12/04/2023
"(Isla)
I’ve never been so cold before. The rain is lashing and I feel a sense of loss so heavy that it physically weighs on my chest.
I float in and out of consciousness as I hear voices yelling that they found someone still alive. A light flashes across my eyes and then disappears. I'm carried and end up somewhere warm. I’m confused and mentally exhausted as I drift into the abyss.
I wake up to Abigail gently shoving me awake.
“Are you having that dream again?” She asks.
“Yes,” I reply, wiping the sleep out of my eyes. I'm exhausted but I can see the first tell-tale signs of dawn outside the small window so I know I can’t go back to bed. As soon as I sit up I feel the dream slipping away from me.
Abigail looks at me remorsefully, “You haven’t had that dream in a while. Was anything different about it?”
I shake my head. This is the only dream that I ever remember having. Recently, it has been coming more frequently and feels more and more vivid, but I can’t remember much besides feeling grief every time I wake up. I feel the chills so deeply and pain so gut-wrenching I want to cry out, then the haze and confusion pull me in and I wake up shivering and cloudy like I had just forgotten something important.
There’s something that I can’t seem to remember waking up, something that feels like I need to break through it.
Abigail looked at me with concerned and says, “Everyone else is already heading downstairs, I tried waking you a few times.” I look at the five other empty mattresses on the floor of our small attic room.
Aw. Being even a second late means the worst shift assignments since Meghan took over as lead omega. I can’t tell if the “power” has already gotten to her head, or if she’s overcompensating for how much we all loved our previous lead omega who one day retired and went back to the pack she was from without so much as saying goodbye to anyone
I tell Abigail to hurry down as I get dressed, but she waits for me. Abigail has been around since I got here as a kid. My earliest memories are of working in this packhouse. She has trained me how to do everything to the highest standards of the pack, she has covered for me when I made mistakes as a kid, and she has taken punishment for my mistakes.
She is my best friend, even though she's 20 years older and feels like family.
I quickly throw on some leggings and a shirt, it doesn’t matter what we wear to the morning meeting as our uniforms depend on what we’re assigned, and hurry down the stairs behind Abigail leading into the kitchen.
I try to hide behind the others unnoticed as Meghan, is talking about Hailey’s upcoming birthday ball her bleach blonde ponytail punctuating every sentence.
“I need everything to be perfect, as my name is riding on this.” I look at Abigail and roll my eyes, trying to hide a laugh.
We all know that she is spending night with the Alpha, and that’s the only reason she got the role. His Luna is not his true mate, not many people know that.
Actually, outside of the packhouse no one does. In public, they play the part, but we know that people who are truly mated would never have eyes for another and the Alpha has made it very clear he has had eyes for a few omegas.
Usually, the head omega position is a position of respect and gained from years of experience, not a bleached blonde ponytail and a dress. I didn’t have much contact with her before she was made lead but I know from the other omegas talking that she was lazy and always tried to pawn off her work onto others.
Meghan looks up from her hot pink clipboard when she hears my giggle. Her obnoxiously tall heels make it so she can see me over the other omegas. Her dull blue eyes seem to flicker as she plasters a smile onto her face.
“Ah Isla. It looks like you volunteered for deep cleaning duty.” The past few weeks she has been singling me out for everything, and I have no idea why.
I smile in return, “That sounds great, thanks.”
Meghan looks slightly shocked, but composes herself, “That’s what I like to hear, you’ll take what’s given to you. Lucky to have a roof over our head even if we have to clean the toilets for the rest of our days in exchange for a mattress.” She raises one eye and smirks at me.
It’s almost as if she forgets that she’s an omega. In this pack, omegas are treated like nobody. I haven’t been to any other packs but I heard once that omegas sometimes get treated like a part of the pack at some other packs, but that could just be rumors. Packhouse omegas are rarely allowed to even leave the packhouse here.
Meghan must have said something while I was deep in thought because she marches up to me and pulls my hair so hard I let out a yelp and am pulled from my thoughts.
