Chapter 1

“Have you heard that the alpha house is on fire?” 

“Fire? But we are in front of the building, I don't see any smoke”

“Not literally you idiot. I mean that there has been conflict in the alpha house between Alpha Ryker and his son, Evan” 

“isn’t Evan supposed to take over as Alpha in a few weeks? What is the conflict all about now?” 

“Yes, you are right. But I heard that Alpha Ryker is refusing to give him the position on the claims that he is not ready for the responsibility” 

“Oh my! That's a real house on fire, those two are always at loggerheads since Luna Tira died two years ago. Alpha Ryker is stubborn and headstrong while Evan is rebellious and stubborn too”

“Hmmm, It is said that when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. The pack is in trouble…”

…

I took another bend in my path thereby disconnecting myself from the two elderly women gossiping along the way, I had to listen to them against my wish. 

None of that mattered to me because I had bigger problems to face. 

“Are you Marcelline?” A stern faced man asked in a plain tone after I knocked on the side door of the Alpha house.

“Y..yes” I answered with my head slightly bowed.

“Filthy omega, you are late!” The man barked and grabbed my left ear, twisting it roughly.

I whimpered from the pain and willingly followed the direction of his pull to minimize the pain.

He dragged me inside by the ear till I joined the other girls standing with their heads bowed.

“I’ll let this go since this is your first day, let this sound as a warning to all of you. Lateness, disobedience and laziness will not be tolerated in this house, you will be so dealt with that you will wish you were dead. Am I clear?” He warned in a loud voice after letting go of my ear.

“Yes Sir Bruce” The ten of us present chorused. My ear still hurt but I swallowed the pain to avoid being reprimanded again.

“There is no time to waste, change to the uniform and go to your assigned tasks and begin your work” He instructed and pointed at the rooster on the small chalkboard.

I checked for my name and saw that I was in cleaning duty, I was confused on where to go and scared of asking Sir Bruce when a brunette said beside me with a small smile, “I’m on cleaning duty too, follow me”

I nodded gratefully at her and quickly followed, “Thank you…” I trailed off in a small voice. 

“Martha, the name is Martha and you're welcome” She introduced herself. 

“I’m Marcelline, Marcy or Celline for short” I replied.

“Marcy, you are new so let me officially welcome you to hell” Martha said and chuckled softly, I found myself responding with a small smile of my own. Martha was probably the only person that was nice to me in a long while. 

“How long have you been working here?” I asked curiously because she looked less than a wreck compared to me.

“A couple months, Why do I look… happy? relaxed?” she asked.

I nodded slowly in response and she chuckled. I was impressed by her vibrant attitude, working as a pitiful maid and she still managed to maintain her smile. I wished I could be that positive…

“Trust me, my life is far from easygoing, I mean look at my current position, the trick is accepting your miserable fate. An omega is forever born to serve others, our life is to be maids, slaves or breeders. When you accept that that is all there is, you start to live each day more peacefully and you can appreciate the little pieces of happiness that streaks in” She explained, her eyes distant.

Silence ensued between us as I pondered on her words. Being an evident proof, I could tell she was probably right but was that all our life was meant to be? If that was the case then it was truly sad and depressing. Growing up, I had always thought that there was more to my life than doing chores and getting the frustrations of other wolves. Perhaps that was why I was always restless and unhappy, I kept craving for more.

Martha was right, this is our fate.

“So what's your story? How did you end up in this purgatory?” Martha asked as she handed me cleaning supplies after we changed our clothing.

My mind thought of the night before… the struggling and screams, the knife to my throat and seemingly endless beatings.

It made me shiver and I quickly shook my head, “I don't want to talk about it yet” 

To me, anywhere was better than going back there. 

“It’s okay, I can see you have a traumatic story to tell, everyone here has one, that's our curse for being without a wolf” She commented as her eyes fell on the fresh reddish cane marks on my pale skin that I have been trying to cover with my maid uniform.

“I…” I stammered, unsure of where to start. Martha was nice to me and friendly too, I wanted to tell her everything or maybe I needed to tell somebody to free my aching heart. I whimpered in anguish and my eyes began clouding over with tears.

“Hey, come on, let's go somewhere private” Martha said with a soft voice as she took my hand and pulled me into the small room full of cleaning supplies.

In the enclosed room, I found myself releasing all the pent up sadness and fear in my heart. I hadn't cried since last night and it took someone asking to release it.

