Chapter 3
Coincidental Meeting?
It was after school, and I could be seen heading to the back of the school building. Once I got there, you could see four shifters standing against a wall. "You finally made it! I was starting to think you wouldn't show up!" Brett said with a wicked grin on his face. "I told you I would be here, didn't I?" I said annoyed. It doesn't really matter what I say now, it won't change the outcome of what happens to me either way. You'd think I'd be used to the pain by now. "Talking back to your future alpha?! That's no way to show any respect!" After that, Ben punched me right in the stomach, and sent me flying into the wall. I started coughing blood from the impact. 'I just have to get this over with…' "Bleeding already? That's not any fun!" Brett said with a smirk on his face. He walked over to me while I was still recovering from Ben's last attack, when he stomped on my hand hard. I shrieked in pain, but I couldn't even brace myself for the next attack when one of the warriors of the pack punched me in the nose. My nose started to bleed, and then Brett kicked my shoulder, so I stayed laying on the ground. He lifted me up by the shirt, and then slammed my head into the wall a few times. They then all went and started kicking at me, leaving bruises all over my body. One even stepped on my tail, and I yelled in pain. My tail was sensitive to touch, and having put so much impact on it, made it hurt quite a lot. They even started pulling on my ears, which also didn't feel great. To finish all of it off, they sent one final kick to my head, knocking me out cold.
I slowly started to regain my consciousness, and the pain from the beating could be felt all over my body. I felt like I had at least a few broken ribs, and my head was throbbing with pain from being slammed against the wall so many times. My body ached, and probably from all the new bruises on my body. I wiped off some of the now dried blood from me, and started to look around my surroundings. I looked around me, and I was laying on the ground from where I blacked out last. 'Ugh, everything hurts.' I sighed. I went to my bag, and grabbed some tylenol to try and stop the aching. I took out two pills from the container, and swallowed them. Thanks to being a shifter, I could heal some injuries faster than the average human, but because I'm an omega, my healing abilities aren't as great as that of a normal shifter. Thankfully my phone was still working, and I checked the time on my phone. It was 4:30, about two hours after school ended. Somehow through some trial and error, I finally managed to pull myself up off the ground, and grabbed my bag to head to my job. My body protested immediately, but I ignored the pain as I headed out of the school. I was used to moving around heavily injured at this point, even if it felt like I was dying on the inside. I had to head to one of my part time jobs that I had. It was a job at the local library, and it was one of my favorite part time jobs. It was an easy job, and it was always quiet which was nice. I mainly just shelved books, or helped people to find a book they were looking for, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. My boss, Mrs. Reeds, was also a very nice person. She was one of the very few people who actually cared for me, and even brought in fresh baked cookies into work for me at times. I hoped I didn't look as bad as I felt, because I really needed the money from working today, and I couldn't afford to take a day off. Besides, this beating wasn't even one of the bad ones that they'd given me.
Soon I arrived at the library, and I sat my bag down behind the counter. I sat down for a second, just to collect my thoughts, and take a break from the pain. The pain didn't seem to stop, and it was understandable. I had some broken bones, which would take a while to heal even with my super healing. Hopefully I could manage to avoid some beatings while it healed, otherwise my bones would heal back funny. It wasn't the first time that happened, and then I had to forcefully break my bones again, and stay home for a while until they healed properly. When my pack asked where I had been, I just blamed it on me being in heat, and they didn't ask any further questions. "Ah, there you are Kai!" I heard Mrs. Reeds say behind me. I turned around to face a little old woman, with glasses on, and curly grey hair. Mrs. Reeds was a human, so she didn't have any animal features to her. She had hazel eyes, and a warm smile on her face. She was dressed in a warm looking purple sweater, along with her name tag for her job. Once I turned around, her expression immediately turned to one of worry. "Oh my goodness Kai! Are you okay?! You look awful! Did something happen to you?!" This was Mrs. Reeds' normal reaction to whenever I would come here after receiving a beating from my pack. She would always ask me how I got all of these bruises and scars, but I never answered her as to why. Thankfully, she never pushed to know what was going on if I didn't feel comfortable talking about it. "It's nothing Mrs. Reeds, I just tripped and fell. I'll be okay to work today though, so don't worry about me." I managed to say with a fake smile. Although, I did admit my voice sounded hoarse, and I didn't sound the greatest. Mrs. Reeds looked as if she didn't believe me, but I could understand why. I didn't look like I just fell to get all of these bruises. Thankfully my school uniform was hiding my other bruises and scars, otherwise I think Mrs. Reeds would've had a panic attack. The only bruises that were showing were the ones on my face. "What am I going to do with you…" Mrs. Reeds sighed to herself. I just stared at the ground, guilty that I always managed to worry Mrs. Reeds. Mrs. Reeds has always been there for me, and one day I wished to repay her for her kindness. "Here, I made some fresh baked cookies yesterday night, and I just reheated them. Why don't you at least have a few before you start your work?" Mrs. Reeds asked hopefully. I smiled at Mrs. Reeds and said, "Thank you for making these, I'll be sure to eat them and work hard afterwards." Mrs. Reeds smiled at me, and left the container of cookies on the counter, and then walked away back to her work. One thing I could testify to, was that Mrs. Reeds' baked goods were always delicious. I rarely ever had home cooked food, and usually just stopped by a fast food place after work before I headed home. It was the cheapest option, and it was better than starving. My figure was smaller compared to other guys my age, mostly due to the fact that I didn't eat nutritious meals, and also I sometimes even skipped eating all together. Not to mention that omegas were usually smaller in size compared to others. After I had finished eating some of the cookies Mrs. Reeds had made, I sat up and started heading to the bookshelves where I organized the books. My inner wolf protesting to move from the pain. Shifters also had an inner animal inside of them. They were a part of us though, and mainly just projected our innermost thoughts or feelings if you didn't have a good hold on controlling them. Mine was a wolf, and it wasn't as active as others would be. I don't usually hear from him, so I was surprised to get a reaction from him. Every once in a while he'll make himself known to me, usually complaining about things though. My wolf usually came out if I was very angered towards something, or just had powerful emotions in general. My wolf was always skittish, which was why he usually just sat at the back of my mind most of the time. It made sense why he was so scared all the time though. My past wasn't necessarily the greatest. I was brought back to reality though once I smelled a familiar scent getting stronger and stronger as the seconds passed. 'Wait, this smells like…' "Kai!" I heard someone yell. I turned around, and saw a familiar face. My heart started beating fast as I was reminded once again of the handsome man that stood before me. In front of me stood an out of breath Kayden, with a worried expression etched on his face. 'What is he doing here? He looks like he just ran here. Is he here by coincidence? He must be. How would he know where I worked? Right..?'