❝I respectfully decline, alphas. ❞
꧁━━━━━━༺༻━━━━━━꧂
➽ 𝘞𝘏𝘌𝘙𝘌 you're a maid, trying to live your life in peace, but you end up catching the attention of the notorious alphas.
ᴊᴊᴋᴠᴀʀɪᴏᴜsﾒғᴇᴍ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ
↝ ℜ𝔶𝔬𝔪𝔢�...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
𝕮𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 XXXVIII The imposter.
The coliseum roared like a living beast, the crowd's cries echoing off the stone as the hunt began. Your alphas were gone, swallowed into the wilderness beyond the gates, leaving only the distant trumpet calls and the thunder of anticipation in their wake.
You sat there in the pavilion, heart hammering against your ribs, staring at the empty chairs around you.
Confused. Untethered.
Everyone else seemed to know their place here: the nobles leaned forward eagerly, servants darted about, and the other omegas whispered among themselves. You, though—you were just sitting there, vision swimming with memory of what had just happened.
Your throat was dry. You needed air.
With a sudden scrape of your chair, you stood. The movement earned a few curious glances, but no one stopped you as you slipped out of the pavilion. Your footsteps echoed through the quieter halls, away from the thunder of the crowd.
The washroom was quiet, the muffled noise of the banquet just beyond the heavy doors. You dabbed cool water across your cheeks, letting the stillness ground you.
The soft click of heels against marble pulled your attention to the mirror.
Mei Mei's reflection appeared, silver hair catching the low light, her calm expression a familiar anchor from another lifetime.
"...Mei Mei," you said with wide eyes, turning slightly.
Her silver hair caught the light as she tilted her head, lips curving into a sly little smile. "So you do remember me."
Your chest tightened. For a moment you felt something almost like relief. A familiar face in this whole dilemma. But it soured quickly. "I just wasn't expecting you." you said, standing straighter, shoulders stiff.
Mei Mei's laugh was low, amused. "And here I thought you'd be happy to see an old mistress."
The word cut deeper than she knew. Mistress. As if the whole place wasn't already dripping in hierarchy and ownership.
Your jaw clenched. "Happy? What's there to be happy about?" The words came out sharper than you meant, your voice cracking with frustration. "What even is the point of the Akasaki Manor anyway?! What kind of sick system is that? Selling off omegas to alphas like livestock?"
Those were all questions you'd been thinking about frequently ever since you saw Manami again.
Mei Mei's smile faded, replaced with a cool, almost pitying look. "You really don't know anything."
"Then indulge me." Your jaw set, tone defiant but eyes burning with a need to understand.
Mei Mei sighed softly, a sound that wasn't quite defeat but wasn't mocking either. "The girls who end up in the Manor aren't random," she said, voice edged in steel. "They're the ones no one wants. The ones their families reject. Broken pieces. Useless burdens."
