Chapter 1

*Vera’s POV**

“You useless Omega bitch!” My stepfather Derek roared, yanking a fistful of my hair.

“No! Father, please!” I screamed, tears filling my eyes as pain shot through my scalp. He tore at my hair, but I knew he wasn’t going to let go.

 “Shut up, you foolish little slut! You deserve far worse than this. How dare you steal from me?” He spat at me, his voice dripping with venom.

“I didn’t steal from you, sir! I’m not a thief!” I cried, but my words fell on deaf ears. He shoved me to the ground, his boot connecting with my stomach. I screamed in pain, but deep down, I knew it was pointless—no one was coming to save me.

“No, you’re far worse than a thief. You’re a shameless, lying Omega slut who killed her own mother!” he hissed.

“Please, sir, it wasn’t me,” I begged, trying to make him see reason. “Then who was it? Who stole my money?” he demanded.

“It—it was Amanda. I saw her going through your drawers while you were sleeping,” I stammered, instantly regretting it. We both knew he already knew who the thief was, but he didn’t care.

He kicked me again, sneering. “How dare you call my daughter a thief? Amanda is a perfect, innocent angel. How dare you lie about her?” He yelled, knowing full well I was telling the truth.

But I wasn’t the one he wanted to hurt. That was reserved for someone he wouldn’t dare lay a finger on—Amanda. Instead, I was the convenient target, the one he could beat and bruise without guilt.

This wasn’t new. Since I was a child, every time Amanda did something wrong, I paid the price. Sometimes he beat me just because he was bored. And it was all because he blamed me for my mother’s death. The whole pack did.

My mother died protecting me from a rogue attack years ago. She was beloved by the pack, so they decided I was the reason she was gone, and now they hated me for it.

When my stepfather saw that I couldn’t get up from the pain, he lost interest and stormed off to his room.

Soon, I heard him talking to Amanda on the phone.

“Sweetheart, why didn’t you tell me you took the money? I would’ve given you more. Are you sure that’s enough for your shopping spree? I can send you more.” His voice was gentle, caring—the complete opposite of how he spoke to me. I sighed.

He just beat me black and blue because he accused me of stealing, and now here he was, offering Amanda more money just because she asked.

But that was Amanda. She always got what she wanted, even if it meant my happiness was sacrificed.

 “Where are you now?” I heard him ask. “Are you still at the pack house?” His words made me freeze.

The pack house was a grand mansion where most pack members hung out. But more importantly, it was home to the only person in the world who cared about me—my boyfriend, Alpha Derek.

Derek and I have been together for a year now, and he’s been the light in my dark, miserable life. He’s the only one who stood up for me when the rest of the pack bullied and harassed me.

He even promised that as soon as I turned 18, he would take me away from my stepfather, marry me, and make me a powerful Luna no one could hurt again.

Derek has been my savior, and I knew I’d always love him. But, as usual, Amanda couldn’t stand to see me happy.

She was jealous of my relationship with Derek, constantly trying to turn him against me. I’ve caught her lying and manipulating him many times, but thankfully, her schemes never worked.

Derek always defended me, which only fueled Amanda’s hatred for him. They fought every time they saw each other.

But all her drama would end tomorrow. Why? Because tomorrow is my 18th birthday. Tomorrow, I’d move in with Derek and we’d finally get married.

My life was about to change, and I’d get to spend forever with my one and only love, Alpha Derek.

I smiled to myself, thinking about him. I couldn’t wait for tomorrow—I wanted to see him today.

A part of me wondered if Amanda was making one last attempt to turn him against me. Everyone knew that after tomorrow, I’d be out of their reach, so maybe she was taking her final shot. But it wouldn’t work. Derek wasn’t fooled by her plastic beauty or fake innocence.

He loved me for who I was, and I loved him too.

A few hours later, my excitement to be with Derek grew too much to bear, so I decided to sneak out to see him. I waited until my stepfather was asleep, then I tiptoed out of the house and made my way to the pack house. I wanted to wake up in my Derek’s arms tomorrow.

When I arrived at the pack house, I was horrified to see so many pack members still there. Since all of them liked to bully me, I was immediately worried, but what made matters worse, was the way they were looking at me.

 They were smiling at me, as if they were happy to see me. But that wasn’t possible right? Because these people hated me with a fiery passion, so why were they smiling at me?

The usual reaction when they saw me was, they would sneer, hiss or beat me up, not smile. To them, I was a weak, useless waste of flesh that needed to be removed. There was absolutely no reason for them to be smiling at me.

I tried to quickly walk past them, but one of them rushed forward and blocked me with a smirk on her face. It was Jessica, the biggest bully in the pack.

“Good evening, Jessica, please let me pass, I just want to see Derek.” I said as tentatively as possible. I didn’t want to fight now, I just wanted to see my boyfriend.

“Too bad that I don’t give a fuck what you want Omega. Nobody wants you here, now get the fuck out.” She growled.

Jessica had always hated me more than anyone else in my pack. Anytime she saw me, it looked like I had just killed her joy, and I didn’t even know what I had ever done to make her hate me so much.

“Please, I don’t want any trouble, I just want to see Derek.” I said again and she rolled her eyes at me.

“Are you fucking deaf Omega? Didn’t you hear me? No one wants you here, not even your sweet heart Derek.” She mocked and I shook my head at her.

“Derek wants me here, I’m moving in with him tomorrow.” I argued back at her, just to feel the satisfaction of proving her wrong, but it didn’t seem to work as she smiled at me with an evil glint in her eye.

“Really? So you don’t believe me then?” She asked, then she moved aside. “We’ll go on, go upstairs to his room. Go and see how much your sweet heart really wants you.” She said with the same evil glint in her eye.

I frowned at her, confused about what she was talking about. But I didn’t want to waste anymore time with her so I ran upstairs, ran straight to Derek’s room and opened the door without knocking.

The first thing that filled my senses was the loud sound of a woman moaning from the bed. “Yes! Yes Derek! Fuck me harder baby!” A painfully familiar voice screamed.

Every part of me froze in shock as my eyes took in the sight in front of me.

Derek was on the bed, his hips furiously thrusting into my stepsister on the bed. She was scratching his back, begging him for more as he drove into her relentlessly.

 “Fuck! Amanda, you’re so tight, so sweet and tight. You’re the best! I wish I could fuck you forever.” He groaned and I felt hot tears well up in my eyes.

I couldn’t believe it. The only man I had ever loved was fucking my step sister right in front of me.

“Really?” Amanda giggled. “Am I better than Vera?” Amanda moaned.

“I told you to stop mentioning her name when we fuck. She can never compare to you. You’re the only one that gets me this hard Amanda.”

My blood ran cold and I realized that his word had killed something inside me.

All my love, warmth, my hope, and my joy died at his words and I suddenly snapped. “You fucking pig!” I screamed