Five

Kira

The moment those words escaped my lips, I flinched, wishing I could take it back. My belly knotted up.

My mom had absolutely no clue about my mating bond with the alpha, and letting Zion in on the secret without informing her first was a huge mistake.

It was like screaming it out to the whole world because Zion would spill the tea to his friends and his gossip-loving mother, and soon it would spread like wildfire.

Zion stared at me like one who had just seen a ghost. The air felt heavy, causing me to sweat profusely and soaking up my bandage. I reached up to wipe the sweat off my brow while watching his reaction.

Speechless, his mouth fell open, and he shook his head in disbelief. Then without warning, he burst into very loud laughter like a maniac.

"You're such a terrible liar," he said while laughing and pointing a finger at me. "You got me for a moment, though."

My anger returned in full force. "You think I'm in the mood to play pranks?"

He shrugged, watching me fill another drum. "Well, if you're not playing pranks, then maybe the fall affected your brain or something."

People drew closer, brushing their teeth and making unnecessary gagging sounds while washing their tongues. A group of people walked past, casting disapproving glances at Zion for assisting me, and a woman with a sly smile deliberately wasted water from one of the drums and gave me the "do your worst" look.

"Believe whatever you want, Zion," I said to him when the woman left. "But then think about it, why would the alpha of all people leave his coronation party filled with important people just to personally take an Omega to the clinic?"

I paused, giving him a chance to process my words. His face turned serious.

"But... How can this be? It must be a mistake from the moon goddess. An alpha as powerful as that can never agree to mate with an Omega. Most of them even prefer to mate with fellow alpha blood. The least they can settle with is a gamma."

I remained silent, listening to him speak, and my heart sank with grief. He pulled closer and held my good hand.

"Kira, you need to be realistic and not expect anything from the alpha. He might reject you or even imprison you. Remember the dangerous dungeon that Elder Omar talks about? You know he was there for five years for daring to defy the current alpha's father."

"What about it?" I grumbled.

"Well, if the alpha sees you as a hindrance, he would throw you in there, and you'd spend the rest of your life surrounded by worms and snakes and darkness."

Fear stiffened my spine, and I looked away. "I'm not expecting anything. Stop putting words in my mouth. And also, if push comes to shove, I’ll run away with my mother."

Zion stared deeply into my eyes as if monitoring my reaction.

"So, your wolf feels the mating bond with the alpha?"

I ignored the jealousy in his tone, shrugged, and looked away. "What my wolf feels or not does not matter. All I want is to be safe and make my mum happy."

"Good," he smiled slightly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "The only way we can escape this problem is for us to get married, Kira."

"Get married?" I scoffed, taking a step back. "How will getting married solve anything?"

"It's easy," he said, his eyes turning overly bright, like one who was preparing to face danger head-on.

"When the alpha sees you married and pregnant, he won't punish you. Instead, he’ll reject you and allow you to go your own way. But if you're single, he might be forced to punish you and pour out his frustrations on you since mortals don't have access to the moon goddess to ask her questions."

I brought a shaky hand to my forehead, overwhelmed by this circumstance, and felt a wave of lightheadedness. Zion's words made me feel worse, and the more he dropped the ball, the more hopeless I felt.

I was confused about what to do. I was now eighteen, officially an adult, and according to the pack's jurisdictions, anyone above eighteen could go to prison, or in my case, the alpha's dreadful dungeon.

Before the alpha appeared in my life, I was happy with being Zion's girlfriend. I saw no problem with us getting married. But now that I have mated with the alpha and my soul was unlocked to a new level of desire, I couldn't bring myself to marry Zion.

But I needed a plan. I needed to protect myself from the alpha's punishment. Maybe the moon goddess didn't want me to be happy. Maybe my fate was to live in a loveless marriage with Zion.

"What do you gain from all of this?" I finally said. "What happens when you find your true mate?"

He remained silent for some seconds before clearing his throat. "The possibility of that happening is very slim because I don't believe in it. But even if it does happen, you and I will be married by then, and I promise that I'll never leave you for any other person."

After filling the drums, I headed for my morning duty with a heavy heart. The vet clinic belonged to the gamma's wife, who was a sucker for dogs. Dogs of all breeds, from labrador retrievers to French bulldogs, German Shepherds, poodles, and several others, sat in their kennels, some barking for attention, some asleep, and some playful.

I and two other omega boys were assigned to take care of the dogs and make sure the clinic was well-scrubbed.

With sluggish footsteps, I headed to the first kennel where a beautiful golden retriever sat. The dog wagged its tail eagerly, excited for some attention. I grabbed a dog shampoo with a lavender scent from a shelf, and after wetting the dog's sponge, I started to gently lather it, careful to avoid getting any shampoo into its eyes.

While taking my time to thoroughly clean every part of the dog's coat, all I could think about was the problem that had befallen me. I felt lost and unsure of what to do.

Feeling overwhelmed, I closed my eyes. In the depths of my mind, the alpha appeared. His hazel eyes looked into my soul, with a raging beast of need in his eyes and his lips called for my name. He was a beautiful man, with olive skin and the dark hair of a Greek god.

Sighing deeply, I reached out for a fluffy towel and gently wrapped it around the dog's body. Then, I shut my eyes again to continue my fantasy world with the alpha.

But a smell that was different from the shampoo's lavender scent hit my nose. I recognized that smell, and my eyes flew open. The shock hit me like a fist in my ribs when I realized that the alpha was physically present in the vet clinic.

Opposite me was the alpha and his gamma's wife, holding each other tightly in a deep embrace. I was so stunned that I couldn't move. Was the gamma's wife cheating on her husband with the alpha? Was she the alpha's lover?

My brain screamed at me to sneak away, but it was too late because the alpha pulled away from the embrace, and our eyes met and locked, causing fear to stab my heart.