The Beginning Part 2

The scent of sandalwood and fresh soil trickled by raindrops wafted through the air, gently attacking my nostrils.

I followed Ajax through the woods which I realized were already near and almost reaching the boundary the pack's Alpha King had previously placed. There were thorns and strong scents of Ajax's father in this kind of boundaries to, of course, declare territory and possession. 

"A-Ajax, where are we going?" I asked him as I warily looked around. There were no other werewolves aside from us.

Ajax stopped abruptly and glanced at me from the side.

Did something happen? Did Ajax do something and wanted my help? Questions began to swirl in my mind, wondering why Ajax suddenly wanted to take me here. 

For the record, Ajax only treated me as someone he could order around. Both in the academy and at home, as an omega, I heeded and obeyed to every order of the Alpha King's family, particularly of the Alpha Prince Ajax.

Ever since I was a child, I had always followed him and catered to his needs and wants without any hesitation. And even when other members of the pack bullied me and mocked me for having a crush on Ajax, I remained strong-willed and stayed... Not by his side, of course, but at his back, where I naturally and supposedly should be, so that I can listen to his orders and commands. Whether by luck or fate, Ajax never witnessed the times I was ridiculed for being an omega. More than half of me preferred not to let him see, afraid his vision of me as a cheerful and obedient omega would be tainted once he saw me being made fun of easily. 

For me, having to stay by his side was enough. I could and would never ask for more. 

"Say, Claire," Ajax suddenly spoke. He was still in his wolf form. "What will you do if you found out your mate is someone everybody dislikes?"

I couldn't help but look at him in surprise. I didn't expect such a question from him at all. As much as I found his question to be odd, I still wanted to help him and make our master-servant relationship better. So with a smile, I told him, "If my mate is someone everybody dislikes... Umm, I think I will try to learn more about him or her first. Instead of relying too much about others' opinions. In the end, if the person is my mate, I should accept him or her, right? After all, having a mate is a gift given by the moon goddess. Ah, but this doesn't apply to everyone. Of course, if the mate is a horrible person, one should think twice before accepting that person!" 

Ajax looked at me, face expressionless. The wind made a loud wheezing sound as the leaves on the trees and vines danced in a direction-confused manner. Rubbing my arm for a bit as I suddenly felt shameful for speaking too much, I stared down at the ground, waiting for Ajax's reply. 

After a few minutes, Ajax finally spoke. "You're right. Maybe I should learn more about my mate first and see whether they are worthy to be my mate... or they need to be rejected."

Then he turned to me and looked straight into my eyes, his voice full of seriousness and clear authority, "Claire, from now on, you only need to follow me. There's no need to think about anything or anyone else. Do you understand?"

My heart began to pound loudly at his words. I never expected such words to come out from Ajax's lips. It was like asking to remain by his side forever...! 

"Yes, I understand," I bowed down as a salute, a warm feeling spreading across my chest. I couldn't help but smile. Now I was sure Ajax was the Alpha I would forever serve and love with all my heart.

The night was becoming colder and deeper and the pleasant scent coming from Ajax soothed me like a lullaby in spring. The moon was full and bright, my eyes became heavy as I began to picture images of the future together with Ajax.

When I returned home, my brother Navi was already there and was in the middle of talking with my mother. They stopped as they turned to look at me. I could feel their worry upon looking at their eyes which made me began to worry too.

"Mother, brother, is there something wrong?" I asked them.

Mother looked away while my brother Navi stared at me with a pair of serious eyes which he rarely ever used. "Claire, we're leaving the pack."

I frowned as I heard his words. "Brother...?"

Navi sighed, face constricted as if he wanted to tell me something but couldn't. "There's no time to argue. We'll leave tomorrow before the sun rises."

"No!" I shouted, furious at their sudden announcement. "I'm not going to leave North! This is our pack. We belong here, brother! What's up with you and mother, suddenly thinking of such things?"

I couldn't imagine myself leaving North. Especially with Ajax here, the one I vowed to stay beside and serve with all my life... There was no way I was leaving this place whatever happened!

"Stop being selfish and listen to your elder brother!" My brother Navi exclaimed, now looking madly furious as well. "Mother and I have decided. Claire, you're only eighteen and you... You..."

He gave me that look once more, the look as if he was in great pain and desperately wanted to tell me something but couldn't. 

My heart remained steeled as I angrily refuted, "No means no, brother! Why are you deciding this all of sudden anyway? Tell me!" 

"Claire!" My brother roared. 

"Claire, do you really need to raise your voice to your brother like that?" My mother said, intervening between me and Navi. 

"Then tell me, mother, why are we leaving? Why do we need to leave?" I asked them, feeling the formation of hot tears at the back of my eyes. 

My mother who rarely ever showed her emotions, for once, gave a pained expression. "It's... It's not good for us to stay here."

Surprised and confused, I was about to ask once more when Navi spoke. 

"Claire, we're leaving whether you like it or not."

Fisting my hands as his words fueled my anger more, I looked at them with fury and hate enough to make my words across. "Brother... and you too mother... you can go wherever you please but I will remain here. No matter what, I'm not going to leave the pack."

I couldn't leave Ajax. I didn't want to be part from him. 

I heard my mother and brother calling my name numerous times but I remained deaf to their words as I ran out. I ran fast as I could, wanting to relieve all the frustration I was feeling at the moment as I tried to transform. 

