Chapter 52: I’m Tired
Lorali Pov
"So you punched him in the face?" I hear a voice as I slowly claw my way back to consciousness, the words muffled at first, like they’re coming from underwater.
"Yeah, he was insane. All—" What I can tell as Susie’s voice cuts off, shifting into a mocking male tone, dripping with sarcasm. "’Let me see what you have under your skirt, little omega. Perhaps you just need this big bad Alpha’s knot to give you pleasure to get your scent out.’"
Ew. Who on earth would say that? My stomach twists at the thought.
"Like what does that even mean" she squeals, returning to her normal voice "I tell you, these Alphas are nothing like what Alma said they were. They’re desperate little creatures who are full of themselves. Maybe they should spend half their lives at the academy learning how to be gentlemen," Susie adds, sounding flabbergasted, like she has seen her fair share of Alpha’s and she was done with them.
Cleo laughs, her voice rising with pride. "Speak for yourself. My Alphas are perfect gentlemen." I can already imagine the smug, prideful look on her face, chin tilted upward, eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
"Oh please. Your Alphas are one in a million. Most omegas end up with a pack like Lorali."
Okay, I’m catching strays now. My name tossed around like a cautionary tale. I need to wake up, to sit up, to prove I’m not just lying here helpless.
My head pounds, each throb echoing through my skull. Everything is dark and suffocating. Where am I exactly? The last thing I remember is the beginning of Vanya’s engagement, the glittering lights, the crowd pressing in. Then... then I met my friends again, and we went to stargaze. Except we didn’t actually stargaze, because... because... wait—Ella kidnapped me!
I snap my eyes open, breath catching in my throat. The first thing I see is Ella at the edge of the bed, my foot resting on her lap. She’s coloring the heart‑shaped tattoo on my ankle, the one I got when Alma told us we were allowed to do any one thing we wanted. I chose a tattoo. Ella chose pink hair. She was supposed to get a tattoo too, so we’d match, but she was too afraid of the pain. Now she’s coloring mine with a pink marker, the sensation cold against my skin, sending a shiver up my leg. It reminds me of the countless times I woke up to this very feeling after I first got the tattoo back at Alma, she had this obsession with filling my tatoo in like it was hers too.
"She’s awake," Vanya’s voice says above me, calm and carrying authority that makes the room fall silent. Only then do I realize I’m lying on a bed, my head resting on Vanya’s lap. She presses something cool against the fabric at my neck, the chill seeping into my skin, soothing the ache.
"Where am I?" I croak groggily, my throat dry, trying to rise from Vanya’s lap. Her hand presses firmly against my shoulder, forcing me back down with gentle strength.
"You just woke up. It’s a bad idea to get up immediately after you’ve been out for ten hours."
"Ten hours!" I exclaim, my voice loud, disbelief crashing over me. I’ve been unconscious for a whole ten hours. It felt like a mere second.
"Where am I?" I ask again, this time with nerves clawing at the surface, my voice trembling. "And what have you done?"
Ella sighs as she finishes coloring my ankle, closing the marker clicking shut with finality. "Relax. You’re still in Dagin County, just far from Prone City. We’re in one of my pack’s cabins in the Dagin countryside. It’s secluded and well hidden. No one is finding you here."
Her words are meant to comfort, but they only fill me with dread. Pain blooms in my chest, sharp and unrelenting. I’m too far from Oracle, and I’ve been gone too long. I know it won’t be long before I have one of my breakdowns. My right hand is already shaking uncontrollably, corrupted by the mark. I don’t even know how long this has been happening so I don’t know how much time I have left.
But I know it’s not long. I can already feel my organs curling in on themselves, twisting with agony. My breath comes shallow, my vision blurs at the edges.
I am going to die if I don’t do something.
"So you can choose whether you want to just disappear, or whether you want to pursue legal action against Pack Spade. If you choose the legal route, we already have the full case plan prepared. We just need you to tell us a few other things in detail," Cleo says, walking toward me with a large folder clutched tightly in her hands.
I shake my head, snapping my gaze to Ella as I finally push away from Vanya’s grip, pulling myself off the bed quickly before anyone else can grab me. My vision blurs instantly, the world around me tilting and shaking the moment I stand. I stumble back, my knees threatening to buckle. Dammit. Vanya was right, it was a bad idea to get up. But I can’t dwell on that. I need to get back to Prone City. Somehow.
"You need to sit down," Ella says, her voice filled with concern as she scoots off the bed, reaching toward me.
"No. What I need is to get back to Prone," I say, forcing myself to regain composure, straightening my spine, and walking toward the double doors at the other end of the room.
"Why? Why do you want to go back to them?" Susie demands, her arms crossed as she steps directly into my path, blocking me.
"Because they are my pack... and I want to be with them," I lie, my voice rising, trembling with desperation.
"I don’t believe that. Pick a better lie if you really want to get out of here," Susie snaps back, her stubbornness cutting through me like a blade, sending me over the edge. Has she always been this unyielding?
Suddenly, without warning, my body is attacked by pain so violent it feels as if a train has run me over. I grunt loudly, collapsing to the floor on my knees, clutching my head as it blares like an alarm inside my skull. The agony is unbearable, worse than the night I tried to leave. My heart pounds at a speed my body cannot handle, each beat slamming against my ribs like a hammer. My skin burns, fire racing through my veins.
I let out a cry, curling my body into itself, trying to shield myself from the pain.
"Lori! What’s happening?" Susie shouts frantically, bending down to my level, her hands hovering, moving without direction, not knowing what to do. Her panic bleeds into her voice, desperate to do something to help.
I can’t answer. I can’t tell her what’s going on. I’m drowning in pain, too consumed to speak, too consumed to breathe. Silence only makes the situation worse. The girls hover around me, frantic, their voices overlapping in chaos.
"There’s blood seeping from her shoulder! What should I do?" Cleo exclaims, pulling her hand that was on my right shoulder right above my bond mark, back quickly, her eyes wide with horror. The blood must have soaked through the dress. That’s a first, and it’s a terrible sign.
"I’ve never seen anything like this. Is she sick or something?" Vanya shouts, her voice breaking as my vision begins to blur. Blood flows from my nose, hot and unstoppable, dripping onto the white carpet, staining it crimson and splattering across Susie’s thighs.
"Someone do something! She’s dying!" Susie screams, her voice cracking, raw with terror.
Almost instantly, I hear the door slam open. Arabella’s voice cuts through the chaos, frantic. "Ophelia!" she shouts, leaving the room in a rush.
It’s laughable. The goddess must be mocking me. The day I finally see my sisters again is the day I die.
I never expected this to be the way I go. My body slumps onto Susie’s lap, her arms trembling as she tries to hold me up. Voices murmur in the background, pleading, begging me to keep my eyes open.
I try. I fight. I’ve always fought. I’ve carried the weight of survival on my back, clawed my way through every nightmare. But I can’t anymore. I can’t do this anymore.
It hurts. All of it hurts. Every second of it. I don’t want to live, not if it means enduring this agony. I’d rather accept my fate and die.
I would have been happier if I had died that night I tried to leave. Or perhaps even before that. I should have died when the ogre almost beat me to death. I only lived because I presented as an omega. I shouldn’t have done that.
The goddess has been playing with me from the moment I was born, dangling glimmers of hope before snatching them away. It is clear she does not see me. I am no child of hers. I am no child of anyone.
Everything around me goes quiet. The voices fade. The pain dissolves. My body no longer burns. My blood no longer surges.
I feel nothing. Just darkness.
I am tired. So tired. I just want to rest. To be free from life.
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