Ophelia Reeds had spent her life living in the hills of the Dukedom of Spade. She grew up in a small village called Flat Trench, within the aging walls of the church of Saint Gypsum. Much of Ophelia's childhood was no different from any other alpha woman's. Orphaned around the time she presented, as many alpha women are, Ophelia grew up without a family.

After all, no family during this time could afford to keep a daughter who did not earn a dowery. Additionally, being competition for their sons' inheritance, it was often for the best that girls like Ophelia were sent off to live within the walls of the church.

So her adolescence was spent with the priests and nuns of the church, she learned to read and write as many of the girls did. She stayed within the quarters reserved for abandoned girls like herself and grew up around a circus of ever-changing faces. While many of the girls grew up and became priests for the church, Ophelia was one of the few who chose not to. Because of that, she needed to pick up a trade.

In the village of Flat Trench, there were few opportunities for work. Most people end up being farmers or woodsmen. Being that Flat Trench was surrounded by towering hills and woods that covered them. It was far easier to get a job as a woodsman than it was as a farmer.

Most farms in the village were run by families, and very few would be welcoming to an outsider like herself. So Ophelia became a woodsman, a trade she naturally picked up because of her innate strength and her naturally sturdy build.

But the hard labor of being a woodsman was not easy, there were many days that Ophelia struggled. But slowly, over time, she became even stronger than before. She grew tall, towering over the majority of the men in the village, regardless of their dynamics. Her height soon became a running joke at both the church and the village, and Ophelia often had to hear wisecracks about her father being a giant.

Ophelia found the thought amusing at first, but it grew old quickly. Unlike most of the orphaned girls that had grown up at Saint Gypsum, no one knew who Ophelia's parents were. She was found washed up on the banks of the river that ran near the church, clinging for life and holding onto fistfuls of reeds.

When she was taken to the church, she had very little memory. She could only remember her name, Ophelia. Reeds was the name given to her at the church because of how she was found. A name that never quite sat right with Ophelia, but she couldn't really think of a better one. Most of Ophelia's memories before arriving at Saint Gypsum were vague and fuzzy.

Blurry memories of traveling carts and dancing around fires filled her mind when she tried to think of her childhood. Music that was foreign to the music of the church often haunted her dreams. But every time Ophelia tried to grasp onto these memories to capture more information. It always seemed to vanish in a puff of smoke as quickly as those thoughts arrived. The faces of her mother and father were particularly blurry, almost nonexistent in Ophelia's memory.

Ophelia lived in a daze, each day blending into the next, seamless and endless. Every day was the same, and the only thing that changed was that she got older. Ophelia had quickly realized when she was younger that paying attention to names and faces was a fruitless labor. People came and went in her life like sand through her fingers. She found, that the only thing worth paying attention to was where her next meal was coming from and if she had a place to sleep for the night.

Her only true concern was to survive despite everything.

But one day the sound of trumpets thundered through her as if awakening her out of a deep slumber. Ophelia, who had been working on one of the many hillsides in Flat Trench, jumped at the sudden sound. holding onto a nearby tree, she looked down at the road leading to the village spotting a glorious parade of horses, carts, and soldiers in bright shining armor marching to the tiny village.

At first, she had tried to ignore it, but the sound of horses' hooves was like a siren's song, and without meaning to Ophelia walked to the village square. It almost felt as if her body was moving on its own. Curiosity itching viciously at her mind, she was unable to fight back against the urge to see what this was. With her axe resting on her shoulders, she and many of the other villagers gathered, watching as a stage was set up.

Ophelia vaguely interested looked at the small army that crowded the village square and stretched out towards the ends of Flat Trench. A long line of men in armor stood, and at the front, Ophelia spotted the white horse first. Her eyes traveled along the horse's body before stopping at the man on top of it. An omega man with shining platinum hair and sparkling purple eyes sat on top of the white horse. Ophelia could tell he was important from how well-groomed he was and how every man in the army naturally looked to him for orders.

It was strange to see the small frame of the man surrounded by beta and alpha men, she heard whispers of them referring to him as "commander." Ophelia tilted her head, feeling a little amused, so she was right, he was important. He was their leader, an unusual sight seeing an omega leading an army, but not an unpleasant one in Ophelia's eyes. Though Ophelia had always thought if someone had a talent for something then it shouldn't matter what dynamic they were.

Just as she realized she was staring, Ophelia went to look away, but she and the man made eye contact. His eyes widened for a moment before a grin appeared on his lips. He blatantly eyed her up and down, and Ophelia saw his grin widen only ever so slightly. She felt her cheeks burn, 'You like what you see?' She couldn't help but mouth at him a bit sarcastically. Usually, that would be enough to get someone to look away. But the man seemed unbothered by her remark and chuckled as if amused. A smug look appeared on his face and he mouthed back, 'Do you?'

Ophelia felt her eyes widen and her face burned, she looked away hearing laughter from the man. "What are you laughing about commander?" A voice asked, "Nothing." The omega man replied with a chuckle lingering in his voice. Finally, the stage was finished and the omega man gracefully hopped off of his horse. As he landed, Ophelia noticed he was a little shorter than she expected when he was on the horse. Despite his small stature, he had an imposing and charismatic aura about him.

As he walked over to the stage, a hush naturally fell over the small crowd of villagers. All that could be heard was the sound of his fine heels clicking on the cobblestone of the village center. Everyone's eyes were fixated on him, even Ophelia's, every movement he made was graceful and mesmerizing. Tearing her eyes away she looked at the stunned expressions of alpha and beta men in the village. Just from the sight of him, they had all fallen in love with him.

The omega's scent spread through the area freely as a wind breezed through the tiny village. It smelt of plum flowers and jasmine. It was pleasant and the only color that Ophelia could think of was a deep royal purple when it tickled her nose. From his head to his toes, this man looked noble... Royal even. The way he brought a hush over the village without even trying, the commanding presence he had... It was mesmerizing. No matter how hard Ophelia tried her eyes would land back on him, she couldn't look away...

Slowly he climbed up the steps to the small stage created by the army. The wooden platform creaked under his footsteps and the hollowed-out bottom thudded loudly as he made his way to stand in the center. Ophelia felt herself hold her breath without meaning to, her mind burned wondering what this man had to say.

A brilliantly shining smile graced his lips, Ophelia heard gasps come from around her, men around her age both alphas and betas stared at this omega hungry. Ophelia noticed the greedy looks as she looked around, they were coveting him, her eyes landed on the omega once more, and he knew it. The knowing look gleamed in the man's eyes as if he found it amusing that these villagers were instantly willing to leave their families and homes for even the slightest chance of having him.

"My name," His voice rang out loudly over the crowd, Ophelia's eyes were fixated on him now: "Is Darius Trudeau." He introduced himself by placing a graceful hand on his chest. He looked like one of the noble omegas that Ophelia had seen at the church making large donations to look good to their peers. As Ophelia stared, she felt like his eyes were back on her, a wider smile graced his lips when they made eye contact. Ophelia felt the heat rise in her cheeks once more, his eyes curved up slightly as if still laughing about their little interaction just moments before.

Ophelia steeled herself, but quickly waivered, while it was natural that Darius would place his gaze on her. She was the tallest person in the village after all, the way that he looked at her... Ophelia felt beads of sweat trickle down her face and she swallowed dryly. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest and didn't calm down until his eyes removed themselves from her.

The way that man had looked at her... He looked like he wanted to eat her alive.