Lyra’s POV
I had crushed the doors of the room to find myself at the ceremony; how is that possible? I turned around to find the room where I had come from, surprisingly. It was the room where the chief maiden had almost beaten me to death. No way!! I was just running away from Sasha a minute ago. I had so many questions running through my mind.
I had to run away to get away from whatever Sasha had planned to execute on me. And some way or another, I ended up back at the palace after breaking through the door. Was it a dream? It felt like my mind was playing with me. I prayed it was just my mind playing with me as I decided not to think about what happened with Sasha and face the problem at hand.
I finally left my thoughts to find everyone looking at me. Everyone, including the main elders and the chief priest, It was very obvious that I had disturbed the ceremony, as everyone gave me that look. I never wanted this kind of attention.
"I am really sorry, hehe. You can continue, she said, forcing a fake smile while rubbing the back of my head. The chief priest ignored me as he continued his speech. Using the opportunity I escaped through the back of the crowd, the door would take care of itself later.
I kept my head low to avoid eye contact as I made my way through the back of the crowd. As I walked, I could hear them talking about me.
"Which kind of dress is that? She looks like a mental patient."
"She looks like someone who just came from the gutters; how did she even get here? Does she even know how she smells?
"I can't sense any strong aura from her. She's one of those weak ones, for sure."
"How did someone like that get into the palace in the first place?"
"Someone should call the guards; omegas aren't allowed here."
"She looks like she's planning to get a mate today; who would want an omega? Haha, she's a complete fool. Those who heard laughed as I walked behind them. The humiliation!!
This sh*it is something I had to pass through every day of my life; it had become something I was already used to. Long gone were the days I cried because of the insults and abuse.
The bullying of the weak ones was something normal in the pack, even if they were to bully me right there. I passed through them.
No one was going to save me.
I was hoping they hadn't started the "mate match" yet. I began walking faster as I could hear the chief priest preparing to finish his speech. I immediately stepped away from the crowd and ran towards the main room. There I would get a new dress—the main dress I was supposed to wear. They provided a dress for everyone who was getting their mates today, both men and women.
I had registered for the "mate match,' and that was where I was headed. The mate match was the main reason for the mating ceremony occurring. Every year, those who were of the required age in the pack where to register for the mate match. The mate match was the last event; here, the chief priest would announce everyone along with their mate through the holy book of gods, a book gifted to our ancestors by the moon goddess herself.
At the beginning of the ceremony, a sacrifice would be made to the moon goddess to thank her for taking the time to choose a mate for everyone. This included the killing of a werewolf from the pack—a weak werewolf or perhaps an omega. It was obvious that the pack didn't really care for the weak.
The sacrifice would then be placed in the middle of the palace, where the moon shined brighter than usual. The bright light would burn the corpse till only ashes remain, which would take two hours. During the burning of corpses, everyone would pray to the goddess for eternal life, peace, and more of her blessings for the pack.
When the sacrifice burns out, the mate match will then begin the announcement of mates. It was obvious that the chief priest would be ending his speech soon, which indicated that the sacrifice and the prayers had been done earlier before I came crashing in. The main event was happening soon.
I finally got into the main room. That was some strong courage I displayed there. Hehe. I opened the locker that had my name boldly written on it. Lyra Daxton, I would be getting my mate today—someone who is likely to change my life, someone who would protect me from the bullying and humiliation, someone who would take me away from here and put away my misery. My knight in shining armor. I wish my parents were here to see this.
I put on the black dress as I admired the quality of the fabric. It showed it was a very high-quality dress, thick with glitter at the front.
Walking up to the mirror, I admired the dress more as it displayed a little skin on the top of my breast, also bringing out all my curves. I never knew I had all these feminine features. I was always stuck in my maid's dress. The money I got from working at the palace was always being squandered by my uncle and his family, so I had nothing to wear except my maid's dress.
I reminded myself about the ceremony; I could admire the dress later. I took a deep inhalation as I accompanied it with a beautiful smile. I had been through a lot lately. I hoped for the best, as today would determine how my life would turn out. As I walked out of the room, I found myself face-to-face with a woman. She had the same gown as I had on, and her braided hair deciphered a combination of blue and black.
She had a familiar scent—a scent I knew too well.
"Athena ," I blurted out in shock.
