LUCY.
"What are you doing?" Manuel’s eyes squinted as his gaze fell everywhere in my small, messy room while Stella was holding his arms to stop him from stepping inside.
"I’m looking for some of my money. But I found it already. I just misplaced it." I answered nonchalantly as I began picking up my clothes from the floor and began folding them.
"Stop with your lies. Were you in the kitchen earlier?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course. I’ve been everywhere in this house. What’s going on?" I turned around and placed my hands on my hips as I tapped my foot on the wooden floor, my eyes shifting back and forth between them as if I was impatient to hear their replies.
"Nothing, dear. I need help with dinner. Can you come down and give this old lady a hand before the pups come and attack me from hunger?" Stella spoke sweetly, but I saw worry and concern in her eyes.
Something was about to happen.
"Sure. I’ll just pick all these up and throw them on my bed, then I’ll go down. Just five minutes."
"Okay." She smiled widely as she tugged her mate away from my room, but Manuel was still looking at me. And I knew that the look he was giving me - he didn’t believe a word I said. He knew I was up to something.
To hell with him.
The moment the door closed, I grabbed the backpack from under the blanket and locked my door before I pulled my window up and scouted the grounds below. The locked door would buy me some time if they decided to come back and check on me.
My bedroom faced the back of the orphanage, but two floors down was one of the receiving rooms, the one often used for guests. If there was no one in there, no one would see me jumping down from baluster to baluster.
This was not the first time I jumped and crawled out of my bedroom window, so I didn’t have to be terrified about falling. I just needed not to be seen.
I swung the backpack over my shoulders and climbed out of the window. My hands clutched my window sill as I swung my foot down until I reached the upper doorframe of the room below mine. I used it as leverage and pushed my body up to jump, landing perfectly on the balcony of the old library that no one visited except for me.
I dusted off my hands and checked if there were lights in the receiving room down below, and my heart dropped in disappointment when I saw lights illuminating the window.
I bit my bottom lip, chewing it as I thought of my next move when a voice from the top snapped me out of my thoughts.
"She’s running away!" Manuel’s voice erupted in the thin air, making me snap my head back and I saw him pointing at me from my window.
Shit! I didn’t have time to think as I jumped off the balcony from the second floor and landed on the dusty ground with a loud thud.
My gaze went to the receiving room window and my eyes locked with a tall man with a long beard. His forehead creased, but I didn’t have time to analyze him as I dashed forward to the forest line where I knew the exit that could eventually lead me out of the orphanage perimeter
My feet sprang forward, running at a pace that was too fast for my usual run. It reminded me of the speed I used when I was running away from the demon world.
I might have been running fast, but it was nothing compared to the wolves running after me.
Loud paws were thudding against the earth, and the sound kept getting louder as I kept sprinting forward.
My hand went up to the opal stone hanging on my neck. I just needed to take it off and I could summon my power to save me.
But do I need to be saved?
Wolves or demons? Make your choice, Lucy!
My hand fell to my side as the wolves behind me overtook my run and ended up rounding me with one wolf blocking my way.
My small frame slammed against the wolf, and I was thrown back in an instant. My ass hit the ground with a loud thud before my back followed after, making pain course through my whole body from the impact.
I think I broke my spine.
I remained laying down on the dirt with my eyes closed and my chest heaving. I wondered if my small backpack was enough to protect me.
I heard shuffling and I knew they must be shifting back to their human forms.
"She’s fucking too fast for an omega." A deep voice made me snap my eyes open to see a bulky naked man looking down at me with his dick straight up to where I could see it perfectly.
"But we’re faster…" Another dick answered, and I just remained still, wondering if I would be able to function normally after this.
"What’s your name?"
I was looking at them, looking down at me, but had no intention of replying. My back was still hurting.
"Were you not listening earlier? Lucy. Her name is Lucy." The bulky man answered.
The other dick was crouched on my side, just beside my head, so if I tilted my face in his direction, I was sure I would see the thing he wanted to show off. "Listen. We will take you and prepare you for the Omega Feast. Now be a good girl and no more running. And I promise you, no harm will come your way."
"I don’t want to be part of the Feast." I blurted out as I closed my eyes.
"This is beyond your power, little Omega. And if you try to run away, you will be punished accordingly."
"Are you trying to scare me?"
"No. I’m trying to tell you what will happen to you."
⇜ ♡♡♡ ⇝
I didn’t even get to say goodbye to Stella or the pups at the orphanage. The men who caught me just threw me into the car that followed us in the middle of the forest.
Only Manuel was with them, and he blatantly told them that I was stubborn and that they needed to watch out for me because I would surely try to run away again.
I just rolled my eyes with my arms crossed against my chest as the man he talked with assured him that I was not the first case like this, and they knew what to do.
