Rejected Omega's Revenge

I didn't bother knocking on Emmett's office door. My newly awakened wolf prowled beneath my skin, her golden eyes burning behind mine as I shoved the heavy oak open. The scent hit me immediately—Emmett's pine and leather mixed with Nayeli's sickly sweet jasmine. They were curled together on the leather couch, her manicured fingers tracing patterns on his chest.

They broke apart when I entered, but neither looked surprised. If anything, Nayeli's lips curved into that familiar smile—the one I'd mistaken for friendship all these years.

"River." Emmett's voice carried that alpha authority he wielded like a weapon. "You should be resting. The healer said—"

"Cut the act." My wolf's strength flowed through my words, making them sharper than they'd ever been. "I heard you. Through the mind-link. I heard everything."

Nayeli actually clapped, her laugh bright and musical. "Oh, this is perfect! She finally knows. Emmett, look at her face—it's even better than I imagined."

The casual cruelty in her voice made my chest tighten. Three years. Three years of thinking she was my friend, my confidante. The she-wolf who'd comforted me when pack members whispered behind my back, who'd encouraged me to keep trying with Emmett.

"Tell me about the bet," I said, my voice steady despite the rage building inside me. "Tell me about the game you've been playing with my life."

Emmett stood, his alpha presence filling the room. But for the first time, it didn't make me want to submit. My wolf snarled, recognizing him for what he truly was—a predator who'd been hunting me all along.

"You want the truth?" His dark eyes held no warmth, no trace of the affection I'd thought I'd seen there. "Fine. Nayeli made a bet three years ago. She said she could get the pathetic wolfless omega to fall for me. Said it would be entertaining to watch you chase after something you could never really have."

The words hit like physical blows, but I forced myself to stand straighter. "And you agreed."

"It was just supposed to be a few weeks." He shrugged, as if my heart breaking was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. "But you made it so easy. So desperate for any scrap of attention. It became... amusing."

Nayeli pulled out her phone, swiping through it with obvious delight. "Oh, River, you have to see these. The screenshots from the pack meetings are absolutely hilarious."

She turned the screen toward me, and my world tilted. Photos of me—intimate, private moments I'd thought were between mates—displayed during official pack business. Pack members' comments scrolled beneath them, each one more humiliating than the last.

*'The broken omega thinks she's special.'*

*'Alpha's charity case getting ideas above her station.'*

*'Pathetic how she clings to him.'*

"The Silvermoon Pack particularly enjoyed the ones from last month," Nayeli continued, scrolling through more screenshots. "Alpha Marcus said he'd never seen anything so desperate. Oh, and the Nightfall Pack? They've been using your photos as examples of what happens when omegas forget their place."

My knees nearly buckled. Not just my own pack—neighboring packs. They'd turned me into a laughingstock across the entire region. Every meeting, every gathering, while I'd believed Emmett was falling for me, he'd been displaying my humiliation like trophies.

"You're disgusting," I whispered, but my wolf's rage made the words carry power. "Both of you."

Emmett's expression darkened. When he spoke, his alpha command rolled through his voice like thunder. "You will show respect. You will remember your place."

The command hit me like a physical force, pressing down on my shoulders, demanding submission. Three years ago, it would have worked. Three years ago, I would have dropped to my knees and begged forgiveness.

But my wolf rose to meet his challenge, her golden eyes blazing. Alpha blood called to alpha blood, and I was no longer the broken omega they'd been tormenting.

"No." The word came out steady, final. "I won't."

Emmett's eyes widened in shock, but Nayeli just laughed harder. "Oh, this is rich. The little omega thinks having her wolf back changes anything. River, sweetie, you're still the same pathetic creature who begged for scraps of his attention. Having a wolf doesn't erase three years of humiliation."

She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a poisonous whisper. "Everyone knows what you are. Everyone knows how desperate you've been. Do you really think anyone will ever respect you after this? You're damaged goods, River. Used up. Worthless."

Each word was calculated to wound, and they found their mark. But beneath the pain, my wolf's fury burned brighter. They'd stolen three years of my life. Three years of my dignity. Three years of making me believe I was nothing.

But they'd made one crucial mistake.

They'd underestimated what I'd become.