“Oh dear” Martha pulled me in for a hug and rubbed my back gently while I bawled my eyes out. 

“You don't have to tell me if you don't want to,” she said after a minute.

I pulled away from her and reined in my tears, “No, I want to tell you. I need to get it off my chest” I wanted to be relaxed like Martha.

Martha gave me a small smile reassuringly, indicating that I should continue.

Last night was dreadful, it hunted me every second and had my heart pounding hard in hyperventilation. Recalling that night was like a nightmare:

“My uncle, Levi, has always made sexual passes at me. It started small with lustful eyes and ‘coincidental’ bumps and brushes. I used to brush it off because I didn't know any better, but then it got worse. He would say sexual suggestive words to me and grope me when his wife was not there. It made me extremely uncomfortable and I tried hard to avoid being alone with him… until last night”

Everything played out as if it was actually happening again.

“Marceline! Marceline!” I heard uncle Levi call for me.

I shivered in fear at the sound of his voice. Aunty Rena had just left home a few minutes ago that evening, leaving me alone with her perverted husband.

I considered ignoring it but I knew better not to, that would actually make things worse.

I walked to him in his room cautiously and answered, “You called for me?”

“Yes… twice before you saw the need to answer. Need I remind you that you live under my roof and so you are under my mercy?” he barked at me.

I remained quiet and my head lowered, that seemed to have ticked him off even more and in a flash, I was grabbed harshly by the jaw.

“Wretch, when I am talking to you, you answer” he spat, his mouth reeking of alcohol.

I struggled to pull out of his grip but I couldn't budge. “Uncle Levi…please” I pleaded. I was at a loss on what to do except beg.

His eyes twinkled and he smiled sickly when they fell on my full chest, his grip on my jaw tightened and he threw me on his bed. “Take off your clothes” he ordered.

I shook in fear and immediately fell to my knees, “Uncle Levi, please, don't do this… we are family… this is not right…” I pleaded as tears flowed down my face freely. The thought of my uncle touching me was too revolting and irritating, over my dead body will that happen.

Uncle Levi sneered and he swiftly grabbed the knife on the bowl of fruits on the table. Then he pounced on me, bringing the sharp blade dangerously close to my neck.

“Do you want to die? Do you think if I were to kill you here, anyone would say anything? When I say take off your clothes, you TAKE IT OFF!” With that he pulled at one side of my dress, tearing it to reveal my breasts in full display.

I gasped and trembled, I couldn't even struggle, I have never felt so helpless in my life. 

Uncle Levi licked his lips and began reaching for my bosom, like a ravenous animal about to feast. 

Was this really happening? My own uncle was about to sully my innocence and I could not do anything about it lest I die. My mental state was a mess and the thought of my parents crossed my mind. If only they were still alive, I wouldn't be facing such a predicament.

Perhaps it was better to die a noble death than witness this abomination, I can finally join my parents in the afterlife. 

I closed my eyes, ready to forcefully push my neck into the knife that was against it so I could leave this world that was nothing short of cruel ever since I was born.

It was at that moment that the door of the room slammed open and Aunt Rena stepped in with a furious look on her face.

“What the hell is going on here?” 

I was too lost in thoughts of my own suicide to notice when she was close but Uncle Levi wasn't. The cunning man had swiftly switched us over so that I was on top of him and the knife in his hand positioned to look like it was in defense against me.

“How dare you try to seduce your uncle? Abomination! If you don't stop this now, I'll have no choice than to use this knife to stop you” He warned, waving the knife at me with a startled expression on his face.

Aunt Rena was red with anger and she marched towards us in heavy steps, surely she understood how absurd it is for a small omega like me to overpower a renowned male wolf that was in fact my own uncle. I immediately got off him and pointed frantically, “Aunty, he tried to rape me! He threatened to kill me with a knife if I did not do his bidding. See, he tore off my clothes…” 

I couldn't finish what I was saying when a slap landed on my cheek, it stung. 

“Not only are you a witch but you are also a home wrecker. I will not watch you disrupt my home simply because I am taking care of you on my sister's behalf. You must leave this house first thing tomorrow morning to the alpha house, you will begin as a maid there. As for tonight, I will make sure to teach a lesson that you will never forget” Aunt Rena spat out venomously.

I scoffed at myself internally, why did I even think she would believe me? Her wicked heart that treated me like a slave wouldn't pass up this opportunity to condemn me even more. 

