Bullied Mate of Four Alphas (Maplewood Alphas #2)

Chapter 1 - Owen

My paws dug into the soft forest dirt as I padded with my three fellow alphas back to our town of Tyrell.

The hidden valley, Maplewood Valley, was peaceful today, with a bright sun overhead, a cool breeze coming down the mountain, and the soft chatter and song of woodland creatures flowing through the air.

Our pack lived inside the valley along with several other packs.

It wasn’t always an easy co-existence, but right now things were as calm as could be expected.

All of it was so deceptive. My lip curled back from my teeth as I considered what was waiting for us tonight. It was the first day of spring, and our pack would be performing the thanksgiving ceremony to the Goddess for leading us through the winter still healthy and whole.

None of us said it out loud, but we were all thinking it; tonight, our lives were going to change forever.

We made our way back to town, and as we ran through the streets, I eyed the shabby buildings.

Our predecessors had struggled a lot with town funds and made significant sacrifices to take care of necessities.

Their predecessors had been selfish and wasteful with money.

They had built themselves four huge mansions that sprawled at the edge of town, which had now been converted into a hotel, a museum, and two emergency shelters.

These days, the four of us lived together in what had once been a dormitory for the college. When the college closed—no professors left to teach—we’d taken the one building as our own, while the others housed our omega population.

Jace bumped into me, bringing me out of my thoughts.

My mouth was still fixed in a silent snarl, and he shook his head at me.

I shook myself, too, as we reached the building that housed former classrooms. It was small and had been converted into a temporary shrine for the Goddess, since the previous shrine was undergoing renovations.

Just last year, the ceiling had collapsed, killing the former priestess. Repairs were costly, though, beyond what we could spare.

I heaved out a sigh as I shifted to human form and we entered the building. “We need more money.”

My fellow alphas, Jace, Killian and Renz, all shot me startled looks. I shrugged once, not bothering to explain everything running through my head. They knew me well enough to know that sometimes my mind fixated on problems that weren’t what needed to be dealt with right away.

“Oh, good! You’re here.” The new priestess nervously flitted around the library when we entered. “We need to talk about the order of proceedings tonight.”

It would be the first time she performed the ritual.

Despite knowing she had training, I couldn’t help but let a little doubt in when I saw how flighty she was.

But then, starting something new was always difficult.

Me and the other three had been raised to be alphas.

We’d been best friends since childhood, and we’d always known that we would one day take over the pack’s leadership.

Still, when the former alphas retired, the transition hadn’t been easy. And we’d still had them around for several years afterward to help guide us. It would have been even worse if we’d been thrust into the position without any warning, because they died.

“I will need you four to lead the prayer of thanks,” the priestess said, bobbing her head. “I know that things have been hard these last few years, but we must find things to be thankful for before we ask for more blessings.”

“Of course,” I agreed. “We have all made lists of the things we will thank the Goddess for.”

The priestess’s hands fluttered again as she smoothed the front of her robe.

“Good. Good, then I suppose all that’s left is for the ritual implements to be put into place.

The silver bowl is being polished. I will need some extra packets of sodium and potassium for the fires.

It will be nice to have the colored flames. ”

We moved through the old college, inspecting everything as it was prepared for tonight’s celebration.

It all seemed so mundane, but it was necessary all the same.

The four of us had been working hard to improve the pack.

Our predecessors had started the work, and we were determined to continue it.

Policies and infrastructure were just two aspects that needed improvement.

“Will there be room for everyone?” Jace asked when we made our way outside to the old soccer field where the ceremony would be held.

“It’s served us in the past,” Renz answered.

At this, Killian shook his head. “That was before, when the omegas weren’t permitted to join ceremonies.”

The reminder set my teeth on edge again.

That was the part I was most dreading about tonight.

For the first time in Tyrell, omegas would be part of the thanksgiving ritual.

In the past, they were barred from anything to do with the Goddess.

It was well known that their ancestors had done terrible things, and that was why they needed to be kept in line and subservient.

Omegas were a nuisance. They were intrinsically liars. Give them an inch, and they’d cut off your head and burn down the forest. That’s what I’d been taught. That’s what I’d seen for myself among the omegas of Tyrell.

It wasn’t just us. All throughout the valley, packs looked at the omegas the same way. We’d been forced to put up with them because wholesale slaughter was not an option, regardless of how evil omegas were at heart. They could be controlled, and so the best thing was to keep them that way.

I fixed the priestess with a frown. “Are you sure that we should allow them to come? What if they cause a disruption?”

The priestess shook her head as my fellow alphas glanced at each other, annoyed that I’d brought it up again. We’d discussed this several times over the last month, but I was overruled every time.

“The priestesses of the other towns have received the same visions as I have. It’s time for the omegas to be embraced by the pack and accepted as full members. You must know by now that the continued hatred toward them has only caused greater harm.”

I scowled at her mild admonishment. I didn’t know any such thing, and I wasn’t happy about it. Why would the Goddess suddenly start demanding that omegas be treated equally now? She’d watched all these years, so what changed?

Or had anything changed? Could this all be an elaborate omega plot?

Renz put his hand on my shoulder. “You saw how things improved for Burgess since their alphas took an omega as their mate.”

“They were told to do so by the Goddess directly,” I grumbled back.

Over the last few years, there had been a darkness creeping over the valley. It stayed on the peripheries at first, but slowly things had been getting worse all throughout the valley. Animals mysteriously dying. Rivers changing course for no reason. Blights on the trees. Failed crops.

The town that had been hit the hardest was Burgess, one of our allies. It had reached a dangerous peak with them, and only then did the Goddess arrive in their town. She’d told them bluntly that the four alphas had to take one of their omegas as their wife.

