Page 18 of The Alpha's Reclaimed Mate

As a chorus of protests rose from the disgruntled Omegas, I quickly shut off my phone, tucked the books under my bed, and hid under my blanket. I wasn’t used to being surrounded by so many people. With nothing to occupy my mind, despair took hold of me and sent me spiralling into darkness.

It was already sunrise when I woke. Groggy, I rose out of bed and stretched, then noticed the space under my bed was empty. The books I’d checked out from the library were gone.

In a flash of panic, I knelt down and searched all around my bed, under the covers, in my cardboard box, and everywhere else around my cot before looking around. “Has anyone seen my books?”

The grungy man in the cot beside me snickered. “Best not to keep any valuables down here… unless you can sleep with them under your head.”

“They were just books! Books from the library. I need them back.”

He shrugged and rolled over, clearly having no intention of rising for the day. “Too bad, so sad, Reject.”

Even hearing the insult come from a low-ranked wolf like him stung me. It reminded me of how far I’d fallen. I was no better than these Omegas, and even they didn’t have a shred of sympathy for me. Sighing, I made my bed, trying to find a way around the lingering pain of yesterday’s exile. I couldn’t just lay in my cot and mope. Anywhere I went, my packmates would criticize me for being a failure. I had to at least try to prove that I wasn’t useless. I was still the same Aria Gunn with a chip on her shoulder, hardworking and honest, just… without the bright future to look forward to even though it was getting harder and harder to be that person.

Never one to neglect responsibility, the first place I went was to the Lodge library. The security guard may have advised that I stay away, but I still had responsibilities to fulfill, and this wasn’t anywhere near the living quarters. I’d be fine if I were sneaky, right?

I hovered sheepishly at the counter until the librarian returned, eying me and my lack of books. “I’m really sorry about this, but… I’ve lost the books I checked out,” I admitted.

The librarian frowned under his thick-rimmed glasses. “You lost them?”

“Well, I… I had to relocate yesterday. I’m sure you heard all the commotion.” After a pause, the librarian’s slowly rising eyebrow assured me he was aware of what had happened. “I kept the books under my cot in the Omegas’ quarters, and somebody took them.”

“I see.”

“I don’t know if they’ll bring them back or if they’re gone for good. I just wanted to tell you because I’m usually very punctual when it comes to these things, and if I had them, I’d be checking them back in right now, but—”

The librarian raised a hand to interrupt me. “It’s fine,” he said curtly. “I’ll note them in the system as missing. You’ll have a mark on your record, but if you find them again, bring them back, and I’ll remove the mark.”

My heart lifted. “Thank you!”

The librarian rolled his eyes, clearly ambivalent. But the one small mercy he offered me was huge in my eyes. I’d lost so much that the idea of a mark being taken off my record felt like a blessing. Granted, I still needed to find the books.

Powered by that tiniest flicker of hope, I made my way to the farmhouse. There had to be something for me there, and even though it wasn’t the most glamorous job, I was desperate for anything. I entered the barn and was smacked with the smell of manure and hay, cattle and pigs, and breathed through my mouth until I got accustomed to it. The farmhouse lead was standing at the back of the barn, flipping through pages on his clipboard. “Good morning!” I greeted, forcing cheer into my voice despite the recent death of my soul.

The farmhouse lead took one look at me and exposed a fang. “No unregistered visitors to the barn. It disturbs the animals.”

I glanced past him. The animals looked perfectly fine and didn’t seem to even notice me. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you had to register visitors.”

“It’s a new policy.” He folded his arms and looked down at me. “What do you want?”

“I was just wondering if you needed any help around here. I have nothing to do since I… you know.”

He narrowed his eyes. My attempts at shrugging off the devastating rejection at my mating ceremony were vastly underappreciated.

“Only position we have open is as a farrier, so unless you got two plus years of experience with horse hoof maintenance, the door’s that way.”

My heart fell, and the glimmer of hope in my chest promptly snuffed out. “You don’t need any extra help cleaning the stalls? Feeding the animals?”

“Nope.” He went back to counting bags of animal feed in the corner.

“I mean, I can even shovel manure…”

The farmhouse lead laughed, but there was no amusement in his eyes when he glared back at me. “Listen, I don’t want to be known as the schmuck that got suckered into feeling sorry for little Aria Gunn, alright? You’ve pissed off the entire pack, you know? I have enough enemies as it is. Buzz off.”

I winced, each syllable as sharp as a knife cutting into my skin. Dejected, I turned away and left the barn, feeling even more worthless than before, wondering if it would really reflect that badly on him—or anyone—to give me a second chance. The rumors going around the pack must have really been bad. I was so pathetic that they didn’t even want me shoveling crap in the barn.

At the very least, I knew I was a good fighter. The pack was always searching for more soldiers to add to their ranks. I may have been discouraged, but I wasn’t ready to give up, so even with a cloud hanging heavy over my head, I went to the fitness center, down to the training arena where the soldiers usually spent their time.

As soon as I opened the door, their attention was on me. A dozen tall, muscular wolf shifters, men and women, zeroed in on me like I was a wounded doe walking into a pack of rabid dogs. I froze as I recognized Preston, grinning maliciously as he skulked toward me.

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