I sat up quickly, a light sheen of sweat coating my body. I inhaled deeply once, then twice, and for a third time as I tried to calm myself down.

Dazed, I looked around to find that I was back in the room. My stomach gnawed at me and my limbs felt heavy at my sides. But after a couple moments, instead of the weight that had burdened my heart for the past week, I only felt a ferocious hunger building within me.

"Ang? You awake? We brought you a birthday breakfast." Maya's voice sounded small as it drifted into the room seconds before she appeared. The smell of eggs and sausage wafted towards my nose. And for the first time in days, I didn't feel nauseous - my mouth began to water.

"Yeah, they're a present from the chefs so I really think you should eat--" Sarena didn't finish that sentence before I bolted out of the bed and made a mad dash towards the food. Snatching the plate, I began to wolf down the food, my tastebuds rejoicing.

"Woah, slow down Angel! You don't want to eat too fast or you'll get sick," Maya warned though she made no move to stop me. Her grin stretched from ear to ear, and I could tell she was happy that I was eating.

Sarena also seemed giddy with glee at the sight of me eating, and she hugged me tightly after I had licked the plate clean.

"You're back!" she cheered, giving me another tight squeeze. When she released me, I couldn't help but notice the water brimming in her bright green eyes. "I.. I thought we were gonna lose you," she admitted, but I gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on going anywhere," I told her, my voice weak. After that moment of spontaneous energy had passed, I felt drained once more. I began to sway on my feet, and a supportive arm was thrown over my shoulder, my hand being grasped in another's.

"Ang, you should go rest some more. I'm glad you feel well enough to eat, but it might be a while until your strength returns. So have a short nap and Sarena and I will see what other food we can rustle up, okay?" Maya spoke soothingly to me as they led me back to the bed. I nodded, laying back down as my eyes began to grow heavy once more.

But just before I drifted off again, I felt my friends give my shoulder a squeeze and heard their parting words:

"Happy Birthday, Angel."

That's right. I turn eighteen today.

* * * * *

A few hours later, I awoke with a start. "Ugh," I groaned, sitting up with a yawn.

"Hey, she's awake!" someone exclaimed, and Maya and Sarena materialized next to my bed.

"How are you feeling?" Maya asked, holding a hand up to my forehead.

"A lot better, thanks," I responded with a grateful smile. "What time is it?"

"A little after noon - we just finished our lunch chores," Sarena informed me, plopping down on my bed. Almost immediately, she stood back up, nose scrunched. "You really stink. Go take a shower," she said, pulling me up by my arm and pushing me towards the bathroom.

Maya gaped at her. "Sarena!" she said in a scolding tone. "That was rude! She's already been through enough," Maya said, looking angrily at the redhead.

Serena looked surprised for a second, before narrowing her eyes slightly. Maya looked at her for a moment, before her lips pressed firmly together.

Then Sarena turned back to me. "Shoo, shoo. Maya and I will change your sheets for you. God knows when the last time you actually got up was," Sarena said, with a wrinkle of her nose. She gestured to the bathroom and I begrudgingly stood up, giving them a weird look. Gathering my toiletries, I shrugged, figuring that I probably did smell - laying in bed for days can have that effect.

Shooting them one last glance before entering the bathroom, I watched as they stripped the sheets off of my bed, tossing them into our laundry pile on the floor.

Then I walked into the bathroom, stepped out of my dirty clothes and turned the handle on the shower. Letting the cool water soak my skin, I involuntary gave a shudder - it had been awhile since the last time I had felt the cold shock of our shower.

As I began to lather myself with soap, I thought about what Aerytha had said to me, and what my next move would be.

Maybe I can try and reason with them? If they have a leader other than Diosys, maybe I can talk to them and ask why they want to destroy the werewolf race. Maybe I can even convince them not to do it..

But that sounded too optimistic, even in my head. They were probably dead set on gaining power, and the best way to do that would be to eliminate the competition - us, and the humans.

If this can't be resolved peacefully... I bit my lip, thinking hard. Then I guess we'll have to resort to violence.

I shook my head, unhappy with what we had to do. There was no way they would be talked out of their plan, because after all, that's what they were created for, right? To destroy werewolves? So what words could I possibly say to them to change their minds?