"Well, well, look who we have here
His words rang loudly in my ears like a constant echo that I had begun to see the words boldly written on that face of his.Who did he think he was to reject me just because he was the Alpha? My tears poured on my cheeks like rain, and my eyes hazily ran through my drawers, searching for my clothes. The room was too dark to see anything, not even myself. Crashing hard on the ground in frustration, I screamed into my palms over my mouth. It would have been further embarrassing for anyone to hear me cry. I doubt they cared that much anyways.Looking up at the half moon reflecting on my face, my hoarse voice bitterly complained. “You really do not give me a choice for anything, huh? Not even about my mate? Are we not all equals to you too?”, My voice broke with each fully formed sentence.“Why did you have to take me so high up to make me crash? In front of them, in front of him!”, My anger had turned into pleas and grieviances.“There is no place for me here, moon goddess. I have to
The sun rays flowed through the silk curtains, landing directly on my shut eyes. Groaning in annoyance, I rolled over, turning to the other side, when it suddenly hit me.Pressing my body into the soft texture of the bed, my eyes instantly flew open. I slowly blinked them, trying to adapt to the strange environment. This was definitely not my room. Staring into nothingness for a while, it all began to flood back into my head. I had gone to drown myself in a bar…and I had met a man. My eyes rolled down to my uncovered body, which laid fully unclothed.Right. I had sex with a stranger. Not just any kind of sex. But my first time at that.I stretched out my wobbly feet on the carpet, going straight to the bathroom. There, I stood motionlessly in front of the large mirror, admiring the hickeys on my neck. Although the memories from last night still played hazily in my head, which was a different kind of pain. Especially the man. I could not recall how he looked like. The only thing that
If death was a person, then it would definitely be him. The fun fact is, he was here…in my room.His icy gaze penetrated through the thin covers, where I lay, pretending to be asleep. He could always go back the same way he came. I would not deliberately ask for death.“Your lips are quivering, little girl”, his cold hands grazed my thin lips, making me jump in fright.How did he get so close to me already? My heart flipped over a million times as I wearily stared at him, from the door where my back was glued to.“Why so scared now?”, his voice sounded as faint as a whisper, which was more dangerous to my ears.The pressure in the room increased the weight of the silence, crushing me from the inside out. My lips were unable to form a word, so I wisely kept my mouth shut, with my eyes still stuck on his imposing frame.“So, I learnt of your disappearance throughout the night, until late this morning”, he made himself comfortable, leaning on the half-collapsed table beside my bed. “What
'Dear moon goddess, I had never lived my life wrong! How could this happen to me?’, Lyra inwardly wailed, staring into thin air, without blinking. Alpha Alexander's fists turned white as they clenched the arms of his chair with mixed emotions, but all screaming rage. There were no words to save herself from this mess. She deeply regretted not being the first to know about this.“Do you know the gravity of the disgrace you have caused me?”, His voice thundered uncontrollably, still echoing in her ears even after a minute had passed.“Speak up girl! You didn't strike me as a mute person the other night”, She shivered uncontrollably, with tears glistening in her eyes. Her life was already this bad, and she was going to bring a child that would meet the same fate as her? All these while, she had held resentment towards her mother for throwing her into the hands of people who did not care for her, but the realization seemed to hit her now. “I did not plan for such a mistake, my lord”,
By the time they arrived at the huge manor, the sun had begun to rise. Before she had a chance to say anything else, she was already surrounded by several maids.“They'll show you to your room now my lady”, he kissed the back of her palms with genuine affection, before leaving her gaping at his disappearing back.Soon, she was ushered into a room, almost as big as Alexander's courtroom. She could not get to see much as her torn clothes were taken off her body by the maids, brushing her skin clean in the huge bathtub. About an hour later, she was gently tapped by one of the maids, informing her that it was time to put on her clothes.Her eyes instantly cleared up, as she reluctantly got out of the bathtub with an inward sigh of regret.It took another whole hour before she could finally see her reflection in the mirror. Her lips were slightly parted open at her own self, Including the maids as well.This was the first time her fair skin shone brightly since all her years alive. The si
After consoling myself with a good cry the previous night, I felt pretty indifferent towards today.The outcome of today's events was pretty known to me already. I grew up with Athena's parents. They treated me just as the members of the pack did. They never paid any attention to me. Not even my health or feeding.I was first a maid in their home, before coming to work in the palace at a young age still. According to them, I was of no use. And they could not care about what a person like me ate.I had too much responsibility. Even though I did all the chores. Ran all the errands. Still ate just once throughout the day. It was crumbs. Scraps from the leftover food on their plate, when I washed them at night.Most times, Athena would intentionally throw the few scraps in the bin in an attempt to mock me.She would tell me to go find my parents and stop living off her family's table. One time, she pushed a plate full of food to me at night. As I did not eat throughout the day. “Here,
Time passed swiftly in the palace for me as it was already two months since the bloody incident. I lived my day half-alive these days. My overnight chores had neither stopped or reduced. I walked around the palace with swollen eyes and heavy feet. People had gotten used to the news of my pregnancy by now but still took every chance to mock me whenever I was within sight. I was grateful for my baby still alive within my stomach. It was my best friend already as I was bonding by talking and humming happily to it.The almost frequent orders to Alexandra's court had ceased since that day as “I soiled his fine carpets with my stinking blood”.I was too relieved not to go through those doors ever again.As for Athena, she had not stopped targeting me since she now fully lived at the palace. She not only ceased the privilege of my meal time, but also threw my few belongings out of the room assigned to me as a maid working in the palace.So, the cold and I became officially one. On this
The full moon sat pretty in the clear sky. Thankfully there was no sign of a storm or drop of rain. I counted my steps, kicking stones along the way. I had never run out of Crescent moon pack before. I had no idea where to go from here.I had never crossed the boundaries of the pack here. So, my excitement stretched at the thought of finally having the courage to leave here for good. Maybe I would meet a better pack.Or better still, I would mix in with the humans. I was weak down to my scent after all. This was my first page of a new life. A new beginning with my child.Birthing my child here was not a good decision after all.What would he grow up hearing about his mother?How would he be treated in the pack? I still had Alexandra, even though he had ceased to humiliate me In the last two months since the incident. Who knows what he was planning? What if he sold my baby off after it was born? And as for Athena. Watching me in misery was not enough until I was brought to her in a