Chapter 5 Better Alive

Alexandra

After kicking the thin sheet off of my body for the fifth time tonight, my eyes shot open from the noise of the tree branch scraping against the window. I noticed the light was slowly beginning to peer in through the small window. Almost morning, I muttered to myself struggling to keep my eyes open. It was undoubtedly the longest night of my entire life. I hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night, spending hours uncomfortably tossing and turning all night long. I quietly sat up and glanced around the room to find the rest of the omegas that were still sound asleep in their cots around me in the slave chambers.

The slave chambers consisted of one huge wooden room, some of the wooden panels on the walls were beginning to rot and on warm nights, the stench would become nauseating. It was originally a barn long ago that Alpha Axton had reconfigured to fit the omegas all together so we wouldn't be such an eyesore to the rest of the shifters in Shadow Pack. We were considered an abomination to the werewolf species in his eyes, the lowest possible ranking within a pack.

Similar to how we were only given one set of clothes, we were also given one thin sheet to use as a blanket at birth. Even though being intimate within the omega rank was forbidden, on really cold nights we would push the cots together to generate heat by being closer together. I suppose it was better than sleeping outside with the animals and with no blanket at all. It would be undoubtedly easier if we were permitted to shift into our wolves, our fur would keep us warm throughout the night.

I realized I should seize the opportunity of being awake first to go and take my shower. Alpha Axton had permitted the omegas to shower from once a month to now once a week, we were all grateful for his kindness. Although it was evident that he did it for myself, constantly complaining that the omegas smelt worse than the animals that were kept outside.

Sometimes if you were lucky enough to go first, the first minute or so of the faucet being turned on would actually spew lukewarm water. I quietly reached for my towel underneath my bed and tip-toed to the washroom outside, stripping my clothes promptly and turning on the facet. I sighed as I stepped into the shower, remembering that the night I had been sent to the dungeon was laundry night. Laundry night was only once a month, although there had been chatter around the pack house that Alpha Axton was contemplating allowing us to wash our clothing with a bucket of water and soap twice a month soon. It was exciting to think that we'd soon have that opportunity.

The chilly autumn breeze blew against my wet skin, making my teeth clatter against each other regardless that I had been lucky to take the first few moments of the somewhat warm water of the day. I quickly rubbed the white bar of soap that was shared amongst the omegas in the slave chambers in my hair and on my body, rushing to rinse the suds off. I carefully wrapped the towel around my thinned out body, drying myself off and pulling my brown torn dress over my head once more. My hand reached into the pocket of the ratted gown, a deep exhale leaving my chest when my fingertips grazed over the emerald necklace safe in my pocket.

Just as I was about to enter back into the slave chambers, I heard Marilyn ringing the cow bell to signal that it was sunrise and time for the omegas to begin their daily duties.

I draped the wet towel over the edge of my cot, hopeful that it would be dry enough by the end of the day so I could fold it and put it back under my bed. "You're up early," a familiar voice whispered groggily.

I lifted my head and my eyes met with kind blue eyes, "I-I couldn't sleep", I admitted to Valerie. Valerie was a year younger than I was, when my cot was assigned next to hers in the slave chambers we quickly connected as if we'd known each other our entire lives. Her parents were killed at a young age for defying Alpha Axton. Alpha Axton had decided to spare her life and in return, she would spend her life serving him. Valerie was a beautiful sight with her long braided blonde hair and bright blue eyes, it was a pity that she didn't see herself that way. Instead she saw herself as Alpha Axton saw us all, worthless and a waste of space.

Valerie was a hopeless romantic though; optimistic that her one true mate would find her when she turned eighteen and whisk her off into the sunset like a fairy tale movie that children sometimes watched. She's been dreaming of meeting her fated mate since she was old enough to shift. She would also go on for hours on end about what color she hoped his eyes would be, what his possible ranking could be, guessed how old he was – every piece of him was carefully thought out. She had basically constructed her mate in her mind by now. She couldn't wait to see who the Moon Goddess had picked for her, granted that was if she ever had the opportunity to find him. Being an omega in Shadow Pack, unless he came to visit in the pack house or was an omega himself, there was little to no chance that she would ever meet him. A reality that many of us had to face, just like Marilyn had long ago.

"Ten more days...", Valerie muttered under her breath only loud enough that I could hear as she made her bed. She had been counting down the days of my eighteenth birthday since I turned seventeen last year. She knew it irritated me when she reminded me every morning. Little did she know, this year had been planned out to go differently than I could have ever imagined. I already didn't believe in the mate bond mumbo jumbo, the chances of any of us here ever experiencing that were lower than being struck by lightning on a stormy night after fulfilling our duties. That would be a dream actually, anything would be better than the hell we endured daily from Alpha Axton.

If the mate bond was real, wouldn't our mates feel our pain and love us enough to come and save us? It just didn't add up to me. Alpha Axton and Luna Fraya were fated mates, meanwhile he turns omegas into sex slaves now, pissing on her memory like she never existed. It was no use being upset about it though, there were more important things to worry about – like staying alive under Alpha Axton's rule. He had killed nearly 30 omegas in the last month alone which would average out to about an omega a day. It was no wonder so many of us felt worthless and ashamed, some even abandoned by their own wolves and now wolfless.

I ignored Valerie's comment, like I usually did every morning and turned to rush for the pack house kitchen to hopefully get a head start on my first duty of the day, assisting in preparing breakfast. I was pleasantly surprised when I was the first to arrive into the kitchen, pulling out a couple cartons of eggs and bacon from the refrigerator. I reached for the bowl of fresh fruit and grabbed the cutting knife from the drawer, slicing the fruit into individual fruit bowls for the pack. Most of the higher ranking wolves would come for breakfast at the pack house, however the pack house was open to all shifters in Shadow Pack. All shifters, except for omegas of course. The extra time I had this morning would hopefully help in finishing the day early and returning to the slave chambers to avoid Alpha Axton.

Marilyn walked into the kitchen, "such a hardworking girl," she said. I glanced up at her for a moment and gave her a small smile, still cutting the fruit on the cutting board for the bowls I was assembling for breakfast.

"So?", she whispered impatiently. I shook my head at Marilyn, watching her face fall long in disappointment. "I-I'm sorry. I can't," I whimpered, continuing to cut the fruit. She heaved a sigh, furrowing her eyebrows together. "That's okay sweetheart. We'll figure something else out then," she said in a soft voice and exited the kitchen to the dining hall.