Chapter One – Jess #2
Much as it might make me sound like an entitled spoiled brat, that money was mine.
Hell, this house and everything in it should have been mine too.
I understood that I was a child when my parents died, and while I spent months in the hospital recovering, I didn't really have a say in the matter, but now that I was an adult I should.
But that's the issue, wasn't it? Even though I was nearly twenty-one years old I was still a child in the eyes of the law. Omegas were always treated differently. We were viewed as children basically, until a pack came along and took us in, made us one of their own.
Really, I should be thankful my parents’ will included a separate clause for me if I never found a pack. Even back then they were thinking ahead.
It's why, as my aunt and I sat down for dinner that night, a plan formulated in my head. Truth be told, it wasn't all too different than the plan I already had, but there was more intensity and spitefulness behind it.
I’d do anything to make sure my aunt never saw another dime.
My aunt Cecilia was a fifty-year-old beta with short, straight blonde hair that fell in hard angles around her face.
It made her look severe, and the way she did her makeup, especially around her blue eyes, only made that severe look worse.
She constantly wore an expression that could kill you, and her words were right behind that look to back it up.
For a beta, she had the tendency of acting as though she was an alpha.
We sat across from each other at the long table as the chef brought out our meal and set down the plates in front of us. She did not so much as glance at the chef when he placed the food before us, but I did. I made sure to smile and thank him for his hard work, just like I did every day.
Our chef was nice. An old beta who had been with us since before my parents died. He was like a part of the family, even though he worked for us. Cecilia never treated anyone that way though, not even me.
Cecilia hardly looked at me when she said, “I trust you spent the day getting ready for tomorrow night. You may think you have all the time in the world to match with the alpha of your dreams, but your birthday is coming up quick—”
It was something I'd heard multiple times before, and though she might sound urgent about it, I still didn't give a crap. Of course, I learned a long time ago to not voice my true desires to my aunt. She simply didn't care.
So I told her exactly what she wanted to hear: “Yep. I picked out my outfit and everything.”
That wasn't a lie. I did pick my outfit. I was planning on wearing one of my most boring, plain dresses. And after finding what I found in her office, I knew exactly what I wanted to tell the hairdresser tomorrow at my appointment.
Let's just say the appointment was going to run long. My hair was a natural black, so it’d take some time, but I had faith in my hairdresser. I was going to liven up my look with a splash of color, some blue.
My aunt would have an aneurysm the moment I came home with a hairdo like that, but we'd be too close to the matching ceremony at the Omega Garden for her to fix it.
I couldn't wait.
She gave me a tight smile. It was her typical smile, one where she never showed her teeth.
Demure if you didn’t know her, bitchy if you did.
“That's good. I do hope you'll try a bit harder this time.
Like I said, you're running out of time, Jessica.
By now you should already be in a pack and preparing for your first heat.
Honestly, I don't understand why you feel the need to make things as difficult as you do.”
I matched her smile with one of my own. It was something I learned to do years ago. “I am not the one making things difficult. It's not my fault if there aren't any alphas that call to me.” That had been my excuse every single time, but I could tell that particular excuse had started to wear thin.
The look she gave me right then could cut down a lesser man in an instant. “You're an unmated omega. Every single alpha there should call to you.” And just like my excuse, her response was the same shit she said every single time.
But it's not my fault. My excuse was technically not a lie. There were no alphas that called to me. She should know better than anyone how true that was.
How many doctors had we gone to? How many times did I get checked out and looked at by so-called medical professionals whose only goal was to figure out what was wrong with me? I lost count, and eventually we stopped trying.
The accepted explanation as to what was wrong with me went back ten years to the same accident that took my parents.
I was a kid then. I hadn't yet presented as an omega, but my parents did some genetic testing after I was born, so they knew.
The accident did something to me. The trauma from the impact, all the surgeries, take your pick.
The fact of the matter was alphas simply never called out to me. Not like they did to other omegas who were whole. I couldn't smell. Not a single thing. Despite all those doctor visits and all the home remedies my aunt tried on me, nothing worked. Nothing fixed me.
I didn't bring up the fact that alphas did not lure me in because of what happened ten years ago. I learned a long time ago that my aunt viewed all that as more excuses, and she did not accept excuses, especially not from me.
So instead I say, “I'm trying, Aunt Cecilia, I really am.”
Her tone was snippy when she responded, “I don't think you're trying hard enough.
I don't think you truly appreciate the time crunch you're on.
Even lower-class omegas manage to find themselves a pack before their twenty-first birthday, so I don't understand why you can't. You're a Dryers.
You have old blood in you. Respected blood.
Any alpha at the Omega Garden should go crazy trying to match with you.
Frankly, I do wonder if you're pulling something when you're there.”
I acted innocent as I asked, “What do you mean?”
My aunt was unimpressed with my faked innocence.
“I know you, Jessica. I know your games and your tricks.
It's been you and me for the last five years.
I know matching with a pack is one of the last things you want to do, but unfortunately you don't have a choice. You need to find a pack before your first heat.”
It took everything in me to bite my tongue and not ask about the clause in that will.
Such restraint on my part to sit there and take it, especially when I knew her ulterior motive.
My aunt was a cold woman. She probably never even loved my uncle.
It was probably a good thing she couldn't have kids of her own.
What kind of mother would she be if she was constantly judgmental and harsh while never giving praise or affirmation? Let alone a freaking hug.
I thought long and hard about what to say to her in response. “I'm trying.”
Okay, so my response wasn't going to win any speech awards.
“If you don't find a single match tomorrow night, I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands. I have done my best to respect your wishes, but you have proven to me time and time again you are still too immature to realize what's best for you.”
Right. Because omegas were too stupid, too childish to make their own decisions when it came to the rest of their lives.
It's not going to happen. Not on my watch. Whatever my aunt thought she was going to do, whatever insane fortune she thought she would take, she'd be real fucking sad when she realized I'd rather die than see her get another cent from my dead parents.
Call me immature. Call me spiteful. Call me the pettiest bitch around, I didn't care. Like hell was I going to find a match at the Omega Garden tomorrow night.