05 - The little omega girl

Liv tosses and turns in her bed for the third time since she woke up two hours ago. She was tired when she went to bed, but after waking up in the middle of the night, she completely lost her sleep. The clock on her nightstand shows it's one forty in the morning, and she's suffering from insomnia. It's been a few months since she last had insomnia, since she started college. Liv sighs, sitting up in bed and brushing away some strands of hair that fall into her eyes. She pulls the lilac sheet that covered her body and throws it away, rubbing her eyes with the backs of her hands and searching for her slippers that are somewhere on the floor. Once she finds them, she puts them on, and they fit perfectly on her small feet.

She gets up from the bed, noticing that the window is open. She could have sworn she closed it before going to sleep. Or maybe not, she was so tired that she might have just thought she closed it. Liv pulls the hem of her shirt down to cover her exposed belly due to the cold, and her bare thighs shiver from the chilly breeze that enters the room, swaying the curtains, and then she sighs.

"A cup of tea should help with this insomnia," Liv says to herself, walking out of her room. Usually, a cup of tea with milk would make her sleepy. Her feet shuffle out of the room until she reaches the empty hallway. However, the bright light coming from her parents' room catches her attention, and the slightly raised voices from inside make her approach slowly. Being curious was a big flaw of hers. Little Westberg approaches the door, standing at an angle where she can't be seen by her parents inside the room. The omega bites her lower lip and her curiosity grows even more when she hears her name being mentioned.

"You shouldn't have involved Liv in this, she's not to blame for your recklessness," Hannah, her mother, speaks visibly nervously. The omega bites her lip, sighs, and thinks that this isn't good for the babies, the wolf also doesn't like seeing her parents fighting. Her initial thought is to interrupt the conversation, but she can't. She wants to know what this is all about.

"I didn't mean to drag her into this, it wasn't my intention," Aarni says in a low tone. "I won't be so cowardly as to betray my own daughter over a debt. Liv is my daughter and I love her very much."

"And then you'll be arrested..." Hannah speaks bitterly, causing the omega outside the room to widen her eyes, unable to believe what she just heard. Her father will be arrested. Her father! "Why did you steal from your boss? What were you thinking? Do you want your children to grow up visiting their father in jail?" She sighs, remaining silent for a few seconds. Liv tries to absorb the story. "Are you sure there's no other alternative?"

“Unfortunately not," Aarni says and then sighs. "Mr. Nygaard was clear. Either I hand over Liv to him or I will go to jail... He's a very powerful alpha, a true alpha, and he can destroy me if he wants. I don't want my daughter in Aric Nygaard's hands. I'd rather go to jail and pay for what I've done," the beta assures his wife.

"Oh, Aarni, what a mess you've made," Liv can see through the crack of the door as her mother sits on the bed and begins to stroke her five-month pregnant belly, tears now streaming down her cheeks and sobs escaping her mouth. "You should have thought about me, Liv, and the twins... How am I going to explain to them that their father was arrested for theft?" she asks, her face red as she looks at her husband.

Liv puts her hand to her mouth, covering it, and widens her eyes, taking a few steps back, trying to process it all. Her father, her hero, will be arrested. The man who didn't share her blood, but raised her as if he did. A whirlwind of thoughts swirls in Liv's head. Her father will be arrested, her brothers will grow up without their father's presence. She didn't know what it was like to have a father until she was five years old, she didn't have one and it was horrible. When Aarni came into her life, it was a joy for her, when he married her mother, the little omega knew she would finally have a father. A real father. She remembered when she was little and all her friends had two dads, two moms, or a mom and a dad. And she only had her hardworking mother to support the family. The kids at that time were mean and always teased her for it. She didn't want her brothers to go through that. The joy she felt when Aarni said he would be her new dad was immense. So, the young wolfess just wanted her brothers to have their father around, unlike her, who didn't have one. But deep down, she knew that it all depended solely on her.

"I have until tomorrow morning to make my decision. I have until dawn to give my answer... And I won't be back in the evening," Aarni assures his wife, who continues to cry.

Liv immediately shakes her head, backing away from the room. The omega puts her hand to her mouth again, holding back the tears, and then wipes away the lone tear that wets her rosy cheeks.

"I can't let this happen, I can't," Liv shakes her head and bites her lower lip hard. She already had made a decision.

She wouldn't let her father go to jail. If the only way to prevent him from ending up in prison is to surrender herself to Aric Nygaard, then that's exactly what she would do.

For her mother, for her brothers, and for her father.

If Nygaard wants her, then he'll have her.