"Natalie, please stop. We have to leave now!" I kept saying while pulling her at the same time.
"Natalie--
Derek Stones, Brittany's brother, and future Alpha of the Crimson Pack reached the scene with his guards before I could do anything. My breathing hitched as I stepped back, momentarily staring away from his burning gaze.
Immediately, the guards stepped in and tore Natalie off, helping Brittany to her feet.
Natalie was now calm but I could see the fear emanating from her gaze.
"What happened here?" Derek bellowed, murderously glaring at me.
Dramatically, Brittany's burst into wails, her chest falling and rising heavily as she pointed an accusing finger at me.
"She caused it! She started it. Just because I corrected her for a wrongdoing, she ordered her friend to hit me. That cursed Omega put her hands on me! Look at my neck, she fuckin bit me!"
"What? That's a lie. You started it, you slapped me first and abused us."
"Now, she's calling me a liar," Brittany further wailed. "You pathetic bitch!"
"But you're not telling him the truth--
"Enough!" Derek thundered, putting his arm around Brittany and drawing her protectively to his side while glaring murderously at me.
"You, how dare you call her a liar," Derek lashed his voice at me, "and telling your accomplice to hit her, are you crazy?!"
Derek's eyes were filled with contempt and hatred. At this point, I knew my defense was futile. What was I expecting, that he would believe me over his sister?
A cursed Omega?
Even if he knew she was in the wrong, Derek would ignore it as long as I was involved. He would take the chance to watch me suffer.
While I was just a cursed helpless Omega, Brittany was the Alpha's daughter. They were powerful wolves.
All my life, I had hoped for a day that I would be considered, trusted, and not taken for granted because of my position.
But now I knew better. That day would never exist. Brittany was right. I'm a slave who deserved to be trampled on and made to work tirelessly until my death. This was my fate. The life of an Omega.
A tear slid down my cheek and I hastily wiped it off.
I felt Natalie's palm comfortingly intertwining with mine but I gently brushed it off and fell to my knees.
"I apologize, future Alpha Derek. Brittany is right, I was wrong for calling her a liar. We never should have fought her, we should have remembered our places. We're just slaves and nothing compared to you. Please pardon us just this once with your subtle heart."
I rubbed my palms together as I begged. Reluctantly, Natalie fell to her knees beside me.
"She's right. But it was all my fault, it was me who hit Brittany and for this, I apologize. It will never happen again," she said with a grudge.
"No," Derek said after a brief silence and my gaze went up to meet him, "your apologies are not accepted."
My heart leapt into my mouth, rendering me speechless.
"No one raises their hands on the Alpha's daughter and live, especially mere servants," he bellowed.
"Please," I started to shake my head ferociously when he began walking towards Natalie, "please, no."
Natalie shuddered as he easily grabbed her off the floor and pulled her away from me.
"Please let her go. Please, I beg you!" Tears streamed down her face. "It was all my fault, I started it so please take me instead. Please let her go and take me instead.." my cries fell on deaf ears and Derek handed Natalie to his guards.
"Behead her on the stake and light her body up," he ordered brutally.
"No!"
Brittany's wail increased again, fueling her brother's wrath. "Ah! It hurts so bad!"
I found a smirk tugging at her lips. The bite on her neck was healing fast since she was of the Alpha's bloodline but Brittany didn't stop her false wailing.
I knew she was trying to get her brother to not change his mind and it worked perfectly. The guards began dragging Natalie away.
I immediately crawled to Derek and held his foot, "please kill me instead. I'm telling you it was all me, Natalie did nothing. I instigated it all, so please just kill me instead."
"You crossed the line this time, Omega." He hollered at me. "I gave you so many chances but you just had to go past your limit."
Natalie's increasingly distant pleas drove into my ears and I held tighter onto Derek's leg, restricting his movement.