“Listen to me when I’m talking.” This got a few laughs from the omegas that were trying to stay on her good side. Even though no one respected her, the Alpha’s anger was not to be messed with.
She pulled me behind her and the omegas made a path. My scalp is burning.
“So lucky to be considered an omega,uh?” She glares down at me and I hold my gaze steady looking up.
Meghan fuels off the few uncomfortable laughs that she’s getting, mistaking them for people actually on her side.
“You should have gone with your rogue parents, not like now.”
I hear Abigail pushing through the omegas trying to get to me. No one's laughing at this point, they all know that she took it too far.
I consider myself lucky every day to be taken in by the Silver Moon pack, blessed by the Moon Goddess herself.
As an orphan rogue, I never would have survived another year in the wild, especially as young as I was.
I know what I am, and where I came from, but I’m not ashamed of it. I don’t remember anything before I was “adopted” by this pack and started working in the packhouse, but I know I got lucky being taken into this pack.
I try to stand up and she never let me with her leg. I look her in the eye and stand up again.
“I am blessed to be part of this pack. It is an honor, one that the Alpha saw fit to bestow on me.” I emphasize the word Alpha, “I am not a rogue, I belong to this pack, and you can say what you want about me but you can’t say that I don’t belong here. I am just as much part of this pack as you are '' I look up at her even though she's a good half foot taller than me in her heels.
She raises her eyebrow but seems taken aback by my sudden defiance. Honestly, I am too.
She gestures towards the linen closets.
“I think it’s only fitting that you’re cleaning all the bathrooms on the Alpha floor. Alone.” I already know this is going to be torture, their bathrooms are huge and it usually takes a team of 5 to do them in a day.
""Make sure you take extra care of the Alpha's office bathroom, or there will be a lot to pay.""
I turn to walk away, I better get started as soon as possible.
“Oh, and Isla?”
I turn back without saying anything.
“It's a deep cleaning day, and I think we’re all out of gloves.” She smiles sweetly and laughs, turning back to her clipboard.
(Isla )
I get dressed in my cleaning uniform that always feels too short and tight, and grab a cart full of supplies, and make my way to the omega elevator to the Alpha floor.
*Ding*
As the door opens to the Alpha floor I feel a sense of discomfort that takes me a second to compose myself and push the cart out of the elevator. I’ve only been up here a few times as I generally try to avoid this floor. Every time I’m up here I feel like something isn’t right. I’m sure it’s just nerves being around the ranked members. Usually, they completely ignore our existence, but if they're in a bad mood they could turn on us, especially Alpha's kids, Hailey and Seth.
Seth is 20, but his father Alpha Benjamin doesn’t want to give him the title yet, he says he has to earn it which is something that I actually respect. Seth isn’t too happy about that though. The Alpha occasionally makes Seth train multiple times a day, and he will scold him in front of the staff and other pack members and sometimes even go as far as to punish him in public. You can see the look in Seth’s eye when he does this, it’s pure hatred but he never talks back or retaliates because he’s scared of him.
Whenever Luna, Julianna is around, she grabs her son and consoles him, and gives the Alpha a warning look. She has played the part of his “mate” for a while now and refuses to do anything in public that will make others see that they aren’t each other's destined mates.
Alpha Benjamin has always been strict with his son and very lenient with his daughter. Turning Seth into a resentful guy and Hailey into a spoiled girl. I can’t decide which one is worse.
I push my cart to the other end of the floor, past all the empty rooms that no one goes in. I think they were used for guests but anyone that stays usually stays on one of the other floors.
I stop in front of the Alpha’s room and internally sigh, I might as well get started with the worst one, the one I was most scared of accidentally running into. The uncomfortable feeling only increases as I step into the massive master suite. Deep cleaning means hours on our hands and knees scrubbing and making sure the place is sparkling. The old head omega, Janice, always said, “Clean it once, and then clean it again!” I smile as I think of her. I wish we got to say goodbye.
