Chapter 4

MELISSA

I hated to admit it, but I was powerless to change my fate.

I had tried—goddess, I had tried—to talk to Rico, to make him look at me, to force him to hear me out. But every time I got close, Lorinda made sure I was pulled back into the hell my life had turned into.

It started with small humiliations—fetching water from the farthest well, scrubbing floors others had intentionally dirtied. Then it escalated. Harder tasks. Longer hours. Punishments doled out on a whim, most frequently at Lorinda's hands.

"You missed a spot," Lorinda had sneered one evening, tipping over the bucket of dirty water I had been using to scrub the floors of the main halls. "Do it again."

I had clenched my fists, a storm of anger brewing in my chest. But what could she do? The guards were there, watching. The pack members turned away.

So, I gulped down my pride and scrubbed.

---

I fell into a routine.

I’d wake at dawn from the thin mattress in my square, windowless room. I’d pull on the coarse grey shift that marked me as less than an Omega. Then I’d work from sunup to sundown, scrubbing, hauling, washing.

When the day was done, and all the pack members had eaten, I would pick at the leftovers.

I knew was the only one who was treated this way. The Omegas of Lycan Pack were treated with dignity for what they did. They had warm rooms, warm clothes, good food.

But me?

I was nothing.

And the worst part? No one would even look at me.

I had tried.

I had tried speaking to an old friend in the kitchens, only to see the woman wince and turn away in silence.

I had tried to approach a young Omega I had once piggybacked before, only to see the girl run away in fear.

It did not take me long to find out why.

"Anyone who speaks to you will be punished."

That was Lorinda's edict.

And overnight, I became an outcast.

A ghost.

I had been the beloved Luna. Now I was less than dirt.

But in spite of it all, I still hoped.

I hoped Rico would regain his senses.

I could not believe that the man I loved, the man who had loved me, would suddenly become so cold.

This isn't him.

Something must have happened.

Rico loves me. Or at least… he loved me.

So, I suffered through it all—the pain, the hunger, the humiliation, waiting.

But two weeks went by.

And nothing changed.

Rico never came to find me.

Rico never even looked at me.

And I…I began to lose hope.

---

Then, on the fifteenth day, something changed.

I was outside the pack house, on a wooden stool while I scrubbed at the massive glass windows. The midday sun burned against my skin, but I didn't lift my head, focused on my work.

That was when I felt it.

A presence. Dark. Foreboding.

My wolf stirred uneasily within me, and my heartbeat started racing before I even turned.

I turned my neck slowly, facing the front l of the pack house.

And that was when I saw him.

A man walked towards the pack house, flanked by two guards.

He was tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in dark clothing. Black hair was short, a little tousled, but his sharp features had a touch of danger.

His piercing eyes, a cold, unsettling blue, locked onto mine.

I froze.

I didn't know why, but something in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine.

The way he held my gaze, unwavering, intense, made me feel exposed.

My fingers tightened on the damp cloth.

Who is he?

The man didn't pause in his walk. He didn't say anything. He just looked at me.

And then, just as quickly, he vanished into the pack house.

I breathed out a breath I hadn't known I was holding.

I swallowed, my thoughts racing.

His aura was one of an Alpha. He was definitely here to talk to Rico.

My mind churned for reasons. His face… I was sure I had seen it somewhere before.

And then, in a flash of lightning, his name hit me.

Troy.

Alpha Troy.

My blood turned cold.

Troy was no ally. He was a rival.

Rico had spoken of him for years as a threat—one of the strongest and most ruthless Alphas around.

So, what the hell was he doing here?

I had no answer.

But what I did know was this:

That was the day everything changed.

But not in the way I thought it would.