8 Years earlier

Raine's P.O.V

Time flew by pretty fast. I had a routine, just like everybody does, or maybe I was among the few who had. I wouldn't say I was a perfectionist but I had a certain way of doing things. Leo often said I worried too much about things that did not matter, but they did. The routine gave me a form of sanity. Woke up before the sun rose, stayed in bed till 6:30, made breakfast for the family, then made sure to leave before the others awoke. I was always the first to get to school, even before Mr. Lee, our janitor.

I'd spend hours talking to Mr. Lee before the others got to school. He was a part of my day that I looked forward to other than spending time with Leo. Mr. Lee told me things about the human world; he had a human mate. Being human seemed like a breath of fresh air; everybody had rights despite gender, they chose mates and best of all they had a lifespan. I would give anything to be mortal, and live a simple and short life with a mate of my choosing. Leo thought so too but he rather preferred not existing. We were both lucky and unlucky having the second best option; omegas had a lifespan of 90 years if you get lucky and do not die of diseases.

It was a typical high school, the kids from higher ranks made the popular squad and omegas made the lowest social class; Leo and I. The hallways were the worst part of the school. I got shoved onto lockers, drinks poured over me, and sometimes got hit by the girls, especially the beta's daughter. Leo was always quite rebellious. He came to school late and got detentions and the occasional suspensions. He had it far worse at school, I think it was a way of coping. Male omegas got worse treatment than females. That fact never made any sense to me, they were considered gay and weak.

Leo had grown, he was no longer the timid boy I met in the forest. Unlike me, he stood up to his bullies which according to me was a bad choice. The alpha's son and his crew took beating him too far from having a potty mouth. It was always the same routine almost every day, I'd cry hysterically as Leo got hit by countless boys. There was nothing I could do, I was weaker than the rest and the teachers never stopped it. It would always end up the same way; me helping a bloody Leo home. We'd spend hours together nursing his wounds and talking about nothing and everything after failing on convincing him not to insult the bullies.

He always reminded me he's stronger than they thought, nobody would break him. That's what I admired most about Leo, never showing fear to the enemies but his battle wasn't with them, his failing battle was with himself. He never talked about his emotions but I could tell. Life was weighing down on him. He was living in a body that fights to survive, with a mind that wants to die.

I'd often spend my nights thinking of Leo, thinking of everything I could do but can't. Crying for hours for him hurting, for not being strong enough for the both of us, for being born an omega, and for being a mistake. He had a place in my heart that no one else could ever have.

He was my pillar as I was his.

....

Leo's p.o.v

It has always been the same since I can remember. It has always been dad and me. Often I wondered how it would be to have a mother figure. Would it be better? Would dad be different? Would I still be a mistake? I couldn't possibly tell. Raine would always say she would be the best mom a kid could ask for, but I highly doubt that. She had a mom who wasn't that nice.

Dad used to say "Leonardo, be a man. Stop being such a wimp. Men don't cry but that's what you do all fucking day. I didn't lose my mate only to end up with a disappointment for a child. Maybe you should have died that fucking day at the hospital instead of her. I had to be cursed with an omega for a child and on top of that a fag boy."

He would always say that as early as I learned to talk and I would stand in front of him trembling and fighting off tears unsuccessfully which always resulted in a beating. Depending on his mood, it could be a few slaps or a punch, or as far as being whipped which often led to passing out. There was this time at kindergarten a boy talked to me. It was the first human interaction I ever had other than with my dad. I was pretty excited back then and couldn't wait to tell my dad, maybe he would be proud I was brave enough as he always wished.

Having a broken arm and being bed-ridden for a whole week wasn't exactly the reaction I was anticipating. Back then, I could not understand what it was that I had done wrong. What exactly did faggot mean? I couldn't tell but I knew it was not a nice thing. I didn't want to be a faggot, I wanted to remain Leo. The only answer I got from all that was, that talking to boys was a bad thing. It was never the same after that day. Everything changed for the worst. The beatings and punishments were harsher.

I would lay in bed many nights imagining I had died that day when my mom was giving birth to me or sleeping one day and not waking up in the morning. Maybe dad would be happy with me gone. Gods didn't make mistakes but the moon goddess had made one. I wasn't meant to exist. I didn't want to die but I wasn't keen on living either.

Then the best thing happened. If I were asked I would run away from home again despite the consequences if it meant meeting Raine. I remember that day clearly. Dad had just hit me for staying too long in the bath. I don't know what snapped inside me that day and made me do the unthinkable. I ran away. The weight of what I had done hit me in the middle of the woods. I was lost and cold. I knew dad would be very angry at me for attempting to run away from home. I was trembling out of fear and crying buckets and that's how Raine found me. Seated on a log in the middle of the woods, eyes puffy from crying and snot running down my nose.

Thinking of that day always makes me laugh. Two kids clinging to each other in the middle of the woods in the dark. Both are broken by the world and dealing with abusive parents. It wasn't the best thing to have similar to someone else, but that's what we had. Rejects of society bonding from trauma. Raine got what I was going through and I did her. Maybe that's what made us inseparable, two beans in a pod.

That day I gained more than a best friend. I got a sister. She gave me a reason to get out of bed every day. A reason to continue moving even when the world threw its worst at me. She was my shining star in the dark night. But even one lone star isn't enough to lighten a night.

Would she be sad with me gone? Probably. She gave me strength and I made her stronger too.

But one of the toughest things is being someone's strength while you are at you're weakest.