Chapter 5

The heavy door creaked open, and Emily and her captor were ushered into a dimly lit room.

The air was thick with a palpable sense of power and desire, but not the kind that could be sated with food. 

Emily tried to conceal her trembling body from the lecherous looks of the men in the room, but it was a futile effort. She was the center of attention, and she knew it.

"Kneel," the man who had brought her here barked, and Emily complied. But before she could adjust to her new position, he kicked her legs out from under her, and she landed hard on all fours. Her hands were still tied behind her back, making the fall even more painful.

There was a moment of eerie silence as the men in the room sized her up. Emily felt like a piece of meat on display, ready to be devoured.

The man who brought her here moved to take a seat, leaving Emily alone at the center of the room.

"What are we to make of her, Alpha?" A new voice broke the silence, and the others started to murmur in agreement.

"We can make her our toy," another voice chimed in, eliciting a low chuckle from some of the men.

"Your mate would have your head, Matt," the first voice warned.

"I don't mind, as long as I have her," Matt replied with a smirk, causing Emily's skin to crawl.

"Enough!" The Alpha's voice boomed, and the room fell silent once more. "She is an Omega. How can you lust after such a lowly thing?"

"What are we to do with her then?" Another voice asked.

"Make her do what other Omegas do in the pack," the Beta suggested. "She is lucky to be alive. Let her work for the pack."

"Good one," two of the Alpha's friends chimed in.

"If that is all, I have training to attend to," Matt said abruptly, his tone painted with impatience as he left the room.

"Matt sounded peeved," the Alpha observed.

"About the Omega? No. You know he doesn't joke with his training. He believes we could be attacked anytime, so he loves it when we are always ready," one of the Alpha's friends clarified.

"Get her to the Omega quarter, Kane," the Alpha ordered the man who had brought Emily.

"Yes, Alpha," Kane replied. He grasped Emily's hand and pulled her up before directing her towards the Omega quarter. They left the room. "You behaved fairly well," Kane remarked.

"Thank you, sir," Emily replied.

"What is your name?" Kane inquired.

"Emily, sir," she answered.

"I hope I remember not to refer to all of you as Omega when you're together in a room," Kane said. Emily was perplexed; what was he talking about?

As they walked further into the pack house, they entered another wing, where they encountered an older lady. "Here is another one," Kane said to the woman before departing.

Emily avoided looking at the lady, but the lady approached her and touched her face. Emily withdrew immediately, but the lady assured her that they were in the same boat. "Look up, dear," she said.

Emily slowly raised her head and realized that the lady was an Omega, judging from her disheveled grey hair and unkempt clothing.

"What's your name?" Emily asked.

"I'm Mary," the lady replied with a smile. "You don't need to call me ma'am. Mary will suffice. Kat, please help Emily settle in, get her a properly fitting uniform, and show her what she needs to do." Mary summoned another Omega girl named Kat.

Suddenly, Emily's stomach growled loudly. She felt embarrassed, but Mary chuckled and told her not to worry.

"Get changed, and I'll see if there are any leftovers for you to eat," Mary said.

"Come on," Kat said, looking younger than Emily. She led Emily to their small but well-maintained room and opened a drawer filled with uniforms. Together, they found one that fit Emily perfectly.

"You can wash yourself there," Kat said, pointing to a door on their left.

"The Alpha can suddenly get offended if you're dirty."

"Thank you," Emily said.

"Be sure to use the water sparingly. I'll be waiting for you here. Go ahead," Kat said before leaving the room.

Emily nodded and entered the bathroom. It was tiny, but she was grateful for the water. She quickly undressed and bathed, without soap since there was none available. She dried herself with the single towel and changed into the new uniform. 

There was even a set of bra and panties for her to wear, which was a vast improvement.

She attempted to dry her hair with the towel, thankful that it was black, so it wouldn't show how dirty her red hair was.

She hadn't seen herself in a mirror for so long, and when she finally saw herself in the bathroom mirror, she barely recognized herself. She looked thin, almost skeletal, with bags under her eyes. 

Her red hair was a mess, nearly turning black from the grime that coated it.

Her cheeks looked sunken in, so she pulled her hair up into a messy bun to keep it out of her face while she worked.

Instead of lingering on her reflection, she left the bathroom and found Kat waiting outside.

"I thought you drowned," Kat joked, checking to make sure Emily was okay.

"I would never do that," Emily replied, and Kat nodded in agreement. She led Emily to the kitchen where Mary was waiting with a plate of porridge.

