Chosen (Omega Levi x Monarch Reader)

Chapter 11: Levi

The weekend passed too quickly. Before Levi knew it, he was seeing his family off as they rode back to Ore in one of the palace's carriages, telling himself he'd be with them again soon. There were so few people left in the Choosing – the end would come any day, now.

Wouldn't it?

Except it didn't. Hanji had said there would be no more mass eliminations, but Levi wasn't prepared for how slowly the Choosing would progress when participants were removed one at a time. Three weeks passed, and only two omegas were sent home.

The remaining omegas seemed to share Levi's restlessness, albeit in different ways. Katarina, Liliana, and Juliana grew more two-faced and venomous than ever. In fact, Levi was fairly certain they'd had something to do with one of the recent eliminations, through some political or social maneuvering behind the scenes. Clearly, they weren't above playing dirty.

Levi put a special amount of effort into avoiding all three of them – not out of fear, but out of practicality. When it came to these types of machinations, their experience and resources vastly outmatched his. He knew the only way to win their game was not to play.

Yet, he couldn't fully escape their attention. The participants were still required to take meals together, and every time an invitation arrived for him from the queen, he could see them watching out of their periphery or from beneath their long, dark eyelashes. Their gazes were like daggers hurled straight at his face.

While Liliana and Juliana appeared to maintain a united front against everyone else, Katarina was excluded from their team. They seemed to target her as much as the other omegas, and she gave it right back. During one of Armin and Levi's afternoons in the library, the boy had clarified in hushed tones that Katarina's father was known to butt heads with Liliana and Juliana's grandfather. Apparently, the animosity had trickled down through the generations.

Levi finally laid eyes on Katarina's father for the first time completely by chance. He'd returned to his room after dinner, but finding himself with too much energy to rest, he instead went to the courtyard for a walk – and nearly strolled right into a tense conversation between Katarina and a male dressed in the regalia of a minister. The latter could only be an alpha, with his broad build and domineering demeanor.

Wanting to avoid their notice, he slipped into a dark alcove and waited. Under different circumstances, he might've simply turned around and walked back into the east wing. Levi had no qualms about eavesdropping when it benefited him, but he wasn't particularly interested in Katarina or her family. Yet...there was an unsettling sort of anger underlying her father's tone, and despite everything she'd done to make Levi miserable, he couldn't help feeling a twinge of worry for her.

"Listen to me, child," her father was muttering sternly. "You must do whatever it takes to mate the queen. The future of our family is riding on you."

"But father...I...I don't know if I want to do this anymore," Katarina stammered – sounding more frightened and docile than Levi would've ever thought possible. "I...I just don't think I'm attracted to female alphas –"

Slap.

The sound echoed off the walls. Levi dared a peek around the corner, and he saw Katarina holding her cheek, tears in her eyes. Her father loomed over her.

"I don't care what you're attracted to!" he snapped. "I don't care if the queen is a female or a cow or a tree stump! You will get her to mate you, and you will become the Royal Consort! Is that understood?"

"Y-yes...yes, Father..." Katarina stuttered, her breathing uneven as she tried to hold back her tears.

Her father stood up straight and adjusted his cuffs – the gesture somehow too casual when placed next to the abuse he'd just inflicted upon his daughter. "Good," he stated in a businesslike tone. "I expect to hear tales of your progress when I return next month."