chapter 2

CARA

"it's Alice!" the person behind the door answered amidst consistent banging, I took a deep breath calming my already racing heart, for a moment I thought it was them.

the pounding on the door, intensified, adding to the headache I already had from crying too much over my pitiful life. I managed to get up from where I sat, wiped my eyes, and went to open the door for her.

“Oh my God, Cara, are you okay?” Alice exclaimed, grabbing me the moment the door opened.

“I…I’m…” I couldn’t finish my sentence before breaking down again, but Alice was there to catch me.

“Cara, you need to tell me what happened. Why did the Alpha summon you to his office? Are you in trouble? Please, Cara, tell me,” Alice pleaded, her voice full of concern.

I tried to calm down, and after what felt like an eternity, I was able to speak. I told her everything, how Alpha Black planned to sell me off for his benefit.

When I finished, Alice, usually so talkative, was speechless. I watched her as she got lost in thought, her brows furrowed in concentration.

“Cara! The party!” Alice suddenly shouted, almost giving me a heart attack.

“What about the party?” I asked, still confused and struggling to keep up.

“Remember this morning, Julia mentioned the pack was hosting a party tonight? They’re going to announce the next Alpha!” Alice explained urgently.

I blinked as the pieces slowly fell into place. “You mean…it’s not just a party? It’s a betrothal ceremony?” Hot tears threatened to spill from my eyes as the truth hit me.

“Don’t worry, Cara, we’ll think of something. I refuse to let them take you away,” Alice vowed, her voice firm with determination.

I thought about how drastically my life would change in just a few hours, and the tears I had tried so hard to hold back started flowing again. I felt so weak, so powerless.

Even in my previous pack, which was destroyed by rogues, Omegas were looked down upon for our weakness. We were easy targets for bullies and those who preyed on the defenseless. My mind raced with stories of the horrors faced by Omegas who were sold to other packs. Some were used as playthings, others as concubines, and the luckiest became slaves. A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of becoming a slave.

My dream had always been to find a loving mate who would care for me. I had always prayed for a kind soulmate, despite the rumors that as an Omega, finding your mate could be the worst thing to happen. We were often rejected because of our weak nature. I had witnessed it myself, an Omega in our pack found her mate, a respected warrior, only to be rejected by him. In her grief, she took her own life.

Omegas had no hope of a happy union and were destined never to experience the joy of being with the mate the Moon Goddess had chosen for them.

“I will never be taken as a concubine,” I suddenly swore, my voice trembling with determination.

“What?” Alice asked, startled by my sudden outburst.

“Over my dead body, Alice. I’d rather drink poison than be given to some evil man to be used as a toy,” I repeated, my face set with conviction.

“I’d rather die, or jump into the river, or…” My words caught in my throat as the reality of my situation hit me again. I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence.

Alice pulled me into a tight embrace, telling me to stop crying. But how could I? I thought of Alex, another refugee who had become a warrior in the pack. He wouldn’t know what was happening to me until it was too late. The thought made me shake my head sadly.

Alice looked helpless, knowing there was little she could do to save me from my fate. We stayed like that for hours, Alice holding me close as we waited for the night to come.

Suddenly, my ears twitched as I heard footsteps approaching. The sound of boots echoed in the corridor outside my door, stopping right in front of it. We held our breath, waiting to hear what the person had to say.

“Cara, I’m here to escort you to the pack’s party,” a voice said through the door. “You have ten minutes to get ready.”

My heart sank, pounding in my chest as the dreaded moment arrived. Alice helped me put on a dress that wasn’t too flashy but still decent. She tried applying makeup, but my tears kept ruining it, so she gave up with a sigh.

I looked at myself in the mirror, seeing a girl in a gray dress with sunken eyes from crying too much. The girl staring back at me could have been happy and pretty if not for the suffering and malnutrition. Alice hugged me again, fighting back her own tears as she tried to be strong for me.

Taking a deep breath, I turned back to take one last look at the room I had called home for half my life. I opened the door to meet the escort, another servant sent by Alpha Black.

The servant looked at me with apologetic eyes before extending his hand.

With a sigh, I steeled myself and walked towards him, my mind already made up about what I was going to do. I glanced back at Alice, my very good friend, who had unshed tears threatening to fall.

I put on a straight, determined face as I took the escort’s hand. We started climbing down the stairs towards the party that would decide my fate.

As we reached the bottom of the stairs, I suddenly froze, my heart pounding with a new realization. There was only one way to ensure they would never take me away, one way to escape the fate they had planned for me.

My mind raced with the only escape plan I could think of. It was risky, almost impossible. But if I could pull it off, I might have a chance.

As the doors to the grand hall loomed before me, I took a deep breath, my decision made.

Tonight, I would reclaim my destiny… or lose everything trying.