Chapter Four – Jess
The road trip is longer than I thought it would be, mostly because we hit traffic near the next big city we drive through. There’s no way to avoid it, though, not if you stay on the highway, and even with the traffic, sticking to the highway is still our fastest route.
We drive all day, through the night, and well into the next morning before we stop at a general store so I can get everything else I’ll need, plus food to stock up the cabin’s pantries.
Thank goodness I’m not alone for this; the cart is full and it takes many, many overstuffed bags to pack everything away.
Asher acts like he wants to do most of the heavy-lifting, so I let him.
Hey, if he wants to act like a knight in shining armor now, let him, I guess. Less work for me.
I did run out of cash, however. Everything added up faster than I thought it would, but thankfully Asher again played the knight in shining armor and covered the rest of the purchase. Unfortunately, it had to be on his card. I only hope it won’t come back to bite us in the ass later.
Watching the scenery change is a crazy thing.
My parents, when they were alive, never took us to the mountains, so I didn’t know what all to expect as we got closer and closer to the cabin.
You’d think it’d be a gradual thing; that you’d travel on land that slowly became more elevated the further you went, but not here.
Here, the mountains seemingly jut out of the ground out of nowhere, such a stark contrast to the flat land surrounding the mountain range.
The road, a simple two-lane road made of old asphalt, curves and winds up through said mountains.
And once you cross through that first mountain and get deep in the range? It’s like the entire world changes.
And to think, we’re still an hour or so away from the cabin. Thankfully it isn’t too deep in the mountain range, otherwise we’d still have quite a ways to go. My eyelids are heavy; I got some caffeinated drinks at the store, but those drinks can only do so much when I stayed up through the night.
Mostly wanted to make sure we didn’t crash, but Asher was remarkably calm and collected all throughout the night, so I needn’t have worried too much.
Asher asks something that I bet has been on his mind ever since I explained my circumstances to him: “So, you’ve been going to the Omega Garden? Isn’t that where alphas trip over themselves to find an omega? How did you skate by for so long with no matches?”
He sounds genuinely curious, and the way he phrases the question makes me think he hasn’t even thought about signing up for a matching ceremony at the Omega Garden. For some reason, that thought alone makes me happy—odd, considering we’re strangers and it isn’t like I own the alpha.
“Well,” I start, “I may have purposefully been a bit of a… bitch.” I hate to call myself that, but society deems any omega that doesn’t drool over alphas a bitch, so I guess it fits.
“A bitch,” he repeats, though based on how he repeats the final word, I can tell he doesn’t normally swear like that. “How do you mean?”
I think back to the last ceremony, when I donned that plain black dress and my newly-dyed blue and black hair.
Omegas had a different entrance than the alphas.
While there was a long line of alphas waiting to get inside, omegas could go around to the back of the building and get in that way.
Of course, there were plenty of security guards at both entrances to stop anything funny from happening.
The Omega Garden was such a large place, it took up its own block downtown.
The matching ceremony only took up the bottom floor, so I had no idea what all the other floors above were for. Maybe corporate offices? Who knew.
I strolled in only ten minutes before the ceremony was set to begin.
Please don’t get me started on how ridiculous it was that it was called a ceremony to begin with; there was nothing ceremonial about it.
It was basically a blind date mixer, where the alphas hopped from table to table and tried to get to know every omega there.
It was exhausting. Honestly, I didn’t know how other omegas could stand it.
Anyway, since I showed up ten minutes before the metaphorical curtain was lifted, I was considered late, and after I was escorted to the omega changing rooms, I was immediately jumped on by Delilah.
She had her hands on her hips, a stern look on her face.
The woman was older, an alpha in her own right, so she also had a bit of muscle on her tall frame.
Her graying hair was pulled back into a tight bun that looked like it tugged at her entire scalp.
Delilah gave a new definition to the word severe.
“I thought we discussed your lateness the last time you were here?” she asks, her tone curt. Around us, the other omegas were ready and dressed up for the night, their faces perfectly done in makeup, their hair either straightened or curled; whatever they and their nearby sponsors thought was best.
