Of course, it wasn't as easy as I'd thought, and when I entered the dining hall that evening, all of the other omegas turned their backs on me. This time, though, I was determined to see this through, so after I'd gotten my dinner, I sat down at the far end of their table. They weren't going to chase me away so easily.
Naturally, this made the rest of the omegas even more annoyed, but when they started to get up, one of the girls told them to stop in a hushed voice. "Just let the traitor sit there," she said. "If we ignore her, she'll give up and go back to her cushy spot over at the other table."
The other table - or tables, to be precise - were where the rest of the pack sat. I normally sat at James' side, but since my demotion that afternoon, Samuel now sat in the coveted spot. And he was welcome to it, I thought savagely to myself.
Eating by myself was not a pleasant affair, and it was made even worse when the other omegas lowered their voices so I couldn't pick up on their conversations. It reminded me of high school, and I shivered. I very nearly did get up several times, but each time the thought crossed my mind, I reminded myself that I was an omega now. I was on the same level as the rest of them, and I wasn't going to let this misunderstanding get in the way of finally being with my friends again.
After dinner, the girl who'd spoken up came to me, her pale green eyes glittering as she and two other girls blocked the stairs. Outside, the storm was raging full force, and I wanted to watch it from my window. Obviously, I couldn't do that right now, and I shivered as I turned my attention back to the three girls confronting me. "Listen here, traitor," the first girl said. "You are not welcome here. You turned your back on us, and you let them cozen you into becoming a Gamma."
"I did," I admitted. "But that doesn't mean I did it willingly."
The girl to her right scoffed. "Like we'd believe that bullshit," she said.
"Well, it's true," I insisted.
"And why the hell should we believe you?" the first girl demanded.
I drew myself up to my full height and looked her in the eye. "Because I saved you from those bullies who wanted to beat the crap out of you after you beat their friend at chess," I said. "Remember, Aiofe?"
Aoife went pale. "I do remember," she said in a tight voice. "And I remember standing up for you when they tried to beat the crap out of you a few weeks later after you gave one of them a black eye."
"And a broken nose," I reminded her.
Aoife cracked a half-smile. "Those were the days," she said. Then her face turned hard again. "But when we needed you to be strong for us, you failed in every way you could fail, save for sleeping with that jerk."
"That jerk" turned and looked over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised. "Mind your manners, omega Aoife," he said, his voice cold. "Samuel might find your words a bit rude and make you sleep in the stables tonight." So saying, he went into his office and slammed the door shut, causing us to jump.
"What a prick," Aoife muttered, just low enough to go unheard by Samuel. He did glance over his shoulder at us, before shaking his head and heading down the hall, and Aoife winced, her eyes unfocusing momentarily. "Ouch," she added, rubbing her temples. "Word of advice, Steph. Never piss Gamma Samuel off. Ethan is a jerk, but Samuel can make you feel like your spine's just been removed via your nostrils. Ethan can make you feel like you're dipped in hot water, but Gamma Samuel is much worse."
The other girls winced. "Tell me about it," the one on the left said. "Yeeesh. I thought I'd die by the time he finished, and without my wolf, the pain was ten times worse."
The girl on the right shuddered. "Try sleeping in the shed, which still hasn't gotten its roof fixed. Gamma Samuel won't let us buy the materials we need, and when I very politely pointed this out, he more or less made me feel as if my skin was slowly being peeled off layer by layer. I was amazed I wasn't bleeding by the time he was done, and I didn't stop crying for at least an hour."
I felt cold shivers run down my spine, and before I knew it, I was hugging them both. "I'm so, so sorry," I whispered.
Soon I felt Aoife putting her arms around us, and we hugged for a long time, letting the tension of the last few weeks go. I already knew without it being said that I'd been forgiven, and I closed my eyes, tears streaming down my cheeks as I relished the familiar closeness I thought I might never regain with these girls.
But at least we were together again.
And this time, nothing was going to drive us apart.
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