Chapter 0001

EMBER

The problem with being born on the same day as the Alpha's son was that no one remembered it was also my birthday. Rather, no one cared.

It was supposed to be a magical day as I was finally twenty and could find my mate, and he was here.

I had been dreaming about this night for years, both of us dressed up and meeting for the first time on my birthday. My heart was ready to beat out of my chest, and butterflies were swarming my stomach, knowing my mate was close by. His scent was faint on the breeze, muddled by the hundreds of other guests.

His wolf called to mine, beckoning me to go to him.

I could feel him. I needed to get to him.

Yet, as I stood outside the pack house being denied entry to the party by the pack warriors standing guard, I was humiliated.

"Omegas enter through the back." One of the guards snapped, shifting to block the doorway.

I knew that. It was a stupid rule, but I knew I wouldn't be allowed in through the servant's entrance around the back if I tried either.

I nodded, keeping my eyes downcast to avoid challenging him. He could snap me like a twig if he wanted to, and the pack would look the other way because I was the lowest ranked Omega in our pack. For the past several years, they had bullied, abused, and tormented me. "But I'm not scheduled to work today. My mate is in there! I just need five minutes to find him! Please!"

My boss would punish me if I tried to get in through the back, at the very least fire me. I was allowed to work private events, but I had been banned from working any events where other packs were present.

Attending the party, even though it was for the Alpha’s son, Tristan, had been a pipedream. Three neighboring packs had joined ours to celebrate and search for mates.

It was the night that Tristan could find his mate, the future Luna, and the pack had wanted it to go perfectly. That meant that worthless Omegas like me weren’t allowed in.

My mate was so close, I could practically taste him. My wolf was clawing her way forward, demanding control. She wanted him just as badly as I did, maybe more. I had been dreaming of him for so long and this was my chance to finally find him!

Still, the guard before me looked murderous that I had dared to approach him at all, and I knew I wouldn’t be let inside, no matter how much I begged and pleaded.

I had been cursed with bright red hair, and as my parents both had dark brown hair, the pack had believed that I wasn't blood-related. As such, most of them were convinced that I wasn't actually a part of their pack, especially after I lost my parents in a horrible accident.

The pack hadn’t wanted me around and treated me like I had the plague unless they were putting me to work.

"I don’t give a shit. You’re not a real part of this pack, and you’re not getting inside." His low growl of annoyance made me step back, my fingers pulling at the bottom of my dress. "Get lost, Runt!”

My nose stung as tears formed, blurring my vision and threatening to spill over. I had been waiting for this night for so long. Now, it was finally within my grasp, and it was about to be taken away from me.

I doubted my mate would be able to smell me out here when he had hundreds of other wolves around him, masking my scent.

I had saved up for months to buy this dress. Even though I had skipped a few meals to afford it, I still had to get it from a second-hand store. There had been a small hole in the seam over my hip that I had been able to fix, but it kept making me itch as my attempt at a patch rubbed against my skin.

"Please!" I begged, briefly looking up, catching his eyes, and watching as they darkened at my disrespect and disobedience.

"He said to get lost, freak!" A shrill voice snapped from behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Nia, the Beta's daughter. Her dress was covered in silver sequins, and her heels added at least four inches to her already intimidatingly tall frame. “Ugh, that dress is hideous. How embarrassing. I can’t believe you had the nerve to show up, let alone while wearing that! You look like a prostitute!”

“My dress is more conservative than yours,” I muttered, looking down at my dress before glancing at her skin-tight strip of fabric she was passing off as a dress.

“You should be ashamed to be seen in that. Poor little Omega, trying so hard to get attention. Don’t you realize that no one wants you here?” She towered over me by at least a foot with her deadly stilettos, and I stumbled when she slammed her shoulder into mine as she walked past me to enter the party. “Get out of my way, loser.”

I thrust my hands out in front of me, hoping to catch myself, but the warm body I fell against had other ideas.

The guard snarled in anger and disgust before shoving me backward and sending me down the several steps that led up to the packhouse.

I cried out as I tumbled down, smashing my knee and hip before landing face-up on the cobblestone walkway.

I had heard the distinct sound of fabric tearing and let my head drop back against the hard stone as heat built behind my eyes.

How could I let my soulmate see me for the first time looking like this?

Nia's cruel laughter was just the icing on the cake as warm blood trickled down my leg from my knee. "Maybe next time, you'll listen the first time you're given an order. You’re trash, Ember. Always have been and always will be.”

Ever since my parents died when I was fourteen, my life had been nothing but listening to orders. I had been stripped of my ranking as the Beta’s daughter and had been forced to figure out how to survive on my own.

Nia’s Father took over as Beta and she made sure to remind me of it every chance she could that I was beneath her now.

The pack had allowed me to work in the pack house as a servant, but it barely brought in enough money to pay my rent for the beaten-down shack on the edge of town.

I had to save for months just to afford my dress and flats for tonight, hoping to make a good impression on my mate, but now they were ruined.

Living in this pack was Hell. I was alone and scared most of the time, but I couldn't afford to leave. Until now, I had pushed all thoughts of leaving to the back of my mind, knowing everything would change once I turned twenty and found my mate.

"When Tristan claims me and makes me Luna, that ‘thing’ will be the first thing I get rid of," Nia said, loud enough for me to hear.

I choked back a sob and scrambled to my feet, wanting to get away from them.

The faster I got home, the sooner I could clean myself up, stitch my dress, and get back to the pack house to wait for my mate.

Even if I wasn’t going to be let in, I could sit outside until the party was over. Then, my mate would have to walk past me on his way out of the pack house and would find me. We would mark each other and get away from here.

