Chapter one: My mate.

Evans’ POV

“Can you hurry up with those dishes?”    

Kim’s voice cut through the silent tension of the pack house kitchen like a sword, making me jolt in fear. The plates in my hands already felt weighty, my fingers trembling as I forced myself to keep working.

“Yes, ma’am, I just have a few left.” I replied, keeping my pitch as submissive as possible, my eyes resting on the work at hand to avoid her wrath.

I knew better than to test her patience. One more problem, delay or response would involve those hands of her into doing something drastic. The sting of her palm across my cheeks was something I had experienced several times before.

Living here in Dawnshade had been more of a nightmare. A life I never choose for myself, yet one I was forced to endure. Sixteen years ago, my life filled with its merriness but was thwarted by the death of my parents. My parents—strong, honorable Gammas—were all I ever had. But that world became a disaster the day they died in that ghastly car crash. From that moment on, everything has taken a new turn.

Ripped of my status, my dignity and honor—I was demoted to an outcast, an omega. A mere servant in the pack I once had a rightful place in. It wasn't just the death of my parents that made my life horrific. The treat from the pack was a consideration. As if my parents’ death had stripped me of any worth. As if their absence had somehow wiped off my power, my potential.

And maybe it had.  

I had never trained like the others. I had no one to motivate me, no one to tell me of my inner capability of being a better wolf, but just only one person, Amelia Christensen, my best friend who always tried to give me those hopes of an identity I could never be. My wolf, Liesendra, was weak and dumb most of the days, hiding into the deep sides of my soul, barely responding in silence.

Amelia Christensen has been my friend and confidant for ten years now. Amelia is everything I am not. Her curvy frame and piercing emerald eyes, glorious prestige awards her a Beta of the Dawnshade pack. She is the daughter of Ford, Kian’s personal Beta and second in command.

Kim, the caretaker, was relentless in her acts. She oversaw over the omegas with cruelty, always finding ways to deprive us of our full wages, always putting us in our place as slaves. Washing, gardening, cleaning and cooking—those were our only purposes here. 

And I?  

I had accepted this fate long ago.  

Possibly tomorrow would be a turnaround for me as I finally turn eighteen. The day the Moon Goddess would grant me my fated mate. Someone that would love and cherish me for who I am.

“Hurry up with those! It’s time for dinner. The Alpha and his friends are already mouth dropping with hunger at the dining hall,” Kim snapped, her arms crossed, shooting me a grim look.

I swallowed hard. My hands moving faster, scrubbing at the last dish in fear causing my stomach to churn.

“Coming!” I shrieked, my tone a bit low-pitched.

Kim’s eyes filled with disgust as she moved closer, her tall figure casting a shadow over me.

“So what was that thing which kept you so long?” She sneered rhetorically. “You keep getting lazy by the day. You are useless to the pack. A liability of its own image. No fighting skills. No intellect. And still a failure in the little you could contribute to the pack,” she said in a disgusted scoff.

“I… I’m really sorry, Chief Kim,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper, resting my gaze on the ground below me. My nails dug into my palms as I struggled to fight back the tears threatening to have its way on my face.

“Sorry for that useless self of yours,” she spat. “Now take those dishes to the dining room.

A sinking feeling settled in my chest.  

I had always tried to avoid serving at the dining, sticking to the cleaning unit where I could be unnoticed. But tonight, fate wasn't playing in my favour.

The truthful rumors about Alpha Kian’s friends—Ria and Nike. Their brute and cruel nature of always taking advantage of weaker wolves, especially female omegas. I had spent this past years being invisible to the arms of cruelty in man with the mindset of being a perfect prey for men like them.

Yet tonight, there was no escape route. 

Holding the heavy tray in my hands, I let out a deep breath before making my way into the dining room.

And that’s when it hit me like a thud.

A pungent scent.  

Strange yet intoxicating, filling my senses, curling around me like a reptile before I could fathom what really was going on.

Liesendra—weak and silent for so many years suddenly surged in excitement, her excitement crashing into me with a force that halted my breath.

What could this be?

My steps faltered. The tray in my hands shaking.

The scent was getting intense. More stronger. More overwhelming. 

My pulse thudded in my ears as my gaze ran across the glamourous room, searching for where it was coming from.

And then—  

I saw it.

Kian.  

Alpha Kian Blackthorn.  

Our Alpha. My Alpha.  

He sat keenly at the head of the dinning table. His presence exuberates glory and power, dominating the room without effort. His piercing silver eyes were sharp and unreadable, his tense broad shoulder awarding him a burly statue as he leaned back in his chair. Strong and sharp jawlines and a muscular frame that radiated raw authority.

The air grew tense between us.  

Recognition.  

Bond.  

A pull so intense and deep it felt as though the world itself had tethered a thread between the both of us.

MATE.  

My heart throbbed against my ribs.

My hands grew shaky, and I clenched on the tray to prevent it from falling to the ground.

No.  

Not me. 

There is a mistake somewhere. This can't be happening.

Alpha Kian Blackthorn.*My mate.*  

A feeling of me running to his arms flickered in my mind, to feel his warmth against my already cold skin. To feel what it meant to be wanted. To be loved.

But the reality slammed on me again like a cold slap

I was a mere and weak omega.

And he was the direct opposite of my personality. A powerful Alpha. A man who could possess any she wolf he wanted without a flinch.

Would he reject me?  

Would he shatter my heart before I even had the chance to hope?  

I forced my gaze to the ground, my breath caught in my throat as I make my way to the dining table with the tray in my hands.

And then—  

*SMACK!*  

Pain exploded across my cheek.  

The tray shattered on the floor.  

  

Kim's slap sent me to the floor. My hands and knees filled with the already spilled food. The slap was so sudden that for a while it made me see stars.

“Are you in your right senses? What is your problem?” she snarled.  

Laughter erupted from the guts of Ria and Nike.  

“Don’t mind her,” Nike chuckled. “I think she’s thinking about one of those secret lovers of hers’. She secretly sneaks into the pack house at night.” Her voice resonated in malice.

The humiliation erupts in a furnace in my heart more than the pain on my cheek.

“What’s your problem, you dirty thing?” Ria added with a sneer. “Go get us our food immediately? We’re starving already.”

“Kim's tone turned soft—only for the Alpha. “Apologies my Alpha. This thing will be dealt with accordingly.”

My breath caught in my throat as I swallowed hard. My gaze darted to Kian, searching his face for something…. something. A retaliation. A backup. An acknowledgement of the bond between us.

But he just sat there in muteness and less concern.

Silent. Unmoving. Watching.  

I wanted to doubt his cold attitude, making excuses for what seemed to be disdain. I wanted to believe he was too tired and drained to react to what happened seconds ago. That there was a reason–any reason why he didn't intervene.

But deep inside of me, the fear was already ravaging my soul.

He felt it. I *knew* he felt it.  

Yet he didn't retaliate.

And that… that hurt more than anything else.