One glance at Brittany's face told me begging her was a helpless cause, so I turned to Derek again, resting my forehead on his shoe.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, please spare my friend's life. Give me one more chance, just this once I beg you, I'll do anything you want. I'll be more faithful to you, I'll give you anything, just please spare her life." sweat mixed with tears and mucus smeared my face but I made no move to wipe it off.
"No more chances for you, Omega. Because of you, your friend will die. I hope this shows you not to cross your limit next time."
Derek said and kicked me hard in the face, my upper lip tore open and started to bleed.
I tumbled over and while I struggled to get up, Derek walked away with Brittany.
Natalie's voice continued to echo in the hall as I got up on my feet.
I have to save her!
I raced down the hall and stopped at the exit. I tilt my head forward, trying to catch her sound.
"Nat!" I loosely fisted my hand over my mouth and yelled. "Natalie!"
"Save me, El. Please, save me."
Faintly, I caught the sound of her voice.
Meticulously, I began trailing it and it led me toward the exit of the hotel. I swung the door open and was about to run out when I bumped into someone.
I staggered, caught my balance quickly, and started for the door again but my legs subjectively stopped when my path got obstructed.
Nat's voice started to get weak and distant,, her scent fading.
Paula's gaze was blazing as she stood in my path, "Where the hell do you think you're going during work hours?!"
...Despite Paula's fury, I strained my ears to listen to Natalie's voice again but I could no longer hear it. Her smell was gone too. "Get back to work, there's so much preparation to make for the Alpha's ceremony--Disinterested, I brushed past her and bolted to the exit again but her warnings brought my steps to a halt. "If you step out of here, I will report you to your father and make sure you're severely punished." I froze, turning to her.I rushed back to her and fell on my knees, "I just want to save my friend, why won't you just let me go? They're going to kill her, Natalie is going to die if I don't save her right now." Paula heaved a sigh, stepping away from me. Her fury stare dissolved into one that depicted boredom, "you can't save who is already dead, Omega." "W-what?" My gaze snapped at her, "what are you--"Natalie is dead, I saw the guards execute her just now. Now, they're setting her body on fire. Get over it and return to your duties, you don't want to annoy
..."W-what do you want?" "It's the full moon," he turned to me, "and I noticed that you didn't come to my chambers so I came to see why." "I just got back from work and I'm exhausted," I said, my gaze fixed on him. Derek started to get off my bed and walk to me. Each step he made fueled up disgust in my system, I felt like charging at him and snuffing life out of him, but I relaxed, knowing it was impossible. An Omega like me had no strength compared to a wolf of the Alpha bloodline. Derek would kill before I even made a threatening move at him. He pointed at my luggage, "why is that packed?" He asked."I don't think that should be any of your business." "Lousy bitch," He mumbled with a scoff, "let me guess, this is probably ready because on your twentieth birthday tomorrow, you plan to escape from here?" Instantly, a cold shiver ran down my spine, and soon, my entire body started to quiver. Derek smirked, noting my body response. "I see you really believed that a wolf like
I confirmed Derek's absence before dashing towards my luggage. Wiping the beads of sweat gathered on my forehead, I noticed the zip was undone and the padlock broken, lying beside the luggage. Panic set in my belly pit as I stretched open the bag and examined the content- the few clothes I owned were still in the luggage as I left it. A pair of flops. My undergarments. A smaller bag where I stored my toiletries that I rarely used. I paused thoughtfully, took it out, and poured out the content. "No. Please no.." I mumbled as I scattered the content on the floor with my hand, searching for it with my heart jumping towards my throat. It wasn't there. My wallet was missing. My heart leaped into my mouth and my eyes started to water as I miserably went through the content again, even though the realization already hit me a minute ago. I picked them one after the other into the bag, praying and hoping that my eyes were playing tricks on me. That my hard work for the past three years ha
