3

Bloom’s POV

The sun shone upon the earth, harsh against my skin as I did the laundry of my fellow omegas. A few had stopped by a couple of times to toss a new set of dirty clothes for me to wash. I looked at my sore hand and grimaced.

I couldn’t stop even though most of my strength had been exhausted. I was drained and could feel my consciousness fading with every moment that passed, and I wasn’t even halfway done with the clothes I needed to wash. Although I stayed up all night washing these clothes, it was never-ending as someone came every hour to drop more dirty clothes.

The omegas giggling and mockingly pointing their fingers as they passed by brought tears to the corner of my eyes. I inhaled deeply, willing the tears not to fall as I continued to work. My dress clung to my body like a second skin due to the wetness and strands of hair stuck to my face. My breathing had gotten uneasy.

Nobody cared to help me, not even Lydia. If she did, she was sure to be tortured by the rest of the omegas. And I didn’t want to put her in that sort of situation.

It was hard to come out of their hold. Every day and hour of your life, you would get tormented for no reason but the sick satisfaction of others. They’d mock you, only leaving when satisfied, and then return when their egos needed more feeding.

I had kissed a lot of feet because of not being able to complete some tasks. In those cases, I had either fallen asleep or couldn’t complete the task during the time given, usually short considering everything else I had to do. It wasn’t my fault. I did the laundry, mopped the rooms, washed the dishes, and fetched water daily, all by myself, when all I had was two hands.

My legs wobbled as I stood up and flopped back on the seat. It took a few tries before I was able to stand without falling. I carried the bowl filled with washed clothes to the clothesline to spread them out to dry. I flapped the clothes first, causing the water to sprinkle on my face before spreading them on top of the clothesline.

Each time I bent and rose back up, my head spun and ached so much that I had to clutch it at some point. My eyes closed in pain, and when they opened, everything was blurry. I felt like I could pass out at any moment, but I was scared of that happening as it would earn the wrath of the omegas.

I lost control of my body, and I started to slip backward. Expecting a hard and painful crash, I closed my eyes to welcome pain when I fell on a soft surface instead.

Stunned, my eyes flew open, and a breath of relief escaped my lips. A whirlwind of emotions rushed through my body, and I steadied myself on my feet and turned back to see who had caught me. I came face to face with a stranger, a very handsome one.

There was a familiar-looking man behind him. The one who had caught me when I almost fell in the hall.

Never mind that. My attention was on the one currently holding me, staring at me with intense blue eyes, making me feel things I’d never felt before. This strange man intrigued me.

He stared at me, one eyebrow raised in what might have been confusion or curiosity. He scanned me from head to toe, eyes scrunched up in confusion. His head tilted to the side as he studied me. Then his expression morphed into surprise. I didn’t know what he was thinking, but it didn’t seem like he liked what he saw.

“Mate.”

At that singular word, my mouth dropped open, not in surprise but in realization. This was the reason I felt a bond with him at first sight. The moon goddess heard my pleas from yesterday and sent my mate! Finally!

Excited, I began to think of the things I would be free from. I’d no longer be under the clutches of the other omegas. I’d be free from them all. I wouldn’t have to do the laundry or work under the sun 24/7. I wouldn’t have to please anybody out of fear. I wouldn’t have to kiss anybody's feet or bow to them just to make them feel superior to me. No longer would I be anybody’s puppet! I would have the happiness I’d craved for all this while.

My eyes met those of the man I was sure would be my savior. In his hands, I felt safe. I didn’t want to let him go.

Wary, the man let go of me and took a step back. “No…”

No? What did he mean by that?

A crowd of omegas had begun to form. I saw Cecily standing in front, the usual sneer on her face.

“You cannot be my mate.” He did nothing to hide the disgust from his face and tone.

I couldn’t believe it.

The omegas began to murmur and laugh. I caught sight of the smug look on Cecily’s face.

Upon hearing his friend’s words, the other man yelled, “Stephen, what are you doing?”

“What I’m doing is not accepting someone like this.” My mate, Stephen, pointed an offending finger at me.

“She’s the Alpha’s daughter, Stephen,” his friend warned.

“Leo, he abandoned her! If not, she wouldn’t be in this state!”

His words, the words from my mate, struck me in ways kicks and blows never could. Nothing was going as I imagined it would.

“Can’t you see that nobody likes her? She’s going to be a burden to me!”

My heart sank. A burden? Was that how my mate saw me? As a burden? I shook my head in unbelief and moved backward. I didn’t want to suffer rejection. After everything I’d been through, I couldn’t handle any more rejection! Plus, I knew the aftermath of rejection caused the rejected wolf to go feral. I didn’t want to do feral, so I would do the first thing that came to mind: Run.

It was as though Cecily read my mind because she motioned to the omegas to hold me on the spot. I didn’t even have that amount of strength to struggle.

“Stephen,” his friend, Leo, begged, “don’t do this.” Leo looked at me with pity, but his face said there was nothing he could do but plead for me.

Stephen seemed to have his mind made up.

My face scrunched up in pain as I began to put up a struggle to get out of the hold of the omegas. I couldn’t get rejected!

“I, Stephen Jenkins, reject you…” He looked around.

Without being asked, a couple of omegas echoed my name, “Bloom!”

“....Bloom as my mate.”

After that, they let go of me, and I slumped to the ground.

I couldn’t believe what was happening. The person I had hoped would get me out of this predicament let me down. Was I that unwantable that even my mate didn’t want me?

I glanced at Cecily, noticing the smirk on her face. Stephan turned, and I saw how Cecily immediately schooled her innocent expression. Stephen seemed intrigued by her, and I couldn’t blame him. Of all the omegas, Cecily was the most beautiful. But she was two-faced. Kind to anyone that was above her and cruel to anyone like me that was below her.

I caught the look of pity in Leo’s eyes again. He moved to help me, but I shuffled out of the way, not trusting. He looked a little offended, but I didn’t care. He could also be trying to trick me like the others. I couldn’t trust that he sincerely wanted to help me.

Stephen nudged Leo, and he straightened up.

“Let’s go.”

“But she…”

Stephen completed, “...is nothing. Let’s go, man.” He clasped a hand around Leo’s shoulders, pulling him along.

Leo shot a last look of compassion at me and followed his friend out. It would have been so easy to trust that his sympathy was sincere, but I just got rejected by the one I thought I would be able to trust. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

The omegas broke into laughter after the two men walked out.

“Can’t even keep a mate, huh? A proof of your pathetic life.”

I couldn’t deny the fact again: She was right.

“You saw how smitten he was with me with one glance, didn’t you? Whereas you, little piglet, couldn’t even get him to smile at your horrible face. Just look at this,” Cecily said, pulling my clothes away from my skin. “Just your presence is enough to make anyone hate you.”

Then she kicked down the basin of clothes I watched and stepped on them. I watched as the others joined in, laughing.

“You can never be good enough for anybody. By the way, you are to wash those clothes before noon. You know the consequences if you fail to do so.”

She turned and left, the omegas following behind.

My life was so pathetic. How could I continue living this way?