Chapter 2 - Jasmine
“Jasmine Philips, step forward.” The Goddess’s lovely face pointed directly at me as she spoke.
My hands felt cold. My stomach turned, and my head felt so light I thought I might pass out here and now.
At first, I was certain that I’d misheard.
Maybe she had demanded Jaspine Phipils. It took me a moment to realize that the omegas around me, the ones that had avoided me through the years to ensure they weren’t caught in the crossfire, had backed even further away from me.
“Jasmine,” the Goddess called again. She gestured toward me, a small smile on her lips. “Yes, it is you that I called.”
Everyone was staring at me. Well, everyone except one particular alpha.
Owen’s dark brown hair hid his face from me as he kept staring at the ground, but every inch of him was tense.
The other three were tense, too, and angry, but not like him.
I slowly started forward, my breath shallow in my lungs.
Would the Goddess send a bolt of lightning to take me out if I tried to run?
Probably. And it wasn’t death itself that I should be afraid of, but rather what would happen to my soul next. There was an afterlife, there had to be, so what sort of punishment awaited a lowly omega who defied the Goddess in such a way?
I tried not to look at the alphas. I tried to keep my eyes on the Goddess, telling myself that she knew what she was doing and she wouldn’t decide to hand me over to my tormentors for no reason. But I couldn’t keep my eyes on her.
Owen Niche. Dark brown hair. Light green eyes. The occasional tattoo. The first boy who had ever hit me when we were five years old. I heard he still had anger issues, though I hadn’t interacted with him in years now.
Jace Murdoch. Golden blond hair. Dark brown eyes. No tattoos that I knew of, which was a shame, because they’d look good on him. Out of all the alphas, he was the one that I distrusted the least. He always seemed to be level-headed when talking to the pack.
Killian Thompson. Black hair. Violet eyes.
Both ears were pierced, along with one eyebrow.
He was the most beloved of our alphas, the one that everyone wanted to fall into bed with, even the pack members who weren’t attracted to men.
Hell, even I would have gladly let him take my virginity once, even when he was tormenting me.
Renz Hattie. Dark blond hair. Dark blue eyes. Absolutely covered in tattoos. I heard he got a new tattoo every time someone mentioned that it looked unprofessional or said they didn’t like it. He was an alpha that always did his own thing, damn the consequences.
And now I was going to be their wife.
I reached the stage and climbed up, bowing low toward the Goddess. I wanted to say something. I probably should have humbly thanked her, but my tongue was glued to my teeth, and I couldn’t think of what to say.
Except to beg her not to make me do this.
“Jasmine Philips is the omega of my choice, to be wife to the four Alphas of Tyrell,” the Goddess said. She stretched out a hand over me, but didn’t touch me. “You will act accordingly.”
The silvery light faded, leaving me half-hunched, my newly betrothed having witnessed it silently. They didn’t say a word. Neither did I. The pack looked on in horrified silence.
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
I’d longed for a different life. Ever since I was small, I’d been treated with mistrust and disrespect.
All omegas were charged with being secretly evil, just not evil enough to warrant capital punishment.
I couldn’t recall a time in my life when I wasn’t aware I was treated differently from the other orders within the pack.
But I ended up being singled out, even among the omegas.
It started with Owen, and that day he hit me.
The teachers on the playground saw it happen and scolded me for being in the playground.
Omegas weren’t allowed to play with the children of other orders, so it was only right for Owen to discipline me.
From then on, I became his personal target. And since the other three were his best friends, they followed his lead. They went out of their way to be cruel to me, all the way through to our teenage years. They were the main reason why I was homeschooled all through high school.
Since even then, they were going to be the next alphas, nobody questioned their treatment of me.
The others in the school followed them, tormenting me.
There was only once when they used their influence to exert any measure of protection, and that was when my life was threatened.
The four of them had taken over the town’s radio system and unequivocally condemned violence against the omegas, and called me out by name.
“If we hear of Jasmine Philips being harmed in any way, we will hunt down the persons responsible and deal with them according to pack law,” Owen’s voice had said through the radio.
I’d been sitting in the dark, terrified that someone was going to come burn down my house and kill my family to get to me. But after that day, the pack’s bullying pulled back and became only verbal.
Now, Owen finally lifted his head. He glared at me with such hatred that I backed up a step, my shoulders hunching upward. I wanted to tell him that this wasn’t my choice, that the Goddess had decreed it, but I still couldn’t speak.
Jace was the first alpha to move. He stepped past me, then in front of me, as though there was some part of him trying to shield me from the pack’s looks.
I could well imagine the hatred burning in their eyes.
Nearby, the priestess watched with a frown furrowing her brow. How much of this was she aware of?
“The Goddess has spoken,” Jace declared.
I turned to look at him. His shoulders were thrown back, the confidence in his posture almost setting me at ease. I folded my arms over my chest as I tried to breathe and control my face.
It was true that it had been years since the bullying fell off. Once the four of them assumed leadership of the pack, they started ignoring me. Even Owen didn’t go out of his way anymore. It was limited to the occasional barb thrown at me, and then only when there weren’t witnesses.
It was, I supposed, their way of offering protection. If the alphas were seen to particularly dislike someone, it didn’t matter how much they told people to stay back. Someone would have gotten it into their head to sacrifice themselves for the good of the pack and stab me in some dark alley.
“The marriage ritual will take place in two days,” Jace continued. “Our Goddess is wise and merciful. She has a plan for us and has granted us this instruction for her blessing. We must not question the Goddess.”
Ironically, I thought that was directed as much at himself as it was the pack.
Maybe it was for me, too. The Goddess had spoken with such finality that I couldn’t question that this is what she really meant, and yet, I couldn’t help but wonder why.