Turning off the water, I stepped out of the stall, wrapping a towel around my dripping body.

I think I'll try to talk to Alpha Zane and see what information he has on them. Maybe he'll help me come up with a plan.

Changing quickly into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, I walked back into the bedroom of our hovel, rubbing at my hair with a towel.

"Surprise! Happy birthday!"

I jumped at the scream, and involuntary squeak leaving my mouth. Looking into the bedroom, I saw a chocolate-frosted cake sitting on my bed, and a few of my omega friends clustering around the room.

"What...how....you?" I stuttered, unable to form a coherent sentence. My two best friends grinned at me.

"I'm glad you're finally feeling better, or this would've gone to waste," Sarena said as she pointed to the cake.

I felt tears prick my eyes; tears of joy. "Thank you," I said as I tried to keep my voice steady. "How did you manage to get the ingredients for the cake? You could've gotten into so much trouble."

Maya shrugged. "It wasn't too hard. A little bribery here, a couple black market trades there; a little goes a long way," she joked, winking at me.

My lips broke into a smile. "I love you guys," I said, looking at the omegas who had gathered to celebrate my birthday. "All of you."

"Of course, sweetie. It's not everyday that one of our family members turns eighteen," Shelly replied nonchalantly. I directed my smile towards her, to which she returned.

"Alright," Sarena called, clapping her hands together. "Who's ready for some cake?"

Mumbles of 'yes please' and 'ooh, me!' echoed throughout the room, and Sarena pulled out a large silver knife. I raised a brow, wondering how she managed to get her hands on that; omegas weren't supposed to have weapons of any kind. Then I shrugged.

To hell with the consequences - for the first time in a long time I feel genuinely happy. I want this feeling to last as long as possible. Who knows how long we have anyway.

After forgetting about all the potential trouble we could get into, I found myself relaxing as the gathering went on. Everyone was laughing and talking as if we really were just one big family, as opposed to a collection of outcasts and misfits. And despite the fact that we had no plates or forks, it made it all the more fun to see people trying to stuff their cake into their mouths with just their hands.

But soon enough, we knew life had to resume and that those in the pack house needed to be fed. So the chefs left first, followed by the teens and younglings. And then it was just Sarena, Maya, and I once more.

"Thanks guys," I said to them for what seemed like the millionth time. "This meant a lot to me."

And for the millionth time they shrugged it off with a simple: "Of course. We'd do anything for our sister."

"Just don't forget about my twenty-first birthday. Now that will be a party," Sarena said with a smile. I laughed.

"I won't forget," I told her honestly. Then I frowned. That's in two years... would we even be alive then?

This grim thought fueled my decision to go talk to the Alpha right away. I didn't want to wait - this was too important to put off til later. Standing up, I brushed the crumbs off my pants before walking to the door. Sarena's voice stopped me.

"Wait, Angie, where are you going?" she questioned.

"If you're worried about chores and stuff, don't sweat it. It's your birthday and you're still recovering - just relax for another day or two. Sarena and I will take care of it," Maya added.

I shook my head. "It's not that. I just have something important to do," I told her. "Plus I'm fine - I'm a werewolf, remember?" I said, referring to our healing abilities.

Maya looked unsure, but eventually she let out a sigh. "Fine, but don't do anything too draining," she warned, still fussing over me like a mother hen.

I gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course," I replied, not surprised at her reaction. I mean, I had just gotten rejected by my mate, hadn't I? That was enough to turn some people rogue, but after last night... I no longer felt the crippling depression that had clutched at my heart since Declan's ceremony. In fact, I wasn't lying when I said I felt fine.

Slipping on my sneakers, I stepped out into the cold evening air. The sky was already dark despite it being a little past five. Admittedly, I loved the feeling of cold against my skin - werewolves weren't as sensitive to extreme temperatures, so the air felt perfect to me. Raising my eyes to the sky, I wondered briefly if Aerytha was watching me from above.

Though I only saw a few clouds drifting lazily across the blackened sky, I could feel her calming presence with me as I walked towards the Alpha's house.

Sighing in content, I couldn't help but question how long this feeling of serenity would last. Aerytha never mentioned how long it would take for the Lupids to wipe us out.

