Ch. 1

It was just barely past five in the morning. My shoulders sank. I wasn’t going to be able to sleep tonight, the kitchen was still a complete mess and I had to be up in less than two hours to start preparing breakfast.

It wasn’t like a sleepless night was out of my normal routine, but for some reason, today felt different—I was on edge. With the Alpha King coming to visit our pack today, myself and the other Omegas had been busy making sure that the entire packhouse was spotless for him.

Earlier this year, the king had announced he would be coming to visit each pack across the land, but he didn’t tell any wolf why. Not that any would dare question him.

I didn’t know much about the Alpha King, Ambrose Fitzgerald, except that he was a powerful, vicious, cold-hearted man who seemed to kill without reason. In short, I was completely terrified of him. Even knowing that I’d be in the same building as him sent a shiver down my spine.

I shuffled into the pack dining room to gather up the last few dishes, rubbing my hands—red and raw from scrubbing—against my uniform. I’d been working longer hours in preparation for the king’s arrival, but I didn’t mind all the extra work. With my twenty-first birthday looming around the corner, I needed the distraction.

It was common knowledge that when an Omega turned twenty-one, she would finally be of age to be given to an unmated warrior in $

her pack. One day, I heard a pack warrior, Asher Donavan, talking with Madam Olympia—who was in charge of the Omegas—about me. Asher was one of the lower-ranking pack warriors, always hanging around the kitchen while I was cooking, staring at me with an unreadable expression painted across his face. On days when it rained and my job was to keep the floors shiny, he’d purposely walk where I’d just cleaned without wiping off his feet.

I didn’t like him at all, but as an Omega, there was nothing that I could do about it. He was a much higher-ranking pack member than I was, and I knew that if I were to say anything he would punish me badly.

I reached out to grab the last dishes, wincing from my sore side, when I noticed the black-tipped boots of another wolf in the corner of my eye. My heart dropped in my chest and my stomach started doing nervous backflips. Oh no! I had made too much noise cleaning and woken a wolf up. Why hadn’t I been more silent? Why hadn’t I been a better Omega?

Just last week Madam Olympia had given me a black eye and bruised ribs for burning the bottoms of some breakfast muffins because I was so busy scrubbing mud off the floor. I should have learned to be more observant of my surroundings!

I immediately dropped to my hands and knees, bearing my neck as a sign of submission to the wolf that was in the room. I could tell just by the energy that they radiated, that the wolf in front of me was of high importance. They had to be at least a Gamma. And since I didn’t recognize their scent, they must be part of the king’s Royal Pack. They would no doubt be furious that I woke them up after their long journey.

I craned my neck further out as the wolf took large, slow steps towards me. The closer the wolf got to me, the more my heart raced. I was so focused on trying to control my ragged breaths that I almost didn’t notice the wolf’s polished black shoes only inches in front of me.

“Please stand up, Little One,” the man’s deep, smooth voice said. Without any hesitation, I listened, legs shaking, making sure to keep my head bowed and my neck bared in submission.

It was common knowledge that wolves in the king’s Royal Pack were incredibly strong and ruthless. They were said to train at an elite academy until they were at least sixteen, and then the king himself would hand-select a few wolves to be taught further by him. By the end, it was rumoured they could kill an Omega, much like myself, by merely looking at them. I really hoped the wolf standing in front of me wasn’t one of the king’s hand-picked warriors.

I could feel the wolf’s eyes running up and down my body, inspecting every single inch of me, from my stained uniform to my messy light brown hair. I imagined wolves from the Royal Pack were used to their servants looking more put together, but here in the Blood Moon Pack, Omegas were never meant to be seen by pack members. We were supposed to stay quiet and hidden in the shadows.

The Royal Pack wolf in front of me took his sweet time staring at me, no doubt sending an angry mind link to Madam Olympia so she could punish me. Unless he was letting her know he wished to punish me himself for my awful manners. The wolf growled loudly, seemingly shaking the whole dining room. “Why will you not look me in the eyes, Little One?”

It was clear he was testing me to see how well I was trained. I knew better than to look anyone in the eye. Madam Olympia had beaten that lesson into me many times. I was never good at following the rules when I was younger, but now, I’d been reminded often what happened when I disobeyed the rules.

“Look me in the eye, Little One,” the man repeated. His voice got deeper with each word. It was clear he was getting angrier with me.

“P-Please may I be a-allowed to speak, S-sir?” I stuttered, my voice strained and dry from rarely talking.

“You may, yes.”

