Chapter 2. Meeting the Omega

The next day, I was up before the break of dawn. I am so sleepy even though I will myself to move. Even as I move, my eyes are half-closed. "Ouch!!"

I jump around in agony and my hand shoots down to grab the toe I bumped into the door frame. That is surely a wake-up call for me. I go into my shower, stripping the pajamas off my body till I am stark naked. The warm water heats my body as it hits my skin. I sigh, feeling content with the happy feeling. I scrub my body, then walk out of the shower and head to my closet in my room. I pick out blue, simple, faded, jeans. I put them on and they are loose on my slender body, only hugging my hips.

I put on a white shirt, and my black Converse to match with the jeans and head out the door.

It's still dark outside, as I walk on foot through the houses, heading to the areas where the event will be held. My pack isn't large, but it has very strong members who are great fighters. We may not be large in numbers, but we are strong. The pack consists of houses that are clustered together. They are so close to each other, with a few stores available in case we want to purchase some items. For items not available in the pack, we go to the human town a few miles from here. There we can find a mall and bigger stores.

It's quiet as I pass through different houses, I pass by the alpha's house too and judging from the quietness I know they are still sleeping as well.

Since the Darkmist pack will arrive today, I will need to get things done before the afternoon.

The sun slowly begins to rise, and so does the noise, indicating that other pack members are awake too. I guess it will be a busy day for everyone. I reach the rose garden, which has a large clearing in it, perfect for outdoor activity. The roses add beauty to the whole event.

"Hey Lucy!" my best friend Stacy shouts as I pass by her house. She is standing on the porch, waving from a distance.

“Hey, Stacy!"I wave back enthusiastically. I suddenly feel guilty for not visiting her yesterday on my special day off. But I am sure she would understand, though I fear not. Stacy can be quite petty sometimes.

I continue to head in the direction of the rose garden. I pass a few houses and am there.

I smile when I see it. I can see some decorations were done yesterday, which will only make my work easier.

I get busy and begin work with the team I picked up. I was happy about how efficient they had been in my absence.

We work as quickly as possible till all the decor is done. By now, it's already lunch hour. The breakfast I missed is now beginning to bite me, making me regret it.

“I think we are done here!" I announce it to everyone and they all cheer happily. "Job well done, team. Now all that is left is to wait for the celebration."

They cheer happily. "It was great working with you, Beta Lucy," Jane announces one of the warriors from the pack, and the rest of the group agrees with her. I smile at everyone and say my goodbyes and wished them a great celebration ahead of them. I walk in the direction of Stacy's house. I am starving and her place is the only thing I could think of quickly. I needed food before I passed out.

I gently knock on her door and she opens it quickly. I quirk my eyebrow at her and she shrugs her long straight waist-length black hair, bouncing on her shoulder at the action.

“What?" her sharp voice makes me wince slightly. I roll my eyes at her, then push her aside and I am inside the house. I head straight to her kitchen and open her fridge, scanning what fast food she has. Coming up with nothing, I moved the cupboards just as I was about to open them, I hear rattling and I turn sharply to look at her.

”Coco pops?” I asked her and she just shrugged again and continues to pour some for herself. Feeling defeated, I grab the box from her, grab a bowl and milk, and make some for myself.

”I didn't know you were that hungry. You would have told me early and I would have cooked some food for you." She says, in a way that feels like she's mocking me for my hunger. I glare at her and then continue to eat the cereal as if my life depended on it.

Her big blue doe eyes are solemnly focused on me. She watches me quietly as she eats. She is beautiful. There is no denying that. She has the perfect white skin too. I kind of envy her sometimes, not that I'm not pretty myself, but just that I can't compare to her. Not only that, her movements are graceful too. She is like this porcelain doll that is very delicate and, like me, she also hasn't found her mate. Stacy is more like the opposite of me. While I am rough around the edges and may not be the kindest, being beta taught me to be tough and also be a fighter. Well, as for her, she can barely fight, even in her wolf form, but her beauty is exceptional. Maybe that's why we got along so well. Opposites often attract each other.

“I was so hungry," I complain to Stacy as I completely eat everything, grabbing some more too.

"Teaches you something for skipping breakfast," she giggles gracefully. I frown at her, giving her a questioning look.“ Oh please, you are my best friend. I can tell when you miss breakfast. You are quite a hungry bear if you ask me.” She teases with a smirk plastered on her face.

”I ain't a hungry bear." I defend myself. This only earns me a laugh from her.

"I won't argue since that's what you tell yourself when going to sleep," she deadpans. Her comeback completely shut me up. Instead, I ignore it and continue to eat. It's funny how we are having cereal for lunch. I am not surprised though, Stacy is a lazy cook since she lives alone most of the time as her dad is rarely home.

“Please hurry up; we need to get ready. Blackmist will be coming soon. I am so excited. I have a feeling I will meet my mate today!" She squeals, jumping around like a young girl, her sharp voice making me wince once more. Damn, this girl can scream.

She grabs my hand and quickly leads me to her room, and from the outfits, I can see on her bed, I know she has been planning this for a while.