I wanted to look good for him… or as decent as possible now that my dress was ruined. I didn’t want him to be ashamed of me the way everyone else always seemed to be.

The sound of heavy footsteps rushing down the steps made me look up, and my eyes widened as I watched the guard storm toward me, his claws and teeth elongating. "I said get lost!"

I knew he wasn't just trying to scare me. He saw me being shoved into him as a challenge and was out for blood. There was no way that I could come back here now to look for my mate. That would be a death sentence.

He didn't stay behind me for long. Eventually, he turned around and returned to his post, but he got his message across loud and clear.

He would do what all the others had been dreaming of for years and kill me if we crossed paths again tonight.

Still, I kept running, not stopping until I reached the lake, where the sobs broke free.

My body felt stiff, and I was drained of energy by the time I had collected myself. Yet, as I stared out at the slow-moving water and the bright reflection of the moon on it, I still couldn't find peace.

My wolf was on edge, demanding that I turn around and return to the pack house to find my mate, but that wasn't an option. That would be a death sentence. I would be lucky to make it out of there alive.

I needed to cool down and regain control of my wolf to stop her from taking control and forcing her way into the party.

Stripping off my dress, I held it before me and shoved my hand through the new hole with a sigh before dropping it to the ground. It wasn't salvageable, not with my sewing skills. I would have to save the fabric to use for something else since I couldn't afford to waste it.

I kicked off my flats and stepped into the water. It was cold, but it did the job of waking me and cleaning the blood and dirt away.

Holding my breath, I briefly dipped under the water to wet my hair.

My body tensed when I resurfaced, feeling eyes on me. I turned my head, scanning the tree line, stopping after a few seconds when I saw movement behind my discarded dress.

His arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned against the tree.

Tristan. The Alpha's son.

Had they sent him to punish me or maybe even kill me for causing a scene during his party?

"Is this my birthday present?" He called out to me, his deep voice sending a shiver down my spine, and I dipped lower into the water until my chin was at the surface to hide my naked body.

We had never spoken before. Even as kids when our parents worked closely together, he was always training or with his private tutor. When he wasn't, he was with Nia.

My parents kept me home doing school work and cleaning. Tristan and I had barely ever crossed paths.

I had never expected his voice to be so sexy.

"You left your party," I stated, confusion lacing into every word. Everyone had come to see him, but instead of enjoying his party, he was here.

I carefully glanced from side to side, combing through the trees to search for his friends. It wouldn’t be unusual for my pack members to make fun of me.

This had to be a prank.

Tristan had never bothered to even look my way after I was demoted to an Omega, let alone to seek me out.

It was against the rules for me to look at or talk to him unless he addressed me first, and until now, he never had.

I was nothing to him and never had been. Maybe Nia was right.

"I smelled my mate. Why wouldn't I go after her?" He pushed off the tree and pulled his jacket off, leaving him in a white shirt that he immediately began to unbutton.

My mouth went dry as the fabric opened, and my breathing came out faster as he moved to the button on his pants.

"Your mate?" I repeated, baffled. Hope filled me but I did my best to force it down. I knew my mate was at the party tonight, but the chances of it being the Alpha’s son were slim to none.

He kicked off his shoes before pulling his shirt off the rest of the way and letting his pants fall to the ground with it.

My cheeks went hot, and I forced my gaze away when he pulled off his boxers.

I heard him enter the water only a second before his scent reached me, and my breathing caught in my chest. It wasn’t a cruel joke. It was fate.

Mate. Mine!

"Yes, my mate.” He said, and I looked back to see the water rising on his thighs with each step. I blinked several times in surprise as I watched him grow hard in front of me before the water covered him.

Tristan didn't slow as he approached me, and I gasped when his body connected with mine, lifting me with one arm while his other hand grabbed my thigh and hitched it over his hip.

Sparks covered my body, my stomach filled with butterflies, and his scent surrounded me. My beast clawed her way forward, and I let her take control, ready to claim our mate. She had been eager to get to him since she first sensed him at the party. Now she had him, and we weren’t going to let go.

My chest pressed against his, and I wrapped my other leg around him.

His warm breath fanned over my mouth, and my lips parted as I stared into the black eyes of his wolf. "I have been looking for you all night."

“You found me.” I whispered back in awe, stunned by the gorgeous man in front of me.

The deep growl made my core clench, and tears of happiness filled my eyes before he crashed his mouth against mine in a kiss. It was consuming and dominating in the most delicious way, and as he walked me out of the water and laid me down on the beach, I felt happiness for the first time in years.

The overwhelming rush of love and need was intoxicating, and I was drowning in it…in him.

By the time the sun rose, my body was spent. A smile was permanently etched on my face, and I couldn’t help myself as I nuzzled my face into Tristan’s chest. Our naked bodies were pressed together, and even though we had been awake for hours, he was still hard against my stomach as his arms loosened around me.

“Good Morning,” I mumbled as the sun peeked over the trees. My body was sore but sated.

I could feel the delicious ache between my thighs and stretched, arching my chest toward him as he rolled onto his back.

My fingers ran over my neck where I knew his love bites were, but there was one bite that I was still waiting on. As the heir to the pack, there were traditions that he was expected to follow. I figured he wanted us to wait for the mating ceremony before we marked one another.

Tristan lifted his hand, running his palm over his face as he sighed.

When he didn’t respond to me, my smile started to fall, and an uneasy feeling swirled in my stomach. “Tristan? Are you okay?”

He let out a cold laugh before sitting up. Goosebumps covered my body at the loss of his warmth.

“Tristan?” I repeated, my voice wavering as I pushed myself up until I was sitting next to him with several unwelcomed inches between us.

“Get your hands off me! What is your name, Omega?”