Chapter 2

Emma

I wake up in a cold place to someone crying beside me. When my eyes adjust to the dark, I realize it’s another woman. She smells like an Omega, but her body is bruised and battered. Her eyes stare back at me.

“Where am I?” My words come out raspy, and my throat is as dry as sandpaper.

“They took you too, didn’t they?” Her voice is just a faint whisper as if she hasn’t had water for days.

"Umm...“

I try to rake my blurry mind. There were rogues, leers, a tunnel, and a cloth that smelled funny. I shiver, feeling the phantom grip of the rogues on my arm and the sour smell from that cloth invading my senses.

“Who are they?” I ask, and the other Omega visibly flinches at my question.

“This is the Omega Tavern, an illegal business run by the rogue king Giovanni himself.”

“Rogue king?”

“Or so he calls himself,” she continues, her eyes distant, “He’s the worst of them all, the leader of the rogues in this city. Giovanni is his name. He... he’s not just a rogue; he’s a monster. He kidnaps Omegas during their heat and brings them here to...to...” She trails off, choking back a sob as she pulls her knees to her chest.

Even though I don’t want to force this poor woman to explain further, my survival depends on it.

I reach out my hand and place it on her shoulder, causing the woman to jump. Skittish; I have to be kind to make her talk.

I hand her a smile. “Giovanni brings Omegas here to do what?”

She hesitates before swallowing thickly. “He forces us to...entertain his guests,” she finally manages to say, her voice trembling with fear.

My heart clenches. Whatever they did to this woman ruined her for life. I can see it in her malnourished form, the hollowed look in her eyes—she has been here for such a long time it has taken the light out of her eyes.

I can hear my wolf whimpering, afraid we will face the same fate.

Suddenly, the door to the room opens. We seem to be in a basement, and I freeze when two rogues drag in the lifeless corpse of a woman.

“JULIA!” the woman beside me shrieks. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO JULIA?!”

The rogues ignore her and throw Julia’s body to the floor with a disinterested grunt. The woman beside me begins to sob, a pitiful wailing sound.

“Shut up, will ya?” One of the rogues grumbles, glaring at the woman beside me. “You’re the reason your friend is dead since you refused to please Giovanni.”

The other rogue smirks. “You’re lucky your friend took your place, or you would be the one lying there. Giovanni was in quite the mood tonight.”

The woman’s sobs stop abruptly, replaced by a stunned silence. She stares at Julia’s lifeless body and then at the rogues, her face pale. She looks like she is about to collapse and die.

“I’m... I’m...” she stammers, but the words seem to be stuck in her throat. “I didn’t...”

Before the rogue can reply, I lunge forward and grab the metal bars that are keeping me imprisoned. “It’s not her fault. You did this! Monster!” I scream at him.

The rogues smirk, one of them looking directly at me without a hint of fear.

“You’re a lively one, but that will all change tonight, sweetheart. We have a special guest coming here tonight and he has requested the prettiest Omega to serve him—you.”

“He will make you submit for sure,” the other one leers at me like the Cheshire Cat himself. “Do you want to know who the customer is?” He looks at his friend. “Can I tell her?”

The other rogue nods. “Go ahead.”

He steps closer to the cell, his eyes glimmering dangerously in the faint light like a predator closing in on its prey. “It’s the Alpha of the Grim Pack,” he says, a cruel smirk pulling at his lips. “I’m sure you’ve heard the tales of Reed Walton.”

His words hit me like a sledgehammer, taking my breath away. The Grim Pack is the largest in New Haven City, and their Alpha, Reed Walton, is young but so ruthless and cold that even the werewolf council is kept on their toes.

The woman beside me gasps, her eyes wide with terror. “You’re as good as dead,” she whispers, her voice hoarse from crying. “Reed Walton doesn’t have a soul. He is a ruthless Alpha who doesn’t hesitate to kill. I can’t imagine him being kind to a woman.”

My heart sinks as I meet her gaze, a chill running down my spine. She is looking at me as if I’ve been given a death sentence while the rogues are laughing.

“I love the fear in her eyes.”

“So priceless!”

As I struggle to hold back tears, one of the rogues saunters towards a closet, retrieving a scanty pink stripper dress with a mocking grin.

“This is what you’re going to wear,” a cruel smile spreads over his lips, showing off his rotten teeth. “You’re pretty, so maybe he will make you his Luna.”

Those words are meant as a joke because his friend bursts out laughing the moment he hears them.

“Make her his Luna? Good one!” the rogue uses his fingers to remove some tears from his eyes. “She might be pretty, but let’s face it: she will end up like Julia. The only reason men come here is to be as cruel as they can towards Omegas in secret. Here, men can live out their fantasies without fear of the public ever finding out what they truly desire: submission.”

The punch of this reality makes me physically ill. There is already bile rising in my throat, and it gets worse when the rogue throws the skimpy clothes at me.

“Put them on, or I will undress you myself,” he grins and walks up to the cage so we are seeing eye-to-eye. “And trust me, darling, I wouldn’t mind. If you weren’t reserved for Alpha Reed, I would take you myself.”

He licks his lips while making humping motions against the metal bars, and that’s the last straw. I can no longer fight the bile and empty my stomach—right on the rogue’s chest.  

The taste of iron and bitterness clings to the back of my throat, but it’s a small price to pay for the moment of satisfaction I get when I see the disgust flash across the rogue’s face.

“Disgusting bitch!” He roars, staring down at his chest that’s covered in puke. Before I can react, his hand lashes out, smashing against the bars with such force that they shudder in response. “I swear to the moon goddess that if Alpha Reed doesn’t kill you, then I will!”

With that, he turns on his heel and leaves the room. The other rogue, however, stays behind.

“Put on the dress,” he says. “Your customer is waiting.” 

By customer, he means Alpha Reed Walton and that man is going to be the end of me. My throat squeezes shut at the thought of being used by him, and my wolf whimpers. 

I don’t want to meet the Alpha who inspires nightmares.