>>Rave
I stretched my body after a long day of working in the kitchen.
Damn!
This sure was a stressful day.
"Tired?" Another maid, Latte, looked at me while she brought in another batch of dirty dishes.
I looked at the plates in her hand and my jaw dropped, "More?" My eyes grew wide and my eyebrows were raised, "Is there no end to these?!"
Latte passed me a tired smile as she placed the dishes on the sink where the other two maids were working, "We should have expected this," We both sighed.
"Yea…" I said, "After all finally Miss Luna liked someone enough to accept him in marriage." I rolled my eyes, "Today was just the party where they announced the man she chose." I punched my shoulder to massage, "Imagine what will happen if they decide to hold the engagement party here at the mansion too."
As soon as I said those words, my soul felt like it was about to leave my body and Latte had the same reaction.
"I pray to God that does not happen," Latte shook her head.
I clasped my hands together, "Amen!"
We both then began to work to clean the plates and pass them to the other two who were now on wash duty.
There were many other servants that worked in the mansion but most of them had the duty in the party hall and after the party had ended, most of them were cleaning the place while four of us were doing the dishes in the kitchen.
While Latte and I, both sat on the stools and worked, I looked at my hands and sighed. A dreary feeling passed by my chest as some of my desires surfaced.
My hands were wrinkly with all the washing and scrubbing I had been doing.
My shoulders drooped in defeat.
I want to apply Henna to my hands and paint my nails but there won't be any point, would there be?
It's all going to get ugly with how much I have to work.
I took a deep breath as I continued.
But well, at least I have saved up a lot.
Maybe after high school I might be able to get a small place for myself somewhere.
Working in a rich household is never easy since there are a lot of snitches here and some of the workers are hostile too but it's all about the money.
I've lived for seventeen years and if there's one truth to the world, it's that money can make anything happen.
By the time I finished my part of the work, it was 1 am and I was dead tired. I wanted to go back home with the speed of light and collapse on the bed but unfortunately, the church orphanage was far from where I worked and just the thought of going so far made me want to just drop dead in the kitchen and sleep there.
But still, I began to walk out with Latte when she began to shake her head around.
"What are you doing?" I asked her as we passed through the mansion gates, "You look like you want to steal something." I snickered.
She grabbed my shirt and pulled me closer, "I heard something interesting." She spoke close to my ear while we both kept walking.
"What?"
"Now that Luna has chosen her partner, I heard that the Brights are going to throw parties for their son now."
I froze in my path and blinked, "What?" I sighed, "We're not getting an end to this??"
"Unfortunately," She pulled me along and we began to walk again.
"I want to sleep…" I whined.
"Same here, sis, same here."
We both sighed.
"But-" Latte's face lit up, "We'll finally get to see what Calix looks like!"
"And what are we going to do with his face? It's not like I can sell it." I rolled my eyes.
"Rave, is money all you think about?" She asked.
"Yes," I wasted no time in answering her.
"Same," She replied and then we both giggled like the teenage girls we were.
***
"Come on Rave!" Jayce whined as he leaned on my class desk, "You can skip work for once right?"
"No," I told him without any hesitation, "Never," I was busy doing my maths homework during the lunch break.
"Why not?" He pouted and I raised my hands to rub my thumb with my fingers with my eyes still on my book, indicating the 'money' gesture.
Mia laughed, "Of course, our Rave's first love is money after all."
"Seriously though," Noel, "Is money really everything?"
"Yes," I kept my eyes on my work book.
"Come on guys," Carlos said, "We all know she won't budge if she's getting paid.
"Hey!" Andre slapped Carlos's shoulder, "That's not how friendship works." He looked at me, "Rave, you have to come with us to the party."
"Can't," I completed my work and slammed my book shut, "Nothing but money can have me." I looked at them all and they looked back in shock but then started laughing.
"Man, you're in love!" Noel said. I grinned back at her. Noel is a dominant omega, plus she's rich and because of that she's really pretty. There are times I even feel self conscious around her. She has her nails painted, her hair permed to suit her style and she's got a great figure.
Me on the other hand, I sighed, I'm a recessive omega, so my looks are average. I look delicate only because I have a lot of work to do which eats up most of my brain.
I stood up, "You guys already ate?"
"Um no?" All of them replied to me.
"We were waiting for your smart ass to finish." Mia said and I grinned back.
"Hehe," I intertwined my arms with Carlos and Andre's, "Les gooo then!"
"Rave's second love is food." Andre shook his head as I grabbed them all with me.
"Even though she doesn't even eat much." Mia shook her head, "Even though she should!" Mia is an Alpha, so her looks are quite fierce. She's tall just like Jayce and Andre but maybe because she's a healthy Alpha, she looks quite charming too. Not the delicate beauty like Noel but she's the mature sexy type.
I don't feel envious of her like I do with Noel but I wish I had her charm at least.
I sighed.
Oh well!