I catch myself in the mirror for the first time in ages, seeing myself clearly instead of a dark reflection in a window at night, or the oven door when it's turned off. Omega bathrooms don't have mirrors as no one cares about our appearance.
I'm no longer the too skinny adolescent with bright red frizzy hair. I've filled out, and my hair has turned a deep auburn with a slight wave. I made my head to the side and stare at myself my light green eyes staring back, I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm beautiful by any means, but I am pleasantly surprised by my appearance. I smile, not hating how I look for the first time in literally forever. If I get nothing else from today, at least I got a little of confidence.
I’m sweating by the time I’m done with this bathroom and my knees are aching making it hard to stand. I nervously give it another check to make sure that I didn’t miss anything. I can’t obsess over this though, I still have Hailey, Seth’s, and the Alpha’s office to do.
I head to the Alpha’s office next, wanting to limit my chances of running into him.I’ve never been in his office before. I slowly open the door and turn on the lights to see an all-dark-paneled office with a massive dark wood desk. It would be cozy if it belonged to anyone else, but being in here makes my skin crawl. Something that caught my eye behind the desk was a crest in black stone that had gold etchings reflecting the light. I tried to make out what the crest was but there were massive claw marks across it. Was this their family crest? I haven’t seen it anywhere else in the packhouse.
I stepped to have a look and I could make out a wolf howling at a silver moon and an outline of a woman in a flowing cape standing behind the wolf. For some reason, I want to reach for it and I reach up my fingers trembling when I hear a click of the door opening behind me.
I let out a gasp as he comes up and grabs my hand away, inches from my face.
“What are you doing in my office?! No omega comes in here.” He drags me out of the office and I pull my arm away rubbing it against the pain.
“I uh,” I stutter, still in shock, “I’m deep cleaning the bathrooms today and was going to do the one in the office next,” I explained
He glares at me, “No omegas are allowed in my office, that is a pack rule.”
“I had no idea, I don’t usually clean the ranked members' floors.” I tried to explain, not meeting his eyes.
He looked at me in disgust, and then behind him to his office making sure that nothing was out of place.
“Well then, why are you still standing here? Get on with it, omega.” He said the last word with so much malice in his voice.
I walk behind him cautiously retrieving my cart from the hallway. I’m almost to Hailey’s room when I hear him call out.
“What’s your name, runt?”
“Isla,” I reply, turning around to stare at him.
“Well then Isla, I’ll make sure there is something special waiting for you this evening.” He smiles, no doubt thinking of punishments for me, and heads into his office shutting the door behind him.
There’s nothing the Alpha loves more than putting down omegas and public punishments. It’s like he needs to show his authority and have people fear him, even though he is the highest-ranked member of a prominent pack.
I’m shaking as I enter Hailey’s room, with anger more than fear now. Meghan knew what she was doing, she knew we weren’t allowed in there. I’m furious that now I’ll be enduring a punishment tonight on top of finishing these bathrooms today. I look at the clock on her dresser and see that it is already past 1:00 PM, I can't believe I spent that long in their bathroom, there is no way I’ll finish these last two bathrooms to their standards.
I feel defeated as I make my way into her bathroom and almost cry when I see the number of beauty products and makeup that I would have to move to clean around.
A few minutes later, I hear the door to the bathroom open behind me and I give a little jump.
“I’m just starting here,” I tell Hailey as I turn around.
Only, it wasn’t Hailey, behind me were three omegas, two from my room and one I’ve met in passing but never got much of a chance to talk to as she usually stayed in the laundry room.
They all hold up cleaning supplies and give me smiles.
“We finished our work early to come up and help,"" Kara, one of the girls from my room, says, :Meghan doesn’t know.” She adds with a wink.
I’m filled with a sense of gratitude for them.
“You guys didn't have to come up here, I could have managed.”
“You would have.” Jokes the other girl from my room, Tressa
“Besides, if you don’t get this done it will be all of our duty on the line.” The laundry omega, whose name I think is Ashley says.
