Zephyrine’s POV.
I trudged across the pack's courtyard, my eyes cast down to the ground. Tomorrow was the mating ceremony, and everyone was filled with excitement.
I walked and the weight of the other wolves made me miss my steps. The bullies led by , a tall, sneering she-wolf heading them by the name of Akira, blocked my path.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here," Akira said with so much malice in her voice. "The little omega so excited about the mating ceremony-or shall I say, so excited over nothing?"
The rest of the wolves snickered and my face grew hot with embarrassment.
"Hey, Zephyrine, don't you know that omegas like you don't get mates?" another wolf, a burly male named Thane, joined in. "I mean, who'd want to mate with a weak, pathetic omega like you?"
I tried to stand up straight, to show them I wasn't afraid. "I'll find a mate," I said, my voice shaking slightly. "I just have to believe in myself."
Akira laughed cold and mirthless. "Believe in yourself? Ha! You don't even know who your real parents are. Your mother didn't even want you, so why would anyone else?"
The others closed in on her, faces twisted into cruel grins.
"Yeah, Zephyrine, you're just a reject," Thane sneered. "A reject from your own mother. Who'd want to mate with someone like that?"
A sting of tears hit my eyes, yet I would not cry. I drew a deep breath and did the best I could to defend myself.
"That is not true," I said, trying to sound firm. "My adoptive parents love me, and they are all the family I need. And I will find a mate who loves me for who I am and not for my parents or any status I have in this pack."
Akira snorted, "You're out of your mind, Zephyrine. Nobody wants an omega like you. You're but a weak, useless wolf who can't even shift properly."
The other wolves joined in, chanting. "Weak, weak, weak! Omega, omega, omega!
It came rushing inside my head, full of anger and humiliation; I just wanted to hit them with something, but suddenly the words said by my adoptive mother, Astrid, came to my mind: "A true wolf doesn't fight with her teeth, but with her heart."
I took a deep breath and instead of fighting back, I turned around and walked away. The laughter and jeers at the back of the bullies still echoed, but I didn't turn around.
Opening the small front door of our little cottage, still shaken with the encounter with the bullies, I longed to see my mother, wearing that warm smile and hearing from her, words that comforted me and made me feel like I do matter. Entering the living room my heart just sank.
My mother, Astrid, sat on the floor, her lips and chin stained with lines of dry blood. I rushed to her wire, trying to pull her to her feet to see what had happened. "Mother! Oh no, what happened?" I mumbled tearfully.
I had tried to lift her up, but she was too heavy. I managed to drag her onto the bed, but at the very moment I did so, she passed out. My whole body filled with a racing of fear and desperation that overpowered every sane thought in my brain at that particular moment.
What was wrong with my mother. She was as agile as a horse when I left the house this morning. What happened?
I ran out of the cottage, to the pack's healer-Elara. I ran into her hut, out of breath. "Elara! Please-you have to help my mother! She's. she's hurt!" I huffed, trying to catch my breath.
“Calm down kid.” Elara mumbled as she held my hand and walked back to our cottage.
In she went to mother , and her hands moved in quick, sure motions, setting to work on her immediately, stabilizing her condition. Anxiously, I watch, helpless, as mom just laid there, non-responsive.
What felt like an eternity finally passed, and Astrid's eyes flickered open. She smiled weakly at me, and a wave of relief washed over me. Elara helped prop Astrid up against the pillows.
“She’s stable now. I have to leave.” Elara mumbled after exchanging a few words with mum.
"M-mum." I muttered, holding her frail hand in mine. "What happened, mum? Don't ever do that again. I was so scared," I said in a quivering voice as I kissed her hand, over and over.
"Zephyrine, my baby " she whispered in an extremely weak but soft tone. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just.I had a bit of a setback." She tried reassuring me, but I saw the pain and exhaustion in her eyes.
I shook my head as tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. "You have to stop working hard okay? I'm a big girl now, I'll do everything at home. You just take rest okay?" I scolded her in a loving voice.
"Urgh, now who is the mum." Astrid whined and rolled her eyes. "Let's leave this, tell me, what will you wear to the mating ceremony tomorrow?
It wasn't until Astrid said something about the mating ceremony that my mind strayed off. The feeling in my chest started growing and just wouldn't subside. Yh harsh words spoken by those bullies and I found myself again wondering who I really was, where I came from, was I a really rejected omega without hope of finding her mate, and why did Mother reject me?
It was then that Astrid's voice cut through my thoughts. "Zephyrine, dear, what's wrong? You seem a million miles away," she said, her face a mask of concern, and her hand rose to caress my cheeks.
"Who is my real mother?" I asked, words tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them. "Where did you find me?" I looked to Astrid searching for answers, but she just stared back at me, her expression unreadable.