Chapter 5

Mama hasn’t been eating.

It was hard, watching her waste away, day after day. What little warmth was in the household was gone. It was cold, lonely, and…scary.

I did my best to make sure the girls ate, did their homework, were bathed, and stayed out of Mother’s way. It was hard, but so was being an Omega. 

I tried to avoid Mother as much as possible. It worked for the most part, until the matches started. Sometimes, she would tell me to dress nicely before school and when I came home, there would be an Alpha and their parents waiting in the living room with Mother. 

I’d come in, submit, be forced to listen to them discuss my looks, my academics, my domesticity. Most of the time, there was nothing nice said about me. 

I was too tall, too lanky, too pale, too skinny, too hard edged. My hips weren’t wide enough, even though I was only thirteen. My voice not soft enough, how could I ever soothe an Alpha with a voice like that…and so on. 

I sat through it, keeping my expression neutral. If I cried, Mother would beat me. It happened once. I never let it happen again.

The Alphas they brought were never interested in me. I could tell from the sneers and it only made things at school even worse.

But I submitted…every time.

My Omega classes were an escape. The one place I didn’t have to cower, even if all we discussed in them was the best way to prostrate ourselves to the Alpha. Prostrate…that was a vocabulary word. I don’t like it very much.

“Cal, are you even listening?” Angie snapped her fingers in my face. I blinked, noticing all the eyes on me. Heat rushed to my cheeks. 

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“You’ve been all spacey. What’s up with you?” she demanded. I liked Angie, she was the furthest from submissive that an Omega could be, but she had that luxury. She had gotten betrothed last year to an Alpha named Elliot. Elliot was nice for the most part, quiet, but let Angie do whatever she wanted. 

I didn’t have that luxury.

“Just tired,” I mumbled, digging into the ground meat for lunch. I didn’t want them to pry. Didn’t want to see the pitying looks on their faces as we discussed how many Alphas have rejected me. It would only remind me of how much I hated them.

Besides, I had more important things to worry about. Like Mama, and the new litter we didn’t have any space for. And Senno, who still couldn’t come to school. 

Alphas were the last thing on my mind.

“Well I said, Henry wanted me to give this to you,” she mused, waving a folded piece of paper in front of my face. I frowned. 

Henry? From the year above us?

Henry the Alpha?

The table hooted and teased. I flushed, snatching the paper out of her hand but didn’t unfold it. 

“You’re not going to open it?” she pushed. 

“Leave him alone, Angie. You’re so nosey!” Galen chided, tossing a napkin at her. As the twins bickered, I twisted the note between my fingers. 

Would it be a hate letter? Another person to tell me how ugly I am? How I’m never going to get an Alpha?

Well I didn’t want one.

I’ve never even talked to Henry before. He just stared at me sometimes. I kept my head down, submitted like I was supposed to, and moved on. I haven’t done anything to catch his attention. Why torment me?

As if I wasn’t getting enough of that from the other Alphas at school.

Henry has pretty eyes.

Stop it! I’m not going down that road. Trusting an Alpha is a huge mistake. 

I dropped the note on the tray before tossing the whole thing when lunch was over. Galen noticed but didn’t say anything. 

Except the next day, Angie approached me with a huge grin and another folded piece of paper. 

“Henry asked me to give this to you,” she sang happily. 

I frowned, took the note and stuffed it into my pocket before discreetly tossing in the trash later on that day. 

But it continued the next day, then the day after that, and the day after that. 

After a week, when Angie approached with a smile, I glared at her. “That better not be another stupid note.”

Her grin only widened. I sighed.

“What do they say?” Nella asked, staring at the paper curiously. 

I shrugged. All of them gaped at me…except Galen.

“You haven’t read them?” Felix gasped.

I shrugged again. 

“Why not?” Nella asked.

I gave her a level look. “Because I already know what it’s going to say.”

“You may be surprised,” Galen said softly. I met his stare. We watched each other for a few moments, before he finally looked away.

Out of all of them, Galen was the most observant. He knew why I wouldn’t look. He knew why I didn’t say anything. We never talked about it, but I knew he knew. 

So why change that now?

I looked at the note, then stuffed it in my back pocket. This time, I didn’t throw it away. Instead, I felt it burning through my jeans. The curiosity growing more intense with each passing hour. Still, I didn’t allow myself to read it. 

But maybe I should’ve. Maybe it would have prepared me when Henry approached our table at lunch. 

“Caleb?” 

I tensed, recognizing the voice. 

Turning my head with my neck exposed and eyes downcast in perfect submission, I snuck a peek at the Alpha with bright red hair, splatter of freckles, bright blue eyes, and tall build. He was only fourteen, but towered over the rest of his class considerably. He’d probably grow even taller. 

“Yes, Alpha?” I greeted softly.

“Can I talk to you? Privately?” 

He was asking?

The shock had me looking up with a gaping mouth, before the realization of my actions had me tilting my head again in submission. 

I wasn’t going to say no. I couldn’t say no. Even if he asked, it wasn’t my right as an Omega to deny an Alpha. 

Without another word, I stood, keeping my head down and approached. 

The cafeteria was dead silent as he led me to the hallway out of the prying eyes and perked ears. 

When we were away from everyone, he stopped walking and turned to face me. He looked a little uncomfortable, it immediately put me on edge. 

“Did you–um–did you get my notes?” he asked. 

I frowned before answering a careful, “Yes, Alpha.”

“So–um–what’s your answer?” 

My frown deepened. I looked up at him, daring to meet his eye.

“I’m sorry Alpha, I have not read them.”

Henry’s eyes widened as red blossomed on his face, then he let out an embarrassed laugh. 

“I guess that’s why you haven’t shown up.”

The confusion must have been clear on my face. Quickly, I tugged the note from my pocket and unfolded it.

Meet me outside Building 3 after school?

- Henry

“Why?” I asked him, forgetting my submission. 

Henry rubbed the back of his neck before another nervous laugh bubbled out of his mouth. He looked everywhere but at me. 

“I wanted to ask you if you wanted to um hang out or something?” 

Hang out?

“Why?” I found myself asking again. 

Finally, his eyes met mine. 

“Because I like you.”