Aria's pov;
In my world, I always wondered why and how we had to be judged and determined by our class. Was the moon goddess aware of what exactly she was doing?
Each one of us fell under a category among all three categories. The Alphas, The Gammas and then there was me, one of the Omegas. Surprise!
Of course, of all things the universe had to make me was an Omega.
The sudden pouring of cold muddy water on me had me freezing in my steps as my chest rose and fell rapidly.
"Are you not only a disgrace but also a fool? How can you not have the brain to get the right thing I asked of you? Now, I'm never going to make it to that party!" Yelled Celeste, my twin sister, whom I had a major resemblance to.
Of course, not only was she given the good things but had to also be a Gamma, a much higher rank than mine and my life in my family couldn't be any more colorful.
Being a Gamma meant she had more defined features than I did and this was my lack of self confidence speaking on how she was much taller and tanner than I was.
Sighing to myself, I raised my hand, wiping off the bit of mud that now trailed from my already dirtied hair, down to my face, trailing down to stain the only good piece of clothing I had. Or more like I had been handed to by Celeste.
"Take this. I have no use of it anymore," She had said while handing the piece of faded blue gown to me which I had been all too happy to collect. At least, this one didn't have holes like the others did.
"Are you hearing me, you little sh*t?" She screamed, drawing me back to the present.
Standing in front of our main door, with hands on her waist and a hateful glare I was all too familiar with, I already pretty much summed up what was coming for me next.
"Sorry sister, I just didn't get to the seller early like I thought. He already sold out-" my words were cut off with a harsh slap landing on my face, causing my head to whip to the side as blood spilled in my mouth.
And sure enough, I didn't have to turn to know who had done that as she was already speaking even before I had the chance to.
"What punishment did I deserve to have given birth to a fool and a disgrace like you? Just one thing and you couldn't even do it right for her!" Hissed my mother, Marissa Thorne, whom her daughter, my twin sister, had taken a great resemblance to, leaving me to only bare a bit of resemblance to her.
Was this also carefully planned by the moon goddess?
Staring at the two of them beneath my dirtied lashes, I didn't fail to notice the condescending look on their faces each time they looked at me.
Just like their looks, their words stung greatly, causing a sizzling pain in my chest as tears brewed in my eyes. Would things have been different if I was a Gamma just like them?
"None of this is my fault. You only sent me to get the clothes thirty minutes before the closing hours and the shop just had to be an hour away from here even on my paws! How could you have expected me to meet up when it's your fault?" Fury burned in my chest as I yelled in anger at the both of them.
Deep down, I knew this wasn't going to be helping my matters but every second I was treated like this, it only caused my fight to be free, tougher than the previous.
A familiar scoff and then the swinging of a hand in my line of sight had me knowing that this was just going to be like usual and I wasn't allowed to speak or complain about the maltreatment.
On cue, so as not to prolong the matter, I dropped to my knees, right before the hand could touch me, my head bowed and my hands placed on each side of my legs.
"Mother, Sister, I didn't mean to. Please, forgive me…," I said in a plea, swallowing thickly and trying not to burst into tears.
"Oh, so the runt now knows how to beg? What were you-"
All of a sudden, Celeste who had been speaking was cut off but I didn't dare raise my head, for fear of what I might witness.
Seconds passed like minutes and just when I was starting to wonder what must have gone wrong, two pairs of hands gripped my shoulders as their too flowery scents flooded my senses.
A gasp escaped my lips as I was pulled to stand to my feet, my eyes immediately meeting with those of my mother's.
I was expecting to see the usual irritated look on her face but instead, she was staring at me like I was her most precious child whom she loved dearly.
Unsure, I stared at Celeste, only to see she also had a 'loving' smile on her face. Was I dreaming?
I hoped so because both of them smiling meant bad news.
"You didn't have to. Come on, get up and go wash up. I would tell the seller to apologize to you when I see him. Celeste, would you help your sister in, please?" Asked my mother, all still with a smile on her face.
At this moment, I was all but expecting Celeste to suddenly erupt in a scream but instead, she stared at me, her smile growing wider before darting a glance behind me.
She took my hand in hers, holding tightly before putting her hand on my damp and dirtied hair.
"Come on, let's get you cleaned up," She all but said with a smile while my mother moved to the side, still standing in front of the opened door.
It wasn't like I was given much of a choice to decide as she pulled my hand.
Unsure, I took tentative steps behind her, but right before we stepped into the house, I turned to look out the door, my eyes immediately zoning in on one of the closest guards of our pack's Alpha.
The familiar red and black robe with gold threads sewing them together and the royal envelope in his hand was all I needed to see right before Celeste happily shut the door from my line of sight, leaving us closed to the outside world and alone.
Right on cue, Celeste pushed me to the floor, hissing and glaring at me while dusting her hands like she had just touched the dirtiest thing.
"Ew!" She said loudly while I allowed the silence to drown us.
What had the Alpha's royal guard come here to do? I wanted to know and I was going to be here for it, but first, I needed to wash up right before my mother came in.
I silently made my way to the bathroom but washing off the mud on my body wasn't as easy as I thought as it took me thirty minutes.
By the time I was done, I made my way back to the living room, different thoughts flooding my mind all with the thought of what the Alpha's guard had come here to do.
"Mum, what do we do? We can't allow that runt to represent us or be the Luna and rule over us. Mother, I won't accept this!" I heard Celeste scream from the living room as my steps slowed down.
Luna? And of course, no doubt I was the runt she was talking about but I needed to know how the Luna title and my term of address had come about to be in the same sentence.
"Stop yelling! The Alpha requires a virgin as his Luna and you fail to meet that criteria, leaving only that runt since the new Luna has been asked from this family. I definitely do not want that runt to be Luna too. What do you suggest we do?" My mother asked and from their conversation, I pretty much made out what the Alpha's most trusted guard had come here to do.
Celeste's sex escapades were no surprise to me as she hadn't been trying to do it secretly and now, it seemed like this adventure of hers was going to be a big slap on her face.
There was a beat of silence which was then followed by Celeste suddenly letting out a gasp.
"I have a plan! We can just let her dress up as me, take my identity and make her look just like me.Then, on the night of the mating ceremony with the Alpha, I switch with her," Celeste cried out all too eagerly.
I stepped out of my spot, coming into the living room as I spat out, "I won't do it."
Both of them turned to look at me, anger flashing in their gazes. Celeste moved, ready as usual to hit but for the first time, our mother stretched out her hand to stop her in place.
"You've been wanting me to forgive you for killing your unborn sibling right? The one whom you managed to kill with your umbilical cord even in the womb?" She asked with a calm look but her words immediately halted the resolve I had built.
How could I have forgotten the main reason behind my mother's hatred for me? Saying I had killed her third child who could have been an Alpha.
Every time she reminded me of this, I had done my best, hoping to please her in any way but no matter what I did, it just wasn't enough.
She must have noticed the look in my eyes, because her brows sharpened, before she rose to her feet.
"Good. Now, the best you can do is to do this for your sister and play your part…," She said, taking slow steps towards me. "And don't you dare have other plans in mind. Remember, this is your way of apologizing to me," She hissed and I was left to fall to the floor, emotions eating away at me.