11. Mila

Chapter 11

Mila

" D aisy?"

It takes me a few seconds to register the name as I am too lost in my book, trying to ignore my current surroundings.

I just finished a particularly challenging class on Omega Biology, and my head is swirling.

They were vivid diagrams of an Omega's genitalia, and they showed us the exact way the muscles stretch when we take an Alpha's knot, and I had to excuse myself.

It's all just too much, this new identity…

It's all too hard to process, the loss of my dad, being abandoned by the pack, Lily…

I don't even know who I am anymore.

For so long, my purpose was to join the Beta Trials so I could get the care that my father needed, and now… all that's gone.

I don't even know who I am living for now.

"Daisy," the voice says with a little more impatience, and I peer up, meeting the bright, faux smile of my Omega representative, Felicia.

Can't they all just leave me alone for two minutes?

I came to this tree so Bridget and her crones couldn't harass me.

I hate it here, and I have to find a way out.

They think they can pair me up with a pack via their stupid algorithms, but there is no pack out there for me…

I am destined to be a lone wolf.

"Hi, Daisy, " she says, lowering to my level, and she may as well be talking to a child.

They all treat me like a child here.

"Can we speak a moment? In my office?"

Her office? More like a cubicle.

I tuck the book under my arm, rising to my feet. "Sure."

With another fake, dimpled smile, she places her hand behind my back and steers me toward her cubicle.

Once again, I sit inside that confined box, feeling the walls closing in, and how can she sit in here all day?

Felicia's fingers fly over her keyboard, and we don't talk for some time. In fact, a part of me is convinced she just brought me here to watch her type, and I wish she would hurry up.

I just want to return to my lonely tree with my lonely book…

Finally, Felicia stops typing, and now she swivels around in her chair, a sad gleam twinkling in her enormous eyes.

"Daisy… I hate to be the bearer of bad news…"

My stomach coils, but I try to remain calm, breathing steadily through my nostrils.

Felicia sighs. "We just got word back from Central Government…"

My heart pounds and this is it. They know who I really am.

"Unfortunately, they cannot provide the funding for your training. The cut-off age is twenty-one, and you are twenty-three now… I'm sorry."

That's it? What a relief.

I mean, I would be disappointed if I actually wanted the training, but I don't. I don't even want a pack.

Maybe this is my saving grace.

What's the point in my being here then if they can't fund my training? It's not like they would expect me to work for it.

Omegas aren't expected to work for anything, and don't we have it easy…

"This must be terrible news for you. I know how much you were looking forward to finding a pack…"

No, I wasn't.

Lord, this lady. She doesn't know me at all.

She just assumes I want a pack because I'm an Omega, and that is how I'm supposed to be biologically inclined.

Well, I say screw biology. It's scary, anyway. The way we just eat up an Alpha's knot.

What else can an Omega fit down there?

I shudder…

I can imagine people will be making assumptions about me for the rest of my life.

I just look forward to the day someone forgets that I know how to fight, and then I can bodyslam them to the floor for taking my itty bitty looks for granted.

Felicia perks up, pushing her glasses up her nose as she returns to her computer.

"Not to worry. This just means we can streamline your process much faster. Traditionally, an Omega isn't placed up for auction until they've finished all of their training, but we can make an exception for you. Once our algorithms have matched you up with some potential packs, we can make a start on…"

Her voice drones on, and I lose myself to my bleak thoughts.

No. This can't be happening.

Just when I thought I found my lucky escape.

"No…"

Felicia stops typing, and it looks as if the little hamster that lives inside her head has finally stopped running on its wheel. It's broken down.

She blinks rapidly, so bloody confused, it hurts to watch.

"Pardon?"

I lick my lips, closing my eyes as I count to ten. I need to be careful now and make sure I don't say anything that could potentially be incriminating.

"I mean… that I would like to finish my training first… it's… just too soon…"

Somehow, enduring another four years here with the likes of Bridget as my arch-nemesis seems far more preferable to being placed with a pack.

I can't go through that hurt again.

Not after the first time.

Felicia gives me a sad, apologetic smile, reaching across to grab my hand. She actually seems genuine.

"I know, sweetie, but I promise… we will find you a pack who will take good care of you…"

Does such a pack exist?

I know they do. I saw the way the pack treated Oliver. They doted on him, but I'm not such a fool to think that I could be lucky enough to find the same thing.

Girls like me don't find their happily ever afters.

I had my family, and now… he's gone.

Reunited with my mother.

"I promise, Daisy, you're in safe hands. You just leave your fate up to us."

And so, she edits my details, ensuring that I'll go through the process much faster than originally planned, and it appears I truly have no choice here.

Either way, I will never leave this place completely free.

Now that I'm an Omega, I no longer have any choice.

I just hope that whatever pack I end up with, that they don't break my heart.