02

Kiara ~

Just when I thought it was over, Kaleb grips Damon by his collar from behind.

“If you ever lay your hands on Kiara again, I’ll cut them off and feed them to you!” Kaleb warns with a threatening tone. For a split moment, I felt a sense of pride. Only to have it cut short by Damon’s next words.

“Don’t kid yourself, Kaleb.” Damon chuckled. “I can do whatever the fuck I want to her and you can’t stop me. Not while she’s an Omega.”

It’s clear what Damon was implying. I’m always going to be the helpless, bullied, slave of the pack so long as I’m an Omega. It’s how things have been done in the pack, and the Alpha isn’t bothered by it. 

Damon walks away, leaving just me and Kaleb.

“He’s right, you know,” I say, staring at the books in my hands. “So please tell me you’ve worked things out with the Alpha. Your coronation is in two days but he still looks at me like I’ll never be anything more than his slave.”

Kaleb cups my cheeks in his firm hands and lifts my face to his. His golden eyes bore into mine, melting me from the inside out. I doubt I’ll ever get used to seeing his perfect face look at me with so much affection.

“Don’t let that bastard get to you, my love. My father has been busy with preparations, but I promise, I’ll tell him tonight,” I feel warmth as Kaleb locks me in his embrace and fills me with his sandalwood scent.

“What if he doesn’t approve of me? It’s not like anyone in the pack does,” I ask with a very low tone. 

Kaleb pulls away and holds my two hands in his.

“Kiara, do you want to be my Luna?” I hear him say, his eyes fixed on mine.

“Of course, I do. More than anything, Kaleb. You know how much I love you.”

“That’s all I need to hear. Destroy any doubts you have about becoming my Luna. It’s either my father lets me ascend with you by my side or I don’t ascend at all,” He assures with a convincing smile.

I lean to his face and plant a little kiss on his cheek. 

“I trust you.”

“Good.” Kaleb turns his head behind. “You can come out now, Sia.”

Immediately, Alessia comes into the class trying her best not to laugh. Kaleb must’ve caught her scent by the walls. For a second, I wish I could do the things he could do, but Omega’s don’t have heightened senses like the other people in the pack with Wolves. The Moon Goddess designed us to be the weakest species of the Werewolf race.

“Hey, Kaleb. How’s it going? You know, I was just waiting for someone. Totally wasn’t eavesdropping on you guys or anything,” Alessia defends with a not-so-convincing smile. She hurries to her seat to pack her things.

“It’s cool. I’m glad Kiara has a good friend like you watching her back. Although, my coronation is in two days. What I really want to know is if you girls have your dresses in order.” He raises a brow at Alessia, with his right hand on my waist.

“Actually we…”

“Not really,” Alessia replies, cutting me off. “I was thinking maybe we could go shopping today after school.”

“Oh.” Kaleb puts his left hand into his pocket and pulls out a small golden card. “In that case, take this.” He hands the card over to Alessia and she accepts it with a weird glow in her eyes. “Get yourselves the best, well… everything. I wouldn’t want my beloved looking less of a queen when I show her off to the pack,”

With a sigh, Kaleb takes his hand off my waist and turns to me.

“I have an errand to run for my father,” he says, softly rubbing his thumb against my right cheek. “I’ll see you later.”

I nod and lift my heels to give Kaleb a goodbye kiss. I pull away after a few seconds and watch him walk out of the class and down the hall.

“Why are you smiling?” I tease Alessia with a playful punch to her shoulder.

“You guys are adorable.”

We get out of class, heading to our lockers to put away our books.

“What’s that card he gave you anyway? You seemed all giddy about it,” I ask, closing my locker.

“It’s the Alpha’s Golden Pass. With it, we get to buy whatever we want without having to pay a dime,” Alessia answers with the same giddy reaction. “Forget all the bad stuff I said about Kaleb. You’re lucky to have him.”

Alessia shuts her locker and puts her hand over my shoulder. 

“Now come on. We’ve got shopping to do.”

