CHAPTER 1 - The Beginning

LISA'S POV

I woke up with a jolt, screaming. My heart was racing, and beads of sweat collected on my brows and trickled down my face. I clutched my chest, gasping for breath as I tried to calm down. I just had another nightmare, my second of the night. Some nights were worse than this. I brushed my hair back and tied it up in a bun as I tried to reminisce the events that has happened in my nightmare, I remembered the home where I had to flee, the home where I had been saved until the rogue wolves attacked my pack, where I had lived happily for a long while until my family was killed in the brutal attack that nobody had seen coming.

I laid my head back down onto the hard mattress if it could even be termed as that. I tried to close my eyes but the horrors I experienced were still fresh in my memory, I was afraid of the nightmares that would come back once my eyes were shut. But that didn't stop me from returning to the past I was constantly running from, and remembering what had happened, and how I had ended up in my current miserable situation.

I remember being happy and full of life, with a mother and a father who adored me and my sister. My father was respected in our land given that he was the Alpha of the Lycan pack, my mother was a kind and effective Luna. And they both ruled with grace. The Lycan pack was small, but it has been growing powerful and becoming stronger by the day, under the guidance of my father's strong leadership.

But all of that was in the painful past, and I had run like the coward that it was. Everyone was dead and gone, even my sister who has managed to survive the first hurdle and I was alone here in the Blood Moon pack, working as an Omega slave to save my life, but the nightmares were new. I had been having them consistently for about two weeks now, and I didn't know why. They weren't like the bad dreams I'd had when I first woke up in the dungeon and the weeks that followed after that. Dreams that were focused on remembering my fear and my act of cowardice, how I ran instead of staying to fight for my family. No, these nightmares were different and darker. The dreams were terrorizing, they were about when I was back home, at my old packhouse. But this time, everyone was dead. Everyone but me. Then I would make my way out of the packhouse and into the open field, and see all the wolves that had been left behind, battered and bruised. I couldn't see their faces, but I could feel their pain and despair as they cried out. They mourned the loss at no longer having a leader, their Alpha and Luna were the first victims of the rogue wolves attack and they had been killed instantly. They would look up to me for help, look up to me to lead them and save them, but I didn't know what to do. I was very much as helpless as they are. Then, a stealthy figure who had hidden in the dark would come up behind me, someone I knew. I could tell that someone was behind me, but I was never able to turn to face them in my dream. I would be frozen like a place, my feet would refuse to move. I would then feel the stab of a knife cut through my back and into my heart. That was when I would wake up. Night after night, for weeks now, this was the dream that I repeatedly had each time I went to sleep.

***

My mind went back to my last night working as a prisoner for the Blood Moon pack. I got out of bed after another nightmare and walked down to the lake. It was in the middle of the night, So I didn't expect to see anyone around, I only had a few hours left before I would be required at the packhouse to carry out my daily duties. I removed my clothes and stepped into the water, trying to wash away the lingering memories of the nightmare. I had been swimming and floating in the water for about half an hour, having a good time by myself when I felt someone lurking in the shadows and watching me. I looked around me but I couldn't see who it was.

"Look who I found here." I heard a voice call. The voice belonged to Luther, the Alpha of the Silverline pack, an affiliate to the Blood Moon pack. I couldn't see where he was but I knew he was close by.

I remained in the water for another ten minutes trying to locate where he hid. Soon after, he came out of the shadows of the tree line where he had been watching me from and walked towards the edge of the water where I had left my clothes in a heap. I stood where I was, with the water stop covering my body, and just stared at him, not daring to move an inch from where I stood.

"You can't stay in there forever, you would have to come out at some point." He told me, staring at me as a hungry wolf would, but I stop didn't move. "You have about three hours before you would be needed in the kitchen." He began again, staring down at his watch. "I would hate it if you would get any silver lashes for late coming in my account." He stated, clearly enjoying making me feel uncomfortable. With that said, he continued to stand there, not in a hurry to leave.

I was going to be in a whole lot of trouble if he decided to stay here, I would end up having to come out at some point.

"Has anyone ever told you that you look delicious? Even though you've been beaten terribly, your scars only make you more alluring to me." He asked me after a moment's silence, licking his lips as he did so.

I didn't reply and I still didn't move. I had barely spoken to anyone over the past few decades, due to the beatings that I would take whenever I spoke, and I wasn't about to start speaking again now.

"You know," he spoke again. "I'm nearing my expiration date faster than I realized and I still haven't found my mate. Who knows, she might be dead for all I know. Sooner or later, I was sure that I would find a worthy female who would fit the qualities I needed in a Luna." His eyes were fastened on me as he spoke.

I didn't believe for a second that he was thinking about considering me as his potential mate and future Luna. Choosing a mate was an absurd fact because you couldn't fool the natural law of nature. He was an airhead and I was quite sure the reason he had been deemed fit to become an Alpha was due to his incredible strength. And I didn't believe that he would risk the ire of his pack by choosing a slave to become his Luna. It would be a slap to the elder wolves in his pack and a rebellion would start. I just glared at him and wished he would disappear, I had already realized that his speech was laced with ulterior motives, he was merely trying to sweet talk me by luring me out of the water with promises of a better life simply for his desires.

He sat down by the edge of the water. "I could do this all day." He smirked, knowing that I would eventually have to come out of the water so that I would go to the packhouse, if I didn't, I would receive one silver lash for each minute I failed to report for duty. That was the law around here.

I still didn't move a muscle, I was terrified that he might use his Alpha command on me when he got bored of waiting for me to come and tell me to get out of the water. If he did that, I would either have to try to resist, and thereby blow my cover and show myself as not being an Omega, or follow his command and expose myself to him, and whatever he pleased to do with me at that moment. I was in a very difficult position, neither option was a good one and I silently prayed to the moon god for a third option that would present itself and allow me to escape without being abused.

His phone rang almost immediately and the smirk fell off his face as he listened to whoever was on the other end. "We'll continue this some other time, I got the news that someone is here looking to purchase one of our slaves."

I left out a huge sigh of relief and I had my way to the shore as soon as he left, I wore my clothes hurriedly and ran back to my room. I threw myself on the mattress and cried. The fear that I had just experienced was worse than any of the beatings I had taken up to this point. While in the water, I was stripped of my dignity, pride, and self-respect. I didn't have much time to wallow in shame, as it was almost time to report to the packhouse. I changed into dry clothes and hurried to the kitchen where I was told to report to the main office. Someone had activated my slave clause, I was no longer bound to the Blood Moon pack.