02. In the clutches of fate

VICTORIA

Breeding Omega.

That’s what they called Omegas they’d reduced to nothing but breeding tools in the packs.

It was archaic, humiliating, inhuman… Even with fertility issues, a lot of packs had outlawed it.

But Luca was condemning me to be raped by his men and forced to birth pups until I died in some hidden back room on his land.

“No, no...” I kept shaking my head, stuck in a loop. I couldn’t believe he’d do something that cruel to me.

Where was the tender man I fell in love with?

“How can you let your Alpha make that call?! It’s illegal!” I screamed at the Council elders, but it was obvious they’d already agreed to the sentence.

“I’m not going to be anyone’s toy, you damn bastard!” I roared at Luca, full of hate.

But the slap across my face shut me up, and I didn’t hit the floor only because his Beta’s vise grip held me up.

Suddenly the Alpha was gripping my chin so hard I thought he’d crush my jaw.

He leaned over me, and the rage in his eyes made me shake.

“I thought I’d found a treasure with you, that your father would end up forgiving you. You said you were his pretty little girl, and you were nothing but dead weight for the Bianchi,” he murmured, spitting out his resentment.

“I promised things and made deals banking on your father’s support, that arrogant bastard. I put up with you for nothing, and you’re not even good as a broodmare. Give me the damn rejection or I’ll take it by force!”

His blond hair bristled with the roar that made me squeeze my eyes shut.

In the middle of all that pain, a broken, half-crazed laugh tore out of my throat.

“So all those promises and sweet words were you craving Bianchi power...”

This man never loved me.

“If you already know, then don’t resist anymore,” he said as he straightened, going back to his seat and taking Marcella’s hand in a soft caress.

“My mate has suffered enough, and it’s time she takes her rightful place,” he declared, touching her belly. Everyone backed him up.

Marcella looked at me with pure glee. Mockery.

How much fun must she have had with my tears and my suffering, waiting for the final proof to sink me in front of the Council.

“I, Victoria Bianchi...” I said it anyway, even with my wolf being torn apart by pain.

“I accept your rejection, Alpha Luca Miller, and I give up my place as Luna... but I absolutely refuse to be your warriors’ cum bucket. I’m not going to be your pack’s Breeding Omega!”

I screamed with rage, fighting to break free from his disgusting Beta.

Laughter exploded around the room, including the booming voice of the man at my back, and Luca’s too. He didn’t even look affected by the bond snapping.

His wolf sealing itself shut to my dying Omega forever.

“That’s not something you get to decide. You’re nobody now, Victoria Bianchi. Sánchez, take her to isolation cells!”

He ordered it in the middle of my struggle, my frantic screams.

Even with the weakness and the black spots dancing in front of my eyes, I kicked, I bit, I thrashed like a madwoman against his Beta’s hold.

But he was so much stronger than me.

He dragged me out of the room by my hair, pulling me across the floor.

My cries for help didn’t matter to anyone.

Luca and Marcella were kissing in front of everyone, claiming each other, and sending me straight into a fate worse than death.

No matter how much I hated them, I couldn’t even defend myself from Sánchez as he forced me toward the parking lot.

“Quit fighting, damn it!” he roared, and the words came with another brutal slap.

My body hit his car door like a rag doll, and I felt the light going out around me.

Sánchez’s dark eyes were the last thing I saw when I passed out, and the first thing I found when I woke again.

*****

The shaking and the sound of the car seeped through the fog in my mind.

My wolf, Nova, had curled up in her inner world, hidden away in pain, not answering me.

A harsh jolt, then the sound of doors slamming open and shut, made me react.

I was lying on some hard surface. The stench of leather, sweat, and leftover food flooded my nose.

A breeze slid in, raising goosebumps on my skin.

I was in the back of a car, and right now rough hands were touching my legs, sliding up my dress.

I opened my eyes in horror and found Sánchez almost on top of me.

“What are you doing, you sick bastard?!” I tried to kick him, but he controlled my feet.

“I’ve waited a long time for this moment. Let’s see if I still have to call you ‘ma’am’ while you suck me off,” he said.

His filthy words, his face twisted with lust, almost made me vomit.

Adrenaline and fear shoved me into action when he tried to haul me out of the car.

My body scraped hard against the Ford’s leather seat, and I only managed to grab the driver’s headrest.

Everything happened too fast. My heel smashed into his face and I heard him roar out curses.

The next yank was so brutal I ripped the headrest free and held it in my hands.

The gleam of the metal rods flashed in front of my eyes and I did the first thing that came to my mind.

I sat up and drove it into his eye when he lunged to overpower me.

“Aahh!” His roar shook my ears. Hot blood splattered me.

I watched Sánchez stumble back, covering his face, painted red.

My body flipped into survival mode. I slid between the front seats and threw myself into the driver’s side.