Together, we hurry out of the school grounds, heading for the best clothing shop in the pack-  Diamond Rose. It’s reserved for the wealthy factions in the pack, but today, that includes me. 

“You kids can’t be in here,” warns the chubby old lady sitting at the counter as we walk in. “Especially you.”

“Actually, we can,” Alessia responds, waving the golden card in the air.

A look of shock appears on the old lady’s face for a brief moment. Obviously, she knows what the card is.

“Let me see that.”

We get to the counter and Alessia hands her the special card. After taking a good look at it, the old lady gives us a rather odd smile.

“Forgive my earlier rudeness girls. Have a great time.” She ushers us in.

I guess everyone tends to be a lot nicer to people like me when they know you’re favored by the Alpha. In my case, the Alpha’s son. I and Alessia spent the next two hours fishing through a sea of clothes, shoes, pieces of jewelry, and accessories until we found the perfect outfits. The old lady greeted us with the same odd smile on our way out.

“So Alessia, who’s the lucky guy you’ll be going to the coronation with? Did Jakob finally ask you out?” I ask, giving her a little nudge with my shoulder.

“Not yet, but I have a plan to get him to. Boys tend to react when there’s some competition, and the Ryker Twins should get the job done.”

We make a stop at the front of a bar with the word ‘Toothless’ inscribed on the sign above.

“You know you don’t have to keep working your ass off to save up for college, right? I’m sure Kaleb can handle your finances,” Alessia advises, scanning the building with her eyes. “I’m just saying.”

“You don’t see me complaining, do you?” I reply.

I’m guessing Alessia knew where the conversation was heading so she didn’t push any further. Besides my responsibilities at the Alpha’s compound, I decided to take the job of a bartender at one of the pack’s popular bars. It’s a lot of work, but it’s the one thing in the pack that makes me feel closer to my birth-parents.

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

We hug.

“Don’t forget to tell me the Alpha’s decision,” Alessia reminds me before walking away.

Alone, I take a deep breath in and open the doors of the bar. The first thing I notice is the new clock. It’s already 5 PM. My shift starts in fifteen minutes.

“Hey girl,” calls a sweet voice from the counter.

“Hey Val,” I smile. 

Valery is an Omega just like me. In between my sadistic boss and the annoying customers, she’s the one person that makes me enjoy working here. She’s a couple of years older than me and has a way with the guys. I wave to her then quickly go to the backroom to get changed and put away my shopping bags.

“I’m just going to pretend I didn’t just see you walk in with two bags from Diamond Rose,” she starts, taking down a bottle of vodka from the shelf behind us.

“Then I’m going to pretend I didn’t get you this for the coronation ceremony,” I reply, placing a small wrapped blue box on the counter and turning my face away.

Val hastily turns the last customer in front of her a drink from the vodka bottle and then grabs the little box. Her mouth gapes wide open as she sees the content of the box. It is a golden necklace with tiny Sapphires embedded in it. 

“You always talk about getting one of those fancy necklaces at DR so I thought I’d get you one since the Alpha was paying.”

“Thanks a lot, Kiara,” Val says with a breaking voice as she hugs me. “I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

“Don’t mention it. We Omegas have to stick together. Besides, I wasn’t going to let you go to the party wearing that rusty chain,” I laugh.

A buckload of thank-you’s later, Val was out of the bar and it was just me. Working as a Bargirl got a lot easier after I mastered every drink the bar sold and the customers’ preferences. While cleaning the used glasses, I noticed a tall old man walk in. I’ve been working here for a year now and I’ve never seen him here before. Not to mention outside.  

His white hair and beard made him look sixty-ish, but he was way too muscular for someone his age. More muscular than the Alpha and that was saying something. He had a leather black jacket on with a matching pair of jeans.

“You must be Kiara,” he speaks startling me. “You have no idea how long I’ve been looking for you.”

I don’t know what scares me more. The fact that he knows my name, or that his eyes are red. 

Blood Red!