Chapter 5
Chapter
Five
SIMONA
I end up staying in the infirmary for another few days which is fine because I think I’m the only student at Unity this early in the new year. And while the solitude, and break from Brody, is almost heavenly, it gets to the stage where I’m getting more and more restless.
I guess in my boredom, I offered to help one too many times, because then Omega Mother Beatrice is paying me a visit.
“We usually do our student welcome in an office.” Her lips purse together.
She’s not being intentionally rude. I think she’s just one of those people who has a lot to say but wants to do it her way. I don’t react to her statement in any way. I just wait.
“It sounds like you are getting better, which is good. Other students will start to arrive shortly, but you may feel more comfortable staying in the infirmary until the other girls sharing your apartment get here.”
“Do you know when they will?” I ask, keeping my eyes down. Out of habit, but also because she’s passing me a Unity satchel and I don’t want to drop it.
“We’re expecting Heidi Holmes tomorrow. Then I believe the other two, Raney Grady and Tristan Cameron, will arrive soon after.”
Four students in an apartment is odd, it’s usually only groups of three. And the way she waits, it’s almost like she thinks I may recognise the names of the girls, but I don’t.
“We deliberately placed you with those three students, Simona. They are quite strong young women.” Omega Mother Beatrice pauses and waits until I peek up at her. Her eyes are pinning me in place, silencing me, demanding my full attention. “We’re also aware of your circumstance. Your family, along with your intended, have been overly vocal regarding their expectations surrounding your time with us. I know it was previously explained to you by one of the nurses, but your time here is about you, becoming the best version of yourself. The staff and board will not be involved in what happens outside of our Collegiate, but inside, you are here for a reason. And while the young man suggesting he is your Alpha, as well as both his family and yours, may be wishing they’d read the enrolment contract a little better, they have also agreed you will remain with us for the entirety of our Omega program. Use both the time with the women we’ve housed you with and your time with us wisely.”
There’s about a hundred unspoken words flitting between us, and my chest squeezes painfully, almost like I’m getting sick again. I get choked up, unsure how to respond, or even if I should. All I manage the feeblest but most heartfelt thank you I have ever uttered.
“Your gratitude is unnecessary. But if you need something to drive you, use that. What you do during your time at Unity, Simona, may just set you up for a lifetime when you leave here. ”
Omega Mother Beatrice walks out, leaving me completely stunned and as equally overwhelmed. I never considered my time at Unity would come with as much freedom and opportunity. It seems, however, to be the case. Of course I’m going to run with it.
There is no hesitation or second-guessing when I retreat into a bubble. Instead, I settle back in bed with a lightness that keeps a constant smile on my face as I peruse the course options. I read long past the nursing staff’s final rounds, but they don’t rush me. In fact, one even delivers a pot of sweetened tea and a plate of sandwiches.
I spend hours selecting courses—ones I want to take, chosen for myself, without the influence or expectations of anyone back home. Some, I admit, are practical—things I know I’ll need eventually, like Cooking and Cleaning for Alphas. But more and more, I choose subjects simply because they excite me. Creative writing, classical literature and arts, photography, physical education, scrapbooking, graphic design—even chemistry.
It’s late when I decide to save the rest—choosing electives, committees and volunteer programs—for the morning. With my academic side satisfied, I guess I lean a little further into the personal freedom I have now. Back home, I always had to worry—who might be watching. But here? I can do and be whoever I want. A thrill buzzes through me when I set up a new account with the username SinDaBella. I scroll through Pinterest, searching under ‘dark aesthetics’ until I find the perfect photo. I manipulate it until it’s even darker and sexier. And instead of questioning what I’m doing, I press activate.
I follow Koded as well as a few other artists I like. Their socials are always active no matter the time of day because of their fan base. As usual, there’s another post speculating Koded’s identity, but his most recent and most active postis the one about him getting more serious in their quest to find his ‘Cinderella’. Ryder is even making a game of it, getting his fans involved and offering a prize.
I scroll through the comments until my eyelids start to drop. An alert pings, and it’s like someone is holding a live wire against my chest. My heart gallops erratically. Not only did he notice, but he also followed me back.
In the shockwaves, my phone flings out of my hand like it’s on fire. Slight overreaction, but the fire coursing through my veins at his attention doesn’t let up.
A gentle welling of endorphins follows, cutting through the initial shock, making me giggle softly and guiding me back to a calmer place. In that space I give myself permission to embrace every strange emotion as they happen which feels like another kind of liberation.
I settle into the corner of the room, and with the hugest smile on my face, I look at the notification. I keep staring at it, nearly missing the flashing notice of a DM request with ‘Koded.R.Genuine’.
It might be odd to others that I don’t open the notification. The truth is enough good things have happened today. I want to leave the best day I’ve had in a long time where it is—untouched.