I started the car and tore out down the isolated road he’d chosen to take advantage of me.

My heart was slamming. My eyes were wild, trying to place where the hell I was in this part of the pack.

I checked the rearview mirror through the back door as it swung, banging, until it finally slammed shut.

Through the dust cloud, the massive Beta screamed curses at me and even tried to shift to chase me.

I shoved my bare foot as far down on the gas as it would go, and his own choices turned against him.

He’d veered into a poorly watched stretch. The exit from this part of the territory was almost always lax on security.

I tore out of those cursed lands, blasting past the checkpoint without stopping at the guard booth. I wasn’t giving them the chance to lock me up.

But now I was a fugitive Omega in a city full of ruthless Alphas... and a mafia that trafficked my kind to breed and get off.

Where could I go to survive Luca’s hunt, protect myself from being chased down like a rogue and dumped into some filthy back-alley brothel?

My mind was analyzing at full speed, and the only thing I could think about was going back to my real home.

I was desperate. Abandoned... hoping my father would have mercy on me.

I hadn’t heard from them in two years, not even with my attempts to reach my dad and then my brother, Enzo.

They’d even banned me from entering the family company.

At the highway split... I took the right, Exit 51, the one that led to Bianchi territory.

I’d beg on my knees. I’d do whatever it took to survive.

I didn’t even bother ditching the car. Luca could never step onto these lands if my father truly took me back in.

I watched the familiar forest fly past, where I ran for the first time, where my dad trained me, where I met my wolf.

Tears started spilling, and sobs ripped up my throat.

I was dizzy, wrecked by the bond breaking, nauseous, black shadows swimming in front of my swollen eyes.

In the distance, the first checkpoint was already coming into view. The guards shouted a warning and I swear I tried to brake, but my body wasn’t obeying me anymore.

I sagged against the steering wheel, gripping it with everything I had, trying to slow down.

The last thing I felt before losing consciousness was a brutal impact against a tree... and the choking pressure of the seatbelt across my chest, saving my life.

*****

I don’t know how long I stayed unconscious, and the pain was so unbearable that sometimes I didn’t even want to wake up.

But I opened my eyes to a white ceiling and looked around the small room, confused.

“Mnn,” I groaned, bringing a hand to my head as I sat up, finding a bandage.

I looked down at my body, covered in bruises and medical patches.

My eyes struggled to focus, to remember... I was in a staff room in the Bianchi mansion.

I’d made it.

A knot tightened in my dry throat.

I shoved the sheet aside and fought to get down, to go find my dad. He’d taken me in, which meant I still had hope.

But the door flew open, and I froze when I saw the tall man walk in, brown hair and green eyes.

“I had a feeling you’d woken up... Victoria.” His rough voice echoed through the room, and my whole body trembled.

“Brother...” The word came out strangled, but Enzo only lifted one eyebrow.

“Now you remember you have a brother?”

The question dripped with sarcasm. My heart jolted in my chest as I gripped the sheet.

Enzo had always been too hard, too serious. Honor and loyalty to the family are everything to him... that’s why he sees me as a traitor.

“Enzo, I need to talk to Dad, I... I’m asking for refuge. I’m in a desperate situation, please, brother...” I started begging because pride wasn’t going to do a damn thing for me.

I pushed myself up when I saw him stay silent, standing in the doorway with a deep frown and storms in his eyes.

“If you don’t take me to Dad, I’ll go by myself. I’ll beg him!” I stood up despite the dizziness and fought my way across the carpet.

“Our father died a few days ago, Victoria, and now I’m the new patriarch of the Bianchi family.”

I stared at him like he’d grown another head.

My body went cold in an instant.

My knees gave out and I hit the floor with a dull thud, shaking my head, fighting not to keep crying.

“No, no, Dad...” I dropped my head and hid it in my hands while the sobs choked me, along with the guilt.

I didn’t even get to say goodbye. I didn’t even get to ask him to forgive me for my rebellion.

If my father wasn’t here, then only Enzo could help me.

“I need your help...” My voice came out like some desperate madwoman. “Please, take me into the pack or Luca’s going to turn me into a breeding Omega!”

I crawled to Enzo’s feet, crying, telling him all of my misfortune, ashamed of myself and my stubbornness.

He went quiet, thinking, like a stone statue. But my brother, even if he was severe, wasn’t heartless. He wasn’t cruel.

“Enzo, I’m begging you. I’ll do anything to come back...”

“The only way to take a traitor like you back and protect you is if you submit to our terms.”

Before Enzo could respond, a woman’s firm voice sounded behind him, along with the sharp click of heels stepping into the room.

I lifted my head stiffly, and those angry hazel eyes made my heart shrink.

It was the Bianchi matriarch... and my Alpha mother, Antonella Bianchi.

“You have to accept a mating with the Greco family.”