Chapter 1: omega

Olivia’s POV

“Wake up, Olivia,” Mom’s voice echoed in my sleep.

I groaned, pulling the blanket over my head. “Five more minutes, Mom.”

“We don’t have any more minutes,” she snapped, shaking my leg with a force that made it impossible to ignore. “Get up now, or we’ll be late.”

“Mom,” I groaned in frustration, slowly forcing my eyes open.

“Don’t tell me you still want to sleep,” she said, standing at the foot of my bed, her hands placed firmly on her hips as she tapped her foot impatiently on the tiled floor. “Other servants are already up doing their duties, but you are still sleeping? Do you want us relieved of our duties?” Mother snapped angrily at me.

I sighed heavily, tossing the blanket aside as I dragged myself out of bed. “I’m up, I’m up,” I muttered, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

“Anita is staying in the pack house for the weekend, and she has asked that you be the one to attend to her until she leaves,” Mother announced, and my frown deepened. “Why me? Out of all the servants, why do I have to be her personal maid?”

“Don’t start,” Mom said firmly, shoving me toward the bathroom. “Get moving. There’s no time for complaining.”

I stomped to the bathroom, muttering under my breath as I turned on the tap.

The thought of spending the day attending to Anita made my stomach churn.

Anita and I were born on the same day, which was why we were close in the first place. Once, she had been my best friend. We’d grown up together, running through the forest, sharing secrets, and dreaming of our future.

That was before everything fell apart.

My father was one of the pack’s strongest warriors, and my mother worked in the pack hospital. Our family may not have been the wealthiest, but we had respect.

But everything changed the night of the setup.

I stared into the mirror as the memories replayed in my head. My father had been framed for stealing from the Alpha, a crime punishable by death. Despite his pleas of innocence, no one believed him. The evidence gotten was all pointed at him, planted carefully by someone who wanted to see him fall. We were stripped of everything. My father was imprisoned for life, my mother was demoted to an omega, and I was forced to share her fate.

Anita was there that night. She hadn’t comforted me, hadn’t spoken up for the family she once called her own. Instead, she stayed silent, her gaze avoiding mine as we were being mocked.

Now, years later, our former Beta had died from an incurable illness, and her father was appointed the new Beta. Anita was now the Beta’s daughter. And I? I was nothing more than a servant. An omega.

What made it worse was how effortlessly she fit into her new role. The triplets, our Alpha’s sons, Louis, Levi, and Lennox, loved her. Their attention, their admiration, it all belonged to her now. They literally worshiped the ground she walked on, and everyone believed she would turn out to be their mate once she turned eighteen, which was only a few days away. The brothers were actually competing among themselves for her attention and love, and it was so annoying to watch. Or perhaps I was just jealous of her life.

I finished washing up, dressed quickly into the maid’s uniform, and stepped into the kitchen, where my mother was preparing breakfast.

“Olivia,” my mother called, “I know this isn’t easy, but… we’ve already lost so much. Don’t give them a reason to take more.”

I nodded, biting back the urge to argue. She didn’t understand. How could she? I was once the daughter of a respected Gamma, but now? I was a mere Omega.

“Here,” my mother said, handing me a tray with a steaming cup of coffee. “She asked for this.”

I frowned but took the tray and headed toward the guest room where she was staying.

“I’ll find my mate, and all this will be over,” I whispered, trying to comfort myself.

But I let out a dry laugh. Yeah, right. The only mate I would get was another omega, another nobody just like me. This life? It wasn’t ending.

Reaching Anita’s room, I sighed heavily and knocked on her door, bracing myself for another day of being reminded of how far I’d fallen, and how far she’d risen.

I sucked a deep breath before knocking again.