Chapter One

Chloe’s POV

"Wake up, sleepy head! Don't you know you have a lot to do?" She shouted, her tone sharp and unforgiving. "Why are you still sleeping like an animal?"

I scrambled to my feet, water dripping down my face as I hurriedly apologized. Mrs. Parker's scowl deepened, her eyes boring into mine with disdain.

"You're useless," she spat. "Always sleeping, always lazy. You'll never amount to anything."

I felt embarrassed at her words.

Without another word, I rushed out of the room, my clothes clinging to my damp skin. I couldn’t even feel humiliated because I was already used to this attitude. Throughout the day,I worked my ass out, so I was way tired.

I ran towards the palace throne room to start cleaning.

At twenty now, most girls my age spend their time dreaming of their future mates. They had friends. They dressed up, went to parties, and chilled out. But my case is different.

I had no friends, no family, and no dreams for the future.

I don’t even know who my family was, as I grew up in the palace as a low-life Omega slave.

My misery didn’t end with a lack of friends, but it was said that since I had a weak wolf named Layla, I could never have a mate.

I have no idea why the world hates me this much. What did I do to deserve all this?

I had only one hope...

Every night, I prayed that tomorrow would be the day—the day I would finally meet my mate.

Finally, I would have someone else to call my own. A man who would love me and get me out of this hell hole.

My heart broke at the thought.

I swiped away the tears that fell down my cheeks. I knew I wasn’t good enough to have a mate, but surely the Moon Goddess didn’t hate me so much as to deny me a mate!

*******

I was responsible for cleaning the suites in the packhouse, but I still had two more to finish.

Mrs. Parker, the palace maintenance warden, was adamant, as she made sure that I always did my work.

Perhaps it didn’t matter; I sighed. It wasn’t like I had anything else to do or anyone to see.

As I scrubbed the floors of the packhouse suites, I noticed Amelia walking into the packhouse with her chief maidservant. Amelia was the supposed next Luna of the Pack, as she was betrothed to Mason, the heir apparent.

The ground was still a bit wet from my cleaning, and Amelia decided who I didn’t say anything to to cause trouble.

Amelia deliberately stepped onto the wet area, with her shoe footprints everywhere.

Before I could react, Amelia found out that the hem of her dress had gotten wet.

"You!" she exclaimed, pointing accusatorily at me. "Look what you've done! You've ruined my dress!"

I was taken aback by her sudden outburst, my heart pounding with fear. "I'm sorry, Your Highness," I stammered, trying to explain that I didn’t do anything.

But before I could finish my sentence, Amelia’s hand came crashing down on my cheek with a sharp slap. The sting was immediate, and I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.

I cried out, my voice trembling with emotion. "I didn't stain your..."

"Please, Your Highness, this is all just a misunderstanding. I really don’t want us to have issues," I pleaded, even as I tried to stand my ground against Amelia for once.

But Amelia only grew angrier. "How dare you try to talk back to me?" she snapped, her eyes spitting fire. "You're nothing but a lowly Omega. Know your place!"

Before I could respond, Mason entered the room. His expression was straight as he surveyed the room. "What's going on here?" he demanded, his voice way deep and loud.

Amelia wasted no time in twisting the truth. "Babbbbby, this pathetic Omega raised her voice at me," she claimed.

Mason's eyes twitched in disbelief.

"What?” his voice boomed with anger. "Are you out of your mind?" He turned to me, his gaze piercing my soul.

"Chloe, or whatever they call you, how dare you raise your hand on my queen? Who do you think you are? You pathetic being!"

"But I didn't—" I tried to explain, but Mason's hand came crashing down on my face before I could finish. The force of the slap sent me straight to the ground, pain shooting through my cheek.

"You pathetic being," he scolded, his eyes blazing with anger. "You will never dare raise your voice against my princess in this palace again. Understand?"

Tears welled up in my eyes as I nodded, too afraid to speak. Amelia stood by; she wore this happy look as she

Mason turned to Amelia. "Don’t worry, she won’t touch you again. I have a meeting to attend right now." Mason said.

"I pray she doesn't, baby," Amelia replied even as she carried those baby-faced eyes, as if she were really sad. "Don’t be long, babe; I will be in my room, love."

“I won't, baby,"  Maison said even as he kissed Amelia and then walked out, leaving Amelia, her maid, and me.

Without thinking, Amelia kicked the bucket of water beside me, pouring the contents on me that were already on the ground and soaking me once again.

Hissing, Amelia walked away and left the room with her maid in tow.

Fuming with anger, I struggled to pick myself up from the ground, the wetness seeping into my clothes. "Why does it always have to be me?" I muttered under my breath, frustration bubbling within me.

"Godddddd. I hate Mason and Amelia," I exclaimed, my voice trembling with resentment. "Why would he side with his spoilt so-called Luna?"

I let out a sigh of defeat. "There's nothing I can do about any of this," I muttered, my voice resigned, as I picked up the bucket.

After cleaning for over an hour, I finally finished. I was so tired that I could barely walk straight. "I really need to rest," I said to myself, knowing that this evening was going to be incredibly stressful as I would be serving a whole lot of guests. Taking a little rest now would be very helpful.

I could feel my wolf, Layla, screaming in her tiny voice inside me. She, too, was weak and weary.

Walking towards the door of the packhouse, I heard noises. Out of curiosity, I looked through the windows and saw a whole lot of people downstairs in the yard.

"Why are the guests already here?" I said, feeling shocked.

I thought the ceremony was slated for the next day. I planned on catching a little sleep before they started arriving.

"We need rest," Layla, my inner wolf, said, echoing my thoughts as she was just as weak as I was.

Walking back to my room, I suddenly picked up a scent. This scent was new, something I had never experienced before. Suddenly, Layla started shouting, "Mate! Mate! Mate!"

"Mate?" I said it aloud, puzzled. "How is that even possible?"