Alexandra

The wooden serving tray felt heavier with every step I took toward the long dining table.

I kept my head lowered, careful not to draw attention to myself as I approached Alpha Axton’s chair. The visiting Alphas were deep in conversation, their laughter echoing through the grand dining hall while servants moved quietly around them.

If I stayed quiet - invisible - the night would pass without incident. That was always my hope.

I leaned forward to place the glasses onto the table and felt cold fingertips creep slowly up my thighs beneath the thin fabric of my dress. My breath caught in my throat and my body went rigid.

The very moment I felt the serving tray wobble on my hand, terror flooded my body.

One glass tipped over the edge. Then another.

They shattered across the wooden floor, the sound ripping through the grand dining hall like rapid gunshots. My chest tightened and tears burned behind my eyes as fear swallowed me whole, knowing my actions would quickly be met with consequences.

I barely had time to inhale before the room fell completely silent. The air around me became heavy and suffocating as every conversation stopped, every fork froze mid-air and every pair of eyes glued onto me.

My heart hammered in my chest as they watched intently, waiting to see what Alpha Axton’s next move would be. I swallowed the lump in my throat and barred my neck in submission to Alpha Axton like a good omega before crouching down onto my knees to gather the sharp shards of glass.

“My apologies Alpha, I should have been more careful,” I muttered. It was my fault, the details didn’t matter. They never mattered. He was my Alpha and I was nothing short of an omega in his pack.

I belonged to him. The worst part is, I knew it too.

An aggressive tug of my hair pulled me upright abruptly, his grip never ceasing.

“Worthless omega,” he yelled into my ear with a bone chilling snarl. “You embarrass me in front of my guests and still dare to beg for mercy?”

Pushing my face roughly against the dining table, plates rattled beneath the force as his other hand lifted the back of my dress.

Cold air rushed against my skin, and my stomach twisted when I realized I was exposed for the entire room to bear witness. I shut my eyes tightly, preparing myself for what I knew would follow.

The jingling of his belt rang into my ears and I couldn’t stop the small whimper that escaped from my lips. Pain exploded through my body when the leather violently struck my backside. The sting burned deep into my flesh as the sound echoed through the silent hall. My fingers curled helplessly against the table as my body jerked from the impact.

Another strike quickly landed, just as brutal as the first. My entire body trembled as the pain spread through my nerves, my breath hitching in my chest.

Soft murmurs began to ripple around the room. They were watching, entertained even.

I squeezed my eyes even tighter, the seconds to the next blow feeling like an eternity. But, the third blow never came. Instead, he released his hand from my hair and let my body crumble to the floor.

“Lock her up. Get her out of my sight.”

My heart thundered in my chest when my gaze landed on the two guards stepping forward from the doorway. They stalked towards me quickly.

Their large hands clamped around my frail arms and without a second thought, they hauled me to my feet.

“Be grateful I don’t cast you out,” he murmured.

“A rogue would have killed you for far less… and no one would care.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat as the guards dragged me into the hallway and down the narrow staircase of the pack house.

I didn’t dare to fight back because I knew it would only lead to harsher punishments. It’s not as if I could take on two enforcers anyways, they were much bigger and stronger than I was.

And above all, they had a wolf.

The smell of scorched skin and rotted limp bodies became more potent as I was pulled deeper into the dark and cold basement of the packhouse. I could taste the bitter bile slowly creeping up my throat from the gruesome scent. My body thumped harshly against the cold concrete when the guards mercilessly threw me inside the cell and disappeared down the row of iron cages, retrieving back to the staircase.

Not that I was surprised at how quickly they’d left, they often joked that one day a pack warrior would catch fleas from the scum that Alpha Axton kept down here.

I tried to call out, my small voice echoing against the concrete walls. The silence in the dungeon quickly became near deafening. Everything was still except my mind that wouldn't stop racing. I could very well be forgotten and left to die down here like so many other prisoners had in the past.