I shuddered when I thought of it. How terrible it must have been for them, hearing that they had to marry an omega.

More than that, they had to be her husbands in every form.

Including sex. From what I’d seen of the five of them, they seemed to have a deep connection, wanting that physical part of their marriage, too. I didn’t understand it.

How could anyone want to touch an omega?

“Yeah, but it’s pretty evident that even with the Goddess’s command, the main thing was to inspire the pack to treat omegas better.

We have lots of hot omegas in our pack. We should start looking for the one that will be a good fit,” Renz said, folding his tattooed arms. Out of all of us, he had been the one least put off by the whole omega thing.

He’d even said that their omega wife, Penelope, was ‘pretty,’ and that he wouldn’t have found it a burden.

Fucker knew exactly how to push my buttons.

He should have known better than to keep pushing, but that was Renz Hattie.

Never wanted to do things the way they’d always been done, always wanted to break the rules.

Now he stared at me with dark blue eyes, challenging me to repeat everything that had already been said too much.

“I’m pretty sure the Goddess doesn’t have ‘hotness’ on her list of qualifications for what makes a good alpha’s wife,” Killian Thompson cut in.

His black hair was swept back from his face, violet eyes slightly narrowed.

An ankh dangled from one of his ears, a crescent moon from the other.

He looked fed up with this shit, too, but it wasn’t the same sort of fed up as me.

No, he was fed up with my resistance when the others had all agreed to the plan.

All throughout the valley, packs were changing their official rules on the treatment of omegas.

I didn’t think there was a need for that. The Burgess omegas must have been different, and that’s why the Goddess went there.

At least, that’s what I kept telling myself. Because I had an awful feeling that she was going to visit us tonight, too.

The darkness had left Burgess. Over the past year, since that marriage took place, their town had flourished. Things here in Tyrell had only gotten worse.

“Hey, if we need to marry an omega—” Renz started.

“But nobody is saying we need to marry an omega,” Killian retorted.

Renz frowned. “You just said the Goddess—”

“Was the one who told Burgess to marry an omega. Why should we—"

“Because clearly it helps," Renz reasoned.

I shook my head once. “No. We aren’t having this argument again. Let’s just get back to work.”

The day passed quickly. Every pack had its own way of performing ceremonies for the Goddess, and for ours, we set a wide silver bowl on a small stage. It was filled with lavender tea that had been brewed throughout the day, and two braziers of fire were placed on either side.

As night fell, the pack gathered. The warriors took their spots closest to the stage, while the other ranked orders lined up behind them. Last of all were the omegas, who stood along the edges of the field as though they were preparing to run. Not all of them had arrived, either.

Whatever. Let’s just get through the night, I thought blackly.

It wasn’t often that the Goddess actually spoke to the pack during such a ceremony. Usually, it went by with us giving our thanks, asking our boons, and then dancing into the night. The Goddess showed up every few years just to ensure we all still knew she was real, but that was it.

Tonight, the air was thick with expectation. Our main fields had been flooded overnight the previous week. No sign of where the water came from, it was just…there. We were supposed to start ploughing soon; the way it was going, we weren’t going to be able to plant our crops this year.

We began the ceremony. First, Jace stepped forward.

Our structure within the pack wasn’t as strict as some others, but he was usually the one who took charge of pack activities since he was so levelheaded.

He smiled and lifted his arms. He greeted everyone, then started the prayer of thanks.

After him, the rest of us went through, each praying in gratitude.

Finally, it was time for the priestess to make her offerings and ask for help. As she stepped up to the bowl of tea, the lavender scent flowing through the air, she smiled.

“The Goddess is here tonight,” she declared, her voice strong and steady. “She wishes to speak.”

With that, she tipped back her head. The light of the moon swirled around her, growing thicker and brighter. I stood, transfixed, until Jace tugged on my arm. I turned slightly to see that everyone else had already knelt. I clenched my hands even as I forced my knees to bend.

I knew this was going to happen. My stomach knotted, and I tasted bile in the back of my throat.

I kept my gaze on the ground, though I knew what was happening.

I’d seen the Goddess commune through the priestess before.

Her very face and figure would change, reflecting more accurately the Goddess’s being.

The first time I’d seen it, I was filled with awe.

Now, all I felt was dread.

No, that wasn’t quite true.

I was also filled with anger and resentment. My jaw tightened, and I closed my eyes, pulling in a deep breath. When I heard the others rising to their feet around me, I did so as well.

“My children,” the Goddess greeted in silvery tones.

I didn’t lift my head. I didn’t want to look at her. Not when I knew what she was going to command.

“Your lives have been difficult of late. I am pleased that you still remember to show me gratitude despite the trials you have faced. For this, I will give you a blessing. The darkness in the valley has not been vanquished, and you are its next target.” The Goddess paused briefly as murmurs of fear flowed through the pack.

Jace stepped forward. “We thank you for this warning, Goddess. It is a blessing to know what to look for.”

I lifted my head then, staring at the beautiful woman bathed in silver light. She tilted her head toward us, a small smile playing on her lips.

“My blessing, Jace Murdoch, is this. I will tell you the omega whom the four alphas must take to wife to protect this pack. She is the one the darkness wants to destroy. And she is the one who will save you, if you will let her.”

The murmurs grew louder, though I didn’t see how anyone couldn’t have expected this.

Who is it? I clamped my jaws over the question. My wolf snarled, tail swishing. For the good of the pack, I would accept any of them. Even though I hated omegas, I loved the pack too much to defy the Goddess.

“Jasmine Philips,” the Goddess cried. “Step forward.”