Chapter 4

Sally

I park my car right outside Ashton’s mansion and look up at the tall building with a jarring feeling in my chest.

This is the place where Ashton and I made love. This is also the place where he rejected me and ordered his men to take me to the pack doctor to have an abortion. It’s painful being here, like a death sentence, really.

Sighing, I get out of my car and enter the building, freezing when I see a beautiful pregnant woman wearing a white dress. She must be the woman Ashton thought was a much worthier partner than me. I can see it in her eyes, the absolute confidence. She purses her lips and walks towards me, chin held high.

“You must be Sally the Omega,” she says. It’s clear that she doesn’t think much of me. “I’ve heard so much about you. You’re to be our new nanny, yes?”

“Yes, I’m—”

“Don’t talk! Just nod for yes or shake your head for no. I won’t have a measly Omega talk to me. You are way too weak to be taken seriously. Do you understand?”

I blink at her for a moment, taken aback by the venom in her tone. But I swallow my words and give a slight nod with my head. She smiles, satisfied that I understand the rules of engagement she has just set up.

“Good,” she says, clapping her hands together in glee. “I’m Lady Blair, and I’m your new master. Now, Ashton, Seth, and I have some matters to discuss. I want you to clean the nursery and prepare it for my baby.”

She points towards a door at the end of the grand hallway. I assume it’s the nursery. The thought of preparing a room for Ashton’s child that he will soon have with this woman clenches my heart with sorrow. But what choice do I have? This is my life now, isn’t it?

I give her another solemn nod before she turns away from me, marching up the stairs like a queen leading her kingdom. As she disappears from my view, I notice Seth looking down at me from the top of the stairs.

My lips curve. When I was a little kid, I used to play with Ashton and Seth all the time. We were all friends when we were kids, but their positions in the pack have changed things. I’m no longer their friend, but at least Seth isn’t mean to me. That doesn’t mean he is nice, either, though.

Suddenly, there is a chuckle inside my head. ‘You know, if you invited me inside my brother’s mansion, your life would become much easier, Sally.’

Ryan.

Fear coils within me, but so does lust. Our kiss is fresh in my memory. Still, I don’t let it get to me and speak back to Ryan in my mind. ‘You would murder them all, wouldn’t you?’

‘Yes.’

I breathe a laugh. ‘As blunt as always...’

‘I am,’ he doesn’t sound one bit sorry for it either. If anything, I bet he is amused. ‘I find it interesting that you’re a scaredy cat around my brother and your pack, but with me, you have a backbone.’

I blink repeatedly. He has a point. I’m not as afraid of saying what I’m thinking when it’s Ryan, I’m speaking to. Then again, he isn’t part of the pack.

‘Ahh, so it’s a hierarchy thing,’ Ryan snickers. ‘Damn, you pureblooded werewolves really are brainwashed.’

“Easy for you to say,” I retort, gathering my resolve and heading towards the nursery. “You’re a rogue. You’re alone and have no one to keep you warm. I would rather follow my Alpha than die alone like you most certainly will.”

‘Touché.’ His voice is filled with mirth, making me shake my head. It’s unsettling how easily we have slipped into this strange friendship. He is a murderer, for crying out loud. I shouldn’t be talking with him!

‘Would you believe me if I told you my brother’s men attacked me first, and they only died because they wouldn’t give up trying to kill me?’

I pause. ‘Is that the truth?’

No answer.

“Sally?” Seth’s voice pulls me away from my thoughts. I turn and look at him; his features have softened into a look of concern. “Are you okay?”

“I’m... Yeah, I’m fine,” I reply quickly, trying to gather my courage as I push the door to the nursery open.

It’s a large room with pastel blue walls and letters hanging on one side spelling out ‘Welcome Baby.’ There are toys scattered on the floor, with a white crib in the middle of the room.

There isn’t much cleaning needed except for the dust and misplaced toys. As I start picking up the toys and placing them into a basket, I can’t help but wonder if this was what Ashton had imagined our future to be like: a child of our own playing in this nursery. But that dream has now become a nightmare.

After spending what felt like hours cleaning up the nursery and reorganizing it under her meticulous instructions passed onto me by no other than Seth, who seemed apologetic about everything, I finally fall onto the soft rug in exhaustion.

I close my eyes only for a moment when a soft voice rings in my head again. ‘Quite an exhausting day you’ve had,’ Ryan remarks.

‘You don’t say?’ I reply sarcastically, wishing for once he would leave me alone.

‘You’re sassy when you’re tired,’ he replies, amused.

I groan internally, my mind is too tired to argue with the rogue hybrid. How do I make him leave me alone?

Ryan chuckles. ‘Alright, alright...I will go.’

‘...I forgot that you’re basically reading my mind.’

‘How could you forget?’

‘I don’t know...’

‘Weirdo,’ he teases, but I can feel his presence start to fade.

After a few minutes of silence, I find the strength to stand and take one last look around the nursery. It’s neater than before, though it would never be perfect in my eyes. Not with the circumstances.

Just as I’m about to leave the room, Blair comes strolling down the corridor. She is eating a banana and stops in her tracks while chewing. “Looks nice in here. Good job.”

I blush. “Thanks—” before I can finish my sentence, Blair slaps my face, making me reel back. I stare up at her and she is fuming.

“Now, what did I say about speaking?!” She hisses and slaps me again with burning eyes. “You’re a filthy Omega and have no right to speak to me!”

My eyes close when I feel her slapping me again and again until, finally, she is satisfied. But when I look up, she isn’t entirely done. Just to clarify that she is in charge, she throws the banana peel on the floor.

“Pick it up, slave,” she growls, stomping on the banana peel underneath her shoe to smudge it out. “And clean the floors again. You missed a spot.”

What a freaking b....! Is this my life now?!

Frustration coils within me. I want to punch Blair and scream out loud. I lost my mate. I lost my daughter, and now…and now my life is a freaking prison! I’m just so…tired of it all. Yet I say nothing. I hold my tongue and give Blair a nod. 

Why?

Because what they all say is true: I’m a weakling, and nothing will ever change. There are no happy endings for an Omega.