Climbing into bed after my strange outburst, there’s a sizable smile pulling on my lips and a lightness filling my heart. Said heart is beating too fast but each deep inhale guides it back to normal. Nothing changes my serenity. The world keeps turning and I’m excited to be a part of it.
I sleep hard and fast, and when my eyes reopen, I’m still on my side, staring at the same view as last night. Not only do I feel refreshed, but I also think I’m well enough to finally go to my room. The nursing staff seem to agree
“Simona, please, you do not need to strip your own bed.” The sweet nurse that I met first when I arrived rolls her eyes and smiles at me when she comes to get me. “Seriously, you’re going to have Omega Mother Beatrice drilling me as to why I let a patient clean up after themselves. Let me do the proper discharge, and I’ll take you to your room.”
Within thirty minutes, I’m trailing behind her in clothes I didn’t choose, lugging suitcases I don’t want to unpack—simply because they packed them. There’s a lot of turmoil in knowing my entire wardrobe has been ‘approved,’ but every minute at Unity reminds me of something important. Brody might control what I wear, but while I’m a student here, he doesn’t have the power he thinks he does. And who wouldn’t run with that?
In so many ways I feel like a chameleon. This skin, no matter how daunting or intimidating, also feels more like the version of me I’ve been living all along.
“Here you are. I know Heidi Holmes has arrived. I can’t say if you’ve beaten her to choosing rooms,” the lovely nurse says.
I drop my gaze from her steely stare. She’s not challenging me like an Alpha would, but there’s an unspoken suggestion in her words. I accept the toggle to the unit she hands me, along with a printout of Unity house rules—something I need to sign and return to the front office. With that, she leaves.
Moving my bags out of the small hallway, I quickly see I’m the first to arrive. The unit is bigger than I thought, and it’s set up so we’re self-sufficient in the sense we have a kitchen as well as a small laundry area. I guess I naturally assumed we’d be eating in dining rooms with everyone, and I know that’s an option, but having the facilities in our room means we can bypass socialising. I guess though the first thing is I hope my roommates and I get along.
The pretty view from the sliding doors distracts me from the task of choosing a room. Part of me immediately wants to spin the furniture to face the view, but that’s me being overly presumptuous that my roommates will like it as much as I do. Each of the bedrooms has its own en-suite bathroom and a walk-in closet, and after inspecting each of them, I do the unthinkable and actually choose the one I want, even going as far as moving my bags inside it.
I’m part way through unpacking when I hear the door open. Before the butterflies in my stomach can rob me of my confidence, I walk out of my room and nearly straight into a tall, raven-haired woman. Her beauty is impossible to ignore, and her confidence is as flawless as the obvious wealth she’s grown up in.
“Hey,” I offer, trying to raise my voice louder than a whisper, but I’m a little in awe.
“Holy crap! You scared the living hell out of me.” She clutches her chest, and her eyes go wide.
I instantly feel awful. This is not the first impression I wanted to make.
But she laughs it off while blushing candy pink in her obvious embarrassment. “I’m so sorry. I’m not great at meeting new people. Let’s do a retake.” She makes a series of quick exhales through her perfectly made-up lips before taking a step towards me. “Hi, I’m Heidi Holmes.”
If I could adequately describe that first meeting with Heidi, it would be overflowing with overly emotional words—all centred around that undeniable feeling of meeting someone who you just know will be in your life forever. A rush of homecoming races up my arm as we shake hands.
I roll my shoulders and borrow a little of her confidence, “I’m Simona Vanderling. It is so good to meet you. I hope you don’t mind. I already chose this room.”
We share an awkward handshake, both laughing at how unnatural it feels—because if I had to guess, neither of us are handshake people. And considering our burgeoning friendship will never be considered normal, standard greetings feel even stranger. Still, we take a step back from each other.
Heidi unashamedly checks me out from head to toe. Once done, her eyes settle back on my face. “So, you’re fucking stunning, aren’t you? Clearly someone is trying to hide the fact you are gorgeous from the world. There’s no way you chose that dress. It’s the completely wrong tone for your skin type, which means an insecure boyfriend, or controlling parents are trying to keep you a secret.”
I hide my soft laughter behind my hand.
Okay, she’s confident and forthright. But her personality doesn’t come across as rude or malicious. I suspect it’s just her. And already I love it. Given half the chance, there’s no way I won’t pursue the undeniable pull of everlasting friendship I felt. In fact, it only makes me more determined to push myself out of my comfort zone and be as enthusiastic as I can without appearing desperate.
I hide in her confidence, matching her smile and shrugging when I answer. “Do me a favour and don’t introduce yourself as my roommate. The people responsible for my wardrobe would hate the fact we’re living together. Between me and you though, you summed up both my pack promised alpha and our parents perfectly.”
