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CHAPTER ONE

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It's so cold.

The ground is moist and stinky; the boy sitting on the ground of the small old storage room has whip scars all over his body, and the rags he wore are torn in several areas from the brutality of the flogging he has just received.  

His weak body crumbles from both hunger and pain, even more haunting is the knowledge that they will soon be back.

They will make him suffer more, and his frail body may not be able to take it this time. 

As though jinxing himself to another round of punishment, the wooden door suddenly flies open and Rene cowers backward, his frantic eyes are wide with plea when several towering figures looms above him like a frightening shadow. 

"Has our little thief learned his lesson yet?" Hugo, the head of the kitchen servant sneers, crouching down to meet Rene's panicked gaze with a malicious smile. 

Rene does not respond; his lips tighten of their own accord; even if he begs, they will still hurt him anyway, perhaps even more. He won't give them that twisted satisfaction. 

Hugo's eyes narrow at the omega in displeasure; he can see the defiance in Rene's eyes, and he turns to the other servants who have followed him into the room.

"What he took was one week's food's worth; see to it that he doesn't get to eat anything during this period," He gives out the order, "Watch how I starve your stupid ass to death!"

"I did all the w_ork assigned to me, w_hy am I not allowed even w_water? As you know, my mother is critically ill, she's going to die if she continues to be poorly fed!" Rene shudders when Hugo barks out a merciless laughter. 

"Still not enough reason to steal, and yes, if you and your mother could both die, it would be better for everyone; everyone is tired of seeing your hideous faces!" 

Rene attempts to struggle when Hugo suddenly grasps his chin, his voice dripping with cruelty and excitement that makes bile rise in Rene's throat. "You haven't learned your lesson yet; it makes me look bad; others will repeat the same mistake if I don't use you as an example!"

Without warning, Hugo delivers a harsh punch to Rene's face. Rene swallows back a painful cry, he can taste metallic blood in his tongue. 

"I will see how long your stubbornness will last," Hugo sneers, being a Beta, he is much stronger than Rene, and flexing his power like this thrills him with satisfaction. 

"I'm still the son of your chief, you can't raise your hand on me like this!" Rene cries out bitterly, and Hugo laughs, his mocking laughter echoing throughout the whole kitchen; the other servants join him.

"There is nothing noble about being a weak spineless Omega, " Hugo delivers a sharp kick to Rene's abdomen, sending Rene flying against a wall, every nerve ending in his body cracking with pain.

"I don't think your father is going to do anything even if I decide to kill you today; your brothers will applaud me for getting rid of you. Everyone, let's teach this pig a lesson not to steal again!" Hugo beckons to the other servants.

"No, let me go!" Rene screams when they close in on him, He has no hope of escaping as they gang up on him, each delivering brutal blows and kicks to every part of Rene's body. 

Rene's arms are lifted in a failed attempt to shield his face from their assault.

He doesn't want to cry and give them satisfaction, but every part of his body hurts so much that the tears keep escaping his eyes of their own accord.

His slender body curls into a tight protective ball and his soft whimper of pain is sneered upon, they all laugh at him for being so weak 

"Look, our noble Chief's son is begging for mercy!" Hugo's statement earns another round of laughs from the other servants. 

The sounds of drums from a distance halts their movement.

"We will deal with you later!" 

Rene allows himself to sob aloud when the servants are all gone; his heart is already numb to their insults; why can't his body react the same way? Why does it still hurt so much when he should be used to receiving beatings?

Ever since he was born in this very castle, his lowly identity has been ingrained into the depths of his brain, every single breath he takes is a constant reminder of what he is. 

He's the son of the Chief, yet he still has to beg for food and water, and most of the time, the crumbles and remnants of what the other servants have eaten are what is given to him.

Rene's mother, Vera, is an omega and a slave who used to serve the Lady Chief, but her captivating beauty caught the eyes of the Clan Chief, and only a few months later, she got pregnant with the Chief's child. 

The baby, upon delivery, turned out to be an omega. 

Male Omega's are rare, mostly a defect of birth, they are considered even more useless than females because they serve no purpose.

The Chief, who had expected his Alpha genes to dominate, had refused to set his eyes on the birthed child upon hearing the news. To him, Rene is a disaster who ruined his perfect lineage of Alphas males.

Vera had also caught a strange illness after giving birth to the baby and lost the Clan chief's love and favour so Rene and his mother were completely shunned by the other slaves who had been jealous of Vera.  

Rene's two half-brothers, who are both Alphas, scorn him deeply, unwilling to forgive the injustice that had been done to their mother by a mere slave who had tried to climb up the ranks by seducing their father.  

"Rene!" Soral bursts into the kitchen; Rene gasps in surprise to see his half-sister, Princess Kyra, behind him. 

Despite the pain and bruises on his body, Rene bows to greet the Alpha.

"Your Highness!"

"Don't call me that," Kyra breathes softly. " We are still siblings after all,"

"I wanted to help you; looks like I'm already too late," Soral says regrettably, gazing at Rene's beaten-up form. 

Soral is Rene's only friend; he is also a male omega and a slave; their friendship and close bond just happen naturally because everyone else hates them.

Rene winces when Soral supports him to his feet, Among his half-siblings, he knows only Kyra sees him as a person; she often tries to protect him when the others bully him, but she can only do little, especially when her brothers are involved.

"You should leave this place, Rene, now that my brothers are back from the war, your life will get much worse," Kyra says, her voice sympathetic. 

Rene suddenly realizes that the drums he had heard earlier are the sound of the Princes returning. 

"Everyone has gone to welcome the Princes, they were victorious and even captured a prisoner; the parade is still ongoing outside the castle walls," Soral says. 

Rene's heart flinches with panic; the bullying from the servants is nothing compared to the torture his half-brothers always inflict on him.

But he has no money, where can he go? 

A slave is forbidden to escape from the clan, and even if he does succeed, Rene has heard that outside the castle, and even amongst the neighbouring clan, the only work available to people like him is prostitution. 

An omega like him will not be able to get a proper job, and selling his body isn't an option for Rene.

He can continue to live like this, scrambling for food and being bullied by the other servants, and his brothers are much better, in his opinion.

"I'll give you money, I've saved all of my allowances this past year for you," Kyra tells an astonished Rene. 

"What? I mean, why will you give me your money?"

"It's not your fault for being born the way you are; I pity both you and your mother; we share our father's blood, after all; I will create a chance for you to take your Mother with you, just promise me that when you leave, you will never come back?"

"How will I escape with the guards everywhere?"

"There is an old passage that leads outside the castle, I will secretly open it for your sake"

Rene nods fervently, his heart blossoming with hope for the first time in his nineteen years of life; tears of gratitude flood his eyes, and he bows before the Princess yet again. 

"I will never forget your mercy"

"Get up Rene, you're embarrassing me!"

A new life.

It almost sounds too good to be true.

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