We all quickly get to work chatting and laughing with each other. I truly am grateful for the people around me, even if our situation isn't always perfect, sometimes far from it.
We finished Hailey’s bathroom and then moved onto Seth’s across the hall, darkness was falling outside his bedroom window. It didn’t take as much time as I thought it would with the four of us working together.
“I think we’re almost done here, why don’t you guys head down for dinner?” I asked them.
“Are you sure that you can manage the rest?” Ashley asks, looking around.
“There are only a few left, and I need to drag it out a little longer anyways so Meghan doesn’t think I got off too easy.”
They nodded and grabbed their things and started to walk away.
“I’ll save you something to eat if you miss dinner.” Tressa turns back and says,
I smile at her as they walk out. We always take care of each other as omegas here because no one else takes care of us. I won’t say I’m nice to all of them, or even that many, but my experience has been mostly pleasant. The girls in our room especially look out for each other. We always save food when we know someone is getting punished by being forced to skip meals, small things like that have really bonded us. That and sleeping a foot a way from each other for years.
I take one last look around the bathroom and make sure that I left nothing behind. I bend down to put the last few supplies on the bottom of the cart when I feel someone come up behind me.
I stand up and try to turn around but he stopped me, my breath hitches in my throat and I freeze in confusion and panic.
“Going somewhere so fast? I just got here.” His hot breath blows on my hair making me shudder in disgust.
“Get away from me ,Seth.” I finally find my voice as I struggle to getaway.
“There’s only one reason that an omega would be in my room this late in the day, I know you were waiting for your future Alpha, no need to be coy.” He whispers in my ear again. I start to struggle, but it's apparent he is stronger than me, much stronger than me.
“I’m finished cleaning and I’m leaving.” I struggle harder to no avail, he just looked at me with smile, I yelp in pain.
“It doesn’t look like you’re going anywhere."" He chuckles when I scream, "" You have to listen to your Alpha.” He says.
I yell out to anyone to help me, but no one is on this floor, no one that would care to help an omega anyways.
I’m shaking at this point trying to think of any way out of this situation. He pushes his finger past his shirt as I have an idea.
“OK”, I tried to calm him down.
He loosens his grip on me thinking that I’m finally giving in. I see my chance and run as fast as I can, he freezes a moment in shock.
I pull away as hard as I can and run out of his room, down the main staircase that we’re not allowed to use. I pass a few pack members that are visiting the packhouse on the first floor, they stop to look at me in confusion.
I keep running, bursting through the kitchen where the omegas are finishing up their meal.
“Well well well, there you are.” Meghan looks me over disheveled.
“What’s up.”
“I just want to be alone and go to bed,” I say brushing past her.
She pulls me back. “Who were you with?” She glares at me, I see the jealousy in her eyes as she realizes the possibility that I slept with the Alpha, her Alpha.
“Does it matter?” I cleaned the bathrooms and I’m back here before bed, I didn’t know you were in charge of my extracurricular activities.” I smile sweetly at her, reveling in her anger.
I look at her and yelling, “Get away from me Meghan, I did what you asked me to do. Now I’m going to bed.”
She is fuming now. “He would never stoop as low as to be with someone like you.”
“Then why are you so worried about it?” I retorted.
“Fine, go to bed.” I start to walk away, “But you’re sleeping outside tonight.”
(Isla)
I felt completely hopeless, completely empty.
After what happened today I just wanted the comfort of my attic bed and now I’m being punished for Meghan’s misplaced jealousy. I wish I wouldn't have stood up to her and just told her I fell or something. I feel hot tears well up in my eyes as I turn from Meghan so she doesn’t see anything.
There is no use fighting her on this, her word is as good as law when it comes to the omegas. I don’t want to be forced to face the Alpha again, I’ve already made myself known today which is something that I always tried to avoid. I've managed to go relatively unnoticed for the almost fourteen years I've been here, but of course a month before my 18th birthday it seems that everything is going to be worse.
