Chapter 1

Chapter

One

ELLA

T he light felt too bright. Again.

Why was every light in the world always so bright?

The more I forced my eyes to open against the onslaught of brightness, the more I realized a few things. They made my heart race. I was back in the sterile walls. I was back in the place where everyone was staring at me and asking questions–

I squinted my eyes, trying to look around but ended up squeezing them closed until the sounds stopped buzzing, and everything just… stopped.

I didn't feel good and not in the way I hadn't before I started living with the guys.

This felt different. I felt… wrong.

And it wasn't only because I felt like someone stabbed a giant hole in my chest ever since I was pulled away from my pack and heard… I saw…

I swore I saw Benjamin.

He was right there. But now he wasn't.

Did I imagine him?

Was he there at all? Or was it all just another nightmare?

I shivered.

"Elena. You need to listen closely and answer the questions being asked," a female voice insisted softly, and not for the first time. "You have been in and out of consciousness for a few hours so you might feel a little groggy, but–"

"Where's my pack?" I asked immediately. This wasn't right.

None of this was right and my body ached. My omega keened inside of me for something.

For Prestford Pack.

The woman shook her head softly. "Those alphas are not your pack, sweetheart."

Wrong , my omega wanted to snarl deep inside my chest as she writhed. It hurt almost as much as the light.

A few weeks ago I might've agreed with the woman. I would've told her that she was right. But then again, I would've also insisted that I was a beta who wasn't a runaway living her life illegally among the rest of the world. I'd have told her they weren't my pack and I wanted nothing to do with them.

But now, that wasn't the case. Not at all. Prestford Pack was mine.

Mione.

I wanted to open my mouth and scream that they took me away from them.

What happened to Demetri or Cal or Liam or Marko?

All of them.

Where were they? Were they in trouble or did they… call me in once and for all? Hand me over to Omega Services as they told me they would…

No. They didn't.

Not to mention this woman had no idea what she was talking about. It wasn't just alphas that had me. My pack had three alphas. There are three wonderful, kind alphas and a beta who loved me just as much if not more.

These people took me. These people kidnapped me. They like everyone else in my life thought they could do whatever they pleased with me and told me I should be grateful.

Definitely not.

How dare they? How could they?

I didn't understand.

"They may have led you to think that you are their omega, but they are not."

"They're not?" Maybe I wasn't the confused one. This person was.

"Thank goodness. We found you in time." A look of true relief showed on her face from the way she sighed to how her dark brown eyes crinkled in the corners as if trying to smile at me. "My name is Jessica. I'm a handler. Do you remember me telling you that before? Everything is going to be okay, but I need to know some things so that we can best take care of you now, Elena," she said.

Oh no. "My name isn't Elena."

The female, Jessica, paused. Glancing down at her clipboard she probably was reading whatever documents with my name again. The one that I was born with but no longer was and would never be again.

"I'm not Elena." I refused to be Elena Spangler.

I refused to be the girl whose own father sold her to an alpha when he realized before anyone else what I was destined to be. I refused to be the poor omega who so easily succumbed to the whims of the alpha because I believed they were better than I was– that I was less worthy of being treated well.

Because I knew that was wrong now.

"Okay," Jessica dipped her head, making a note. She cleared her throat as if changing tactics suddenly, a stronger expression crossing over her face compared to the concerned mother hen vibe. "What's your name then?"

I hesitated.

She waited patiently.

"My name is Ella," I finally admitted.

Jessica smiled softly. That one seemed genuine. That might've confused me more than ever.

"Okay, Ella. It's nice to meet you. How about this, do you have any questions for me?"

"Where am I?" I asked.

"You're currently at an Omega Haven."

My heart started to thunder in my chest. I couldn't be at an Omega Haven. I had done too much to ensure that I would never have to walk into one ever again. Be judged. Lied to. Now, I was taken. Forced to be here.

I shook my head, trying to stand up. I needed to go.

Her hands clamped down over mine, keeping me seated in place. For a beta woman, she was strong. "It's ok. You're safe."

She had no idea what she was talking about. Dipping my head back down to my chest, I looked away, keeping my eyes averted for so many reasons.

"Are you alright otherwise? Can I get you anything? Water? Another blanket?"

"Bright," I mumbled.

"Oh." Understanding, she reached over towards a wall.

The light above us dimmed.

