Her Unknown

-1-

“What do you mean you’re going to school? You can’t be around alphas when you smell so good all the time with the looks to match!” Tao exclaims from the hammock as Velda rolls her eyes and continues weeding the petunias. “Alphas don’t scare me, I’ve fended off enough of my mom's suitors to know a crazy one when I see them. Plus, I have to go to school, I only know how to read and write because you taught me, and if I ever want to get out of my moms trashed trailer, I need a diploma.” Velda says, standing up and brushing her hands over her jeans.

“Girl, online shit is the best, I’ll pay,” Tao tries to reason. “If I don’t have a phone or bike, how do you expect me to get to a public library every day to sign in?” Velda asks and when she sees the look on her friends face, she sighs, “No, you can’t buy me a phone or computer, and no I can’t live here or my mother will call the cops and try to sue for kidnapping….. Again.” The girl says and Tao giggles.

“That was funny, my dad asked me why I had kidnapped you and then blamed my mom,” He sighs, reminiscing on the first week Velda was working for his family. She ended up falling asleep in the garden because she was stressing over it, appalled by its lack of life. “Why don’t you report her? My dad would arrest her for you in a heartbeat!”

“Yes, and the moment I go into foster care, I get sold into human trafficking. I don’t have it too bad, I’m just going to start going to school. The only safe way to get away from my mother is to find my mate who happens to be rich and kind,” Velda grumbles, stalking towards the house with Tao right behind her, “Hey, female omegas are rarer than male omegas now. You get to choose your mate and if you want to go to a family party with me to pick, just let me know,” Tao smiles, pecking her sweaty forehead, “Mom packed a snack bag for you to take today, it is on the counter, and I will see you tomorrow when you get out of school and I pick you up,” Velda quickly grabs the bag from the counter and waves to Tao, “Except you can’t, you have a doctor appointment at three tomorrow and I never told you what school I’m going to,” She says and takes off out of the house, despite the groaning of her name. 

~~~~

“I’m home!” Velda says, stepping into the rundown trailer, out of breath since she ran the fifteen miles from Tao’s house. “Shut the fuck up and get me a beer!” Her mother screams from the couch where the old 90’s TV tried to keep a signal. “Get your own beer,” Velda says, stalking to the back room where her blankets and pillow were drying from their river wash the previous day. “What did you say to me?” The woman growls and Velda rolls her eyes, “Talia, we’re in Korea and you’re screaming at me in German while the TV is on Spanish channels with Chinese subtitles. You can have another beer if you can actually stand to get it,” Velda snaps at the drunkard, ignoring the heroine shooting utensils on the table as she goes outside to her hammock. It didn’t rain often, but if she sensed bad weather, Velda would usually borrow one of the tarps from Taos house to make a canopy, but on calm nights, she just laid there with her bag of keepsakes she never let out of her sight, watching the stars.

But tonight didn’t get to be easy. Her mother followed her to the forest line, “You bitch,” Talia exclaims, gripping onto her daughter’s arm with her perfectly done dagger nails. “Let go of me,” Velda says, trying to stand her ground, but her strength was fading as the scent of her mothers alpha dominance radiated out. “No, I get to do what I want with you,” She growled, punching her daughter in the stomach and chuckling. “Actually, I think it is time you do something useful, be ready tomorrow, I’ll bring someone for you to make money with.” The drugged out woman laughs, digging her heel into Veldas thigh before stalking back to her trailer, not before noticing the bag of snacks from Taos mom and taking that with her.

Velda simply whimpers and pulls herself further into the woods until she was next to her tree and able to look at her new bruises that were already purple. “I guess a sweater and jeans with no food will do perfectly fine for my first day of school,” She sighs, pulling out a bandage for the bleeding claw marks on her upper arm.