I tried my best to keep my voice steady. “Omegas of the Blood Moon pack are taught that we are not allowed, nor worthy to look at anyone, Sir. Madam Olympia has taught us all well.”

The last words had barely left my mouth before the wolf in front of me let out a loud, blood-curdling growl. If I thought the growl he let out before was loud, then this one nearly made me deaf. I took a few scared steps backwards, smashing my upper hips into the dining room table in the process.

The wolf grabbed me gruffly by my shoulders, anger radiating off him as he dug his claws into my skin, no doubt drawing blood. “Look me in the eyes.”

I was practically shaking in fear now, my mind clouded in pure fright. Tears started to leak out of my eyes and slide down my cheeks. They must have annoyed the wolf more, as his grip on me tightened. What do I do? Do I talk and risk a worse punishment from Madam Olympia? Or stay silent and risk a beating from the man holding me?

“Dammit,” the man swore as his gaze locked on me. He stared at my tear-stained cheeks. “I’m sorry, Little One. I didn’t mean to scare you. Your words just made me so angry.”

I whimpered.

“Not at you,” he quickly added. “I was not angry at you, little one. Just the words that you said.” He stopped for a beat before adding, “Will you please look me in the eye? No one will hurt you; I can promise you that.”

I hastily wiped the tears still flowing down my cheeks with my dress sleeve. I was greatly embarrassing my pack—my family—the way I was acting. Blood Moon took me in and gave me a roof over my head and food to eat, and all that they asked for in return was following the rules and doing my chores for the pack. I had no other option but to look up at the wolf standing in front of me.

The man’s eyes were a deep green, the same colour as the forest outside, with small specks of gold littered throughout them like the sun shining through the trees. He was beautiful.

Suddenly, it felt like a deep, unknown part of me was woken up. Warmth spread through my body as I looked the man in the eyes, slowly washing away all the hurt and pain in my body, replacing it with something I couldn’t name. I’d never felt this before.

“Mine!” The wolf growled.

I was so caught up staring into the man’s eyes that I didn’t notice when two wolves came running into the room towards us. Before I could react, the wolf pulled me close to his side, half hidden behind his back. I could barely process what was happening, or why the man grabbed me so roughly, when I heard unmistakable voices.

“What is going on here?” Madam Olympia asked.

“What happened?” Gamma Thomas demanded.

I tried to drop to my hands and knees, but the man was still holding onto my shoulder with his claws dug in. There was no doubt that Madam Olympia would beat me badly at my clear disrespect. I still did my best to crank my neck out in submission to her and Gamma Thomas.

The man holding me growled loudly again, shaking the walls.

“King Ambrose!” Gamma Thomas exclaimed.

The king? I had just been looking the king in the eyes!? I was going to be killed.

I should have been able to feel the power radiating off him, forcing me to obey. But I didn’t. Why didn’t I? Stupid, stupid girl.

“King Ambrose,” Gamma Thomas repeated, more hesitantly this time. “May I ask what is happening here? We were awoken by your growls, and once we sensed that they were coming from you, we came running.”

I’d never heard Gamma Thomas sound so scared before. They could sense the king? Why couldn’t I do the same? I felt no fear at all when I looked at him. In fact, I felt an odd sense of warmth coming off from him.

“I greatly apologize if Omega Seven has upset or offended you in any way, King Ambrose,” Madam Olympia said, her head bowed. “I promise you that this will not go unpunished. She will be dealt with severely.”

My breath caught in my throat.

“Seven!” Gamma Thomas snapped his fingers, pointing to the space in front of him. “Come, now!”

I managed to tear my arm out of the king’s grip, the fear of my waiting punishment outweighing the feeling of his claws ripping out of my shoulder. I had barely taken a step forward when the strong arm of the king circled around my waist, pulling me flush against his solid chest. Warm sparks danced over my back, right where he was touching me, seeping through the layers of my dress and lighting my skin on fire.

“She will not be coming anywhere close to you,” King Ambrose snapped lowly at Gamma Thomas and Madam Olympia. “You are not allowed to put your filthy hands on her ever again.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” they both said. “Our deepest and greatest apologies to you.”

The king shook behind me, no doubt fighting his wolf from coming out and hurting us all.

“Now,” the king said, scooping me up into his arms and pressing my face gently into the crook of his neck, “I will be returning to my room. I do not wish for anyone to disturb me or my mate until the day after tomorrow. Am I clear?”

“Y-yes, Your Highness,” Madam Olympia sputtered out in a shaking voice.

Had I heard him correctly? My mate.