She has the most expensive-looking dresses spread on her bed. It is no surprise as her dad happens to be rich. After losing his mate, Stacy's mum, during childbirth, he was kind of lost and decided to venture into some business forum that brought him a lot of money and still required a lot of his time. It was his way of coping with the loss of a mate. Even if it meant he would spend less of his time with Stacy, he still spoiled her with everything she needed. Stacy is a few months younger than me, and we are still tied to the hip.

“I told Daddy to buy me the best of the best. I want my mate to be happy when he sees me today. I just have this strong feeling. Yeah, so dad bought the best as you can see, just choose whatever you want. If you want to shower first, you know where my bathroom is. " She says, as she begins to collect her makeup stuff. I head to her bathroom, getting into the comforting shower, and just like her room, her bathroom is pink too. I grab the shower gels available. I go with the coconuts option, which is what I usually use whenever I come here. I take a quick shower and use the restroom. When I go back to her room I find that she is almost done with her makeup and is now styling her long black hair. I grab the blower and begin to dry my own naturally straight black hair. I had recently cut it till it was reaching my shower, but it seems it has outgrown that length and become thicker than before such that it is now reaching my back. My hair is fully dry and Stacy is done with styling hers. She decided to curl it and let it fall. She looks gorgeous. I am sure her mate will be happy when he sees her.

“Come here." She ushers me towards her, and I do just that. she lets me sit on the previous chair she sat on. "Do you need me to apply some makeup on your face?" she casually asks.

"Yeah, not too much, though I want a natural look," I instruct her, it's not like I am as excited as she is and I am not even trying to pretend to be.

“Okay babes, let me work my magic," she says, and I trust her very much in this. She is the best makeup artist I know.

I relax as she works on my face and, later, my hair. She doesn't take a lot of time before she is done. I look into the mirror and my hazel eyes reflect me. I look just like myself, but a bit more enhanced than before. I like this look very much.

I instantly stand up and am slightly taller than she is. While I am slender and taller, she is slightly shorter and curvy in the right places.

I grab a random blue dress off of her on her bed and put it on. It complements me very well and reaches just a little above my knees. It holds my upper body and loses the lower part. This is something I could use. My love for Converse has me going back into them and Stacy knows better than to stop me. She just shakes her head at me before she gets dressed too. She wears a body-hugging red dress that is a little above her knees too. It complements her body so well that I am a little jealous. She pairs up with some barley pumps and we are good to go. But by the time we reach the garden, it is occupied by different pack members. The setting looks great now that it's almost dark and from the strange scents I can detect, I can tell the other pack has joined us too.

This is the first time in years that these two parks have met in a gathering like this. The reason is that our packs never got along before, despite being neighbours. And their Alpha was to blame for it. I may be a beta but I have never met him simply because of that.

I follow the aroma and it leads me to the food served for all to take. I am instantly salivating. My hunger had not been satisfied by the cereal I previously had. I look at all the food served and I swallow hard. I instantly grab a plate and begin to serve myself, quickly dishing food like a hungry beggar who has been given a chance to pick whatever he wants. When I put food on the plate, I feel as though someone is watching me, and when I look around, I don't notice anyone. I shrug it off and take the plate to the nearest seat next to me. I'm sitting alone, stuffing my face with different kinds of food, because my best friend ditched me the moment we walked in, claiming that she wouldn't be able to find her mate if she didn't mingle whereas I don't care.

I am halfway through the plate when I hear someone call my name.

"Lucy!!" Alpha Xavier calls. Can't he see I am eating? A girl doesn't like to be disturbed when she is eating. I have some meat in my mouth when I look up at him. He signals me to go over, and I nod. He would make me leave my food. I put the plate aside as I became angry with him.

"This Alpha Raymond Walker from Blackmist, I don't think you two have met." Alpha Xavier, introduces me, I shake my head, and I observe the man standing in front of me. He looks to be in his late twenties, but he still looks handsome as hell. He sports a light blond stubble that complements his blond hair and has piercing honey brown eyes.

I reach my hand out and shake his firmly. "My name is Lucy Reed, the beta of the pack." I introduce myself.

”Yes, of course, Alpha Xavier mentioned it," he says sadly, after realizing I am not his mate.

”That's...." I am startled by a scream from behind me, and that scream makes me wince, letting me know exactly who let out that scream. Stacy

She runs up and passes me, stopping right beside me, and when I gaze at her, her attention is somewhere else. It's on Alpha Walker and from the look he reciprocates, I can tell these two are mates. It doesn't take time before he grabs her and she is engulfed in his body and they are already kissing.

I move away, deciding this is the perfect time to leave this scene. I head back to my abandoned plate, but it is not where I left it. Someone is holding that plate and looking directly at me. From the sweet intoxicating scent, I smell from him, I know one thing is that this man is my mate.

As I approach my plate, he stands up and I scrutinise him. He looks a bit skinny, not exactly what I hoped for. He has a handsome face, yes, but he just isn't my type. As I get close, I notice another thing I missed from the distance. His scent is so faint and it's a scent that cannot be mistaken by anyone. It's the scent of an omega.