Stay For Me

Chapter 1

RANIELLE

Ranielle covered her head as the fists pummeling her finally began to slow and dissipate.  SHe pulled herself slowly to her feet and winced as the bruises began to restrict her movement. Her hair was matted and her clothes were shredded as she tried her best to make herself small and inconspicuous. She'd burned breakfast, so they had beaten her.

"Try again, Omega." Alpha Blaze stood over the small, hunched over girl and spat on her.

Ranielle limped over to the stove to throw out the blackened mess that was supposed to be eggs. Now it was just charcoal. She dumped it in the trash and whimpered as Blaze stood behind her, watching her every move. She finally made them to the point of it being edible. Blaze snatched the eggs and wolfed them down as he glared at her.

"Go get the palace ready for tonight's party, Omega." Ranielle sighed. She hobbled out of the room and stepped out of the packhouse kitchen.  She moved on wobbly feet to the palace, where Alpha Blake held his parties. Tonight was the biggest party of the year, the Annual Mating Ball. Alpha Blake held it for all the packs in the area, to help his unmated wolves find their mates.

"This should be fun," Ranielle mumbled under her breath as she began cleaning the palace ballroom.

Exactly nine and a half hours later, Ranielle had cleaned, mopped, dusted, decorated, and cooked everything for that night. She knew that since she was the Omega, the lowest of the low, she would not be allowed to attend the party. Instead, she would be working it, cleaning and serving food to the guests.

"Ranielle!" A voice from the pack house hollered. She whirled and ran as quickly as she could down the path to the house, only to see Beta Jackson there with an evil grin on his face. She stopped dead in her tracks, shaking. His smile vanished and his glowering face loomed over hers in seconds. He grabbed a handful of her hair and began yanking her up the steps. "You will pay for what you did, Omega!" His voice was laced with the same malice that Alpha Blake's voice had when he was ticked off.

Ranielle was saved from pain by the sound of a car driving up. Jackson dropped her and instantly, a huge smile appeared on his face as if nothing was wrong. Ranielle scurried back into the pack house, vanishing into the basement.

DECLAN

Declan yawned. They had been driving for hours to get to the Frostbitten Pack for the Mating Ball.

"Dec, keep it together. Maybe you'll find her tonight." Declan's Beta, Matt, said, clapping the Alpha on the shoulder. Declan smiled. He had been looking for his mate for three years.

"Maybe, Matt, maybe." Declan looked back out the window as the landscape continued to roll by.

"We're here." The driver, Nik, said. Nik was Declan's best fighter.

"Finally." Declan said as he climbed out of the vehicle and slammed the door. Instantly, he smelled blackberries and vanilla, the most heavenly scent he'd ever smelt. He looked around, but only saw Beta Jackson and the pack warriors. "Where is she?"  His wolf, Colton, whined in his head.

"Where's who, Colton?"

"Our mate, idiot."

Declan's eyes grew wide. His mate was here. Somewhere, in this pack, on the very same ground he walked, his mate walked also.

"Declan, my main man!" Alpha Blaze walked out with a huge grin on his face.

"Blaze, good to see ya," Declan returned his handshake and smile. "Look I-"

"Tonight's ball should be off the hook! It's a masquerade, like every year, and there will be plenty of females. You should find her, Dec."

Declan's smile faltered for a millisecond. "I'm sure I will." He nodded.

"A.J. will take you to your room." Blaze waved over a burly man with a tattoo reading "Lila" on his bicep.

"This way, Alpha." A.J. led the way and as soon as Declan's foot crossed the threshold of the pack house, he became overwhelmed by the scent. "This is where mate lives,"  Colton whimpered. Declan could feel it too, the desperate need to find her and be near her. He looked around. "I wonder which room is hers?"

AJ left them at the door to a large room for Declan and left, the other three following him.

Declan opened the door and put his suitcase down on the bed, along with his tuxedo. He stretched, the car had cramped him.  He looked down. "This should be fun," he said hopefully.

RANIELLE

Ranielle stood at the party's edge, watching the beautifully dressed women and handsome men float across the floor. More than once, a previously unmated male had looked at her and growled. Her eyes had widened in shock, but as he had strode over to where she was, he shoved her aside and kissed the girl behind her.

Ranielle was only half wolf, so she couldn't shift or communicate with her wolf.  This is also why she was Omega.

She smoothed the grey servant's dress down and adjusted her mask for what felt like the millionth time. A man brushed past her and as he did, she felt fireworks shoot down the length of her body. She panicked. As the man stood there bewildered, Ranielle took off running, dropping her assigned tray of champagne.

She fled up the steps and into the closest room, rushing towards the balcony. Glancing behind her, she saw the doorknob jiggle and she jumped. Her red hair flew out of her bun as she ran towards the woods.

She ducked behind a tree to catch her breath.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps. She tried to run again, but this time, her wrist was caught and she was trapped against a solid wall of chest. The man from the party looked down at her, and gently smiled. Without warning, a growl resonated deep in his chest and he whispered, "Mate."

Ranielle's eyes widened in alarm. She didn't have a mate, that was what Alpha Blaze had said. And if she did, he was going to reject her, because she was an Omega. But here was a man, claiming her as his mate.

"Are - are you going to reject me?"