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CHAPTER1
Alena
Istared in the mirror. My hair looked lackluster in the yellow tinged hotel bathroom lights. The bags under my eyes couldn’t be covered up, even with makeup. The scar under my eye stood out, stark against my pale skin.
Shaking my head, I finished brushing my teeth. No use dwelling on what I couldn’t change. After rinsing my mouth out, I did my hair, pulling it up on top of my head, hiding the amount that I actually had with a perfect bun. Light makeup completed the look. I could hide my scars with the makeup, thankfully.
Today was the start of my new life. I wouldn’t screw it up by letting my mind wander to the past. No use crying over spilt milk, right? Maybe if I said that enough times, I’d actually believe it.
I would be safe here. I was officially twenty-five and didn’t require a guardian. This state was one of the few places that allowed omegas to have jobs and be independent. I’d run away here specifically for that purpose.
Or that’s what the organization that helped me escape had told me. My mind still whirled with the information that there were actually alphas and betas that wanted to help abused omegas.
My first alarm went off on my phone, announcing that I didn’t have long before it would be time to leave the hotel room to go to my new job. That put a little more pep into my step. My phone sat on top of the basic nightstand that stood next to the queen-sized bed. I grabbed it, placed it in my bag before sitting to put on my new heels.
It probably wasn’t a good idea to wear new shoes to the first day of my new job, but I didn’t really have much of a choice. The only other pair of shoes I had were my ratty sneakers that were being held together by duct tape. I still had to buy heat suppressants soon. Hopefully, I’ll be paid from this new job sooner rather than later. The heat suppressants weren’t cheap, and I would have to budget carefully.
Starting over hadn’t been easy. Over the years, I had squirreled away a meager amount of savings. Either from odd jobs, or taken from Dylan’s wallet when he wouldn’t notice. The rescue organization helped to a certain extent, but they had limited resources and couldn’t pay for everything.
I didn’t want to use the money up more than I needed to because I still needed to get paid. The hotel was cheap, thankfully, and I got a discount because I said no to cleaning services. With that thought, I stood, wobbly at first, swung my bag over my shoulder, took in a deep breath, and left the room.
The bus was on schedule, thankfully, so I arrived at my destination with fifteen minutes to spare. As I stepped off the last step of the vehicle, I looked up. And up. It was the biggest building in the city with seventy floors, its stark lines and architecture a marvel. My breath caught for a second. This was where I was going to be working. As one of several first-floor receptionists.
Knight Development Corp, or KDC, was the largest real estate investment firm on the west coast. They rented out half of their floors to other businesses and used the top floors for theirs.
Four childhood friends started, and still ran, the company. Three alphas and a beta. It was nearly unheard of for a beta to be in charge of such a large company even when accompanied by alphas, but the business worked well.
They were one of the leading companies in the area, providing well for their employees. I still couldn’t believe I’d scored a job here.
As I stepped through the revolving door, the air conditioning slapped me in the face. My heels made a soft echo on the floor as I approached the welcome desk. A kind older man who was a beta sat there with a large smile.
“Welcome! How may I be of assistance today?” His voice cracked slightly.
“Hi, I’m starting work here today for KDC. I’m supposed to report to the HR department first?” I dug through my bag for my wallet to show my ID. The ID with a false last name that they’d provided to me after escaping Dylan.
I swallowed and put a firm stop to that line of thinking. I needed to focus on my blessings and enjoying my new job and freedom.
The man took my ID, and checked something on his computer before handing it back to me. “You’re exactly right.” He opened a drawer, pulled out a temporary badge that he handed over to me. “You’ll need to clip that somewhere visible until we can get you your permanent badge. HR is on the sixty-fifth floor. I’ve sent a message to let them know you’re here. Take the elevators that are straight ahead.” He pointed the way for me. “Good luck today!”
Clipping on the badge to the top of my shirt, I waved to him as I rushed over to the elevators. There was a small line to get onto the next one, so I waited patiently. I still had some time before I was late. I just hoped the elevators weren’t slow.
There were eight elevators, four on each side of the hallway. When one opened, it filled up with people before I could get on. The second one that opened next, I was right in front, pressing the sixty-fifth floor before being pushed to the back of the square elevator. Thankfully, even though it looked like a lot of people, there were only three stops before my floor. I clutched the strap of my bag until I was the last one on the elevator.
As I arrived on the floor, I took a deep breath before stepping out onto the floor. It opened up to an office that had glass doors. A woman was waiting at the doors as I arrived. She was short but had the commanding presence of an alpha. She pushed her glasses up her nose as she viewed me.
“Alena?”
Walking up to her, I bit my lower lip and lowered my head on instinct. “Yes, that’s me.” I recognized an alpha when I saw one. Don’t think I’d ever get used to not cowering before an alpha.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Sora. Come on in.” She stepped back, letting me walk into the office. She had a floral scent around her that tickled my nose, but wasn’t unpleasant.
The color scheme of the floor was silver and chrome as I followed Sora through the hallways to a large office in the back. Sora gestured for me to sit at one of the comfortable-looking chairs across from hers.
“Please have a seat.” She sat in her chair, pulling out a folder from one of her drawers. “You have a great resume.”
I beamed. I was proud of my work history, it’s how I could run away with confidence knowing I’d be able to get a job. Thankfully, it was one thing I was allowed to do, even if they were part-time positions. “Thank you.”
Of course, I’d been aided by the kind person who was my coach as I escaped. Through a network of omega friendly businesses, they were able to provide me with a resume–although decidedly embellished, and a small stipend for some clothes until I could buy new ones.
