1=Dummy
Octavia
As I look at my reflection in the mirror, I can’t help but wonder why the Moon Goddess made me an Omega, especially since I am the daughter of the Alpha. My mother died while giving birth to me, and my father has always blamed me for her death. If it weren’t for my grandmother, I wouldn’t have made it through those early days.
Sadly, she died a year ago, and now I’m all alone. Things didn’t get better for me. Even though I’m the daughter of the Alpha, everyone mistreats me every chance they get. My father never stopped them.
Sometimes I look at the moon and wish for a better life, but I know it will never happen.
“Perhaps everything will change once we find our mate,” Scylla, my inner wolf, says as she pulls her ear back against her head.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Be realistic, Scylla. We are Omegas. No one will want us.” I reply, my voice thick with despair.
“That’s not true. Your grandmother accepted you for who you were. Our mate will do the same thing.”
“She was an exception. My fathers looks at me like I should’ve died instead of my mother. He barely acknowledges I exist—and when he does, it’s just to bark orders at me. He lets the pack treat me like dirt, and he never stops them. Sometimes… I wish we could just escape this place.”
“And become a rogue? You know what that means.”
My eyes darken as my jaw clenches. “I’d rather take my chances as a rogue than stay here, treated like trash by my own pack—by my own father.”
Silence. Even Scylla doesn’t respond right away.
Before I have time to react, someone grabs the hair on the back of my head and pins it against the mirror.
“I found you, little Omega,” Suzie taunted, her voice laced with malice.
She leaned closer, her gaze piercing as it locked onto my reflection, even while my face remained pressed against the mirror.
“Why do you even bother to look at yourself?” she sneered, a cruel smile stretching across her lips. “You’re so hideous.”
I make no effort to free myself from her hold. I know that if I attempt to slip away, it will only escalate the situation. I’m not strong enough to fight her. She’s the daughter of the Beta.
Suzie playfully sweeps my hair away from my face, giving it a few light slaps. She leans in closer and asks, “Anyway, that’s not the reason I’m here. Do you know what time it is?”
I refuse to answer her.
Suzie shoves me harder against the mirror. My breath fogs the surface. The mirror doesn’t crack, but trembles, humming faintly under the force.
“I asked you a question, Omega.” Her voice drips with frustration as a low growl escapes her lips.
I swallowed hard and cleared my throat. “No. What time is it?”
A sly smile crept across her face, her eyes glinting with mischief. “So funny you are finally asking.”
Her fingers twisted into the hair at the back of my head, her grip sudden and unforgiving. She grabbed my arm and dragged me forward—straight toward the others who waited in silence.
“It’s time for you to play dummy.”
“Octavia.” Scylla worries about me, as she knows what will happen to me.
In the training pit, they called me the training dummy, as I was being used as a punching bag.
I stood barefoot in the center of the training pit, surrounded by a circle of pack members with smug expressions, feeling their eyes on me.
“It’s time to use the dummy to train ourselves.” Suzie barked.
A wave of laughter rose from the crowd.
My stomach clenched, but I stayed still. I’d learned long ago that reacting only made them more eager.
Jody, Suzie’s mate, is approaching while holding something in his gloved hands.
The silver collar.
He grabs my chin roughly, forcing my head up. “We can’t have your wolf heal you while we’re having some fun. Don’t you agree?”
Fuck you! I want to shout.
I stand firm, refusing to flinch as his gaze bears down on me. My eyes dart away from his stare. The collar snaps shut around my neck. The silver burns instantly. I bite the inside of my cheek until I taste blood.
“Three hits each,” Suzie announces.
The first steps forward, a confident grin spreading across his face, his gaze locking onto mine. “What’s it gonna be, Omega? Do you want to run?”
I stay silent.
I close my eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
The first blow comes quickly. A slap across my face snaps my head to the side. My ears ring. The second blow—his fist to my ribs—knocks the breath out of me. Pain flares like fire down my side.
I stumble, but don’t fall.
He hesitates. “No whimper?” he mutters. “Maybe you like being hit around.”
“Maybe you like hit someone weaker than you to feel stronger and all mighty,” I say, “You’re pathetic.”
He stiffens, a flicker of anger crossing his face. He raises his hand to hit me again, but Suzie’s voice stops him in mid-motion. “Next!”
One by one, they advance, their expressions hungry for dominance.
A shove sends me staggering back, a punch lands squarely in my gut, and a brutal kick connects with my knee. I absorb it all.
The silver collar burns on my skin, preventing Scylla from healing me properly.
Still, I do not collapse. I do not shed a single tear. I refuse to grant them the satisfaction they so desperately seek, standing tall in defiance of their twisted amusement.
Then it’s Jody’s turn.
He doesn’t wait for his mate to call him forward. His lips curl back in a fierce snarl, revealing his sharp teeth. “She thinks she’s above us,” he growls, his voice rumbling like distant thunder.
“Jody, enough,” Suzie says, but her words lack any true authority.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he shifts into his wolf form. And then he is upon me.
The force of his weight slams into my chest, hard. His claws sink deep into my shoulders, sharp pain tearing deep into my muscles. My vision blurs.
Blood soaks my shirt. My breath caught. His teeth hovered above my throat.
Still, I don’t scream. I don’t beg.
“Enough!” My father uses his authoritative Alpha voice to command Jody to stop.
“Stop wasting your time on her and go back to training.” He walks away without acknowledging my presence.
Jody reaches for the collar.
Click.
The collar fell from my neck and hit the dirt.
“I’ve got you,” Scylla whispers. “I will heal you.”
My body screams in pain, but I push myself up. Blood runs down my arms.
No one moves.
I turn my back on them, every step heavy, my shoulders burning with every breath.
I walk out of the pit, away from them, and find a place to lie on the ground as I wait for my body to heal. Since I’m an Omega, I don’t heal as fast as the others, and because the silver collar, it will take more time for me to heal.
This is my life, this is my hell.
