Tomorrow was supposed to be my bonding ceremony with my mate.
My mate was about to become the Beta of his pack, and he had promised me that he would acknowledge me publicly during the ceremony, in front of everyone. Tomorrow.
Just thinking about the way the pack members would look at me, about the way my father would finally be forced to admit I had the right to stand beside someone powerful—the weight that had crushed me for twenty years, the endless humiliation, seemed to lift for the first time.
Tonight, I wanted to surprise Luke. I got off work early, crossed half the town, and went to his apartment.
But when I pushed open the half-closed bedroom door, the sight in front of me froze every drop of blood in my body.
My mate, Luke, was naked, pinning a woman beneath him.
"Luke… why don’t you just reject Lena already? That disgusting omega." The woman moaned. "You only want me."
I froze. It was her—my stepsister. The person who hated me most in this world.
"Of course you’re the only one I want." Luke panted, his voice low and rough. "But to become Beta, I have to have a pup with my mate first. It’s pack tradition. I don’t have a choice."
"The stupid girl insisted on waiting until the bonding ceremony before she’d let me touch her." He gave a soft laugh, his voice dripping with mockery. "So I said yes. Why wouldn’t I? I still have you, Lily. I have a real, powerful she-wolf."
That "stupid girl" was me. I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms, the sting spreading in sharp pulses. The pain reminded me—this wasn’t a nightmare.
"Ew, you’re really going to mark that filthy thing?" Lily said with disgust. "She’ll ruin your reputation. Omegas are like cockroaches. Once they crawl in, you can never get rid of them."
"Mark her?" Luke laughed coldly. "I would never mark an omega. She’s only a surrogate for my pup. Once she gives birth, I’ll cast her out."
"Oh my God." Lily laughed in satisfaction and climbed over him. "She’s probably dressing herself up right now, dreaming about being accepted by the pack tomorrow. I can’t wait to see her face."
I still couldn’t believe it. Luke had betrayed me.
It felt as if someone had struck me hard across the head, and the floor beneath my feet had suddenly collapsed.
I bit down on my lip, refusing to let the tears fall. My mother was an omega, my father’s fated mate. And I was born carrying that brand—even if I was sincere, even if I was kind, in this pack, I would always be treated like something criminal. I had to lower my head for being an omega. I had to be ashamed. And even then, my father always found a reason to raise the whip.
When I was fourteen, Luke came to Blue Ridge Pack for warrior training. I was the one who showed him the way. He said he wanted to thank me, and after that, every time he came, he brought me food.
That was the only thing I needed. After my stepmother came, my life had been nothing but beatings and hunger.
But Luke bandaged my wounds and brought me hot meals. He told me that once he became Beta, he would never allow anyone to treat me like that again.
Later, the Goddess finally remembered me. When I was eighteen, at the mating banquet between our two packs, we discovered we were fated mates. I couldn’t describe how wildly happy I was in that moment—I thought the suffering was finally over. I thought light had finally found me.
For him, I stayed. I kept enduring my father and the pack’s humiliation.
Now, the truth surged up like sewage from a drain, choking me. Every promise I had used to keep myself standing, every scrap of hope, had been a lie.
I pushed the door open.
Luke was sitting on the couch, his pants piled around his ankles, with Lily straddling him.
"Lena?!" He jerked upright.
Lily turned to look at me, not a trace of panic on her face. She calmly slid off him. "Oh, Lena, don’t look so surprised. Omegas like you don’t really believe someone could love you, do you?" she mocked. "You should feel honored to share a man with a noble princess like me."
"Get out!" I roared at her.
Lily smiled and walked to the door. Then she suddenly looked back. "Oh, right—the little room you have at the Alpha estate? I’ve already started planning to turn it into my closet. Just giving you a heads-up."
That was the only place I had in the world. A one-meter bed. A tiny room. And now even that, she wanted to take from me.
I clenched my fist, desperate to smash it into her pretty face. But right now, there was only one thing I wanted to do—sever the bond between Luke and me.
