Chapter 1.

OLENA

"Fuck, you were really tight last night, honey. Am I your first?" Ronan's blue eyes gleamed with lust, his lips curling into a wider grin. Anyone looking at him now would see it, he was utterly in love.

"Alpha Ronan." My voice was a bit cold, trembling as I shot him a piercing glare.

My gaze then flicked between the two of them. My mate, who had rejected me just last night on my nineteenth birthday, and my stepsister, now sitting comfortably on his lap on the couch.

My eyes burned, still swollen from the tears I'd cried throughout the night. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I forced out the words. "Please... I just want to take the jug to the kitchen."

"Why are you staring at him like that?" Chloe yelled at me, nearly making me flinch, I hadn’t expected her to speak that loud. "Don't cast your evil eyes on my man! Ugh, you're so disgusting!"

Her man?

I almost scoffed at her words. Ronan had been my closest friend since childhood, the one person I could confide in. We did our assignments together, he stood up for me against bullies, and he always checked on me when I missed school. But then, out of nowhere, he changed. He started hanging out with Chloe and looking at me like I was nothing but filth.

Chloe used to force me to do her assignments. Since I was already banned from school, she’d take full credit for the work and come back with grades so perfect it shocked everyone. It was something that had never happened before. My father, of course, believed every bit of it.

He became convinced that I was the reason Chloe had been failing in the past. They spun the story so well and were branded that it's all my fault. According to them, I had bullied Chloe, threatened her, warned her not to surpass me in grades. And if she ever did, I would do something far worse to her.

No matter what I said, Jillian wouldn’t believe me. Why would he? Chloe’s mother backed her up at every turn, and my father was hopelessly in love with her.

For years, I’ve lived in misery. My life has been nothing but endless chores, washing their clothes, scrubbing their rooms, cooking their meals. And when the work is done, I retreat to the dungeon they call my home. That cold, dark place has been my prison. But the worst part isn’t the walls around me. It’s the way they treat me, like I’m nothing and like I don’t even exist.

I remember it so clearly, the day the Pack witch handed me two precious belongings of my late mother. It happened when I visited the Pack’s farm to collect herbs. The bracelet and necklace, crafted specially for her, felt like pieces of her soul reaching out to me. I held them in my hands, admiring the intricate designs.

That’s when Chloe stormed in. Without a word, she yanked them from my hands.

"A ruby bracelet and a necklace? No, bum, you don’t deserve such expensive jewelry," she sneered.

I tried to take it back, pleading with her that it's for my mother and that's the only way I could feel her presence by my side but she threatened me, she’d tell my father I stole it. I could already see how that would end, his anger, his disbelief in me. So, I let it go.

To this day, I don’t know what she’s done with it. Those were the last pieces of my mother, the only things meant for me. And just like that, Chloe took them away. And there was nothing I could do to stop her.

My heart skipped a beat as I realized I had been walking too slowly. That’s when the sharp scent of something burning hit my nose. Panic washed over me as I remembered, I had been cooking before I went into their room.

Without thinking, I bolted toward the kitchen, my legs pounding against the floor. As I reached the doorway, thick smoke greeted me, curling through the air and choking my lungs. My heart raced, my legs trembled, and then I saw her.

Selene. She was inside, coughing, her figure barely visible through the haze. I started coughing too as the smoke clawed its way into my throat.

“Hey!”

I flinched the moment I heard her voice. Her eyes burned with anger as they locked onto mine. I froze, my body trembling and I knew I was finished.

Before I could explain, she stormed toward me. The slap came out of nowhere, stinging my face and leaving my cheek burning. She grabbed the back of my dress, yanking me with brutal force, and slammed my head against the cold surface of the kitchen counter as I closed my eyes wincing in pain.

"Where were you? The food is completely burned now! What’s wrong with you?"

She grabbed me again, and I fell to the floor with a thud. Pain shot through my body, but I forced myself to move, crawling to my knees. My hands shook as I held them together, begging.

"Please... I’m sorry. Please, Aunty... don’t tell Master," I begged, with every single beat my heart was ringing and rubbing my hands together furiously.

I knew what would happen if she told him. He would whip my back, the pain from the sharp strokes cutting deep, leaving wounds that would last for days. I still remembered the last time, just two days ago. The marks were still fresh and aching, a constant reminder of where I stood in this house.

If only I could heal like them, like the werewolves. But I couldn’t. I was just a regular human, weak and helpless, struggling to survive in their cruel world.

My eyes darted to the pot on the gas stove. It was still boiling, covered, and untouched. That was my pot, the food inside hadn’t burned. My heart pounded as confusion filled my mind. Then what was Selene holding?

"You don’t want the Master to know? Are you stupid for saying that?" Selene snapped, coughing as she waved her hand to clear the smoke.

"That’s not mine...the one you are holding... I...l didn’t put that pot on the fire," I stammered,

She scoffed, her lips curling in disgust, then threw the pot with the burnt food onto the floor in front of me. The stench hit me again with the thick black smoke as I turned my face a little bit. She pointed at the blackened mess.

"Do you want to die? If it wasn’t you, then who?"

Before I could answer, another voice interrupted.

"Oh no, the food’s already burnt!"

It was Chloe. She stood in the doorway, holding a golden plate which was the master's favorite, only he uses it though normally he uses it for his medicines.

Her tone was light, almost amused, but her words sent a chill through me.

I didn’t understand at first but then it hit me.

"Mummy, daddy will be angry I burnt his medicine, what would I do?"

Chloe murmured, with fear filled up in her as she looked at the pot in front of me.

Selene turned to Chloe, her eyes narrowing with a smile on her face. But instead of blaming her, she just waved her off.

"Chloe, leave. She’s your sister, so of course she’ll cover for you."

They had set me up again, just like always. Tears welled in my eyes and slipped down my cheeks as I lowered my head in defeat.

"Oh, dear sister, just do this for me, okay?" Chloe cooed, her voice sweet as she reached out to stroke my hair. I didn’t respond because deep down I was so tired of covering for her.

Then, in an instant, her tone changed. She grabbed my jaw roughly, forcing me to look up.

"Didn’t you hear me? Or have you swallowed a stone that keeps you from speaking?" she sneered, looking at me with disdain.

"Don’t you think this is too much? Please, Master will beat me again," I pleaded, my hands trembling as I rubbed them together, desperate to be saved at least once in this miserable life.

"Too much?" Selene scoffed, her voice laced with scorn. "Are you expecting him to beat my daughter instead? Ugh... this brat keeps getting on my nerves."

Chloe stood tall and then suddenly burst into laughter, a wild, manic sound that sent a chill down my spine. She ran her fingers through her hair.

Then, out of nowhere, a sharp, shattering sound filled the room. My body stiffened as I turned toward the noise.

There it was my father’s golden plate, his favorite, lying in shattered pieces on the floor, right in front of me.

Chloe smirked, her gaze locking onto mine which was widely opened. "Since you’re starting to grow some guts and forgetting that you are just a fucking dog. Let’s see how you handle this, you ugly thing!"