Claiming their Omega (SAMPLE ONLY)

4. DAISY

"Honey, can we talk?"

Nothing good ever came from my mother starting a conversation with those words.

I nodded as I slipped the bookmark in between the pages and closed the book I had been busy reading before she interrupted.

She hesitated by the door for a few seconds and then entered my room. Her eyes darted around, taking it all in.

We used to be close, but everything changed the day Dad died. Now all she cared about was the money and what people thought of her. She was a perfect fit for my step-father John, but I wasn't going to tell her that.

"I didn't think it was important to join the after-dinner drinks," I muttered. "Isabella does well on her own."

"I know. It's not what I want to talk to you about." She took a seat on the edge of the bed and silently studied me for a few seconds. "You know I love you right?"

I nodded.

This was definitely going to be bad.

"John...he ran into some trouble at work. There was a project he was working on but the investors pulled out at the last minute. The owner canceled and now demands John to pay back the money he already paid." Her eyes dropped to her twitching hands on her lap. "It's more than we have. John managed to make an arrangement with him. He has a month to pay the money back, but for...insurance, the man wants you to go stay with him."

My eyes widened, my heartbeat increasing as fear filled me. The asshole wanted me to go live with a damn stranger?

"You can't be－"

"John will have the money in two weeks," she interrupted me. "He has done so much for you, the least you can do is－"

"Why can't Isabella do it?" I questioned. "She will be jumping up and down in joy at the opportunity to snag a rich alpha."

"I..." she trailed off. "Look, I don't know all the details. This is important otherwise he would have sent Isabella, but you know how much she screws things up."

Throwing the book aside, I got to my feet and started pacing.

This stupid room was my safe place. She knew it. John knew it. I hated leaving my room. I hated stepping foot out of the house and now they demand that I go live with some stranger?

I shook my head as panic filled me.

"Daisy－"

"No," I interrupted her. "Let his daughter go."

I spun around, hurrying to the bathroom, but she caught me by the arm before I could make it inside. Spinning me around, she stepped closer until we were nose to nose. I instantly tried to shrink away from the anger in her eyes.

"John took you under his wing when he didn't have to. He paid for school, for the clothes you're wearing and the damn roof over your head and you have never once thanked him," she hissed. "When has he ever asked for anything in return? Never! This is the first time and I don't give a damn how you feel about it or what you think. You'll be downstairs with your bags in two minutes or I will come up here and drag you into that car myself with just the clothes on your back!"

She gave me a push when she let go of my arm and then stormed out of the room.

I stared at the door, shaking. How could she demand this of me? Have I not been the perfect daughter she always wanted me to be?

How could she expect me to go live with strangers until John paid off whatever money he owed? What if the man was an alpha who abused omegas? What if he was a beta who hated omegas?