"Oh, one last thing." Lily paused in the doorway and gave me a sweet smile. "An omega like you probably can’t afford a pretty dress. Need me to lend you one? As your sister, I do have a duty to help. After all, you’ll need it tomorrow. Because if you don’t show up, you’ll become the pack’s favorite toy. Daddy will make sure of that."
I raised my hand, but Luke rushed over and grabbed me. "Listen to me, Lena!"
Lily took the chance to leave.
I dragged my gaze back to Luke’s face—the face I had once believed would be my home. Now, all I felt was disgust.
"I, Lena, reject Luke—"
"No! Lena, listen to me!" He grabbed my arm and slammed me hard into the wall.
"What is there to listen to?" I trembled all over, my voice hoarse. "I heard everything. I’m nothing but your stepping stone to the Beta position."
"What exactly is wrong with that?" He gripped my wrist tightly, and the entitlement on his face made my scalp prickle. "Lena, you’re just an omega. I’m giving you a chance to become the mother of a Beta’s pup. I’ll keep you. Feed you. Give you a clean place to live."
I tore free and slapped him hard across the face.
"Clean?" My voice shook, but every word came out clear. "This place smells worse than a sewer, and you think you have the right to use that word? Listen carefully, Luke—I reject you. I reject you forever."
The bond between us exploded in my chest, as if some invisible hand had torn straight through my soul. My vision blurred. I clenched my teeth, forced myself to stay standing, then turned and ran out.
I couldn’t break down in front of him. Absolutely not.
The moment I stepped out of the building, my tears finally broke free. I walked fast, wiping them away hard.
I headed toward the Alpha estate. Tonight, I was leaving Blue Ridge Pack. I had a best friend, and her pack would take me in. My father had always believed my existence was a mistake—if I disappeared, he should only be relieved.
The moment I stepped inside, I saw my stepmother, Celia, sitting calmly on the living room sofa, looking relaxed, as if she were waiting for a play whose ending she already knew.
She knew. Of course she knew. This had all been arranged by them.
"Well. I thought the little parasite would be too ashamed to show her face again. Yet here you are." She sneered.
Little parasite. She had never given me a single coin, yet for twenty years, she had never once called me by my name. But none of that mattered now. I didn’t need to endure it for much longer.
"Celia, I need to see my father." I tried to keep my voice steady. "Now. It’s important."
"Oh? Are you going to run and complain that Lily did something unforgivable to you?" Her voice was full of contempt. "Save it. The Moon Goddess simply made a tiny mistake when she matched you with a Beta. Now the people who truly love each other are correcting that mistake. That’s called fate."
"Celia." I looked at her and spoke each word clearly. "Don’t dress up your family’s filth as a gift from fate. It’s embarrassing."
"You little—" She shot to her feet, her hand already raised, but my father’s voice came from the top of the stairs.
"Lena, you came back at the right time."
I froze. He hated me. He should have wanted me to disappear forever. I didn’t want to guess what he intended, so I spoke directly.
"Father." I lifted my head and looked at him, my voice calm. "I need your permission to sever my bond with Blue Ridge Pack."
My father stopped on the stairs and looked down at me. "Leave the pack? Where do you think you can go?"
"I didn’t realize you cared."
"Care?" he roared. "I will never care about an omega who brought shame to my bloodline!"
"Then sever the bond, Alpha Theodore." I stared straight at him. "That is my only request."
"God, this house is finally going to be rid of that omega stink!" Celia cried beside him. "Alpha, just agree! She’s dragged our reputation down long enough!"
"No." My father’s voice was final. "I will not let an omega wander around and disgrace our pack."
"Then where are you planning to throw me?" I asked, though I could already feel the answer.
He glanced at me, his eyes cold, as if he were looking at an object that needed to be disposed of.
"Blood Moon Pack. Alpha Dominic needs a breeder."
My blood froze.
Alpha Dominic. That name was used in every pack to stop children from crying. Rumor said no she-wolf ever walked out of his tower alive.
My father was going to sell me to that devil.