“What do you mean pack promised Alpha?”
I wave her interrogation-like-question off with a smile and a little sass, not wanting to bog our friendship down in the tragedy of my life. “I’m the Omega in an arranged pack situation, planned by the founding families, didn’t you know?”
The edges around her eyes crease as she glares. I continue being lighter than the topic deserves, but I need the separation. “I’m not going to waste the time we have at Unity thinking about what’s going to happen once we leave here. Instead, carpe diem. ”
She relaxes slightly, the tension draining from around her face. “We’re going to get along just fine me and you. I’m all for seizing the day, Simona, but I want you to know, four years is ample time for me to find a way to break that union.” She finishes with a smile as fake as the persona I was trying on.
I shake my head, not fully surprised at her conviction. Like I said, the spark between us is one of those instant and binding ones. Still, what we’ve shared is enough for now. I divert our conversation back to our missing roommates.
“Any idea who the other two girls are we’re sharing with?”
“I know of Tristan Cameron. Only because she models. I’ve got no idea who Raney Grady is.”
“Same. It’s weird we’ve been placed together. Unity generally only has three students to a room.”
“I read that in their student prospectus. Anyway, I’m all for being away from prying eyes. Which reminds me, I need to prepare a board report. Perhaps we could have dinner later, Simona?”
She turns but doesn’t walk off, and I realise belatedly she’s waiting for a response from me. I’m so used to people saying one thing and doing the other or them being nice to my face one second and then awful the next.
“That would be great. I could cook,” I suggest.
“Great. I’ll get the wine then. See you in a few hours.”
I get an hour of prep time, and I think it’s Heidi returning when the door opens. I lean down onto the kitchen island to say hello, but instead of a dark-haired beauty, I’m stunned silent by the effervescence of my new housemate. Her hair is a wild mane of blonde curls, her eyes are the most incredible sparkling blue, and her unique scent of sweetened bubble-gum sweeps through the apartment, filling it with happiness.
“No way!” She squeals, dropping her bags and racing around. I don’t even get the chance to open my mouth and she’s enveloping me in a hug. “You’re Simona, right? God I can tell, you look like a Simona. And you and I are going to be friends forever.”
In one second Tristan Cameron not only claims me as hers, but like with Heidi, I get struck by an equally poignant insight knowing I’d also do anything and everything to keep her in my life forever.
She doesn’t stop laughing the whole time she hugs me. Even when her arms fall away, her energy is as consuming as the embrace itself. Her mouth moves at a hundred miles an hour, and I’m struggling to keep up.
Tristan doesn’t let me get out from under her arm when Raney finally arrives.
“Surprise!” Tristan starts screaming as the door starts to, and we all hear Raney swearing in fright.
Just like when I met Heidi and Tristan, I am staggered by the sense of familiarity I feel towards Raney. It truly feels like we’ve known each other forever. There’s no weird awkwardness, no hesitation—just an instant, effortless connection and it’s clear we all feel it. In no time at all, after dropping her bags on her bed, Raney is back in the kitchen, giving us a no-holds-barred account of the key events in her life up to now.
I already see what Omega Mother Beatrice meant when she said Raney, Tristan, and Heidi would each be good for me and offer me something during my time here. They each shine bright like diamonds, hardened and unbreakable.
That first night, the four of us bond—stronger than glue—over Alphas who have done us wrong.
Never have I felt comfortable around other women. All my previous interactions have ended in disaster. Probably because of Brody and his involvement. This is just another positive in an increasing list of great things to happen to me since I left .
And maybe because we don’t know each other, or it really is the flickering sense of sisterhood we each see in each other, when Raney shares how she got the scars on her face, we each follow with an equally horrifying story.
Of course, I’m reserved and choose my words carefully when I share with the girls my own story. It’s not because I’m scared of telling them the truth, that my Alpha is a rapist who relishes in his abuse, I literally can’t because of his bark. But even if I could share with them I’m not sure I would. And that’s more to do with wanting to focus on working on me and not letting the past ruin how beautiful my future now looks.
I have a moment of fear when I burn our dinner so badly that the smoke alarm won’t stop screaming until the maintenance crew can arrive to switch it off.
The whole time the crew are here clearing the smoke and checking the alarm, I brace for disparaging and snide remarks about what a failure I am. They don’t come.
I manage to swipe away a stress laden tear just before Tristan wraps her arms around me from the side, giggling as she steers me out of the kitchen when the maintenance team leaves. She guides me to a chair in our newly orientated living room, where the stars on the horizon serve as a quiet reminder: I’m at Unity, far away from Brody and home. Tristan’s phone lands in my lap, Uber Eats open on the screen—proof that the girls really don’t care about my cooking skills at all.