Soon enough, I found myself outside of the Alpha's house, standing awkwardly in front of the large white door. The light-blue house was fairly average sized, maybe slightly bigger than a normal pack member's. Yet I still felt an intimidating aura emanating from it, one that made me want to run away with my tail tucked between my legs.

Taking a few calming breaths, I raised my hand to knock. But once more, I paused, my hand frozen in mid-air.

I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Maybe they're having dinner? Or even a meeting... Oh God I don't want to disrupt something important.

After another minute of internal debate, I decided it was time to just knock and get it over with. I had extremely important matters to discuss with him, and I'm sure that after he hears me out, he won't punish me for intruding. In fact, he might actually be grateful.

With that, I hesitantly rapped my knuckles against the wood three times.

All was silent for a moment, before the door swung open, revealing a very tired Declan on the other side. And by tired, I mean exhausted. Dark circles encased his red eyes, the stubble on his chin growing more prominent. His cheeks almost appeared hollow, and to sum it up, he looked awful.

Yet the wolf within me still leapt at the sight of him, letting out a quiet whine from within me.

As soon as he saw me, his eyes widened, a look of surprise crossing his features before they quickly turned into a scowl.

"What are you doing here?" he spat. But before I had the chance to answer, he spoke again in the same harsh tone. "If you're here to beg me to accept you as my mate, you might as well just turn around and leave now. Spare yourself a second round of humiliation," he said cruelly.

At his words, I felt an uncontainable amount of anger bubble up within me. His rudeness was absolutely intolerable, especially to me.

He's so full of himself! Did he really think I would come here to beg for him? How conceded did you have to be?

Now that I knew my true destiny, Declan seemed to be no more than a fly in the grand scheme of my life.

"No," I said firmly. "I have to talk with Alpha Zane about important matters, so I would really appreciate it if you could get him for me."

Declan looked taken aback at my answer, and I saw his piercing green eyes scrutinize me for a moment.

"Wait, you don't look... terrible. You seem fine. Isn't today your birthday? Shouldn't you be feeling the full effects of the rejection right now? Why am I the only one suffering?!" he ranted, gripping my shoulders and giving me a rough shake.

Now it was my turn to be shocked. He remembered my birthday? Then another thought hit me: He was hoping that I would be suffering too?!

Instead of voicing my thoughts, I pushed his hands off of me. "I have no idea," I told him honestly, biting back the sarcastic words that had formed in my mind. I would have told him off had it not been for the fact the he was still the Alpha's son, and I was still an omega. "But I really do need to talk to the Alpha, so if possible could you...?" I trailed off, hoping he'd get the hint.

Declan, however, looked like he didn't even hear me. He was muttering to himself, running a hand through his hair over and over again.

I stared at him in confusion for a moment, eventually letting out a small: "Declan?"

I didn't even have time to react as he quickly stepped out of his house, slamming the door behind him. Then he spun me around so my back was pressed against the smooth white wood. And Declan was suddenly shouting in my face, close enough for me to see the gold specks dotting his irises.

"How is this possible?!" he roared, making me flinch at the power in his voice. "Why have I been bedridden for the past week, while you're completely fine?! How is it that you don't feel miserable?! Did the rejection mean nothing to you? Do you not feel the pull of the mate bond?!"

I let out a small whimper of fear as Declan pressed even closer, his arm pushing against my neck.

"Well?!" he shouted, eyes burning with anger. "Answer me!" he boomed in his Alpha tone. Just like at the ceremony, the red crescent moon appeared on his collarbone, glowing bright on his skin. His arm pressed harder against my neck and I could feel my windpipe being crushed.

"Declan.. let... go," I rasped out, pulling feebly at his arm. "I.. can't... breathe..."

"It's not fair!" he yelled, and it was like he didn't even hear me. His face was devoid of all emotion except a crazed look that had taken over his features.

Wow, he's this affected by the mate bond? Even after the mate bond is severed, I had never heard of someone trying to KILL their mate.

It took a moment for me to remember that he wasn't just a pack member, but part of the Alpha bloodline. The mate-bond would feel ten times stronger for him.

But at this point I could feel the pressure at my neck rising to a dangerous level, my breaths just gasps for air. I knew I didn't have much longer as black spots danced in the corner of my vision and I began to feel lightheaded. 

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this is still a really rough draft, and is going to need serious editing cx but uh oh... how will she get out of this one?!