CHAPTER 1

I have no memory of my mother. She died giving birth to me. But I have every memory of my father from way back as I can remember. Every punch, every kick and every whipping. He's the Alpha of our pack. He's big and strong and for the last 15 years he's been treating me like it was my fault she died. He's made sure to point it out on every single occasion as well. He's made damn sure that I know exactly how he feels about me. It was my fault that she died. I am a curse. I should have been the one that died. Not her. Not his precious Luna and mate. The love of his life. The other half of his soul. She was so special that for me to take her away from him means that I am nothing but a bad omen. One that needs to be put in her place at every turn. 

He has since taken another mate. A chosen mate. Not a fated or a second chance mate because an Alpha is stronger with a mate. I've heard rumours that Father was ready to give up after my mother died but his Beta and best friend got him out of it. I believed the story myself, until I found out the truth. 

My 16th birthday is fast approaching and that's when I'm meant to get my wolf for the first time, but I doubt that's going to happen. Only strong healthy wolves come forward when they are supposed to. But that won't happen to me. I'm not strong or healthy. He's made sure of that. 

"Aurora." I heard my name yelled from downstairs by a very deep muscular voice. So I quickly raced down two flights of stairs in the packhouse and saw my 6-foot-5 father with bulging muscles standing there looking down on me. 

"Sorry sir." I say bowing my head to him. 

"I told you that we are having company tonight. The Protectors Pack is going to be here tonight and I need this ballroom spotless. The floor needs to be completely prepared." My father shouted in my face. 

"Yes, sir. I'll get right on it." I said bowing again and I quickly scurried off towards the kitchen. I hadn't heard too much about the Protectors Pack, but from what I understand they are well respected and very highly regarded in the werewolf community with their fighting abilities. They are also known to be ones that you don't want to get on your bad side. I guess that's why Father was making such a fuss over them coming here. I went into the laundry room to get the bucket with hot soapy water and a scrub brush, and some rags and I was heading back into the ballroom when I ran into someone. 

"Oh my god. Would you watch what you are fucking doing you idiot child." My stepmother Sophia yelled at me as she turned around. 

"I'm sorry Luna." I answered her, quickly bowing my head. 

"William. Your bastard child just got water all over me." Sophia yelled and Father came into the room and examined the water on the floor and on his mate's leg and on her high heeled shoes. 

He then walked closer to me and without any warning hit me across the face with enough force that I lost my balance. But when I looked up again Sophia had a satisfied grin on her face, and she put her arm around my father and they walked out of the ballroom together. 

My head was throbbing from when he hit me and I felt a little dizzy as I got up. But I had no choice. I gathered my stuff together and started scrubbing the floor by hand. It was a really large floor, and I know that it was going to take all day. But I had to do it. I didn't want to anger my father any more than I already had. 

I had been scrubbing that floor for a little while when I heard strange voices in the room next door. So, I quickly got up and headed to the kitchen where I hid behind the door. Two men walk into the ballroom. 

"Where's the omega? She shouldn't leave that bucket of water out with only half the floor done." One of them says. 

"Well, the Alpha will let her know what she's done wrong if he sees this." The other man said. And I hear them walk off. I couldn't help but wonder who those men were that were talking. Hardly anyone came to the packhouse and just wondered around, why were they here? I just knew that I had to stay hidden in case they saw me. That was the number one rule in the house. I was not allowed to be seen. Ever. 

I slowly went back into the ballroom to make sure that they were gone before I closed all the doors to the room, and I continued with my work. I wasn't allowed to let anyone see me. I don't know what my father told them about my existence after my mother died in childbirth, but I was told to never let anyone from the pack see me. The only people I ever had contact with were my father and Luna. 

As soon as the floor was washed and polished I put everything back where it belonged and then headed into the kitchen to get started on my work in there. 

I heard people in the ballroom start setting up table. I peeked through the door, and they were setting up really long tables that went the length of the room and could sit at least 20 people at each table, but it also had a dancing area in the middle of it.

I went back to the kitchen and started pulling out the ingredients for the feast that they were going to be having tonight. It was going to be buffet style but it still needed to be premium food that I was cooking. 

So I put the roast on first and then I started making the biscuits from scratch and the roast vegetables. I also had to make apple sauce and cranberry sauce. A fruit platter and other vegetables in case people didn't want roasted vegetables. I looked at all this food sitting in front of me and my mouth started watering. If only I could steal a little bit. Surely, they wouldn't notice if one piece of fruit was gone or vegetable. But knowing them, they've probably counted every last piece of food in this house. I can't do it. It would be insane. Father would be furious. For all I knew, he had camera's hidden in here watching me. I know that it sounded paranoid, but there wasn't anything that I would put past my father. 

After that I got started on the deserts that I was ordered to make. A chocolate mud cake with ganache icing, a cheesecake, dozens of mousse cups with whipped cream on top of them and a fruit cake. 

"Aren't you finished cooking yet?" Luna yelled coming into the kitchen all dressed up in a beautiful green sequined gown and matching high heels. With jewels everywhere that you could see. 

"I'm just finished now Luna. Everything is in the trays, ready to be taken out." I say bowing my head and standing back from the bench. 

"Good. Get out of here. I have servers coming to take these things to the ballroom." Luna demanded. I kept my head bowed and left through the back door of the kitchen then up the backstairs. 

I climbed the three flights of stairs until I reached the last door. I opened it and went inside, making sure to lock it as I went inside and climbed another flight of stairs to the attic. 

It was full of spiderwebs and crap everywhere and I made my way through that room until I finally got to the little cot that was against the wall and I laid down on the bed looking out the window at the sky above me as the sun was setting. 

It was a beautiful sight from where I was and I grabbed one of the books that I had stashed around my bed. There were a lot of them, and I started reading from where I had left off last night. 

It wasn't too much later when I started hearing cars arrive. So, I looked out the window as far as I could and I could see Limousine's pulling up everywhere and men in suits getting out with women in fancy dresses. And I heard them being greeted at the door by Father and Luna. They were very hospitable. They were very nice to everyone that was attending the dinner tonight. 

Of course, they had to be. If they were the Protectors then it meant that Father needed to be nice to them. I had only heard things about the Protector Pack. They were all warriors. They were called in when a pack was in trouble and needed help and extra training so that pack could protect itself.  

All the men looked really handsome from where I was, and the women looked beautiful. And I felt like Cinderella. Banned from going to the fancy ball by her evil stepmother. I guess in a way, that's exactly what it was. So, I let out a sigh and I put my head back in the window and closed it. Then I sat on my bed reading a little more. 

I must have dozed off at some point because I woke up later that night to someone trying to open the attic door. 

I raced to the door to make sure that it was locked properly and luckily it was. 

"Is someone in there?" I heard a man call out. But I didn't say anything. I wasn't allowed to talk to anyone. 

"I know that you're there. I can hear you breathing. And moving. And your heart is racing." He says. And I realised that I was going into panic mode. Father can't know that this man is trying to talk to me. He will be furious. 

"Go back to the party!" I stuttered out. 

"Who are you?" He asked. 

"I'm no one. Just leave." I pleaded.

"I'm not leaving until you open the door." He insisted. 

"What's going on here?" I heard my father's voice coming down the hall.