I should be terrified, but I wasn’t. I have seen far worse with my young eyes while I was in the underworld than the things around here. Nothing could scare me. Except for a broken spine, which fortunately didn’t happen tonight.
But even if I wasn’t scared, I needed to pretend that I was. Or they might find out that I was not an ordinary Omega.
The car started moving and the three men inside the car with me were in full silence. So I took it as an invitation to rest my eyes and think about my life. I leaned my body and head back on the soft cushion and closed my eyes.
Wolves or Demons?
Wolves. It would always be wolves.
I was eleven when my mother died of a broken heart. Months before that, my adoptive father was killed and my mother was not able to recover from that, which eventually led to her succumbing to death.
My adoptive father and my mother were both shifters, and they were fated mates. They’d been together long before I was born.
No. My mother didn’t cheat on him. Everything was my father’s doing.
Lucien, my father, the Prince of Darkness, wandered the human realms from time to time. His libido was not only limited to the she-demons throwing themselves at him. He wanted to taste all the species of this world. And one day, he saw my mother and took a fancy to her.
He tried to woo her into coupling with him. But my mother never bent. She had a mate, and she had chosen her mate over and over again. So, being a demon prince, my father couldn’t take the rejection.
He went after her in his incubus form and took her forcefully, over and over again. He came back night after night until he got tired of her. It was only then that he left her and never bothered her again.
But what he didn’t know was that an offspring was conceived from his horrible act.
My mother’s mate, Diego, knew everything and he didn’t leave her. Instead, he helped her raise me and never once made me feel I was not his child.
In fact, I didn’t know I was not his until I accidentally summoned my power and killed a rabbit with fire when I was six years old.
With my power unleashed, the portal and my connection to the underworld opened. And in seconds, my father, the Demon Prince of Darkness, appeared before me and claimed me as his child. His only daughter.
My real father didn’t take me that day, but my life was never the same after that.
I knew one day he would come for me. My mother had been preparing me for that day - I tried to take in as much as I could, but with a young mind, I couldn’t comprehend everything.
The necklace I had around my neck was from my mother — she buried it in the cemetery near our home together with some money that she and my father saved up. She hid them there after my stepfather, her fated mate, died. She knew she didn’t have any time left and she wanted to make sure I had options if the time came that I didn’t want to remain in the demon world.
My mother, and her fated mate, my stepfather — they loved me. And the love between them was the only thread that was keeping the light in me, stopping me from falling into the depths of hell.
Even with them gone, I had hope instilled in me that one day I would find the same love that they found with each other. A love that would cross all boundaries, a love that would save me from the darkness looming inside me. My saving grace.
And that’s why I was still here, treading into the wilderness on my own, protecting the part of me that was giving me hope that I had a mate meant for me.
But without a wolf, I had no idea if I would ever find him. Or he would ever find me.
***FLASHBACK.***Underworld.Lucy - 13 years old. LUCY. My hands were too red and itchy now. I’d been doing target shooting using fire for the last hour and I was getting tired of it. I blew up the whole line of target range before I walked out of the pit where I was practicing. I reminded my mentor, Gargon, not to say a word to my father, or I would blow up his face next time. No. I was not scared of anyone. Despite my stubbornness, I was my father’s favorite. He doted on me and no one was allowed to touch me. But I didn’t say I didn’t get punished - I did. But only he was allowed to punish me. I jumped over the hurdles of fire before I was able to reach the fields that smelled like burned coals and grounds. Demons take pleasure in smelling anything that burns, especially flesh being burned, and although I didn’t fancy it, I was getting used to it by now. Another boring day. I wondered when my father would take me to see other creatures again. My father’s capacity to travel in
LUCY. "Wear that." A female gave me a paper bag and my eyes darted to it for a while before they went around the room. I was sharing a small room with nine other Omegas, and they were also handed paper bags. The others were excited as they chattered and compared the clothes they got — skimpy ones. I closed my eyes as I steadied my breathing. Why did I not run away in the last five days? Why did I think it would be easier to escape when a pack already owned me? Among the nine females I was sharing a room with, only one shared the same sentiment as me. We didn’t want to be part of this feast. The others were too excited. They said they had nothing to lose, so it was better to lose everything to an Alpha or a rich man. I wondered what they thought about mates because they never seemed to care about it. Whereas I would do everything just to be given a chance to find mine. "What are you two waiting for?" The older female named Cora, who gave the paper bag to me, shifted her glaring e