Meghan has been singling me out, I had a run-in with the Alpha in his office, and Seth tried to force himself on me. The only two I haven't managed to p**s off yet for some reason were Hailey and the Luna. At the rate I'm going I'm sure I'll have a run-in with them before the week is over.
I followed Meghan out to the post behind the back kitchen entrance. It was a new punishment that the Alpha and her concocted. They’ve only used it on a few people, one girl burnt a batch of chili, the other stained the Alpha’s expensive sheets, and me at the other end of Meghan's jealousy.
I'm lucky I'm not a rogue, I'm lucky I'm not a rogue, I keep repeating to myself.
I walk out back followed by a group of omegas I heard her telling to follow her, Meghan loves an audience.
""Kneel."" She smiles down at me.
A little melodramatic but she always has a flair for the theatrics. Apparently, I'm taking too long because she takes me to the hard ground. I glare up at her.
""I wouldn't be looking at me with anything but respect. I'm going to find out exactly what happened today, and you'll be lucky if you ever see the light of day again."" She spits.
She pulls a heavy metal dog collar and fastens it around me. The collar is chained to a thick pole with only about ten feet of movement allowed from the pole. This could be more humiliating, but I count myself lucky that it's already dark and only some omegas are here to witness this.
“That’s better then.” She sneers at me.
“Right back where you belong. They honestly shouldn’t have taken you in ever. You’ll never belong here no matter how pretty you think you are.”
What was she talking about? I never said I was pretty?
“Alright. Off to bed, we have lots to prep which means an early wake-up call.”
I hear everyone groan as they shuffle inside. Any time there is a party or event all the pack members are excited about it, and the omegas are forced to do double the work without any of the fun ourselves.
“If I catch anyone sneaking food to her, I’ll assume she want to join her. I’m sure an extra fun can be found around here.” She cackles.
“Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Meghan.” I hear the omegas mumble before she shuts the door.
I take a deep breath in and check out my surroundings. Honestly, this doesn’t seem so bad. Packhouse omegas rarely are allowed to go outside if we aren’t assigned to outside chores. I’ve always loved this land and felt a deep connection to it, I’m sure it’s the wolf in me talking.
I’m so at ease outside that I actually begin to see this as a positive thing. Finally, some alone time, something that I don’t get sharing a small room with six others. I lay down on a bed of grass and take a deep breath that smells of warm earth about to drift off when I see a light turn on at the back of the packhouse, up on one of the ranked members floors.
Seth comes to the window and I swear he is staring right at me. He’s had his wolf with him for years so his sight is better than mine. He gives a smirk that sends a chill down my spine, I know he sees me. He knows I'm alone out here.
I look back up to his room and see that he's gone from the window. The light flickers off.
I feel panic start to rise, he knows I’m out here alone, literally changed to a pole. I see if there is any way to get this leash off me but it is made of steel. I go to the pole and see that the chain is actually welded through the pole with a large ring, they really didn’t want anyone getting out of this.
My breath starts to get fast and my palms are sweaty. There is no way I can fight him off again, nowhere to run, no one that would hear me.
I can’t mindlink with anyone else in the pack because I’m not eighteen yet, I can’t call for anyone as they are already probably all in bed and in the attic or basement.
I hear the back door open softly and I freeze in panic.
This can’t be happening, Goddess help me.
(Isla)
The door creaked and my stomach dropped. I have never felt fear like this, not even in Seth's bathroom today. There was absolutely no way out of this one. No one would hear me scream.
I wouldn’t do anything, exactly as Meghan would have wanted it. I hear the door shut again and hushed footsteps.
I try to run but my chain pulls me back. Frantic, I fall to the ground and start shaking. Moments later someone comes.
“Get away from me,” I shout.
“Dear, it’s me.”
I slowly turn around as realization hits me. It’s Abigail.
I break down in tears of relief, tears of anger, fear, and sadness at the same time. Once I stop sobbing I tell Abigail all that happened that day.
Abigail starts to shake and I can feel her wolf come forward, which is rare for an omega, especially because we are rarely allowed to let them out.
“He did what?!” She screamed in a hushed tone.
