The Alpha's Claimed Mate

Claire was an omega and had suffered even more than I had before I met her. After meeting her, anyone who wanted to harm her had to go through me, which usually meant me getting beaten up while she ran away to bring the authorities.

But eh, such was life. We did work as a team, however. Her adorable face worked more often than not in convincing the officers to take action, rather than mine.

The Pack Hall was just a few minutes away from the apartment where I lived. It was situated right beside the Pack House, or as I liked to call it, the 'Rank House,' as only the high-ranking lupines such as the Alphas, Betas, Gammas, and a few influential deltas lived there.

We didn't have any lycans in our pack. The Alpha had a bit of lycan blood, but it was so diluted that you couldn't sense it if you tried.

Deltas always occupied the apartments near the Pack House, like my apartment. Of course, Omegas had the option to occupy them, but they typically chose not to, probably because they were afraid of getting robbed and because the presence of the lupines of higher ranks made them want to drop to their knees.

I didn't really face that problem. And the rents were super low in those places, and my financial difficulties were more problematic than that stuff. Plus, it's not like I had anything worth robbing.

"What if he chooses you, Ash? If he chooses you, you'll get..." She trailed off with a whimper, breaking into my train of thought again.

"I'll probably get killed," I said, finishing the sentence. She started to cry again.

"But you don't have to worry about that because even if he tries to kill me, do you think I'll be sitting there with my neck held out for him to tear it apart? I don't care if I break laws, I'll go into hiding the next second he chooses me. Trust me when I say they'll never be able to track me down," I said, snickering.

She looked at me with disbelieving eyes. I reached into my pocket to take out my little escape plan, and her eyes widened.

"You little-"

"Shit? Yeah, that would be accurate," I said with a smirk as I looked at the vial full of the smell-depriving concoction, which was enough to numb a whole army, and three stink bombs made by yours truly. Lycans and lupines relied on their sense of smell as much as their heart.

Once deprived of that sense, it would confuse them long enough to give me time to escape, no matter how high-ranked the wolves were. After all, the one I'd made was fifty times more concentrated and effective than the recipe given on the illegal website, tried and tested.

Claire's face grew sad again.

"I wouldn't be able to find you either," she stated, her voice barely above a whisper. My heart ached at the thought of not being able to see her again.

"Hey, it would only be for a few months at most. It would blow over soon. I'm just an omega, right? No one would pay that much attention to me, even if I did that. And anyway, I don't think that asshole would take it that far and lose his chance to pick a mate for a year simply to ruin my life," I lied smoothly.

Of course, it was a total lie. I'd probably have to be on the run for the rest of my life, and he was going to take it that far. The note saying "You will be mine tomorrow" that I got yesterday proved it. But it seemed to reassure Claire, so the lie was worth it.

"I can't even hug you 'cause I'm afraid of getting that smelly stuff on me," Claire complained. I just smiled as we walked to the gate together.

The guards near the gate scrunched their noses in distaste as we neared them. Claire and I looked at each other and smirked.

"I just remembered that I have some...work. At the... Just take care of these two, alright? They're one of the last ones anyway," Guard One said and walked away. Guard Two simply looked at him with an open mouth.

I had to hold back a laugh as I took in his panicked expression. His hands flew to his nose as I stopped right in front of him.

"M-Miss, I can't let you in like..." He trailed off, looking at my perfectly pretty face.

"This," he finished. I raised an eyebrow innocently.

"I don't know what you mean," I said sweetly. Claire snickered beside me. His face flushed in embarrassment. It was obvious that he couldn't detect that I was an omega because of the concoction. Otherwise, someone would have punched me and thrown me in a ditch for behaving this way.

Perks of being stinky.

"Miss, I advise you to get rid of this smell before you enter. You can't participate in the Choosing Ceremony like this!" He exclaimed. I gave him the sweetest smile I could muster and looked at my wrist.

Then I remembered I didn't own a watch. So I grabbed Claire's wrist.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. I ignored her.

"But there are only four more minutes for the ceremony to start. Wouldn't I miss it if I go back?" I asked innocently. His expression changed.

"I know the likes of you! You're doing this so you won't have to participate, aren't you? Well, guess what, you're going to go in this even if you smell like shit!" He yelled.

"You'll participate in this ceremony no matter what. Alpha's orders. You are that Diamante girl, right?" The guard let out a disgusting laugh.

I froze.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Even if you're crazy, you look good enough for even the Alpha's son to go after. No wonder the higher-ups ordered me to let you come in, even if you're dressed in rags."

Before I could react to that sentence, Claire's hand raised to punch him.