I’d had some relief these last few years, with the alphas’ attention elsewhere.
But being married to them? Bound to them so fully? Then dealing with the resentment that would no doubt form on top of that…
I shook my head slightly, trying to focus on Jace’s words.
He was saying something about banding together and having hope.
His words sounded like they came from far away.
When he was done speaking, he turned back toward me and the others.
His gaze lingered on me for half a beat too long before he stepped away.
Then, to my relief, he offered me his hand. I took it, the heat of his skin almost painful against my frigid fingers, and allowed him to lead me away. The others followed after silently. The pack parted, and I was glad I wasn’t being forced to stay behind and interact with anyone.
I didn’t even question where we were going until after we were away from the others and Jace dropped my hand. “What happens now?”
He shot me a look that was thankfully more neutral than hateful. “We’re going to the alpha house. We’ve got an extra room that you can stay in. We’ll move your things over after the wedding.”
“The old dorms,” I murmured. “Does it have a shared bathroom?”
Jace snorted. “That’s the first thing you ask?”
“I’m used to having my own bathroom. I don’t want to share with a bunch of men,” I answered defensively.
“What makes you think we’d want to share with you?” Owen snapped from behind me.
I sucked in a deep breath, biting down on dual, opposing urges. One to cower and beg for forgiveness, the other to sucker-punch him in the gut and tell him to get the fuck over himself. Neither would be very productive. “I never said you would. I’m asking what the situation is, nothing more.”
Jace moved me to his other side, putting himself between me and Owen. “Every room has their own bathroom. There’s a shared kitchen.”
I nodded once. I could work with that.
“Can’t believe this is happening,” Owen grumbled. “Out of all the omegas in the pack…”
He trailed off. I kept my eyes straight ahead as we kept walking. We were almost to the building where they lived.
Penelope marrying the four alphas over in Burgess had given me hope for the state of the omegas in Maplewood.
Even though I’d been tormented here in Tyrell, I had long believed that change would come eventually.
It was the one thing I was most certain of, even when everything else seemed to be falling apart around me.
When Penelope married her alphas, and things changed dramatically for the omegas, I had hoped that it would quickly trickle into the other packs. I’d never suspected that the Goddess would come here and tell me to marry my bullies.
But maybe this would have the same effect here as Penelope had there. I wasn’t sure I could be as strong as she was, but there had to be a reason I was chosen.
Maybe it was because I was psychic. Nothing major, nothing that had changed the course of my life, but sometimes I had visions of events that were to come.
It did help with preparing for my future, even if I couldn’t change it.
I’d seen my parents’ deaths the week before it happened.
I’d tried to warn them. They ignored me, but when they did die, I was prepared.
I had already planned out what I was going to do next.
It was that gift, if it was a gift, that had kept me here in Tyrell all these years.
Every time I’d thought of leaving, I had a vision of me staying right where I was, accompanied by a sense of hope and peace.
That was why I stayed. It was why, even during that brief time when I actively feared for my life, I knew somewhere in my bones that it would work out.
I never imagined that it would be because of this. Because the Goddess had such a pivotal role planned for me.
We reached the alpha house, and they showed me in, all four of them, staring at me. Their expressions ranged from confused to blank to openly hostile. I wasn’t sure how to respond. Maybe I should say something. Maybe I should try to ease the tension?
“Penelope told me that when the Goddess declared her marriage to her alphas, she specifically told them to give Penelope a daughter,” I blurted. It wasn’t often that I left Tyrell, but occasionally we met up for coffee in the city.
Less so now, since Penelope had, in fact, given birth to a girl recently.
All of their gazes sharpened on me.
“But the Goddess didn’t say anything about that,” I continued, my voice growing smaller. Seriously, why had I even brought it up? “Which means…we don’t…”
Ah, now that I said it, I understood. Marriage came with two things.
A ceremony and sex. Four men and one woman?
It was impossible. I’d never so much as kissed a man; how could I satisfy four virile alphas?
I shuddered at the thought. I had even read plenty of group-sex erotica, and it always left me more puzzled than turned on.
“I should say right away, I don’t want this to be a closed marriage,” I babbled, heat rushing to my cheeks as they all continued to stare at me.
“Which means, you four are free to keep sleeping around with whomever you want. I don’t need to know about it, even.
The Goddess didn’t say we had to be faithful or have children.
In fact, it might be best for you to keep your women.
You’d find any sort of sexual relationship with me disgusting, I’m sure. ”
It was here that Killian interrupted. “You will go into heat.”
I winced. “I…suppose I will.”
“Only your mates will be able to relieve the pain of it,” he said. His voice was soft as velvet, softer than I would have expected.
I stared into his violet eyes, grimacing. “Or I could lock myself away and wait for the heat to pass. It’s not fatal.”
“Or are you expecting us to just stand back and let you run off and fuck some random men?” Owen growled.
Goosebumps rose along my arms, and my wolf cowered before him. “No. I didn’t think that at all. I thought that you wouldn’t want to stay faithful in a marriage you didn’t want, and I just want to make it clear that I have no expectations—”
“When you have your heat, we will take care of it,” Jace said, his tone no-nonsense. “As for the rest of it, it’d be a piss-poor look for the alphas to step out on a Goddess-ordained marriage.”
I glanced between the four of them, my heart sinking. My mouth opened, but I stopped myself from asking. “Okay,” I said instead, my voice small. “If that’s what you want.”
“Let’s get you to your room,” Jace muttered, gesturing toward the stairs.
I followed silently. The old dorms were as shabby as the rest of town, but in better repair than the place I lived. It should be a perk, having better housing. Being married to them should have been a relief. Being the alphas’ mate should offer me protection and comfort.
But they all hated me already.
How much more would they hate me now?