A young Omega woman about twenty-five years old lay awake in a room that wasn’t her own. Her curly raven hair sprawled over the pillows like tiny rivers branching off of a lake and her brown eyes studied the bumps in the ceiling. It was the first time in a while she hadn’t woken up in fear.

It felt surreal, like everything that happened the last couple of days was a vivid dream that she would be waking up from only to face the harsh reality she was used to being in. She couldn’t stop her mind from recounting what happened, even going as far as to remember when her problems first began.

After graduating highschool Daniella felt like she had her whole life ahead of her. Much to her parents’ displeasure, she decided to wait a year before going to college. She wanted to live a year independently, get a taste of adulthood out in the real world. As an Omega she was sheltered by her family her entire life, they did quite a lot for her which she was thankful for.

So on the one fateful day that an Alpha showed up at her parent’s doorstep and asked for her specifically they were a little protective at first until they learned he was her fated mate. That information, coupled with the fact that his family and he by association had money, they couldn’t tell her to go with him fast enough. It didn’t help that he was a natural sweet talker and quite a handsome young man to boot.

His confession had been emotional, the first time seeing her he ran to her, scooping her up into a hug like he’d known the Omega his entire life. He showered her with affection every moment they were together, it was hard not to be enamored by such a raw showcase of emotions. Daniella convinced herself that he was sincere, that he loved her, and that she could grow to love him too; they were fated to be together after all.

Soon enough she was swept off her feet, quite literally, and moved away with him a few states over. The plan to live independently and go to college were put on hold indefinitely. Her mate, Klark, said she didn’t need to worry about college, he would be the one making the money anyway.

A part of Daniella thought she should be thankful that he would take on such a big responsibility, but a small part of her always argued that something wasn’t right. She had never been the stay at home type, even with how sheltered she was raised. As time went on she thought of the plans she had made after highschool, and how they seemed further and further away.

Daniella never talked to her old friends anymore, it’s not that she didn’t want to, but one-day Klark had decided to get her a new phone, with a new number, and the only contact saved was his. It had been years since she talked to her friends. She suspected they had better things to do than talk with her, all she did was stay in their small condominium all day anyway.

One of the things that she was grateful to keep from her past was video games. It was not something Klark was interested in, but she begged him to let her have some; if he insisted she stayed home and do housework she at least wanted something to do when she was done with it. The Alpha bought her a top of the line gaming pc, way better than the one she used to have. Sometimes she was glad Klark loved her this much.

The closest thing she came to human interaction were the people she played online with. Playing online with these people, for the little time they stayed, was the escape Daniella wished for in her everyday life. She got to travel to different lands, talk to people, and do whatever she wanted for a change; not bound by anyone’s rules but her own. She tried not to notice the empty feeling she got when Klark yelled at her to log off and spend time with him.

With as many people as Daniella played online with only one turned into a lasting friendship. His name was [TsuTsuTsunami] or Aosh as she would come to find out. She spent so much time playing the game that she was a pro archer player. On a whim, she used her skills to save Aosh’s character in a dungeon, and it was history between them from then on.

It was refreshing to have someone to talk to. Daniella mostly listened, getting a glimpse of the outside world through Aosh’s eyes. It wasn’t long before she found out that he was an Alpha, and was quick to tell him she had a fated mate, lest he gets the wrong idea.

Aosh confided in her how he wanted to find his mate as well and she couldn’t stop her heart from feeling bitter for just a moment. She sent him encouraging words nonetheless and promptly decided to hide their conversations from Klark.

The first time Klark hit her was after they returned from the fertility clinic.

Klark, from the beginning, expressed how much he wanted a big family. So after trying to get pregnant multiple times and all the tests coming back negative, even after Daniella’s heat, he scheduled her to go see a professional. In front of the doctor, Klark took the news well, it was when the two got home, the Alpha made his frustrations known.

“It’s because you’re not trying hard enough!” he slapped her across the face.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Stop!” she was slapped again and again in the entrance hall of their home, barely making it through the door before she incurred his wrath.

