Chapter four

Present time…

“Number 56! Number 56! Where is that fool?” Madame Tessa, the Alpha’s housekeeper, called out.

I froze in fear, my hand clutching the bread I had stolen, as I stared into the frightened eyes of my daughter.

“Are they going to punish us?” she asked fearfully.

“Listen to me, Zara. No one, I repeat, no one is going to punish you, okay?” I whispered, bending down to her level.

I always made sure to call her Zara, every chance I got. In a world where I had been reduced to a mere number for being an Omega, I wanted my daughter to know who she was.

She was still too young for anyone to know her wolf ranking, but they all assumed she would be an Omega like me. I didn’t tell anyone her father was an Alpha—no one except Zara. I had even named her after him.

Through the horrors of Bloodwood, I kept telling her stories of her true pack—a progressive, civilized society—and that her father was an Alpha. It seemed almost humorous that I would ever look back on my days at Darkmoon with fond memories.

“Number 56!” Madame Tessa’s voice rang out again, this time from the doorway.

“You thieving, stupid woman! I told you to polish the floors of the throne room. Instead, you’re here stealing food for your stupid brat!” she shouted. “Alpha Greg should have killed that thing while it was still a baby!”

I hugged my daughter tightly, shielding her from Madame Tessa as she began trembling the way she always did whenever Alpha Greg’s name was mentioned.

“It’s alright, Madame,” I said in a tight voice. “I’ll go polish the floors now—”

“Well, you have to be punished first,” she snapped. “I’ll whip your child as punishment!”

Zara started crying, burying her face harder into my lap. As Madame Tessa tried to drag her away, her ringing phone interrupted her.

“The Alpha wants to see Number 56—she and her child,” I heard clearly through the phone.

Madame Tessa glared at me for a moment before saying, “Alright, follow me.”

Zara was trembling and whimpering by now. I scooped her into my arms, burying her face into my shoulder as I followed Madame Tessa.

Alpha Greg was in his throne room—I wondered if he ever went anywhere else.

It was the first time I had come face-to-face with him in five years. Usually, I tried my best to avoid him, always cleaning before he entered or after he left.

He had found me the day after, rejecting me, and had laughing in my face as I cried out from the pain of severing our mate bond. Then he’d told me he preferred me as a slave.

Now, his eyes roamed over me with barely suppressed lust, but it was his words that shocked me.

“I have made a deal with the Alpha of Darkmoon pack. He is returning my Beta unharmed, without torture or interrogation, and in return, I’m sending back his whore and his bastard to him. Pack your things; you’re going back to Darkmoon first thing tomorrow.”

I shook my head as tears blurred my vision. No! I couldn’t go back to Darkmoon—not when I was even worse off than when I had left.

Zac had shamed me then. I was sure now he would be disgusted with me.

I began to cry, my tears mingling with my daughter’s as guards dragged me out of the room.