When I get my own place, I'll find a job where I'll have free time too!
Maybe then I'll actually agree to go to parties with my friends.
I never say this but in reality I always refuse them because I know I won't fit in fancy parties like theirs.
Right now, there are many things I can't afford to do.
I know they just want me to have fun but none of them have been to where I am and no matter how strong I look on the surface.
I have my insecurities.
That is why I always bring up work when I'm asked to come to a party but I still always hang out with them when it's just us so that they don't suspect me.
***
"Oh my God!" I looked at the crowd present in the party hall of the Bright's mansion.
"I know right…" Latte's mouth was hung open just like mine, "There were never this many people here for Luna…"
"Yea," I frowned, "Maybe because people know Luna can be nasty."
Latte snickered, "Let's go." She began to go ahead, "We have too many people we need to serve."
"Coming." I answered her.
I then followed her and then we went our separate ways to look after the guests and serve them.
I'm so glad I wasn't given the kitchen duty.
Serving guests in the hall is a lot easier.
Most of the people mind their manners in public after all.
The party was really lively and I was making my way around the hall with a silver tray that had a bunch of drinks on it.
That's when I heard something interesting when I passed by a group of middle aged women, "Is it true?" One of them spoke, "Calix is holding this party for a different reason?"
I paused when I heard that.
Being a waitress at parties always gets me a lot of gossip.
"I heard too," Another one spoke and I turned my back to them and moved slowly, "Unlike Luna, Calix wants to meet his soul mate."
"Pfft!" The third woman scoffed, "Soul mate? What? He wants to meet his fated partner? Those things don't happen."
"I know right." The second woman spoke, "That has rarely ever happened."
"Forget about it happening," The third woman spoke again, "Even if he does find her, it won't work out if she's not from a family of equal standing."
True.
I nodded my head.
I've heard Calix is a really capable man. So obviously he would also want someone of equal standing.
The first woman chucked, "That's right. And the boy will forget about something so stupid like a soulmate when he sees all the pretty omegas from our households."
I glanced around at the young females who were standing in their place looking like dolls.
The other two snickered, "Of course, our daughters are unmatched here."
Woah!
Talk about narcissism.
I began to walk around again.
If Calix is a good guy, I hope he doesn't end up with any of them! They seem like bad news.
***
They say, be careful what you wish for and I really need to think about that phrase.
The lights were dimmed for a moment and the spotlight was shined on the lower part of the stairs when Calix was to make his entry.
The loud chattering hall suddenly grew quiet and everyone turned their attention to the stairs.
Man…
This is sort of strange.
I can sense a weird tension in the air. Everyone has their eyes glued to the stairs like superman is coming for a visit.
I shook my head and looked at the stairs too.
I mean, this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity, Calix has been abroad for many years and no one knows when he might decide to go back.
So I'm going to make sure I get a good look at this dominant Alpha everyone wants for their daughters.
No one is going to notice me ditching work for a few seconds in this crowd anyway!
"Everyone!" I heard Demian Bright's voice, "Please welcome our beloved son, Calix!!" The light suddenly shone on the mid ground of the stairs and revealed a handsome, tall, sturdy, beautiful Alpha.
My heart did a flip when I first saw him.
People cheered for him while along with me many silently gaped at him.
He had a slight professional smile on his pale face. His black hair was neatly set back to reveal his forehead. The suit he wore complimented his well built body nicely and when I looked at him, I felt like I was in a daze.
I don't know why I felt like that but I was definitely feeling weird.
"Wow," I whispered as I felt like I was intoxicated to the point my mind went blank for a moment and in that feeling I accidentally bent the tray a little that I was holding.
A loud crashing sound, the sound of glass shattering on the floor made everyone turn their attention to me and I panicked as I realized what I had done.
Oh shit!!
Oh shit no!!
I looked down at the mess I had made and bit my lower lip in confusion.
What have I done!?!
What have I done? Oh my God! What do I do?? Everyone is looking at me!!
In my state of panic I looked back up at the stairs and something unexpected happened.
My eyes met Calix's and I finally knew why I felt so druggish.
It felt like an electric current ran through my body when we both looked at each other while all of my skin stood up in response.
I gulped as my heart rate began to accelerate and it felt like someone had taken my breath away.
To Calix's bad luck and to my own.
It turns out I was his fated mate.
.
.
.
Shit...
"Rave!" Latte's hand on my shoulder brought me out of my trance and I finally came back to my senses. I looked at her in shock while she stared back with a worried expression.
I noticed the people around me were talking, they looked at me with dubious eyes and I began to feel like a nuisance.
What am I doing? I should leave or try to clean up or at least apologize!
"Rave, are you okay?" Latte asked and I looked at her again. But I couldn't bring myself to answer her.
Just then I had an urge to look back at Calix but when I did, I didn't find him in his place.
Rather, I saw him make his way toward me and that made me panic even more while my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach.