Chapter 6

• I rushed to my parents as fast as my feet could carry, feeling guilt envelop me at their embarrassed faces. My sister, Cara, was also avoiding meeting my eyes, focused on the Alpha beside me. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I settled on my father's side.
• "Again, we are so sorry on behalf of Rose" My mother sincerely bowed her head towards the Alpha Aiden. When she met my eyes, her teeth gritted together. 
• Mary had a short temper. Something everyone in the house was aware of, and they walked on eggshells around her. 
• My father nudged me, his eyes wide. I nodded my head, turning around towards the Alpha. His attention was focused over my shoulder instead of me. "Yes, I'm truly very sorry about...it."
• He snapped his mouth shut, his hands folded behind his back. "Don't mention it. The dinner will be served in few hours, and after that, my pack soldiers will see you off to the station."
• From the corner of my eyes, I noticed my mother's face fell. She was genuinely expecting to stay over and impress Alpha Aiden. Her plans were spoiled all because of me.
• "We don't want to impose" My dad cleared his throat. "Besides, we already had late lunch."
• My stomach growled on the cue, and I immediately looked to the floor. Someone kill me! I wanted to die right in the moment. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, and my cheeks flushed red. It's not my fault that I had to skip my lunch and take a suppressant shot. 
• "Uhh...maybe we can eat something light", My sister softly giggled. 
• We all followed Alpha Aiden to the large dining hall. I made sure to sit on the farthest corner from his chair, hiding my face with one hand. The dinner was delicious—lobster with garlic butter, freshly baked bread and pasta, chicken stew and tiramisu for dessert. 
• We managed to get to know most of the pack members. No one interacted after dinner, though. I was disappointed when Alpha Aiden didn't glance my way, not even a look. My annoyance deepened when Cara got a special time with him to say goodbye.
• Cara will be his future mate, and she's allowed to spend time with him. Why did that affect me? I shook my head and followed my parents to the carriage. 
• On the way back home, my mother and father were distraught with me. Knowing that I caused inconvenience to my dad saddened me. He asked me to be careful next time, but my mother grounded me. I was twenty, for crying out loud! Who would be punished in such a manner? Instead of arguing with her, I merely nodded my head and accepted my fate.
• Nothing I said would change their mind anyway. It was my fault. Why did I go into heat all of a sudden? I should have asked that pack doctor. Maybe there's a reason behind it. 
• ***
• The constant drone of lawnmowers finally stopped for the first time in hours, and the deafening silence that came over the house was eerie. My eyes went towards smiling faces behind the glass of the frames against the wall, and my lips curled at that. I was grounded in my room, and sitting on the bed and staring at the walls became increasingly tiresome. My younger self from the photo frame grinned back at me, which made me wonder when it all started feeling like such an oppressive lie.  
• I wouldn't say my childhood had been horrible or unsatisfactory. Mostly because I don't remember half of it. I never wanted anything, and I was aware that I had grown up privileged in many ways.  There were sports and camps and activities to take up my time during school. Fortunately for me, I had trophies from my youth still lined the shelves of my room– a constant reminder of all the superficial praises that had meant nothing once I hadn't presented as a beta. 
• The moment they found out in my school tests that I identified as an omega, the struggle began. I couldn't remember an identifiable point when those smiles ceased to be honest.  It had been a moving target of disappointment and inadequacy drilled into me by my dear mother. She wanted two betas or atleast one Alpha instead, got stranded with beta and omega.
• Another lawn mower started it up, and I let my eyes fall closed in irritation, fists clenched at my sides.  
• "Oh, for moon's sake!" I yelled into the empty room filled only with misrepresented memories.  
• My mother was out at another fundraising dinner with her snobby friend for something equally as unimportant. Cara, on the other hand, had classes at the university and she won't be back till evening. I heard my dad's car disappear an hour ago, so I was stuck.  
• I heard someone yell my name from downstairs. And a huge stone clattered against my bedroom floor. Rushing towards the window, I noticed Zain waving at me. 
• "What do you want?"
• His smile fell. "I came to see you."
• "Hold on. I'll be there."
• Ever since we came back from Alpha Aidens place, I became moody. My mind replayed the same dream over and over again, which frustrated me to no end.
• I slammed his door shut with enough momentum to rattle the frames on the wall just because I could do so without consequences. There's no one around to taunt me for that. It didn't relieve the pressure that had been building within me. 
• "What the fuck did you do that for?"
• Zain frowned at my tone, his arms crossed together. "What's wrong with you?  You've been acting weird for some time now."  
• I crossed my arms and narrowed my glare at him. Since when did he have a problem with me? His tone reminded me far too much of my mother yelling and sent a wave of disgust.  
• "I'm not weird. We're just all doing what we always do, aren't we?" I spit the words out, crossing my arms against my chest. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed our neighbours gawking at us. They were aware of my friendship with Zain and surprisingly didn't mind at all. 
• "Don't cause a scene," He hissed at me and looked around to see if anyone had witnessed the start of our fight.
• I gritted my teeth together. "Excuse me?"
• "You're embarrassing me."  
• "Right, because it always revolves around you, doesn't it? You think of me as a little puppet until you find something better." I exhaled and didn't even wait for his response before stalking off towards the door, fumbling with my keys on the way. 
• What had gotten into me?
• ***