"This is the only thing left. Eat quickly, and let's get down to business," Mary said.

Grateful, Emily took the plate and quickly finished the food. Mary took the empty plate and handed it to Kat, who promptly took it away.

"Can you cook?" Mary asked Emily.

"Yes," Emily replied.

"Which pack are you from?" Mary inquired, showing Emily what she needed to do.

"I'm from the Skyline pack."

Mary nodded her head in agreement. "I heard that this pack attacked them as a lesson for interfering with their affairs," Mary said, her tone serious.

"And how were you treated there?" she asked Emily.

"It was terrible," Emily replied, struggling to put her feelings into words.

Mary nodded in understanding. She had been a slave since birth, passed from one pack to another, yet she was still alive and holding herself up. "This pack is no different," she said. "But all you need to do is try your best to stay away from trouble. Hide from trouble, run away from trouble, and you will be fine."

"Thank you," Emily said, and they fell silent, preparing the evening meal. None of the pack members came into the kitchen to disturb the Omegas, unlike in her former pack.

There, they would have taunted Emily and Fanny and punished them for making a mess in the kitchen. Emily thought about Fanny and prayed to the Moon Goddess to keep her safe.

"How many Omegas are in this pack?" Emily asked.

"We have five, myself, Kat, Tina, Faith, and now you," Mary replied. Emily had only seen two Omegas so far: Kat, and either Tina or Faith.

"You must have met Faith in the cell," Mary said.

"Oh, she's Faith? Why is she in the cell?" Emily asked, fear creeping into her voice.

"She wanted to kill herself, so she was put in the cell where she can't harm herself. The other Omegas were sold to other packs," Mary explained. Emily looked fearful, but Mary reassured her. "If you behave well, they will keep you."

Emily nodded and went back to work. Mary was clearly skilled in her tasks, having lived most of her life as a maid and Omega.

But Emily didn't want to end up like Mary. She vowed to escape to the human world and forget about this life, as long as she avoided werewolves there.

"When do we finish for the day?" Emily asked Mary.

"We finish when we're done with our daily work. Kat and Tina are attending to the laundry now, ironing the clothes, and then they will return them to the rooms. After we're done here, we'll join them. The pack members will attend to their meals themselves. They don't like us getting their food," Mary said.

"Okay," Emily said. She was glad to avoid contact with the pack members.

A few days later, the Omegas were doing laundry while Mary told them stories about the king. Mary had been around for a long time and knew about the curse.

"I heard he was cursed even before he was born," Mary said.

"Is that why he's so heartless?" Tina asked.

"Who knows? No one knows how the curse affects the king," Mary replied with a shake of her head.

"What a life, though he has everything," Kat said as she folded a cloth and put it in the right basket.

Emily shook her head in agreement as she ironed clothes with Tina. She was happy to have ended up in this pack and avoided any trouble that might get her punished. But she couldn't forget about Fanny, who might be in a worse situation. 

Her heart bled for her friend, but Mary told her to focus on herself. Fanny sounded like someone who could hold herself well, Mary said.

After completing the laundry, Mary reminded the girls of the rules and instructed them to return the clean clothes to their respective owners.

Emily and Kat made their way down one wing, deftly carrying two baskets at a time.

Since they had collected the dirty laundry that morning, they knew exactly where each basket needed to go. Once they finished the first round, they went back for another set of baskets.

Emily knocked before entering the room, and placed the basket where she had found it.

As she turned to leave, she accidentally collided with someone and stumbled to the floor, rubbing her forehead.

“I'm sorry,” she stammered.

“Well, well, well,” a familiar voice said. Emily recognized it as Matt, the leader of the Moonlight pack’s warriors. “Look who finally showed up.”

Emily was taken aback, feeling a sense of fear wash over her. Matt's mate was known for her ferocity and Emily knew that getting on her bad side could result in dire consequences.

“Have you been hiding, Omega?” Matt demanded.

Emily shook her head in response, but this only seemed to anger Matt further. He grabbed her face tightly, forcing her to look at him.

“Open your mouth and answer me when I ask you a question,” he growled. “Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Emily stuttered, feeling completely submissive in his presence.

“Good. I like them submissive,” Matt sneered, licking the side of Emily’s face.

Emily whimpered as Matt licked the side of her face. She tried to turn away, but he held her firmly.

Suddenly, another voice interrupted them. “What is going on here?”

Matt stood up and turned to face his mate, who glared down at Emily. Emily knew she was in big trouble.