Page 1 of Such a Fierce Omega
Chapter One
Blaze
Dishwasher needed for exclusive club. Experience required. Apply online.
One thing the pack had taught me was how to do the jobs no one else wanted. Mopping. Dishwashing. Getting out the questionable stains and keeping my tiger mouth shut.
Since coming to the city, I’d applied for everything I could find, but times were tough, especially for someone looking for their first official job.
I dried my hair and put on a pair of jeans and a button-down shirt on the off chance I was called in for an interview or had one on the spot. Those happened sometimes, though nothing had come from it. I’d had a few callbacks and learned after only two that telling others I was a tiger wasn’t the way to secure a position.
I didn’t know why tiger shifters were so hated. Had no one to ask about it either. My omega father died giving birth to me and someone, some unnamed someone, dropped me at the gates of my alpha father’s wolf pack with only a blanket around my newborn body and a note pinned to the fabric. No one knew who and, to my knowledge, my father never bothered to find out.
My alpha father was mated to another. Growing up, I never got away from the fact that he’d cheated on his true mate and I was the product of that. I’d heard my father’s mate, my stepfather, tell him my omega father died because I was born out of a proper mating. That I was cursed.
These conversations occurred before they knew I would shift into a tiger instead of a wolf.
After that, well, things got worse.
I wasn’t allowed to live in my father’s house any longer. His mate called me a danger to their pups and eventually I was deemed a danger to everyone and had to move into a cabin on the outskirts of the pack’s property–for my safety, they said.
I knew the truth. It was because I was seen as a freak.
That wasn’t true, I realized as I grew into my own person. Without a word or a goodbye, I left the pack and hadn’t looked back. When I drove away from the pack gates, I felt hopeful. I had money in my pocket from working jobs in town. I had a vehicle and work ethic. That was driven into me from a young age.
Reality wasn’t so hopeful. I’d moved into a shit apartment in the area of the city where the streetlights never got repaired and my sink dripped me into insanity some nights. I could barely afford food and never any meat. My tiger wanted to go out and hunt, but I was new in town and didn't know anyone. The last thing I needed was to be caught by some human cop or animal control.
I’d seen the ad for the job on my phone but it was old and lagged when I did anything more complicated than a simple search. Dressed and carrying my backpack, I walked to the local library a few blocks away and registered to use one of their computers. As I sat and got onto the site, I realized why no other information was given about the company. It was a listing for a dishwasher at a club called Cuffed.
I’d heard of Cuffed online through social media. It was a sex club which, embarrassingly enough, I had to search because packs didn’t really have those things and this was my first time in the city.
Begging tigers couldn’t be choosers. I applied online quickly, not wanting any of the other patrons to see what I was doing on a public computer and applied for some others while I was there.
Almost instantly, I received a text asking if I could come in and interview. At Cuffed.
My stomach clenched. Was this it? Was I finally going to get a job? I hoped so. I made the walk from the library past my apartment and to the club. The instructions on the text said to enter through the back door, and I had to go to the alley to find it.
I knocked and rocked back on my heels, more nervous than I had been before. I couldn’t tell anyone here that I was a tiger. From what I’d seen online in forums, this place was wolf territory, and I could only hope my wolf half gave off enough scent to mask the other predator inside me.
A younger man answered the door. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here for an interview. My name is Blaze.”
The man checked his tablet. “Oh, you got here fast. That will earn you some points. Please come in. We’ve already run the background check. Here’s your temporary pass.” He handed me a card attached to a lanyard and I put it over my head. “Follow me.”
The place was dime except for sconce lights along the baseboard and the edges of the ceiling. “Is it always this dark?” I asked, not meaning to say it out loud.
“We’re not open right now, so we conserve as much as possible. The kitchen areas are lit up, though. Can’t have anyone hurting themselves. Plus, you gotta see to cook. Here we are.” He knocked on a large door at the end of the hallway and waited until a deep voice resounded from the other side.
“Talon, this is Blaze. Blaze, this is Talon, one of the owners. Go on in, and good luck.”
I sat across from the huge wolf alpha. His desk was filled with pictures of him and his omega and two kids. “Your family?” I asked.
“Yes.” No more. No less. “Your application says you have experience in the kitchen.”
I had to be honest. He might prefer someone who had worked in an actual restaurant but I couldn’t change where I’d come from. “Yes. But probably not as you expect. I worked in the kitchens of my pack as long as I can remember. Washing dishes. Full industrial machine washers. By hand. You name it. I cleaned and mopped.”
“No references?” He looked down at a tablet like the other man had.