....The wolf was lying lifeless by the time I got there, a pool of blood by his side. I noticed a sharp cut on his stomach, a gash that revealed thick lumps of his flesh, and a slight view of his bone. His chest slowly rising and falling was the only physical evidence of life in him. He was losing so much blood and looked so pale. Immediately, I knelt beside him and brought down my bag, I zipped it open and pulled out some of my clothes from it as fast as I could, and held it over the wolf's wound. It got soaked with his blood in no time so I grabbed more clothes and applied pressure again, my heart racing as I feared for the wolf's life."He's losing life," Amy spoke for the first time since we arrived here, her voice was fidgety. "He won't die. I can't let him die." "Ellen--" "No, Amy. I'm going to save him. I will save this wolf!" My emotions clouded me. Tears blinded my eyes as I took out another cloth from my bag, adding it to the already bloodied ones. In a flash, I was de
I was curled up on the cold floor after my father left. I remained in that position until dawn and the creaking of my door brought me back to full consciousness. I crawled on my stomach to stare fully at it as it cracked open and Derek sauntered in. He was dressed in the ceremony regalia, a navy blue Armani suit, and looking all ready for the handover. I stood up while he stared at me with a mocking gaze, "I see you took my words lightly." He cackled. "You put my father up to this, didn't you?" My teeth gritted as I asked. I'm pretty sure my father wouldn't want anything more in the world than my inexistence. Yes, he hates me to that extent. And I had no doubt Derek was involved in his sudden contradiction. "It doesn't matter. I hope now you have accepted that you can never leave the pack under my watch?" "I'm old enough to leave if I want to, I do not need even your permission." I tried to remain confident. Derek scoffed, "you can keep trying if you want, but you should know t
..."You cursed wench!" Mira Tate screamed at me, staring down at her white dress with a mixture of distaste and fury. I tore my gaze from the crowd of desperate stares fixated on us and started to apologize to Derek's girlfriend, Mira. Another of my worst nightmare. She was Derek's girlfriend and as you must've guessed, she was just as cruel as him. At the slightest chance she gets, she never ceased to display her cruelty. "I-I'm so sorry.." I started to say."Oh, I'll make you sorry!" She snarled and in an instant, a handful of my hair was in her fist as she pulled me back and forth, causing a burning sensation on my scalp. I cringed, as her grip tightened, trying to tear myself from her grip. "Let me go, you're hurting me!" I cried, struggling. At this point, I was sure she had successfully uprooted some strands of my hair as the pain aggravated. "You fuckin bitch, you purposely did this, didn't you?" She gritted. "To disrupt the event and ruin my dress, you piece of shit!"
A cry flew out of my mouth as the soup burnt into my skin. A pin-drop silence fell over the room and soon I was scampering for help, my eyes burned with pepper so I had to squint them. Mira had gotten out of the kitchen somehow, leaving me to fear for myself and more for the man-wolf who was supposedly my mate, standing by the doorway. Why was his scent familiar? I noticed he was still staring at me, a flash of anger resting in his eyes. I was unable to tell who the emotion was directed at but I feared it was for me. I was an Omega and this man looked extremely powerful. As he started to move, my fear heightened. I wondered where he was going because his movement was further into the kitchen. Was he going to kill me? Trample on me for daring to be his mate? My life flashed before my eyes as he made each step.While Amy jubilated about having a companion, I saw my life flash before my very eyes. "Get out of my way!" The burning pain disappeared for a moment when I realized he was ma
Lost in my world of fantasy, I didn't notice my father storming towards us until Alpha Ace stopped walking. I noticed him in front of us, his gaze flashing past me without an iota of care for my burns. "Alpha Ace, I heard what happened. I'm sorry for whatever trouble she must have caused you, I will ensure she is punished to whatever length you might desire." He apologized, his eyes blazing with fury."Allow me to take her from here." "Step away," Alpha Ace thundered. "W-what?" My father stuttered. Ace said nothing, so he continued and lowered his hands, "My daughter is irresponsible, I'll understand if you choose to punish her yourself. Please, do whatever you want with her." "Your daughter?" He glanced at me, as though seeking confirmation. I nodded once, "he's my father." "I see," he eyed him briefly, "the wolf who did this to you, do you know who she is?" I gulped before speaking. "Yes." "What's her name?" "Mira. Mira Tate. She is Alpha Derek's Luna."He turned to my fath