Ballgowns and diamond jewelry. Oh, yes. I was surrounded by the rich ones. I might not have looked it now, but I was one of them. I could have gone up against the best-dressed omega there and beaten her on a scale of one to ten.
They were beautiful. We all were, really, without trying. All this pomp and frill, it was useless.
“We did,” I admitted with a shrug, making it clear I didn’t give a shit either way. Around us, the omegas and the sponsors pretended not to eavesdrop on the conversation, but they needed to up their poker faces, because it was clear they were.
“You,” she told me, “will wait right here while I take everyone else out and show them their tables. You and I are going to chat, Jessica.”
Oh, I hated when anyone older than me called me by my full name. It reminded me of my aunt every single time. Like I was in trouble.
I mean, I might’ve deserved a scolding right now, but whatever. Did any of it really matter in the grand scheme of things? I would not be leaving here tonight with any potential matches. I’d messed up all my other nights here, and tonight wouldn’t be any different.
Delilah was in charge of this whole thing, so it wasn’t like I could argue with her. I waited right where she told me to, with my arms crossed, while she took everyone else out. Omegas and their sponsors, basically their guardians for the night, were the only ones allowed in this dressing room.
Frankly, it was crazy to me that my aunt hadn’t ever sent someone along with me.
Then again, I didn’t know whether there were any alphas she would truly trust enough to get the job done, to play her role for the night.
She probably didn’t trust a single soul, which was why she’d gone along with my desire to come alone—save for the driver that brought me here.
It felt as if I stood there for hours, but in reality it was probably only ten minutes or so.
Delilah must’ve been in the process of escorting the omegas and their sponsors to the ballroom when I arrived, because half of them were already gone, their stations and mirrors empty.
By the time the woman joined me again, I was ready for a nap.
And to go home, but I had to play the role a little while longer.
She pulled up a stool from the closest station, pointing at me and then at it, wordlessly telling me to sit. Only when my ass was firmly planted on the stool did she fold her arms over her chest and give me a knowing look.
“What?” I asked. I thought I sounded rather innocent, but by now, let’s be real, this woman had to have known the game I was playing.
“I got an interesting call from your aunt earlier,” she said. “She wants me to keep a close eye on you tonight, and if I see that you’re messing around and not taking this seriously, she wants me to give her a call back.”
I didn’t say anything. What was there to say? The hair dye had been a step too far, apparently. That, or my aunt was freaking out since my heat was coming up.
“But,” Delilah paused, “believe it or not, I do not work for your aunt. I am paid for a service, and I make sure that service takes place. How you omegas act while you’re here is frankly none of my business. You can rest easy knowing your aunt will not hear back from me about tonight.”
If I wasn’t so pissed off at the whole will thing, maybe that would’ve relaxed me, but inside I was still fuming, so relaxing wasn’t on the cards for me.
“That said, I do still want to talk to you about your behavior. I’ve noticed the last few ceremonies, you’ve… been very off-putting when it comes to the alphas here. If you’re so against it, why are you even here?”
I shrugged. “It isn’t like I have a choice. My aunt made me do this.”
Delilah’s voice came out softer when she said, “Regardless of what you believe, not all alphas are bad. If you open yourself up to it, I’m sure you’d get many potential matches—”
With a shake of my head, I said, “It’s not that.”
“Then what is it? Tell me, and maybe I can help you.”
I eyed her up. Though she was an alpha herself, she was also a woman, so she had to know how badly society wanted to see all women either paired or matched with a pack. “Do you have a pack, Delilah?”
She let out a deep sigh. “I do not.”
“Why not?”
“It was never in the cards for me. I know what you’re doing, and I’m going to remind you that your situation and mine are completely different. You already know things are always different for omegas.”
“I know, but… why does it have to be? Why can’t I be alone if that’s what I want?”
“You can be, but it’s a more challenging feat.
Someone of your bloodline… things are different when you come from old blood.
You know this. There are, of course, options for omegas who don’t want or can’t find a pack of alphas, but typically they’re reserved for those who can’t trace their lineage all the way back to when this country was founded. ”