“Fucking quack doctor didn’t know what he was talking about. We just need to keep trying. Now are you going to try?!” the Alpha dragged her into the living room by her hair, her pain-filled cries lost on him.

Tossing her onto the couch he climbed on top of her. With one hand he tore at her leggings and the other reached into his bottoms to pull out his cock. Daniella kicked and screamed, flailing about in a futile effort to get him off of her.

“Will you Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” Each of the words was punctuated with a brutal punch to the face until the small body underneath him ceased to move.

Daniella’s consciousness slowly slipped away as Klark continued, not caring if she was awake to make a baby or not.

Daniella often wondered what had happened in her life for things to go like this, and when she thought about it, everything boiled down to the moment Klark knocked on her family’s door. For the month she was in the hospital, she daydreamed a lot. She daydreamed what it would’ve been like if she had gone to college instead of staying home to take a year off.

Daniella imagined herself with a group of friends living together, late-night study sessions, early morning classes, and part-time jobs. The things a normal person would call mundane, she found herself craving. At the end of the day, she yearned to have someone to talk to, a friend with an open ear and not a mate with a closed fist.

Her breaking point had been a long time coming, the final nail in the coffin is that she realized she was a hypocrite. The bitterness she held for Aosh and his fated mate grew with every conversation they had and she hated herself for it. How could she give advice she couldn’t even follow? She felt so trapped, like a pretty bird in a display case. Except only one person could look at her and touch her as he pleased.

Klark violated her physically and mentally more times than she could count and she had almost convinced herself that it was too late for her; that maybe this is what she deserved, maybe fate knew something that she didn’t. But a sudden resolve washed over her one day and she decided no more, Daniella had to stand up to Klark or she was going to be trapped as his Omega plaything forever.

She kicked off the sheets and shuffled into the bathroom that was joined to the room she was in. The dawn light filtered into the frosted glass of the windows. The person in the mirror seemed like someone else for a mere second until her eyes adjusted. Her gaze landed on the bandage wrapped around her neck, dark red splotches contrasted the off white of the fabric. She would have to bother Aosh to clean it out for her when he got back from work.

The memory of Klark cutting her anti-bite collar with a knife and viciously gnawing on her neck, where her scent glands were located, played on repeat in her mind along with his words.

‘You can’t leave me now! You’re mine now!Always will be!’

An Alpha biting an Omega’s neck was more intimate and binding than marriage because it was for life. Once bitten the pair’s pheromones would only attract each other, a unique aroma that would smell delightful to the mates and would smell repulsive to others. It was a statement, saying this person is mine for all of my life, forever, even after I pass.

A bitten Omega could never be mated to anyone else ever again, having to endure arduous and lonely heats that could not be cured with another Alpha other than the one who had claimed them. Something so sacred was used maliciously against her, so even if she left Klark she would never be able to have peace.

She felt nauseous and tears collected on her long eyelashes. Aosh was nothing but sweet and gentle while he bandaged her up, his face holding barely concealed rage. He had told her they were going to drive straight back to his home after they stopped at a gas station to get her wound cleaned.

Daniella could tell how tired the other was, driving for ten hours straight, and dealing with an outraged Alpha was no small task. She was happy when she was able to convince him to find them someplace to stay for the night and then they could continue. Aosh, as expected, was nothing but gentlemanly to her and let her sleep on the motel bed while he slept in the armchair by the window.

Even now, being in Aosh’s home, he was overly generous letting Daniella stay in his room while the Alpha slept on his couch. He told her to make herself at home, and to get some rest because apparently, she had ‘been through a lot’. Daniella never thought about it that way, maybe she always thought this is what she deserved, but now hearing someone validate the pain she’s been through for the last couple years, well even that felt surreal.

Emotionally drained she wandered back to the bed and drifted off to sleep only to wake up some hours later to a door opening and closing. Her body tensed up out of habit from hearing the sound and the Omega told herself to relax; exiting the room to greet Aosh.

She found the Alpha standing in front of the door looking down at one of the two phones in his hands, a faint blush across his cheeks. When he didn’t move or say anything she spoke up.

“Is everything ok…?”

“Um, I think I have a lunch date tomorrow…”