Anastasia

I feel little as I walk into the Alpha's house for Gisele's big party.

My heart is still racing, and nausea makes it a little difficult to place one foot in front of the other. But the pain I should have felt is absent. There's just a hollow sensation in my chest where jealousy resides. Where my pain should be hiding

The entire pack is at Jacob's house to celebrate Gisele's birthday. I'm happy that everyone loves her the way she deserves.

I know I'm supposed to be happy for her, and for Jacob as well.

I swore I'd be happy when they found their respective fated mates. Little did I know they would be fated together. I swore I wouldn't let my stupid childish feelings impede their fated love. But seeing them having sex in the middle of the forest. So, wrapped up in each other that they didn't even notice me?

It bugs me. It bugs me and I hate the fact that it bugs me so much.

Jacob and Gisele are the closest thing I have to best friends. And my persistent, unrequited feelings routinely get in the way. Our friendship should be easy.

Besides, it's not like Jacob would bang down my door and beg for my hand. I'm an Omega, destined to be among the lowest ranking wolves in the pack. Nothing can change the Omegas value in the pack, not even if the Moon Goddess blessed us with good looks.

Aside from being an invisible Omega, I'm seen as the harbinger of death and despair.

I shake my head; I have to get out of my own thoughts before Jacob and Gisele show up and notice me acting strangely.

The second I clock back into reality; I'm accosted by the din. Wolves are yelling and laughing, telling jokes and just being obnoxious, while speakers blast some rendition of an old pop song through the house.

There are too many scents. Too many intermingling scents from the wolf pheromones, food, and who knew what else. I have no clue how any of them can withstand all the strong mixing scents for more than a minute.

Then again, my nose was always more sensitive than anyone else's. Even Jacob, who was next in line to be Alpha, couldn't pick up as many scents as I could.

Maybe it was a curse. I think to myself, slipping into the crowd and trying to stay out of sight. But as Medeia's pungent scent hits my nose., my sensitivity to smells can sometimes be a blessing. To stay hidden, I duck my head, relying on my nose to take me where I needed to be. I smell a group of Omegas standing near the back, next to the large sliding door that leads out into a sprawling backyard.

I see Lira wave, so I quickly make my way

Over.

"Hey guys," I mumble, not bothering to force any color into my voice. I have talked to Lira a few times before, but I'm not really sure who the other Omega is. I have seen him around town, butI have never really spoken to him. He always seemed shy and a little afraid of me. Perhaps he knew I was bad luck to be around and he wanted to avoid trouble.

As omegas, we learned early on that sticking together was the best way to stay alive. "She's in the kitchen. I saw Medeia ad

Derek making out over the nachos," Lira replies, a secret, knowing smile on her face.

She's a few years older than me, tall and beautiful, and was always willing to help if

Ineeded it. "Pity," I sigh, my arms folded across my chest. "I really wanted to try Jacob's new dip recipe."

They laugh and I feel slightly more at ease.

I can let my guard down slightly, knowing

Medeia is distracted, at least for the time being.

IIs she still really on her bullying streak?" the shorter Omega asks, with an unusual, soft tone of voice.

I barely heard what he said, and the noise created by the party goers does not help.

I take a moment to focus on what he is saying. I think my lack of response made him a little nervous.

He tries to fill the silence and appear more confident. That shit usually goes out of style in middle school. You're all almost adults."

I shrug. "She's always kinda hated me, I guess. And being an Omega, I'm an easy target. I suppose it's sort of occupational hazard." "Hear, hear," Lira says sarcastically, raising her glass of champagne before downing the entire thing in a single gulp. "She's a lot younger than me and yet I still have to listen to her bitch about how I should learn my place in the pack as an Omega. You know she stole my mom's favorite necklace and we couldn't do a damn thing about it?

I want to say that surprises me, but it doesn't," I sigh again. "Did you at least get the necklace back?"

Lira shakes her head. "But that's nothing compared to what she does to you, Ana," she winces. "Easy access when you're both at school." "Her hatred for me started before we were both at school," I laugh ruefully. It burns to recall, but sometimes talking about it helps me process. "It started whenI was four years old. She burned my hair." "She what?" the shorter Omega gasps.

Inod, and it's kind of funny how anyone would still be this shocked about the awful actions Medeia orchestrated.

"Yeah," I affirm. "She must have stolena lighter from someone or somnewhere. She grabbed my ponytail one afternoon as I was walking past her and just set it on fire. I guess she confused my hair for fire."

My mom had been right there, though. It is one of the very last memories I have of her before she died.

She'd arrived almost out of nowhere, whisking me back to our small house and sitting me down in the tub. She sang to me while she washed my hair, trying to get rid of the charred chunks before cutting my hair.