I let slip a giggle, I’ve never heard Abigail swear before.
“Sweet girl.” She looks at me and frowns.
“Don’t.” I croak. I don’t want to talk about it anymore and I don’t want anyone, not even her, to take pity on me.
Abigail smiles and pulls out some biscuits and cheese from a napkin and a water bottle and gives it to me. I eat, not realizing how hungry I was. I fall asleep within minutes by her side, and even though I didn’t realize it she stayed with me until morning.
_______________________________________
I wake up after a surprisingly good night's sleep and stretch my sore limbs. My bed, or should I say mattress, is barely more comfortable than this anyways. I didn’t notice when Abigail left as I was in such a deep sleep.
The first signs of the day start to show and the sky is a murky gray color.
I lay back and run my hands through the grass and breathe deeply taking in the feeling of the earth and this moment. I feel a sense of calm wash over me like I am meant to be here.
I’m taken by my thoughts abruptly by the sound of the back door open and banging against the side of the house.
I sit up abruptly.
“I hope you slept well.” Meghan comes out, her slick ponytail bobbing behind her, a sickly smile plastered on her face.
“I actually did, thanks for asking,” I reply, meeting her eye, something she’s not used to from omegas..
“Well then, this might have to be your new bed. It suits you.” She laughs and pulls out a key, “As much as I would love to leave you out here.” I scoff at her words but she doesn’t pause,
“I need all hands on deck before Hailey's party, unfortunately, that means I need even your desperate ones.”
She unlocks the collar and I immediately rub it not realizing how tight that it actually was.
“It is in no circumstances allowed to be around any of the ranked members. From any pack. Do I make myself clear?” She glares at me.
“Crystal clear,” I say with a smile while standing up and brushing past her into the packhouse kitchen.
I am honestly so relieved hearing that I won’t have to deal with any of the ranked members, especially the Alpha and his pervy son.
I head upstairs, I’ll have just enough time to wash myself up a little before starting on my duties today.
Being back downstairs for our assignments again felt strange. It didn’t seem like 24 hours ago I was getting assigned to deep clean the Alpha’s floor bathrooms alone, with all the events of yesterday it honestly felt like a week ago.
I try my best to stay out of Meghan’s way standing in the back as she’s droning on about Hailey’s upcoming party.
“My name is riding on this party, so I expect nothing less than perfection.” We’ve heard that line a million times over this past month. There is a party planner and the Luna was in charge of overseeing everything as part of her pack duties. Meghan was just in charge of setting up and cleaning. Actually, she was just in charge of “overseeing” the setup and I say overseeing very loosely.
Mostly, she’s just been yelling at all of us of course not actually lifting a finger herself.
“The party is this Friday, so we have exactly five days to have this place looking better than it ever has before.” She goes on.
“Some of the Alpha and Beta are staying for the weekend so all of the guest rooms must be deep cleaned and set up.” There are a few quiet groans from some of the omegas but a quick glare from Meghan shuts them up.
“I have it under strict orders from the Alpha that only a select few will be allowed on the ranked member's floors, and that includes the visiting ranked members, after yesterday’s incident.” Meghan looks around for me but doesn’t seem to notice me in the back.
“Thanks to your friend, Isla,” She says friend with such malice and sarcasm in her voice, “There will be a lot of rooms to get ready and only five of you will be allowed to do it.” This time Meghan let the groans go and even smiled at people’s displeasure knowing that it had to do with me.
I heard a few of the omegas asking their friends if they knew what I did or what happened yesterday and I try to make myself as small as possible so they don't notice me.
“So the deep cleaning will start today,” Megan says and continues to rattle off the names of the omega's charged to deep cleaning duty, apparently approved by the Alpha.
I didn’t know any of them personally and they all seemed to be a little older in their forties or so. I wasn’t sure if this was actually Meghan’s decision; she was passing off as the Alpha’s because she didn’t want any other omega to have connection with him, or if for some reason the Alpha was so worried about people being around his office and his room.
