrooms.” She gestured towards the linen closets, her lips pulled over her teeth, in a challenge.
“Of course, I am happy to do my part.” I smiled.
I was mildly impressed that Meghan hadn't lashed out further. That was an almost tame reaction from her.
“Alone,” she added.
I kept my face blank, though I knew this torturous task would be impossible. Their bathrooms were enormous, and it usually took a team of five to do them in a day to meet their ridiculous standards.
“Make sure you take extra care of the bathroom in the Alpha's office, or there will be hell to pay,” she said, flipping her ponytail and going back to her clipboard.
I turned to get my supplies, not wanting her to see how defeated I felt. I had to start immediately if I was even going to make enough of a dent to keep the inevitable punishment as light as possible.
“Oh, and Isla?” I paused, waiting for her to go on. “It’s a deep cleaning day, and I think we’re all out of gloves.” She laughed sweetly, and it was even more disturbing than her menacing smile.
I dressed in my cleaning uniform, which always felt too short and tight, compared to the apron I usually wore for kitchen duties. I wheeled a cart full of supplies toward the Omega elevator, annoyed to find Meghan wasn't lying about the lack of gloves.
As the elevator door opened to the ranked floor, I felt a sense of discomfort I couldn’t place. It took me a second to compose myself and push the cart out.
I generally tried to avoid any interaction with ranked members. But whenever I was unlucky enough to be up here, I felt a sense of unease that settled deep in my bones.
I wrote it off as anxiety at a potential run-in, or maybe it was the lingering Alpha aura others always described as stifling.
I decided to do the Alpha’s office first, wanting to limit my chances of running into him alone. The very thought soured my stomach. I had never been in his office before, and it was early enough that they should be eating breakfast.
I walked past all the vacant rooms, I had never seen anyone enter or even heard of them being on the cleaning schedule. I thought they were supposed to be used for guests, but visitors usually stayed on one of the other floors, full of empty rooms.
I took a deep breath outside his office and knocked once. Then again. Thankfully, no one responded.
I slowly opened the door and turned on the lights. His office was an all-dark-paneled space with a matching wooden desk. It would have been cozy if it belonged to anyone else, but being in here made my skin crawl.
A fleck of gold reflected in the dim light. My eyes adjusted and I saw it belonged to a sort of crest hanging behind the desk. I tried to make out the gold designs against the black stone, but jagged claw marks cut through them.
Was this their family crest? I hadn’t seen it anywhere else in the packhouse.
I stepped closer to have a look, forgetting myself. I made out a golden wolf howling at a full silver moon. Standing next to the wolf was an outline of a person, a woman, in a flowing robe.
I wanted to touch it. It was beautiful and felt as ancient as this pack was. It thrummed with power. I reached up with trembling fingers but paused when I heard the click of the door opening behind me. But still, that didn't break me from this strange trance.
I gasped as I was spun to face Alpha Benjamin, my wrist was in his hand and his face was twisted with rage. I couldn’t form a thought, I was reeling.
“What the hell are you doing in my office?” he snarled, his voice loud and low at the same time.