Why did I let him get to me? I tortured myself. I should know better by now. He often found some sick and twisted pleasure in watching me suffer at his hands.

The events recoiled in my mind on a continuous circuit. I strived to be a good servant to Alpha Axton and not anger him but no matter how hard I tried, I still found myself being punished at his mercy.

I pulled my knees against my chest and shuffled my body into the corner of the cell frantically. Panic crept up my skin, I’d be lucky if I only received a punishment from Alpha Axton for embarrassing him in front of the other Alphas during an official Alpha reception. It was the most important event of the year. I was sure this time around, my mistakes would lead to my death.

Maybe death would be an escape to the horrors that I faced everyday.

Alpha Axton referred to me as his biggest regret, he never bothered to conceal his hatred for me. Instead, he made sure that it was embedded into the deepest crevasses of my mind - just how much he loathed my very existence.

He saw himself as my savior for taking me in when his warriors found me roaming alone in the dark forest near the Shadow Pack borders as a pup. He never failed to remind me that if it wasn’t for him, I would have been ravaged by rogues.

Life in Shadow Pack hadn’t always been this cruel. I would have even considered it a blessing.

It wasn’t until Alpha Axton’s mate died from the birth of their first pup that I found my life was flipped upside down in the blink of an eye. Luna Fraya had been the closest thing to love that I had experienced since my pack was overtaken when I was eight years old.

My father was the Alpha of our pack which made me the rightful heir of Rolling Hills Pack. I can still hear my mother’s screams plague my dreams every night when the Alpha from a neighboring pack ripped her throat out in one clean swipe.

She was trying to protect me, they wanted me and instead they wiped out my pack when they realized the pack had hid me.

I had managed to stay out of sight under a large tree log until nightfall then scurried into the forest, hopeless to find someone to help and revive my parents.

Luna Fraya was the bright shining light of Shadow Pack, she was a kind and loving soul, completely devoted to her pack. She was the perfect picture of what a Luna should be. Alpha Axton and Luna Fraya chose to take me in when I had no one left and for that, I was grateful.

She was insistent that I attend the best schools and receive adequate training for my wolf. I hadn’t realized it then but she had spent years grooming me to become heir of Shadow Pack since it was unlikely that they would have any children.

They had given up their dream to become pregnant after nearly a decade of trying, so it was pronounced a miracle by the Moon Goddess when Luna Fraya found out that she was expecting. The death of her and their unborn pup caused years of grief and anguish amongst the pack, especially for Alpha Axton. He blamed her love for me as to why she kept her dream alive of having their own pup, she so badly wanted to give me a sibling to grow up with like she had.

“A full packhouse filled with love and laughter for Alexandra,” that’s what she said her only wish was when I would overhear the two of them arguing late in the night.

I too suffered tremendous agony and eventually when the pain became too much to bear, I slit my wrists and tried to take my own life. I was convinced that my very existence was why both my parents and Luna Fraya had died.

Wherever I was, death always seemed to follow.

My life slowly began to crumble from the moment that I lost her. Alpha Axton became vicious, cruel and driven by anger. He immediately relocated me into the slave chambers beside the pack house, pulling me out of school and re-ranking me to the lowest title of omega. I was expected to serve the Alpha’s every request.

I clenched onto the green emerald necklace that Luna Fraya had given me before she had died, claiming that it reminded her of me every time she looked into my eyes. It was the only thing that I had left in memory of her and if Alpha Axton found out about the necklace, I was sure it would be gone too.

There was no luxuries for the bottom of the pack.

My uncontrollable sobs eventually sent me into a deep slumber, only waking to the hard stomps of footsteps coming down the wooden staircase.

I shoved my most prized possession into the pocket of my ragged servant dress, careful not to reveal it to anyone. My mouth went dry when Alpha Axton came into sight. He flashed me a sinister smile, his gaze intently focused on me.

The key turned in the lock with a slow click.

A smirk pulled from the corner of his lips as he gazed down at me.

“Did you really think the night was over?”