I didn’t think too much more about it, I was just glad I would be able to stay away from them and hopefully lay low until the party.
If only that were possible.
(Isla)
The packhouse returns to the normal hustle and bustle of things. I’m thankfully put on kitchen duty for the week which I actually like. It’s nice knowing what you’re doing and there’s so much to do for preparations this week that I never get bored and the work passes fast.
I wake up the next morning early before the first light of Autumn creeps through the window. I feel energized and decide to sneak downstairs for some much-needed alone time, and maybe a chance to get some fresh air.
The Alpha said that there wasn’t a reason for us to leave the packhouse since our work was here and we work from sun up until sundown anyways. It’s just how it’s always been and the omega's seem used to it. I always found it strange that we weren’t allowed to have time outside or really much free time at all.
Even though we're omegas, we're still wolves that need to connect with nature and I don't even know when the omega's have a chance to connect with their wolf forms. I haven't heard of Abigial shifting actually, but she must have.
The kitchen is empty and I walk outside and take off my shoes by the back door. I plant my feet in the grass and take in a huge breath of cool air, the first autumn breath of the almost changing seasons, and a smile is immediately plastered on my face. I feel content and at home.
I stretch my arms and legs and take a short walk around the outskirts of the packhouse in the forest, careful not to go too far because dawn creeps up fast and I want to be back inside before anyone notices I’m missing. I really don’t want to cause any trouble. I’ve been pretty happy here and I want to continue that.
I made a promise to myself to lay low, even if that means pretending to submit to Meghan and not talk back, I grit my teeth at the thought of it.
Once the sky starts to lighten I head back inside meeting John, the guy who drops off fresh produce in the mornings, on my way in.
“Hi, John.” I smile when I see him, he's in his mid-thirties if I had to guess, and is the most positive person I’ve ever met.
I open that back door as he gives me his award-winning smile, “Hello Miss Isla.” he sings back.
I’m honestly a little surprised he remembers my name as I rarely get to see him because I’m usually one of the last ones down and always miss him.
“Can I get you a cup of coffee?” I ask
“If you’re making some for yourself, I would love some. But I don’t want you going out of your way then.”
“No trouble at all. Milk and sugar?” I look up at him.
“Just milk please.” He responds and he begins unloading his boxes of vegetables. As the coffee is brewing I help him start unloading.
“It’s going to be a crazy weekend here then, isn’t it?” He comments looking around at all the trays set out for baking today.
“I haven’t seen a party this big ever,” I say, truth be told there have been some smaller gatherings and meetings but nothing of this magnitude.
“There used to be parties,” John gets a faraway look in his eye, “A while back,” remembering, but then shakes it off, “Must have been before your time then.”
“Must be,” I say handing him his coffee. We enjoy it in silence for a few minutes until I start hearing some stirring upstairs and movement on the steps. I take our mugs and put them in the sink.
“Well, I better head off. Thanks for the company, Miss Isla.” He hands his cap at me, “I’ll see you in a few hours if you’re around, I’ll be back with some more produce.”
I nod and smile and hastily run upstairs to get ready for the day.
_______________________________________________
Abigail and I end up working at the same station. Neither of us is great at baking so we’re in charge of preparing some of the sauces that will end up served with the steaks for dinner.
“It’s your birthday on Friday,” Abigail nudges my shoulder, “ What do you want to do for it?”
“The same thing as always is perfect.” I smile at her, we have a tradition of sneaking some treats and heading to the lake, and spending hours there at night. The next day we are exhausted but it’s worth it.
I look up at her as she is humming and mixing in some herbs to the sauce. She notices me starting, “Yes, my dear?”
I pause for a minute before I ask her, “Do you ever regret not finding a mate?” I say, “Or not really being allowed the opportunity to have one, I should say.” I looked up remorsefully, we’ve never talked about it that much before.
Omega’s that are mated to other omega’s in the packhouse find their mates. If your mate doesn't turn out to be a packhouse omega, then omega's rarely find their mates "
