Chapter One

“Your existence is an embarrassment to this family. Why exactly are you still alive?” Aurora’s foster mother spat, with enough venom to kill.

Blood ran from Aurora’s broken lip, tainting the white tile beneath her bare feet. Before she could recover, another slap landed on her cheek. The pain that tore through her face felt like acid. It burned so much she wished she could pass out.

This time she let out a cry, so hollow and shaky.

You’d think that so many of this morning routine and her bones would get used to the beatings. Because if it wasn’t mother’s fist, it was her whips.

Her lip was swollen and numb, and her knees on the ground wouldn’t stop trembling. Yet, this wasn’t the worst she’d been through. She was smart enough to know that it could always get worse.

Still, she was drained.

When would it end?

She was tired of being abused and tormented just because she was born. She wasn’t the only omega or the only salve. But they all hated her. The whole pack treated her like the scum way below the earth.

What did she ever do to deserve this?

Being an omega wasn’t a sin, was it?

Or maybe it was worse than that… it was a curse. One that has been with her all of her miserable life.

And nothing was ever going to change. So she took her beatings till the living daylight was taken out of her.

“I knew we should have never adopted you. You’re a curse. An omega with no origin should be hanged and left to rot.” Her foster mother, Eris, hissed in anger and began to pace. A bit of Aurora’s blood coated her palm.

“I told you, Sam,” Eris faced her husband. “We should have left her to the deltas. They would have gotten rid of her and saved us from this…disgust.”

“It’s okay, darling, I’ll handle it. You know she has her uses.”

“No. She has to be punished.”

Instantly, Aurora froze. A cold rush of panic tore through her spine. Her heart slammed faster into her chest as her whimper increased.

When Eris uttered the word punish. It only meant one thing.

The hole.

“Please…please, don’t.” Aurora cried, her lip bleeding more from moving. “I swear to the goddess I didn’t steal anything. I beg you, I didn’t take their sheep. I didn’t, I swear. Please, not the hole. Ma, please!”

“No need to beg. You know the rules.” Sam barked. “Your mother and I are the only people who care about you. The hole is a way for you to learn. You need to understand your place under my roof and in the pack. A slave that steals must be punished.”

She cried harder. “I’ve never stolen anything, I beg you. Pl—”

“Harry!” Eris shouted for her son. He was also an omega, just like their four other foster children.

But Aurora was the omega who remembered nothing of her past. Among the omegas she was lesser, and a slave. Her use was in the stalls and the kitchens.

Not a day went by without their reminder that she was beneath them. Other children were never sent to the hole. It was a prison created for her.

And Harry was the one who held the key. Of all her foster siblings, he hated her the most.

“Ma,” Harry stumped in. “I was about to join the Alpha’s hunting team. This better be good.”

“Bridget caught Aurora stealing again. Take her to the hole.”

Immediately, his frown turned into an ugly grin.

“Harry, please. You know I didn’t steal—”

“I don’t give a shit what you do.” He fumed. “I told Mom and Dad, they should never let you out of the hole. My friends make fun of me because I have you as a sister. You might be an omega like the rest of us but everybody knows you’re from nothing. Even an omega has roots and rights. You stink of slavery and death. No wonder Mom and Dad want to —”

“Harry, that’s enough.”

As soon as Sam stopped him, he hissed and rolled his eyes. “It’s not like her knowing stops it from happening. We own her, and it’s our right to do with her as we please.”

He grinned again. Aurora felt her skin crawl with hatred and dread. Suddenly she preferred the hole to the evil streak in his eyes.

“Just take her out of our sights,” Eris ordered.

“Up,” Harry barked, kicking her from the floor. “I don’t have to drag you this time do I?”

His foot connected to her ribs again, harder. It felt like iron bricks against her bones. In excruciating pain, she held her stomach, gasping for breath as her eyes went blind with tears.

Terrified of another hit she held back another wave of torment and struggled to her feet.

“You’re lucky we even keep you.” Harry cursed and shoved her forward.

They were almost at the door when Eris stopped them.

“Wait, I just remembered. The Alpha festival starts in an hour. Unfortunately, we’ll have to hold off on her punishment till we get back.”

“What if she doesn’t come back with us?”

“Look at her,” Eris chuckled to her husband, “there’s no way someone takes her tonight.”

Aurora heard Father chuckle back, and then Henry joined. They sounded like a bunch of hyenas over a rotten corpse. She knew they were planning something.

From the day they bought her, exactly a decade ago, they’ve done their best to get rid of her. They’ve tried to sell her off before, but she was never bought. Slaves were sold based on their use and she was too skinny to be considered hardworking.

Because no matter how hard she worked here, she only ate scraps and leftovers. When they asked for her origin, her foster parents couldn’t answer. And she was tossed aside.