-My fingers ran through the gemstones, a grin resting on my face. "This is forever beautiful," I cried, letting him twirl me around gently until I was facing him. "You sure you don't want this one instead?" He asked, referring to the expensive gold necklace on his palm, seated in a jewelry box. "That one is a bit old.""I'm sure," I beamed. "It was through this necklace that I was able to know that you were alive. I was ready to give up to Ryker. I had prepared to die after he killed the warriors, but this gave me a reason to live."As I spoke, I remembered the Rogue maid who had lost her life for revealing Ace's situation to me. Bless her soul. I was alive because of her too. "To me, this is the most beautiful jewelry in the world, and it is important to me because it is important to you, too."Ace nodded, his eyes lighting up. I could sense that he had briefly recalled a part of his past. It was the day of the coronation for Ace's new position and we were in our room after get
-My thumping heartbeat decelerated as I stared at Derek's lifeless body, my eyes filling up with tears of relief and gratefulness. Ace dug his claws into Derek's chest, uprooting his heart and signifying the end of the war. Like a whiff, all the memories and history I had with Derek raced through my mind. "It's finally over," I heard Acantha sigh, and the tears dropped from my eyes. It was really over. Derek was dead! It was over for good. My nose crinkled in disbelief, my eyes furrowing as the reality settled within me. My gaze shifted to Ace and despite the loud chants and celebration, I could hear the beating of my heart clearly. Despite the amount of people around, my eyes could somehow only see Ace. Amongst the crowd hovering around him, his gaze found me, too, and before I could burst, I swooped into his arms. He caught me easily and I buried my face into his chest, releasing my emotions shamelessly. Two of our greatest enemies were now gone for good!Ace nuzzled his face
-Ace held my hand, stopping me from getting any closer to Derek. "This is not over, I promise you," he gritted, his eyes sending daggers at me.We watched quietly as he contested with the pain, trying to subdue it. He attempted to get up several times, cussing violently every time he failed; his eyes were filled with rage and determination as he continuously tried to move. After a final hectic attempt, he crashed to the ground and burst into laughter. "It's funny how easily fooled you can be, Ace," he cackled, blood dripping slightly from the side of his lip.I figured he was trying to buy time and gather his strength again so he could take us unaware but before I could act, Ace charged at him. "No, it's funny how you think you can stall me while you buy some fuckin time," Ace grabbed him up roughly. "Why?" Derek scoffed, feigning strength even though he was limping. "You're scared I'd beat your ass up if I wasn't in this situation?""We both know what the truth is-"Then why d
-Ace glared at Derek, making sure his body obstructed mine."You will have to go through me first to have her!"Derek's steps faltered, and he seemed even more angry. "If that is what you want then I shall do as you please and get rid of you.""You seem to use your mouth a lot, don't you?" Ace scoffed. "I use it better, too; you can ask your little mate to tell you what I mean."I put my palm in Ace's, ensuring he held me, and preventing him from rashly going at Derek. Derek was trying hard to provoke him and it made me wonder what he was up to. "We had a little fun while you were out there in the wilderness, struggling to survive."I opened my mouth to speak and vehemently curse at Derek for lying but Ace beat me to it. "She must not have liked it as much as you think seeing how she still tricked and escaped from you. She came back to me, that should tell you a lot of things.""Still she betrayed you!""Oh Derek," Ace breathed out, "you don't get it, do you? What matters is whos
-We stood in the open, ensuring that the passage to our secret safehouse was out of sight. Everyone took their position, mine was beside Ace, as we heard the enemy's footsteps approaching. I held my breath, trying not to squirm under Ace's hold. I knew he would at once detect my discomfort and send me back in. I didn't want that; I wanted to face Derek; I burned to see him fall with my own eyes. Derek showed up first, leading the warriors of his pack; he growled and roared as they approached us, arrogantly announcing his presence. Ace moved me to stand behind him and I stayed without arguing. I took the chance to fix my discomfort, ensuring that I showed no weakness in front of Derek. "What a surprise, it is indeed true that you survived. Fuckin luck," Derek mocked, scoffing at Ace. "Well, it's too bad because this time, you're going to the land of the dead, and there is no escaping it.""If I were you, I'd do more fighting and less talking. Did you forget you're in my territory?"