Harder and harder, I tried but failed. In the end, I could only pant as I felt air seeming to escape from my lungs after the long sprint I had done. Leaning on the huge mahogany tree, I slowly closed my eyes and tried to rest, deciding to go back home as soon as I had finally let off some of my hot and angered steam. 

With the thought of not wanting to leave Ajax and trying to replace the arguments I just had with my family with more pleasant imaginations, I slowly, unknowingly, drifted off to sleep. 

It was the first time I heard a voice talking to me in an almost agonizing, desperate plea. 

"Claire, you need to wake up... Ajax, this scum alpha, will be the cause of your demise... You will lose everything because of him... Wake up, Claire... Ajax is only trying to fool you... Omegas are nothing but trash to his eyes... Claire, you must do something... He's the reason your entire family will be killed...!! You need to act before it's too late...!"

With my heart racing and my body almost feeling as if it was in scorching hot flames, I opened my eyes and saw the moon shining brightly above. What was that? A nightmare? But whose voice was that? It sounded like a woman's voice, nearly similar to my mother's... 

Mother... Where's mother?!

I quickly got up, unbothered by the fact that I was already at home. Not thinking about how I ended up back here, I immediately went to check my mother. She was supposed to be next to me. But when I turned my head to see, I found out the space next to me was empty.

Sprinting ahead, I went to check my brother Navi whose room was on the next door. To my horror, he also wasn't there. 

Gasping for breath and hearing the loud beating of my heart, I went out of our house and began to search for them. I needed to see them to clear my head out of that nightmare! 

"Mother! Navi!" I shouted but no one seemed to hear and willing to respond. 

Passing by different dwellings, I asked the members of the pack if they had seen my mother and brother. "Have you seen my mother? And my brother? Have you seen them?"

One of them stared at me with irritation. "Aren't you with them?" 

"Omegas should stick with omegas."

"Stop bothering us and ask your fellow omegas about omegas." 

"If you've got nothing else to do, go to the river and help other omegas gather some food. Stop lazing around, an omega should know her place."

The blood in my veins began to boil at the other higher rank's remarks and comments. All I wanted was to know where my mother and brother were! Even in this situation, why would ranks still matter?!

"Despicable..." I couldn't help but let out under my breath. 

Why... Why were we being treated like this? Just because we were omegas, we were treated as nothing but mere servants and slaves... and even at this time of need, no help could even be asked! Why?!!

"Claire."

Before tears could spill from my eyes, I heard a familiar voice coming from the back. I turned around and saw Ajax, together with Selene. There was a frown on Ajax's face as he spoke directly to me. "I've been looking for you everywhere. Just where have you been?"

I couldn't speak a word nor utter a sound. My heart felt like breaking and the tears wanting to come out from my eyes wavered as I saw it. 

On Selene's neck was a freshly bitten mark. 

And although I was an omega, I could fairly smell the scent of a newly fated pair. 

Ajax and Selene... They finally did it... 

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Ajax asked, moving closer to where I was. 

My emotions were messy and I couldn't think straight anymore. Head turning to the ground, I hid my face and said in a low voice. "My mother and brother... they are missing... Can I look for them first?"

"Your mother and brother..." Ajax uttered more to himself which caught my attention. 

"Do you- Do you know where they are?" I faced Ajax and almost knelt down to ask, my hands grabbing his arm.

To my surprise, however, Ajax only stared down at the pair of hands that touched his arm with a deep frown on his face. If I could see it clearly, they were full of loathing and disgust. 

Trembling, I retracted my hands and once more stared at the ground. This was it. If nobody was willing to help me, then I should at least do something, even if I have to do it alone. 

Bowing my head down, I excused myself and turned around. Not even a minute left when I heard Ajax's domineering voice that almost echoed through the entire vicinity. 

"Stop!" 

My body stopped as a reflex and turned to look at him. 

Looking cold and distant, with Selene by his left and a beta, his right hand in command, by his other side, Ajax declared, "You're staying."

My eyes widened at his words. What was he saying? Didn't I just mention my family members were missing? 

"But my mother and my brother! They could be in danger!" I told him once again, begging to be understood. 

But Ajax's eyes were filled with no warmth at all. Instead, he began to say the coldest words I have ever heard. 

"Dead or alive, do you think anyone would care about them?" 

I felt my heart breaking into more pieces. Paired with my anxiety and my mind that was almost driven to insanity, my whole body began to turn cold. 

I only realized Ajax was already near me when he began to speak in a low and dark voice, "You only need to stay here, just as I ordered you a month ago. Claire, you're the only omega I want. Isn't that enough for you?"

His words made me dumbstruck, slowly breaking the steel walls I had constantly built the past years. Bit by bit, the world I had created where Ajax and I could live together in harmony, despite being from different identities and statuses, slowly fell and broke into pieces.

As it turned out, Ajax was also the same. He despised omegas like myself, and I, miserably, became too blind and failed to see it. 

"Horrible..." I murmured as I bawled my fists, barely containing my anger and misery. 

"You know what to do, Claire. I don't need to tell you twice," Ajax said again. 

But I didn't listen to him anymore. I couldn't. My head and heart began to break and voices began to emerge along with different images flashing through my eyes. 

"I can help you... Claire... Call my name... Say my name Alix... I can lend you my powers... Call my name..."

My head started to pound louder and louder as I braced myself, grabbing unto my head. I could somewhat hear Ajax's voice calling out to me but I could no longer care.

The last thing I remembered was being carried and placed on a soft bed with Ajax looming over me before everything turned black.