3. THE NIGHT

Kelly did not stop, though. She kept walking, feeling embarrassed to be seen like this. Omegas were usually seen as weak already; she did not want to reinforce that narrative. She did not want to feed the stereotype. 

So she rushed down that driveway, making her escape. “Kelly!” But as soon as the guy called after her, she stopped. Her legs became like cement, and she turned to see the Alpha makig his way towards her. 

“What are you doing? You saw me, didn’t you? Why are you running away from me?” He asked, worry tinged in his tone. He was breathing a bit harder than normal from chasing her. Before she could even say anything in response, he asked, “Are you okay? What happened?” 

Kelly was taken aback by this; she did not expect the Alpha to care this much about her. She felt a warmth filling her that she could not explain, even though the pain from what had happened still lingered. “I…” She contemplated telling the truth and explaining. But what was the use? 

Omegas were always going to be bullied and looked down upon. That was not going to change; it had been the norm from the very beginning of time. It was not going to change now because of her. 

“Look…” He took a step closer to her. “I know you know me to the Alpha and just that…but I’m not just that, Kelly. I’m a person, too. And whatever that’s going on right now with you, I want to help. I can help.” He sounded so sincere. 

Kelly’s eyes got teary as she stared at the guy. She smiled weakly and sniffled before shaking her head slowly. “Thank you, Alex. But I just want to go home right now.” With that, she turned and started walking away, heading away. 

A few hours later, the full moon sat in the sky. It was the night. It was the night of the Oracle Ceremony, and the town was alive. Everyone was getting ready, everyone was preparing for the event that only came around once a year. 

The alpha and Luna were going to be there, not because they needed mates, but because they were the leaders of the pack, and they needed to be there to show support. A lot of other people who already had mates were going to be there as well, to celebrate the Moon goddess and to watch and see who would be paired with whom tonight. 

Alpha Alex was getting ready in the bedroom. He was wearing a business suit, fixing his cuff as he stood in front of a full-length mirror. Then he heard the door open, and he stopped and glanced to see that it was the luna walking in. She was wearing a blue sparkly dress. It was stunning, but it was not the one that they had agreed for her to wear. 

Traditionally, they were supposed to wear black to every Oracle Ceremony. That was how it had been done for generations. So Alex seeing Cassandra in a different color was kind of weird. He scoffed faintly and asked, “What are you wearing?” 

She closed the door and walked over to the bed, sitting on it as she started to adjust her heels on her feet. “A dress, can you not see?” 

“Can you not start?” He replied without missing a beat. “You don’t love me, and I don’t love you. But it doesn’t mean that we have to be disrespectful to each other.” He was annoyed. 

She stopped what she was doing and looked up at him, locking eyes with the man. “Can I not start?” She scoffed. “Yes, the councilmen were the ones who set us up together because we were the perfect match, but we don’t have a bond, Alex. You stole that away from me. You stole away my one chance to have true love, so yes. I will start whenever I want to.” She looked away and continued to fix her heels. 

Alpha Alex ran his hand through his hair and let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s for one night, Cass. Please…it’s traditional to wear black.” 

“And I don’t care.” 

“Cass…I’m really trying here.”

She stopped again, but this time she was done with her heels. She stood on her feet and made her way over to him. “I will wear what I want to wear, traditions or not. You and this pack have already stolen my life away. I am not going to allow you to steal away my freedom when it comes to what I want to wear.” 

“It’s not about me, and you know that.” 

“I’m not changing this dress.” She turned, and she was stopped when the alpha firmly grabbed her arm and turned her back. She did not even hesitate; she raised her hand and slapped him right across the face, causing him to let go of her. “Don’t ever f*cking touch me like that again,” She said in a hard tone as she stared daggers at him. 

Pain shot through Alex’s jaw, but he just chuckled weakly without humor and shook his head. “Do whatever the hell you want. I’m too tired for this bullsh*t.” He turned and went back to fixing the cuffs on his suit. 

Cassandra made her way out of the room, making sure to slam the door shut very hard. 