Iremember how much I cried when I saw the long red ponytail fall to the bathroom loor. But before I could even lift a hand to my new short hairstyle, my mom had gathered her own into a fist and chopped it off too.

T think your hair is beautiful," he says, shaking me from my thoughts. I blink at him for a moment before realizing he's spoken to me and not to Lira. "0-oh," I stammer in surprise. "Thank you.

I rarely hear that.'

Red hair was an unusual genetic trait in the pack. A feature that turned me into even more of an outcast, as if it were possible.

Td always loved my hair, especially because my mom had the sarme shade of red.

But when she died, she took away any adoration I might have once had and left me with nothing but silly insecurities that ruined my self-esteem. "Your hair is unique," Lira agrees, a genuine smile stretching her red-stained lips. "It isn't something this boring pack gets to see every day:" "And that is exactly why it's like wearing a bright red flashing target on my back," I interrupt. "Except the target is ʻnot on my back, it's on my damn head."

That gets a laugh out of them again, though it's tinged with a hint of pity. While Omegas usually receive some type of abuse, Medeia is specifically interested in inflicting every kind of torture on me.

Even ifI knew what I have done to make her despise me, it wouldn't change a thing. "She hates the idea that a low-life, low-ranking Omega could be prettier than her," Lira offers. At first, I think she's kidding. But she turns to the other Omega and elbows him in the ribs. Don't you think so?

He fumbles for an answer, his cheeks flushing. Not being fond of any kind of limelight, I cut him off before he says anything. "Come on, Lira," I chuckle a little breathlessly. I can feel the heat rise on my cheeks despite my best efforts. "Stop kidding around."

Lira had the wherewithal to look downright offended. "Me?" she scoffs, a graceful hand on her collarbones. "Kidding around? Ana, darling. you are easily one of the most attractive wolves here. And that's a list that

Medeia can't even touch, let alone top.'

The other Omega nods his agreement, too shy to say anything aloud. "Thanks," I murmur, completely embarrassed. I look down at my feet. I remember my mom used to tell me how pretty I was when I was a child. It was something I hadn't heard since she died, and I'm not sure howI feel about hearing it now "Oh, shit," the short Omega says suddenly, his eyes fixed on a point just past my shoulder.

I don't even need to turn around to know

Medeia has finally emerged from the kitchen, and is presumably looking for something, or someone, to play with. She's on the hunt.

I keep my head low. A part of me knows it won't do much. Medeia will find me if she is really looking for me.

Lira just shakes her head. "You can relax.

She's hanging around the Alpha like some loyal little lapdog." Lira spits out, her lip curled in a snarl. "It baffles me that no one else sees how awful she is." "She is a brilliant actress and has an outstanding talent for pretense. She has the entire pack believing she is the lovely wolf everyone thinks she is," I supply. "The second someone important is around, she's suddenly the perfect wolf with perfect manners. The second they're gone; she drops the act and turns back into a hellhound."

It's so scary how she has' the capability of being nice at all," I muse. "Even if it is only around the higher-ranking wolves."

I feel like she manipulates them too, and they are completely unaware," Lira says, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "She spread a really shitty rumor about me last year. Every single wolf ranked above Omegas thought I was carrying some plague that would kill them ifI got anywhere near them." "That was her?" I snap, my eyes going wide in shock.

I obviously believed no rumors that made its way around the pack. Mostly because it usually involved me. And, to be honest, I think I would be the first to know if I was secretly a common mutt disguised as a wolf.

I thought it was just some stupid prank by a bunch of kids," I say, surprised by a rumor that was not about me.

Lira shakes her head and is about to say something when cheers erupt, and I turn in time to see Jacob and Gisele walk through the door. They're both fushed, and Im thrust back to the sight of them naked on the grass. I want to shrivel up and die.

Everyone is so loud, shouting their greetings and well-wishes over one another. I say my goodbyes to my fellow

Omegas.

I want to wish Gisele a happy birthday; I haven't seen her all day thanks to training, party planning and avoiding Medeia. I walk towards them and keep my head down in case Medeia spots me.

And somehow, she does.

One second, Ive got my eyes on the floor, navigating through the throng of wolves clamoring around Jacob and Gisele, and in the next, I'm face down on the now-broken table that held most of the food.

There's laughing and a loud ringing in my ears. I think the glass has torn through the skin on my hands and arms, but it's the laughter that hurts the most. I don't even need to look behind me to know Medeia had discreetly stuck her gaudy, expensive heel out in front of me, sending me crashing into one of the buffet tables.

If there ever was a time, I wish the earth would open up and swallow me whole, it's right now.

The laughter quietens before going completely silent, and I hate the way my heart soars when a voice calls out to me. "Ana? Are you okay?

It's Jacob. Of course, it's Jacob.