CHAPTER ONE

Isabel

Until I was twelve, my dream was to be a princess.

The kind from those old movies, from back when humans still pretended monsters didn't exist and everything was just make-believe. I used to dream of wearing a dress full of ruffles and meeting a kind king who would tell me I was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Far prettier than Elizabeth, my older sister and our parents' favorite daughter...

That king would give me everything I wanted, and most of all, he would actually see me.

He wouldn't treat me with indifference, the way my family always has.

He would consider me important.

Worthy.

More than just the unwanted daughter who didn't die during any of my mother's attempts to abort me.

Unfortunately, that king doesn't exist. And I'm not twelve anymore, nor do I have the capacity to dream of a perfect life that will never exist.

Ever since I turned eighteen and got kicked out of the house, all I do is work so I don't starve to death. Which means I don't have time to feed pointless hopes that my life is somehow going to get better.

I wasn't born lucky, like Elizabeth.

I am, in fact, one of the unluckiest humans in the entire world.

An omega.

Someone who, ever since they revealed themselves, has been marked like cattle and set aside to serve as an incubator.

According to the Lykaris — monsters who have always walked the Earth but only revealed themselves twenty years ago, when human governments tried to enslave them and ended up starting an all-out war that my species lost — only omegas are capable of accepting their magical DNA, producing new little monsters to populate the world.

We're rare, which is why we're also separated right at birth, so the Alphas know exactly where to find us the moment we reach sexual maturity and have our first heat.

I've never had a full heat...

For as long as I can remember, I've swallowed the bitter pill my father sends every month, to mask the telltale scent that attracts the Lykaris and suppress my body's humiliating reactions.

This medication, called Mutea, makes me pass as an ordinary beta and gives me just enough freedom to keep accepting my father's “good deed,” even after the horrific way he treated me while I still lived under his roof.

I'm not stupid enough to think he does it out of concern for my well-being. I know perfectly well he only keeps paying for the Mutea because of Elizabeth's elaborate scam — she also takes a pill, except hers does the exact opposite of mine: it makes her pretend to be an omega.

“Must be so much fun not having to nearly die of pain every month...” I mutter, dunking the mop into the bucket of dirty water, irritated that my sister beat me even at this.

She'll never suffer the excruciating cramps. She'll never wake up in the middle of the night screaming in pure agony, her stomach feeling like it's on fire. She won't have the vomiting fits or the dizziness. She won't have to run to the bathroom and sit on the toilet for half an hour, feeling that disgusting fluid leave her body.

Elizabeth will get to keep only the “good” part: the status of being married to a powerful Alpha.

“Who are you talking to, human?” The rough, growled male voice makes my heart lurch with fright, and when I turn and find one of the massive Lykaris guards mere inches from me, I nearly have a fatal heart attack.

Fangs and fur.

That's all I can process at first, while my brain keeps screaming for our lives.

The male in front of me has an enormous body, easily over six and a half feet tall, covered head to toe in coarse-looking dark brown fur that dominates every inch of his skin.

He looks like one of those werewolves from old horror movies — from back when people had no idea they were real. Or maybe they did, and tried to warn us — with a long snout full of sharp teeth, huge claws, and an uncontrollable thirst for blood.

A true monster, like all of his kind.

“N-no one, my lord.” I say the moment my tongue starts working again, trying to focus on the silver details of his dark blue uniform instead of on how his mouth looks exactly the right size to tear out my jugular in a single bite. “I was just thinking out loud. I apologize for disturbing you. I swear it won't happen again!”

My body trembles with fear as the massive Lykaris takes another step forward, moving his snout to sniff at my body, trying to catch any trace of a lie.

I hold my breath.

Not because I think he'll find anything related to my terrible habit of talking to myself, but because of the chance the Mutea might fail and he'll catch my real scent.

Please let the medicine keep working.

Please let the medicine keep working.

Please let the medicine keep working.

“Finished your chores, cleaning girl?” The monster says as he steps back, in a bored tone that makes me want to drop to my knees and thank him, because it means nothing about me caught his attention.

I'm still just an ordinary beta.

Exactly what I want to be...

“Yes, my lord.” I lower my head, keeping him from seeing the tears of relief gathering along my lash line.

“Good. I have an extra task for you.” He points with his snout toward the hallway on the right, the one almost no human is allowed to cross. “Go clean the secretary's office. He was fired today, and the place looks like a dump! I don't want the king getting irritated by the stench.”

My jaw drops, and a strange mix of euphoria, fear, and curiosity starts building in my chest as I keep staring at the passage that leads to the Lykaris king's office.

Razor.

The strongest, most savage monster in the world.

The werewolf who crushed human arrogance, showing us we are nothing next to his power.

“I-I'm not authorized to do that, sir.” I murmur, not sure anymore whether I fear the punishment for obeying the guard's order more, or what he'll do to me now that I haven't obeyed his command. “I won't even be able to get into the room, since it requires special access.” I explain quickly, remembering everything I've ever heard about the king's office.

Some rumors even say there are traps at the entrance to the office, meant to kill anyone who dares get close!

“I'm giving you the authorization, human.” The guard's tone leaves no room for argument, so I simply follow him when he waves a hand, before heading toward the forbidden hallway. “Do you have everything you need to clean? You won't be able to leave to grab something and come back, since I'm heading to another wing.”

“Yes, I do.” I confirm, after quickly checking the cart I'm pushing across the floor of the White House.

Which is red now.

The color of the monsters.

The unforgettable proof that the world is no longer ruled by my species.

“Good. Then clean up this pandemonium before dawn, before the Alpha arrives.” He steps aside to let me in the moment he presses his thumb to the sensor and the security alarm stops beeping. “This should have been done already, but they switched shifts and left it all on my shoulders.”

I wait for my eyes to adjust to the dark room, and the moment I flip the light switch, I hear the door slam shut behind me, locking me inside the king's office.

The most guarded, and forbidden, place in the world.