I was dragged out of the room soon after and true to her words, I was tied up and flogged mercilessly. They both took turns, I couldn't scream or cry anymore after a while, I just laid there and let them scar every inch of my body.

It was definitely something I will never forget. I couldn't wait for the next day to arrive, I didn't know how the alpha house was going to be but anywhere was better than this hellhole.

I narrated it all to Martha, someone I had just met a few hours ago with tears pouring down like a waterfall. 

“Oh you poor child! I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that” She spoke up when I finished my narration as she wiped my face with her hands. 

“I’m sorry too, it's our first time meeting and I made it a mess with my…” I was beginning to say but she cut me off.

“Shut it, Marcy… don't you dare complete that sentence. No one deserves to endure that much at your age, it is so wrong” she interrupted. 

I nodded with a small smile in agreement, I have never had someone to sympathize with me and it admittedly felt refreshing. After sharing my predicament with her, a mental load seemed to have been lifted and I felt like I could finally breathe.

“As much as I would love for us to talk more, we have to begin with our chores, if we are caught here then we are as good as dead”

I nodded in agreement and left the storage room with her, we didn't say anything more and just proceeded to get some work done. I think Martha was the best thing to enter into my life and I was already feeling a little giddy to sit with her later.

 An hour later, we parted ways as we kept cleaning. I was cleaning down the hallway when I heard some voices in the room a few inches away.

They were male voices, talking and barking harshly at each other. I managed to pick up somethings unintentionally:

“I see why mom was never happy with you, you only care about yourself. Mom died because of you…”

“Enough! Evan, your mother was the love of my life and I can barely stay sane since she passed so I will not tolerate these accusations from you… I said NO because you are not ready and that is FINAL” 

“Not ready? That's what you have been saying for over a year now, I am sick of it. I am a commander in charge of the pack’s army and my rule has been so impressive that other packs speak greatly of us. If I can train the army then I don't see why I cannot be Alpha. I am next in throne as alpha and I'm going to be Alpha NO MATTER WHAT” 

“I am the Alpha and your father, it is your duty to listen to me. It is exactly because of this hot temperament that you are simply not ready. Training a bunch of warriors is different from herding an entire pack. I am not going to repeat myself any more than this, my word is final”

“Perhaps you should think of what is causing this so-called hot temperament before you talk. There is gossip spreading within and outside the pack about the instability of the pack's power. Do you know what that means, father? We are becoming laughingstocks because of your indecisiveness. Your word is not final because I am going to challenge you in front of the pack right now to a life and death duel for the throne. See if you can stop me”

“Evan! Where are you going? I am not done talking… don't you dare walk out on your father. Evan!”

Suddenly I heard footsteps coming towards me and I backed away quickly. From the conversation I could tell it was the Alpha and his son, heated and angry or not, I knew I shouldn't be there but it happened so fast. 

I had barely stepped back when ‘Evan’ charged out of the room and bumped into me, the impact of his build causing me to fall to the ground.

“Are you mad, what are you blocking the way for? A peasant maid listening in on the alpha’s conversation, how brazen… you should be beheaded” he barked at me, clearly pouring his earlier anger on me without hesitation.

I had fallen with my red hair covering my face so I pushed it out of the way and struggled to get up while pleading, “Have mercy, soon-to-be Alpha. I swear on my dead parent's grave, it was coincidental, I wouldn't dare…ple…” The words suddenly got stuck in my throat when my eyes met his.

MATE! 

The word echoed in my head loud and clear, I unconsciously gasped and staggered backward with my face white with disbelief.

“Mate” he blurted out, confirming my thoughts. His face moved from shocked to a frown, clearly unhappy by the discovery.

“You…” he was about to say when the other voice interrupted him as he walked out of the room as well.

“Evan! How dare you walk out on me? Forget that you are my son, I will not hesitate to punish you…” he stopped talking when he noticed the atmosphere was different and then he followed Evan's eye direction to look at me.

MATE! The clear voice in my head said again once my eyes and Alpha Ryker's met. 

Color drained from my face, I was confused and fearful at the same time… what the hell was going on? First the son and now the father? Soon to be Alpha and the Alpha himself… there must be a mistake somewhere.

“Mate” Alpha Ryker blurted out, confirming the one truth that I was desperately trying to ignore.

Father and son are both my mates…