LUCY. My eyes locked with the darkest blue eyes I had ever seen in my whole life and I felt my whole world stop spinning. His eyes were mesmerizing, and despite the frown on his face, he looked like a god, frowning at me, making my core throb all at once at the fierceness on his face. "Move…" A female hissed behind me, pushing me forward, and I just realized I had stopped dancing. I jolted out of my reverie, my eyes darting around the stage at the other females, trying to figure out where we were in the dance. My heart was thudding loudly. I had never, in the life of me, lost focus, even in a time of danger, but seeing this man, in a split second, all my senses went out the window. My cheeks burned, not out of embarrassment but because I didn’t like the way that the attention was all on me now since I was just standing, not knowing what part we were dancing to. Until another Omega danced her way through me and took my hand, swaying it with her before she twirled me around, whisper
LUCIA. Dark Blue Eyes was approaching, but his eyes were on Mr. Asshole, a smug smirk plastered on his face. 1,100,000 Another flashed on the screen and the asshole cursed and brushed his hand over his hair before he started pressing his tablet again. All the while, all my hopes of being bought by Dark Blue Eyes flew out of the window. He had no tablet with him. He was not bidding. He might be the organizer. Or… Goddess, he might be Olivia’s mate. My heart clenched and I had no idea why I was hurting. My eyes watered as I dropped my gaze down, but I saw the screen move. Mr. Asshole bid over again. 1,300,000 "Getting frustrated, Ethan?" The deep baritone voice sent shivers down my spine, but this time, it was a shiver of pleasure. Even without looking, I knew it came from him. "Me, frustrated? Watch and learn, Stone." A cocky grin flashed across Mr. Asshole’s face. Stone. What kind of name was that? 1,500,000 The screen flashed, but I was wondering if Ethan - Mr. Asshole, sa
LUCY."I just want to know if you’re worth the fucking 1.5 million and worth putting my life on the line!" He growled at me.Instead of being terrified, something in me snapped. My eyes squinted and before I could stop myself, I was already yelling back at him. "But who the hell told you to accept the duel? We could have just walked away!"My anger surprised him, but I had no idea if it left him speechless or furious, because his face turned stoic as he stared at me.My hands clamped over my mouth before I was able to gather myself and apologize. "I’m sorry, Sir…""Alpha." His tone was too cold."I’m sorry, Alpha."He bought me on impulse, and now that he was given a chance to back out, he wanted to know if I was worth the 1.5 million. I needed to do something. I think I could tolerate his anger versus that perverted man out there.He was still not saying anything and was just looking at me. And I knew I should be acting terrified, but I was not acting this time. My hands were really
LUCY. "Don’t stop…" He said in a painful voice. I was confused until I realized he wanted me to grind on him, and so I did again. My hands tightened their hold on his forearms as I kept gyrating harder, my breasts bouncing with every movement, my lips parting as soft moans escaped my throat. If he kept me from doing this, I would come, and I didn’t think my already wet thongs would be able to hold my juices. "Do you want this cock inside you?" I nodded my head as I met his eyes. "Do you think you’re worth it?" I wanted to tell him I was sure I could satisfy him in bed, but I knew I shouldn’t. Instead, I stopped grinding on him as I swallowed hard before I opened my mouth to speak. "Alpha, don’t give me to him. I promise I will be a perfect Omega." He laughed heartily, and it made my heart flutter with the way his eyes were smiling. It was a rare and beautiful sight. This was too far from the face he was showing me the whole night. "A perfect Omega? Didn’t you just shout at m
LUCY. My hold on the Alpha’s jacket tightened as we entered the indoor arena. The place was deserted except for us and five more people. Alpha Stone and Ethan, who Beta Collin told me was also an Alpha, were standing in the middle with a man between them. "What are they doing?" I asked in a soft voice. "Discussing an agreement." Beta Collin replied as he crossed his arms against his chest. "What kind of agreement, like rules?" "I think they set no rules. Human or wolf form is okay. They are discussing now if the duel is a fight to the death…" "Until death?" I gasped, cutting his words. He chuckled before he continued. "Until death or submission." "And what have they decided? If they will fight to the death, then they’re both stupid! And I will walk out of here, run away, and they will never see me again. They’re wasting their lives for nonsense. Who even duels for a female these days?" "Hmmm… Alpha Stone and Alpha Ethan…" He answered, and I knew he was mocking me. I rolle
LUCY. Beast growled, opening his mouth so wide that his breath was blowing on me. I pinched my nose with my two fingers and giggled as I waited for him to stop with his growling and began teasing him. "Your breath stinks. Who did you eat? Alpha Ethan?" I asked in a low voice before I reached for his head way above me and patted him gently. "Good boy… Now Alpha Stone can’t give me to him." I had no idea why I was telling him this when I knew Alpha Stone could hear it too. Well, he knew I didn’t want to be with Alpha Ethan, but I just wanted to make it clear. Beasts whimpered before he started licking my face again, and my hands went to his jaw, trying to hold on to him because he was slightly pushing me backward. He has a strong, hard tongue, and I wondered if Alpha Stone had one as well. Oh, the things he could do with a strong and hard tongue! That would be amazing. I was still reveling in my dirty thoughts of the Alpha when, all of a sudden, my hands moved on their own, almost