The Unwanted Omega: Claimed by the Shadow Alpha Chapter 05

The Unwanted Omega: Claimed by the Shadow Alpha Chapter 05

Ember POV: 

The next morning felt like a funeral, but I was the one rising from the grave. 

I stood in the center of the penthouse living room. My 

suitcase was by the door. Derek stood by the window, 

on the phone, barking orders in a low voice. 

“Secure the perimeter. No one gets near the transport.” 

He hung up and turned to me. He looked exhausted 

but alert. He hadn’t slept; he had spent the night 

guarding my door. 

“Are you ready?” he asked. 

“Yes,” I said. 

“We have one stop to make,” Derek said. “The 

university library. You said you left some data there?” 

My eyes widened. “The kinetic sequencing notes. I never digitized them because the encryption 

protocols on the cloud weren’t secure enough. If I 

leave them, ten years of work is gone.” 

“We get them,” he said. “Then we go to the airfield.” 

We drove to the university in a different car, a 

nondescript sedan. I wore a hat and sunglasses. I felt 

like a fugitive. 

The library was quiet. It was a Saturday. I rushed to my usual study carrel in the back corner, hidden behind the stacks of biology journals. 

My heart stopped. 

My desk was not empty. 

Sitting there, laughing loudly, were Ryker, Axel, and 

Willow.1 

Willow was drawing on a piece of paper with a thick 

black marker. My paper. 

I froze. Derek stepped up behind me, his hand on the 

small of my back. His heat grounded me. 

“Look at this!” Willow giggled, holding up a page of my formula. She had drawn a stick figure vomiting. “She 

thinks she’s a scientist! It’s just scribbles!” 

Axel laughed. “She probably copied it from a textbook. 

Rip. 

Willow tore the page in half. Then she crumpled it and 

threw it on the floor. 

“Oops,” she smirked. 

My blood turned to ice. Five years That formula took 

me five years. 

I stepped out from the stacks. 

“That was mine,” I said. My voice was dead calm. 

The laughter died instantly. Ryker spun around. Axel dropped the book he was holding. Willow’s eyes went 

wide, then narrowed into slits. 

“Ember?” Axel stood up. “What are you doing here? I told you to go to the dorms.” 

“I came for my things,” I said, walking forward. I ignored them and bent down to pick up the crumpled 

paper. 

Ryker stood up. He was huge, imposing. “Who is that 

with you?” He glared at Derek, who was standing in 

the shadows, his face obscured by a cap. 

“A friend,” I said. I smoothed out the paper. It was 

ruined. The ink was smeared. 

“You have no friends,” Willow sneered. “Only charity 

cases.” 

Axel looked at the paper in my hand. He was a doctor. 

He saw the chemical structure drawn on it. For a 

second, recognition flashed in his eyes. He realized it wasn’t gibberish. 

“Wait,” Axel said, reaching out. “Is that… is that silver neutralization compound? Ember, this structure… it’s advanced.” 

I pulled the paper away. “It doesn’t matter. It’s trash now. Just like you said I was.” 

“Ember, wait,” Axel stepped forward. “If that’s real research… maybe we should talk. I didn’t know you 

were capable of this level of biochemistry.” 

“It was,” I said. “But you let her tear it up. Just like you 

let her tear up our family.” 

Ryker growled. “Watch your tone, Omega.” 

“Goodbye, Ryker,” I said. 

I turned around. I walked toward Derek. 

“Wait!” Ryker’s phone rang. He looked at it, annoyed, 

then answered. “What? … Oh.” 

He looked at me, his expression shifting to something 

awkward. 

“Ember, stop,” Ryker called out. “It’s… it’s our birthday 

today. Mine and Axel’s.” 

I stopped. I didn’t turn around. 

“I know,” said. 

“Usually… usually you cook the feast,” Ryker said, his voice sounding strangely small. “The servants don’t 

know how to make the roast the way Dad liked it.” 

Is that all ! was? A cook? A reminder of Dad? 

“I’m not cooking,” I said. 

“Just come home,” Axel said, sounding frustrated. “We 

can drop you at the dorms after dinner. Don’t be petty 

on our birthday.” 

Derek stepped forward. He placed a possessive hand 

on my shoulder. The air crackled with his Alpha power, making Ryker and Axel stumble back. 

“She has other plans,” Derek said, his voice deep and 

distorted, masking his identity. 

“Who are you?” Ryker demanded, his hackles rising. 

Derek didn’t answer. He looked at me. “Ready?” 

“Yes,” I said. 

We walked away. I heard Axel calling my name, but I 

kept walking. I walked out of the library, out of the 

sunlight, and into the waiting car. 

We drove to the private airfield. A small, sleek jet was waiting. The logo on the side was a silver sun rising- 

Project Silver Dawn. 

I stood on the tarmac. The wind whipped my hair. 

“This is it,” Derek said. “Once you get on that plane, the facility goes into lockdown. No communication in or out for the duration of the first phase. Fifteen years.” 

“I’m ready,” I said. 

“I’m coming with you,” Derek said. 

I looked at him, shocked. “What? But… your pack. 

You’re the Alpha.” 

“My Beta can handle the pack,” Derek said, taking my hand. “My place is with my Mate. And besides… who 

do you think is the head of security for the project?” 

He grinned. It was a boyish, charming grin that made 

my heart flutter. 

I pulled out my phone. I had one last thing to do. 

I dialed the landline of the Pack House. 

“Hello?” Willow answered. 

“It’s me,” I said. 

“Oh, the loser,” Willow laughed. “Calling to beg to 

come back?” 

“No,” I said. “I’m calling to tell you that you won. You 

can have them. You can have the house. You can 

have the brothers. You can have the lies.” 

“I know won,” she gloated. “I threw away that ugly 

teddy bear you left, by the way.” 

My breath hitched. That bear was the last gift from my 

mother. 

“Good,” I said, my voice trembling. “Burn it all.” 

I hung up. 

I took the SIM card out of the phone. I snapped it in 

half. I threw the pieces onto the concrete runway. 

“Let’s go,” I said to Derek. 

We walked up the stairs. The door sealed shut with a 

heavy thud, locking out the world, the pain, and the 

family that had betrayed me. 

As the engines roared to life and we lifted into the sky, 

I looked down at the shrinking city. 

Happy Birthday, Ryker. Happy Birthday, Axel. 

I hope the silence screams at you.