I stood there, frozen, my body shivering as I stared at Álvaro in utter shock. His eyes—those judgmental eyes—squinted, and for a moment, I thought he was ready to tear me to pieces.
"You... you're an Omega?"
His voice was icy cold. I could feel my heart break into pieces.
My family's heritage had been broken in my tenure!
Oh, no. The Shame. The Humiliation. Father wouldn't take this lightly. My heart began to race so fast, that I feared it might spring forth instead of my wolf.
I was still dealing with my own shock when Álvaro huffed, and the next thing he did was to slap me across the cheek with such force that it left my skin stinging, and my head spinning.
"Why did you make me wait for two damn years?" he bellowed, chest heaving.
"Why the hell did you make me believe you were worthy, when all along you were nothing but worthless?!"
Seriously?! He dared to slap me?!
'This is a situation that is out of my control, you douchebag! How is it my fault?!'
I wanted to scream at the top of my voice, but I remained tight-lipped.
The slap burned, but it wasn't the sting that hurt the most—it was the betrayal of the Moon. I stood frozen, unable to react.
What was happening? What did I do wrong?
My chest felt like it was caving in. The epiphany of a truth I hadn't known until this very moment crippled me.
My hands quivered as I touched my face where Álvaro's palm had struck me, and suddenly, everything felt... wrong.
The bitter and hot tears welled up in my eyes.
How could I have been so stupid?
Always complaining about being at the center of attention when I wasn't even worth anything.
I wasn't the chosen one, was I? I wasn't worthy.
I was nothing.
I collapsed to my knees, sobbing almost as much as I did five years ago when Mom died at the hands of human hunters.
"Why am I even here?" I whispered through my tears. "Why did I have to be born like this?!"
Álvaro stormed out of the room. He didn't even glance at me as he turned on his heel.
"
This damn girl doesn't even have a wolf!
" His words rang out to the crowd as he burst through the door. "Mi gente! María José De la Vega is an Omega!
"
The shock that followed was unbearable. I could feel every set of eyes in the room already ready to cook me in a pot of jeers and mockery.
The crowd murmured, but not with the excitement they'd had moments before. There was laughter. Laughter at me. At the girl who had been the hope of the pack, now the laughingstock.
"Look at her! She said she'd be Luna! Karma is a bitch!" someone jeered from the crowd.
Another voice joined in, mocking: "I thought the De la Vega girl would be like her sisters, but she's nothing more than a fraud."
"Maybe she's a bastard, who knows? We could have asked her mother, but even she's gone!"
Making jokes about my mother's death?
A bastard? A Fraud
—that's what they thought of me. That's what they believed I was. And worse still, I saw the way my father was looking at me.
Fury had made his eyes darkened but it was clear he was more than angry—he was ashamed.
I wanted to shrink into the floor, to disappear, to never have to face them again. But no, it wasn't over.
Two guards walked into the room since I did not attempt to stand. They grabbed me by the arms, yanking me out of there with little care, like I was nothing more than a piece of trash.
I struggled weakly, too disoriented by the events to do anything of value.
"
Get her out! Get her out of here!
" Álvaro shouted from behind me as they dragged me across the floor. "She is not even worthy of breathing the air in that room!"
Out. Get her out of here.
The words would forever haunt me.
I was tossed unceremoniously into the main hall, where the pack members all stared at me with the kind of pity that made my face fall. The very same people who had been watching with eager eyes only moments ago now looked at me like I was diseased. Some snickered. Others whispered behind their hands.
I tried to hold my head high, but the humiliation pulled me down. When I looked at my father, my heart shattered. His eyes—those cold eyes—narrowed in anger. I saw the way he clenched his fists, but worse still, I saw his disappointment. I wasn't the daughter he had put all his hopes on. I was nothing.
The elders exchanged looks, clearly unfazed by the turn of events, as they motioned to Emilia.
"
Emilia Vasquez, you will go next,
" one of the elders declared.
I barely heard it. My body felt numb, my mind refusing to comprehend the rapid descent I had just experienced. From being the one everyone had rooted for, the one who was supposed to be the Luna, to this— the outcast.
I just remained there... on the floor and considering which option was the best way to die.
.
.
Minutes later, Emilia and Álvaro emerged from the selection room.
He extended a hand to Emilia, and without a second thought, she took it with a triumphant smirk.
When our eyes met, she arched an eyebrow and dimmed her eyes in a; Tough luck, bitch, I won way. I and these girls had never been friends. I was their biggest competition, and thereby, the enemy.
Good for them; I was nothing now.
"I'm pleased to announce that this year's Luna wolf is... Emilia Vasquez!"
The room erupted into applause, the sound deafening as the pack members cheered for the girl who had taken my place.
Emilia's family rushed to her side with pride. "Our Emilia, the chosen one!" her mother exclaimed, tears of joy streaming down her face.
I also had the tears running down mine, albeit, tears of sorrow—of hopelessness. I was doomed. I couldn't even imagine what awaited me.
The snickers from the pack members in attendant began to fly around.
"A beauty without a wolf is what again?" One person sneered.
Another pack member replied, loud enough for everyone's ears. "A worthless beauty! An empty barrel!"
My wobbling legs were about to fail me when someone whom I hadn't noticed earlier stood up, yawning loudly like he had a microphone implanted in his voice.
"You motherfuckers are as BORING as ever!"