-With Henry's suggestion, we swiftly gathered around. He had already drawn out a quick plan on how we were going to face Derek and his goons, and he discussed it with Ace. Inputting Acantha's suggestion, we came to a conclusion on how to face our attackers. Ace stepped out and dished the instructions and everyone immediately set to work. Leaving out the pups, younger and ailing wolves aside, the rest of us came together to be grouped in smaller forms. There were many hidden parts of the Ocean Howls pack that the Crimson pack or any other pack was not aware of. Ace had reconstructed the country after his father's defeat in a way that we would mostly have the upper hand against the enemy. That was a big advantage for us. Ace regrouped the warriors into ten smaller groups and individually gave them a goal, coordinating each group separately. Some groups were focused on studying maps of the Ocean Howls Pack territory and securing strategic locations for refuge in case our attackers
Ellen-"Our only way in now is through the emergency back gate; hopefully, through it, we can arrive at the pack house in time before Derek's men reach it," Ace revealed. He was a lot calmer now. "Who else is aware of this entrance?" Acantha asked, being cautious. "Only Henry and I know about it. Out of safety, we didn't reveal it to the pack members yet. I constructed it as an emergency exit for situations like this, there is also a safe house behind it. I believe Henry must have evacuated the members to the safe house," Ace spoke. From the tensity of his breathing, one could tell how furious he was. The situation had gotten chronic. If Acantha hadn't stopped him at the time she did, from running after the warriors, things could have taken a drastic twist. I didn't want to imagine what could have happened. Ace led us to the emergency exit, and we walked as quickly as we could. If we could arrive before Derek's men, we would be able to prepare ourselves beforehand.
"Your bravery reminds me of your father," Acantha voiced after being quiet for a while. "No matter how hard I try to overlook it, I see his face when I look at you. How did he die?"I lowered my gaze, talking about my parents had always been a sensitive topic for me. It was something I didn't fancy discussing with anyone. It was the only topic that could break an Alpha like me. Georgia was the only one who had successfully managed to get a word out of me concerning it, and it was probably because she experienced the torture with me. "I'm sorry for bringing that up, it's fine if you don't want to talk about it," Acantha apologized. "No, it's okay," I bit my lower lip, making my expression stoic. I needed to get over it, and also build my relationship with Acantha. For Ellen's sake, I wanted to do this. "I was twelve when he was murdered, he died trying to protect me after we were attacked unaware. My mother was killed on the same day, she was raped to death, and I was made to watc
-"Ace, I-I can't. My powers are gone," Ellen vibrated, her hands shaking out of fear, her eyes teary. I glanced at the beasts who had already reached us and I pushed Ellen to my side so my body was facing them.She started to shake her head, trying to stop me from my thoughtless decision but I was hell-bent on protecting her. With her powers gone, it was even more dangerous for her to be close to these beasts. I would rather die than watch her face that fate. In despair, I prepared for whatever was coming, determined to fight even to death. Just as they growled, attempting to jump at us, I felt a familiar presence and her voice echoed through the cave when she spoke. "Acantha!" I heard Ellen exclaim in excitement. I turned to find Acantha emerging towards us, holding a staff in her hand that radiated a great amount of power. The strength that exuded out of her alone was enough to cease the beasts' steps. Calmly analyzing the situation, she stepped in front of me, facing the bea