His Rejection, Her Destiny

es before the first light of

in darkness, the air icy on her skin and th

ve her. The early morning darkness still lay in the small chamber, the calm

buildings, bearing the chill of dawn with it. The rest of the gang was still asleep, curled up

houlders, and the chill settled against her skin right away. A shudder passed through her

he ageing edifice did nothing to shelter from the mountain air that swept over the Silver Moon region. Drafts came easily thro

a tiny bed, a wooden chest and a cracked mirror hanging crooked on the wall. There were no portraits, no decorations or treasu

e glancing at her reflection. The girl staring back at her looked older than eighteen,

me an adult wolf. The thought lingered as she studied her reflectio

than to trust it too easily. Yet she couldn't stop herself from imagining it, couldn't keep her thoughts from drifting toward the unknown male fate

he early hour. Behind the closed doors lining the corridor, several other omega girls remained asleep, undisturbed and unaware, and none of them would wake for at least another hour. Their rooms were still cloaked in the fading night, bu

ut of the building and silently into the chilly nite air. Darkness wr

obblestone streets winding between rows of wooden houses. Some chimneys were sending up thin spirals of smoke, vanishing

ng else entirely. It was a cage for her, a beautiful cage, but a cage. The pac

loomed over everything, three floors of dark stone and polished lumber towering over the rest with an

e other with manifest frustration rolled his eyes. Neither of them tried to say hello to

e within. The kitchen staff had been working long since before the sun came up and they moved fluently through their chores while the morning meal was being assembled. Some women worked with knives at big wooden tables, slicing vegetables into neat piles with steady str

workstations, picking up water buckets, heavy, and carrying them toward the cooking stations, car

're

eli

ook almost instantly. The elder woman usually looked angry while she was talking to

Helena continued. "The tab

ered her head, gripping the water

clicked her tongue in annoyance, the sound carrying cle

r reason to scold her, Araceli hurri

them no mind. She had learned long ago that the best way to protect herself was not to defend herself, that when she did she frequently attracted

ll mostly empty from the nite before, still marked with the faint ghosts of use in spite of the cleaning. Araceli picked up a cloth and quickly began work, moving from one table to the next, washing the su

es, yet no one seemed to see the labour already accomplished. No one acknowledged her, or even looked twice at her. They expected it. They took h

individuals gathered with family and friends, swapping stories and starting their day. Araceli continued to work, weaving between the crowd as it grew, moving trays from table to table, pouring drinks before they were or

f bread to a table near the windo

ful,

ized on it, sending her sliding forward. The basket fell from her hands, and several loaves tumble

at t

t even ca

she's t

harder, clearly pleased with themselves. One of them be

k it

er gr

what ome

he commotion. Still, Araceli crouched down and began gathering the bread from the floor, brushing away what

of the boys leaned forward with a gri

er followed

l actually f

orted. "Who w

e a r

ues have

e neutral. The comments stung, as they always did, but she refused to give them the emotion they intended. She didn't answer, she turned round and walked into the kitchen

e still, to drop her head as if the words meant nothing, but it didn't make them hurt any less. By midday her muscles were heavy with tiredness. Her arms ached and her feet were sore from the hours of work, and when Araceli was finally given leave to the Alpha House, relief coursed thr

es were excited to find a partner, you could tell from their enthusiasm. Parents bustled to prepare, merchants laid out colourful clothes and ceremonial gifts, hoping to lure enthusiastic shoppers before the celebration bega

that maybe fate would finally choose her. She held on to that possibility more tightly th

cheerful voices carrying easily thro

n't w

met her mat

he's ha

he's an

ious with joy. Then one of them saw Araceli. And

O

ment that filled them a moment ago turned into awkward quiet. Nobody answered. They moved on. The

standing next to the omega of the pack. Anyone who was friends with her was merely laughed at. And everyone knew that. She watched them go, swallowed in the moving crowd. For a moment

ttlement, next to her basket of finished deliveries. It was her favourite area, one of the few places where no one disturbed her and where the insistent demands of the day were far away. T

s paths slowly stirred under the illumination of lanterns. Outside their homes, families congregated, their voices melting into the

ng them, and that scared her more than anything else. She could still, sort of, remember her mother's laugh, and a little bit her father's voice, but the details were harder to hang on to each year, slipping

hem at all? Tears threatened to form, but she blinked them away before they could fall. Crying changed nothing. It never had. Above he

orr

ow she might meet the person destined for her, a mate. Someone who could

t. Araceli smiled quietly as a shooting star flew across the lowering sky. Perhaps it was a sign. Maybe tomor

unchanging beneath the night sky. Yet fate was already moving, quiet and patient as it prepared to shatter ever

sitting beneath the stars with hope still clutched tightly in her heart as she waited for tomorrow. Tomo