On the other side of the town, Kelly was getting ready, too. Her mom had saved up and bought her a beautiful dress. It was certainly not going to be as fancy as the other girls’ dresses, but she was okay with that. Her mom had skipped work and was helping her get ready. 

“Mom, you didn’t have to skip work today. You could get fired.” She stood in front of a full-length mirror as the woman helped put a necklace around her neck. 

“And miss a very big night of my baby’s life? Absolutely not!” The woman replied, chuckling warmly. 

“I love you,” Kelly said, feeling so loved and seen. 

“I love you, too, honey,” She said in response, pulling away after putting the necklace on her daughter. “You look beautiful, Kelly. And I'm sure you are going to find a mate tonight, whether you have a wolf or not. They are going to fight over you, baby. Jake will regret it when he sees you tonight.” 

She had told her about what had happened between the guy and her, but she had kept secret the fact that she had met the Alpha, though. “Jake’s gay, Mom. That’s why we couldn’t be together.” 

“Hmm…” The woman made the sound, not believing that at all. A few long seconds passed, and she spoke, “Make sure to have fun tonight, Kelly. Life is too short to be unhappy. Okay…?” 

She nodded. “I will try, Mom. Thank you.” And for a brief moment, Alex’s smile appeared in her mind. But just for a very brief moment. She could not help it. 

After an hour, Kelly’s mom had dropped her off at the event. It was being held at the Royal Mansion. There were so many cars and so many people. It made Kelly feel like she was at a high school party; her anxiety was going crazy. If this were not that important, she would have never come to something like this. 

But she knew that if she wanted to change her life, she needed to be there. She was already eighteen; this was the ripe age to find a mate. After tonight, it was going to be close to impossible to find one, especially being an omega. 

She watched her mom drive away before making her way to the long line. She stood on it for almost another hour before it was her turn at the front gate. “ID?” She reached in and pulled her national ID out, handing it to the man. The guy stared at it and then stared at her for a few seconds before giving it back to her. “Step to the side, you are going to be checked, and then that’s it.” 

Kelly listened and did exactly what she was told. She was soon searched, and then she was told to go inside. Once inside, she was relieved. The scene was beautiful. There were so many decorations, so much food, and drinks. And everything was free tonight, that was the wonderful thing. 

There were so many people, and music blared from the speakers as everyone looked like they were having fun. The ceremony had not officially started yet, but she knew that it was not going to take too long. 

She could not help but smile as she looked around, in disbelief that she was actually there. It felt like a dream, and for the first time in her life, she was genuinely not depressed. She was happy and excited. Her new life was going to start tonight!

Her eyes soon landed on a table where there were some sodas, so she made her way there, grabbing one. The moment it was in her hand, she looked up, and she saw someone who made her throat immediately lock up. It was Jake. 

And he was not alone. He was with a girl named Maddie, a popular girl from school who was a cheerleader. It seemed innocent at first, but as she kept staring, she watched him touch the girl’s lower back the same way he used to touch hers. 

Her heart tightened, and she swallowed hard as her pulse raced. Then she watched him lean close to her and whisper something in her ear before they soon started walking off. 

Kelly placed the soda back on the table and proceeded to follow them at a safe distance, not caring how crazy she seemed. She wanted to know the truth. Had Jake played her? 

She followed them into the mansion. The thing here was that the place was incredibly huge, and the first floor was accessible to the public during the Oracle Ceremony. But the other floors were heavily protected. She blended really well amongst the others as she followed Jake and Maddie. She was good at being invisible already. 

She watched them slip into a hallway, and she carefully maintained her pace. Then she saw them go into a room. She walked up to the door after half a minute and stood there. She waited. She waited and waited until it felt like she had waited too long. 

Then she finally gained the courage to turn and tried to see whether the door was open. And it was. She pushed it open slowly, and the room was dark. Her heart pounded in her chest, but it felt like she had been hit by a train when she heard the girl moaning and Jake grunting sexually. 

Kelly was shaking; she immediately started to check for a light switch on the wall right where she was standing. They had not noticed her yet. But the moment she found the switch and turned it on, they did. 

And sure enough, Jake was f*cking Maddie.