CHAPTER 001

Thea's POV

"Look who we have here." I was lost in thought, scribbling poetry on a paper that I didn't hear the library door creak open fast enough for me to hide. When I heard it, it was already too late, my assaulters have already seen me. 

Hiding out alone in the library has never been much of a peace but I was left with no choice when the rate at which I was being bullied increased. There was no one to ask for help from because no one really cared about what was being done to an omega or a slave and worst of all an orphan.

I grew up without knowing my parents except my grandmother who had been recently sick. Grandma told me they died in war as they were our pack warriors. And the bully increased when the Moon Goddess paired me with the Alpha's son. Could life be any more pathetic?

But the joy I found was that my mate didn't resent me as much as they all do, maybe it was the mate bond or he truly cared for me but was helpless because of the taunts of being mated to an omega slave. Not that he wasn't among the gang who had proven to be my worst nightmare in the Shadow moon pack but he only watched them helplessly from a distance as they beat the shit out of me. 

The best he does is to implore them to leave me after they must have already beaten me to a pulp. Funny how even the Alpha's son couldn't even stand up for his mate right? He said he doesn't want anyone to think he harbours any extra kind of feelings for me.

The Ellas as they all liked to call themselves strolled in, Nuella- the Beta's daughter and her two friends. 

Just yesterday they attacked me while I was cleaning the windows, Nuella poured me the bucket of cleaning water and refused to give me the mopping towel. It was nothing new as an Omega and worst of all an orphan who took care of her sick grandmother alone. There was nobody to speak up for me and I had vowed never to fight back because the last time I retaliated, it wasn't funny.

I had shaved Nuella- with the scissors she used in ripping my school skirt and my grandmother was punished terribly for it. The beta instructed that she sat under the sun till dawn. Since then I only watched helplessly as they picked on me. 

Jacob Onyx the Alpha's son and apparent heir to the Alpha's throne is twenty-one and 3 years older than me. I found out last year when I clocked eighteen that he was my fated mate but still things didn't change instead it made Nuella angry as she had always wanted to be Luna. Delulu enough right?

Rumors have it that Jacob would soon become the Alpha and would need a Luna by his side, this alone has angered Nuella and she has constantly bullied me over the past few weeks to reject him but I didn't. Why? I just couldn't reject my mate and live the worst nightmare of my life in the pack. 

Scratch that as I might be living my worst nightmare but it doesn't change the fact that having a mate is always a lucky thing as some werewolves didn't get the chance to meet their fated mates. Tho our mates are supposed to protect and shield us but I was happy with the little reassurance Jacob gave me anytime we saw each other secretly. 

He couldn't fight for me because his title was at stake but when the time was right he would do something, I thought so at least. We were secretly seeing each other for obvious reasons; nobody wants us to be together especially his father. A weak omega slave cannot be mated to an Alpha.

Nuella, crossed the room to get to me, and her sassy friends trailed behind her. 

Nuella Beckett was everything I was not, rich, sassy and beautiful. She had everything at the tips of her fingers because she was the Beta's daughter and she thought with the relationship between her father and the Alpha she would be Jacob's Luna. 

I didn't even care about being Luna, I was just content with Jacob's love and identity as his mate, I didn't even mind if he took a chosen mate. Call it desperate all you want but I don't care, all I wanted was my mate and I didn't care if I had to share him. 

"Look, it's Jacob's lover, desperate bitch." She mocked and her silly friends laughed at the not so funny joke. 

I searched the room for the nearest exit but then Jacob walked in as if having sensed me in trouble through the mate bond. My heart curled up in hope but then something wasn't right, he didn't come to defend me or tell Nuella to back off, in fact he was avoiding my gaze. For the first time, he wasn't stealing glances at me, what was going on?

The feeling of dejection tugged at my heart, shattering my high hopes.

Jacob moved to a corner at the library to hide his face or better still watch the show while avoiding me like a plague. 

Nuella called up to him, "Jay, won't you try to save your lover? Or your mate?" She referred to me rudely. 

Jacob scrunched his nose as he looked everywhere except my eyes, "stop it y'all. I already told you, dirty orphans are not my type."

His insults really hurt me but I kept mute. He was just saying those things to pretend and maybe it was what I said to myself to console myself whenever he didn't defend me in fucked up situations like this.

"Really? Why hurt her feelings Jay? You pop her cherry and decide you no longer want her? Cheap slut!" Nuella made another horrible joke and they all burst into laughter again.

I eyed her and it got her angry as she grabbed my collar, "well, I'm sure better in bed than this freak. Aren't I?" She smirked at Jacob and bit her lips lustfully.

She was sure as hell lying, there was no way Jacob had slept with her. She was a sassy brat who bullied others because she knew they couldn't fight back. 'Don't listen to her, she's just a jealous freaking bitch.' Kyla my wolf encouraged me.

But my heart ached in pain, why was Jacob avoiding my gaze? 

"What's this?" One of her friends asked from beside me as she bent over to pick the piece of paper I was scribbling a while ago. It was a love letter I was scribbling for Jacob, to show him how romantic and smart I could be.

Oh no! Jacob would be so mad at me again. The last time his friends had mistakenly seen one of the love letters I had composed for him, he had given me the silent treatment for days and I had to constantly show up at his door every night for him to forgive me. I wanted to slap myself right now for being careless again.

She picked the paper to show it to Nuella and instinctively, I grabbed the paper from her hand as I mashed it into a ball and threw it into my mouth, chewing on the stupid paper. Jacob's reputation was safe and that was all that mattered.

"Stupid bitch!" Nuella barked, slapping me hot across my face. The force of the slap made me spit out the wet paper.

"How dare you, you stupid orphan? Have you forgotten where you belong? On your knees scrubbing the dust off our feet." She barked as she grabbed my hair, gripping hard as I yelled in pain.

"Shut up you fucking whore!" She screamed in my ear.

She tossed me to the wall as her friends appeared at my sides pining me down, "Are you ready to reject Jacob now? Or do you want to keep suffering for it every single day of your life?" She taunted and her friends grinned jokingly.

I squared myself, putting pressure on my aching shoulders where I'm being pinned and I glared at her with all my might, "Make me!"

My pride came first than anything and the fact that Nuella had been bullying me to reject Jacob spelt out how desperate she was. I wasn't going to give in, 'you're stronger than the pain' my wolf's voice echoed in my head.

Nuella gritted her teeth, angry at my comeback as she raised her foot to kick my chest when an angry voice boomed in, "What the fuck are you doing?"

I collapsed on the floor thankful for the Saviour's interruption, I wasn't sure I was going to survive that kick if it had landed on my chest. But who was it? Was it Jacob, was he finally standing up for me?