A slave who could not be bought was worthless. That was how she saw herself every day. But today, they seemed to have a plan, like they were sure of something.

Have they found a buyer?

Someone who didn’t care that she was a worthless cursed slave. And if they did? Who in their right mind would take her? Maybe the slave masters? Or rouges who passed through and wanted someone as bait?

She groaned under her breath. It was frustrating not to know if this was her hell or if there was worse for her. She hated that her life lay in their hands.

Maybe she should try escaping again. But where would she go? She was a pariah everywhere and wouldn’t last her minute in the wild.

“Get Bridget,” Eris bit through her thoughts. “Tell her and the others to be ready in thirty minutes. And she should find a nicer rag for you. I don’t plan to be late for the Alpha’s party. So anyone who isn’t ready when I am can forget about tonight.”

In an hour, she and her foster family walked into a large hall filled with a bubbling, primed crowd. The moment Aurora stepped inside, she wished she could be anywhere else.

No one looked at her but she could sense their heavy dismissal come in sneers and mocking giggles. Unconsciously, she wrapped her arms around her sides. Hoping she could shield herself from their hateful eyes.

It was never easy to get used to the pack’s hatred. It made her feel like something rotten they couldn’t get rid of. Every second in their midst made her feel a tremendous amount of shame and regret for her existence.

Like she was doing something wrong by breathing the same air they did, and she had to apologize for every inhale.

While the rest mingled and caught up with their friends, she dropped her chin and melted into the darkness.

Her back settled against a pillar. With enough strain, she took in a long, deep breath. No one would find her here.

Or so she thought.

Whatever happened next happened so fast that she couldn’t find the moment to scream. Out of nowhere, sharp nails dug into her elbow and yanked her away from the pillar.

When she found her voice, a tight grip blocked her scream and another imprisoned her waist. Suddenly, her breathing quickened, her chest rising and falling rapidly as her senses scattered.

“You’re mine for the night.” Hot, vile breath sneered behind her. “I paid in full, so stay still.”

What the hell was happening?!

She was choking on her saliva, as her thoughts ran mad with fear and time began to slow down. Her heart beat faster. Her eyes flashed back and forth looking for an escape. For somebody, anybody, to help.

Please.

But no one was ever coming to save her.

She could feel her restraint slip as his fangs drew closer to her neck. He was going to force his mark on her and then own her against her will.

No! This cannot happen to her. An omega with a false mark was better off dead. She couldn’t let this happen to her. But no matter how much she struggled his fists tightened around her and she was slowly losing consciousness.

Maybe giving up was the best way. Maybe she didn’t deserve to…

No Aurora. Wake up.

Don’t let them take more from you. Don’t let them hurt us again. You can fight. I’m here.

The loud whisper in her head was strange and drifted back and forth like a broken echo. Yet, it was familiar. A voice she hadn’t heard in years.

The more she sank into obscurity, the voice dragged closer to the surface.

Half-awake, Aurora heard a wounded growl as her captor’s grip fell from her mouth and waist. It took her a few seconds to regain her senses. When she did, the sight before her sent a chill through her spine.

The man was on the floor, groaning and holding his sides in pain. There was blood on his stomach and it flowed around him to her feet. A look of horror in his eyes as he glared at her.

She followed his eyes and almost screamed when she saw the blood on her hands. She found it hard to breathe or focus. Her chest hammered against her rib and without a break, or another thought, she ran out of the hall.

What the hell just happened? That couldn’t be her. She was weak and more than useless in combat. Who hurt him? And what did he mean by his for the night?

This was Eris. This was all of them. They were going to sell her for the worst. A sharp pain slammed against her chest. It felt like a betrayal.

How could they do this to her? Why? Was that all she was worth now? A thing for the night.

Her bones ached more than they ever did but she never wanted to stop running. Away from them. From the nightmares.

The night was empty and cold but she kept running.

Till she crashed into a fence. A fence that seemed to have a heater and a drum. Because it was warm and had a pulsing beat.

“Who’s chasing you?”

Her head swayed back when the fence spoke, and in the most soothing, deep voice she ever heard. It wasn’t a fence, but the heftiest man she’d ever seen.

When he shook her a little bit she realized his arms were around her shoulders, and she was ogling. It was impossible not to. His hands felt strong and good against her skin… too good.

His eyes glowed electric blue in the night. They resembled an ocean she needed to sink into.

Something about him plunged her into a sweet-smelling bubble she was ready to stay trapped in forever. Never, in the life she could remember, did Aurora feel no fear.

Their eyes remained locked into each other. The air around them became intoxicating and humid by the second.

That wasn’t what shocked her the most. It was her wolf. For the first time, she blinked awake from her slumber.

Her stranger sensed this and dropped to her nape. Gently, he used his teeth to edge her hair out of the way and took a long, slow whiff of her scent. Like it was his first.

Then together they growled.

“Mate.”