Around me, details started to come into my vision. I was only in a slightly smaller-than-average room. It looked almost like a hospital room, but not. A little more comfortable with blankets and pillows. And the door was closed and looked like it was locked from the outside.

I tried to take another deep breath.

I focused on the fact that another odd thing was that I was taken and thrown in here, but the blankets were scratchy. They felt pretty nice. Soft.

"Can I leave?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"It isn't safe."

"I thought you said I was."

"With us, yes. You are safe now. You don't have to worry about anything anymore," said Jessica. "As an omega, you have rights."

"I do?"

"For care and other options for you to live a very nice and fulfilling life. Did you know that?" she asked me.

No.

Not really.

I didn't answer her. I was kind of done with this conversation already, but I was sure that wasn't going to happen. So I said nothing.

"You are safe, Omega Ella."

"Omega Ella?" I picked at the blanket, feeling the fabric run through my fingers as I narrowed my eyes.

She nodded. "For now, that's your name– your honorific, if you will in non-casual settings. When you decide on an alpha or even a pack as they are becoming more popular, you will take that last name. For now, you will simply be Omega Elena unless you tell someone otherwise."

"I don't want an alpha," I countered.

At that, Jessica's eyes turned a bit sad again. "I know you've been through a lot. We are going to take things slow, but I do want to talk to you some more about a few things. First of all, we did a few tests after we brought you in."

Without my permission?

"Through a few tests, we did see that you are underweight and haven't been taking care of yourself on your own. We will make sure that's fixed and that you are getting healthy again."

"I was getting healthy again."

"Now you will have all the resources to make sure of it," said Jessica. "It was also noted in your chart here that you likely have a heat coming up within the next month or two."

That was at least better than I thought.

"However, it was also noted by your vitals that there was a likelihood that you've been skipping heats, correct?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I rolled my eyes.

"With that in mind, heats are very unpredictable. It could come at any moment until your body regulates," Jessica continued to explain.

Never mind. My body is out to get me again. Great.

"With this in mind, we will want to make sure you understand what is happening as well and start you with the courting process."

"No."

"Omega."

"My name is Ella and I'm not going to let you sell me to some random alpha," I snapped at her.

Her face dropped from its smile. Hesitancy showed there first, then something that looked a little more angry. Maybe it wasn't my best choice to make the person sitting in front of me mad, but then again, I didn't have much else going for me right now. And if I wasn't going to get back to Prestford pack then… What was the point?

Everything was being taken away from me. My childhood. My life. My job. My friends.

Everything.

Didn't they understand that? Didn't anyone?

"We don't sell our omegas," Jessica said, voice low.

"Right. You just pawn them off to someone who has a lot of money and likely makes a small contribution to your specific omega funds wherever you are based so that now and in the future they have a preference for whenever your omegas need someone new to court or go into heat. Am I correct?"

She blinked a few times. I was. I knew I was even if she spun it around and wrapped it into a pretty bow. All the things they did for omegas to tell them that they were special and safe were tainted.

And now… now I was stuck between it all.

"Before you start to shut down and shut everyone out, how about I lay out your options for you," Jessica said. This time her voice remained steady. It wasn't unkind, but she put her clipboard down, looking me in the eye. "You either resist right now and what will happen is that you will be sedated again and we will try this conversation perhaps one or two more times before they decide that you need to be put into treatment for the trauma that has likely occurred to you through the years for which I am very sorry. You will be stuck in a place like this, alone and medicated for your heat coming up whether you want it to or not."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Or, you answer a few of my questions, convince me you aren't a risk to yourself and be transferred."

I stared at her, unsure what she was trying. "Transferred where?"

A different country? A prison? A psychiatric institute?

My heart pounded in my chest.

"Omega Academy."

What? Out of all the things I thought I was going to hear, that wasn't it.

I stammered. "I thought you had to pay for that."

"It's been arranged for you due to the circumstances. So, what will it be? Will you behave and go to school and do what you need to do to live a good life and maybe find yourself a decent alpha that is your choice."

"My choice?"

"Yes. Your choice. The courting process has evolved over the years to make sure that an omega is being paired up with a suitable candidate who can take care of them. We try to the best of our ability to make sure that each party likes each other. Maybe you will find an alpha or alpha who will let you see the world and enjoy it as you are," she said, judging my reaction. "Have some freedom perhaps? Or are you going to stay here?"

I inhaled. They weren't really options, were they?

"Take your time. Let me know when you decide."