Chapter Text
Riley Anderson had always known her place in the world.
As an Omega, society had made it abundantly clear where she stood—somewhere near the bottom, expected to be compliant and submissive. But Riley had never been one to fit neatly into the boxes others crafted for her.
She had always hated the way Alphas walked around like they owned the world. Their confidence, their cocky grins, their whole I’m better than you because biology said so attitude. It made her want to throw up.
Once, back in highschool, an Alpha guy had tried to block her path in the hallway. His name was Lucas Decker, the self proclaimed King of their highschool who had that classic Alpha energy—broad shoulders, smug face, and the overwhelming stench of cheap cologne.
“Move,” Riley had said, not even looking up from her phone.
Lucas smirked. “What’s the magic word…”, he leaned down to her level right next to her ear. “-lil’ Omega?”
Riley sighed. Then, without hesitation, she kicked him in the shin. Hard.
Lucas yelped and stumbled back, cursing. “What the hell?!”
“The magic word is get out of my face,” Riley said dryly, stepping around him like he was nothing more than an annoying piece of trash on the ground.
From that day on, most of the Alphas in her highschool knew not to mess with Riley Anderson.
-So how come she could defy other Alphas so well, but she could not defy her own mother?
Because if Riley had a choice, she would be anywhere but here—standing in the middle of an overpriced airport terminal while her eco-obsessed, anti-hierarchy-loving mother scoured a store for organic coffee.
It wasn’t just any coffee; it had to be fair trade, ethically sourced, and infused with the pure energy of the universe or some nonsense like that.
And what was Riley doing?
Absolutely nothing.
She was stuck outside the shop, her suitcase next to her, arms crossed, waiting for her mom to finally return so they could board their flight to Paradise Prison.
Riley kicked her suitcase absentmindedly and glanced around.
That was when she noticed her.
Across from her, in front of a small convenience store, another girl stood waiting. She was around Riley’s age, with long, dark curls—except for a single bright red streak in her hair. The girl was standing there, arms crossed, looking just as unimpressed with life as Riley felt.
Their eyes met.
Riley frowned.
The girl frowned back.
Riley tilted her head in confusion, because why the hell was this girl staring at her? Did she know her? No. Then what was her problem?
She narrowed her eyes.
So did the girl.
Riley exhaled sharply through her nose and shook her head in irritation.
And, to her absolute horror, the girl shook her head too—as if mocking her.
Oh, so that’s how it was.
Riley, already in a foul mood, decided to end this ridiculous game of mirror reflection the best way she knew how.
She flipped the girl off.
The girl’s eyes widened slightly, her lips parting in shock, but before she could react, Riley’s mother appeared, holding a bag with a smug look on her face.
“I got it! This coffee was blessed by indigenous healers, so it has extra spiritual energy!”
“Great. Now let’s go before my soul withers away,” Riley muttered, throwing her bag over her shoulder and striding off toward their gate.
As she walked away, she glanced back one last time.
The girl was still standing there, watching her.
Riley smirked.
Whatever. It wasn’t like she was ever going to see her again, right?
Little did Riley know that the girl she had just flipped off at the airport?
Yeah. She was an Alpha too.
And soon, they were about to be very stuck together.