Chapter 4

ELENA POV

Morning comes with a faint ray of sunlight pouring through the cracked window. I sit up for a moment, wondering if last night had been a dream.

It wasn't.

The stranger's touch from last night, the pack enforcers dragging me out of the party while I kicked and screamed, Tess yelling for me before she too got carried away.

Tess!

I throw off the cover, scrambling up to my feet and racing down the corridor.

My feet slow down as I near the stairs.

Voices.

I can hear them, coming from downstairs. Standing at the foot of the stairway, I look down.

Gerald, the pack healer, sits in the middle of the room next to Rune. Father and Mother stand beside them, their faces red with barely controlled fury.

My breath quickens.

We weren't rich. We couldn't have been able to afford Gerald's services. If the pack healer was here, that would mean that... I shift on my feet. My elbow hits the iron stair rails.

"Ow," I cry, cursing under my breath.

Everyone looks up.

A suffocating silence hangs in the air. I gulp, wishing the ground would give way under my feet.

"Elena," Father calls, his voice stone cold.

Gulping, I rub my sweaty palms over my white nightgown, slowly making my way down the stairs.

Gerald rises to his feet as I walk into the room. He adjusts his glasses, picking up his suitcase with one hand.

"Rune is very much fine," he says, then his gaze rests on me. "Alpha Lukas sends his greetings."

I watch him leave the house, every hope that I could have survived this leaving with him.

"Rune, upstairs, now," Mother spoke slowly.

Rune lowers her head, not glancing up as she pushes past me, upstairs.

I dare to look up at their cold faces, waiting for an explanation. "I'm sorry..." I choke on the words.

Mother crossed the room. Before I can continue, her hand moves across my cheek. A resounding slap echoes in the room.

I stumble back, holding my bruised cheek. She doesn't stop. Her hand moves again, slapping me. I fall to the ground, curling into a ball, silent tears streaming down my face as she yells.

"You stupid omega! After everything we've done for you!"

Father watches from the distance, his eyes cold, as Mother continued hitting me. The real truth stares back at me in the face. I was never really their daughter.

Calista and Malric were the only ones who agreed to take me in after my parents disappeared. They retold the story time and again, making sure I spent every moment of my eight years with them feeling grateful.

But deep down, I knew the truth. I was just an omega burden they couldn't wait to get rid of. I hug my knees tighter, the pain ripping me apart.

"This is your chance to finally be useful and look what you do," Calista sneered.

I inch back from her, wiping my eyes. "I don't want to marry Lukas!" I breakdown, the words slipping out of my lips.

A big mistake.

Silence filled the room. I can almost hear my words echo. It's Father who steps forward, dragging me roughly by the shoulder. "You little ingrate," he spits. "After we've worked so hard. Shouldn't you be glad that someone finally wants you?"

I look away. I don't dare meet his eyes. He lets go of me in disgust, pushing me back to the floor.

"Your mating ceremony is today. Disgrace us again and we'll make sure you regret it."

He has given worse threats. I watch them disappear upstairs, leaving me in the room.

The pack enforcers from last night step in, like they had been waiting outside.

"Up," one orders coldly.

They force me to my feet, marching me out of the house. I catch my reflection in the glass window. My cheeks are puffy and eyes red from crying, but I feel much worse.

The first one opens the door of the black car waiting at the driveway. I step in. I know what will happen if I refuse. They sit on either side, and the car sets course, down the dusty street to a destination I know so well.

The grand pavilion.

They lock me in a room reserved when the ceremony preparations take place. My heart is racing. I stare, eyes fixated on the door, expecting Lukas Montclair to storm in at any moment. My breath catches when the door knob moves. It opens from the outside and a middle-aged woman steps in, followed closely by three omega servants.

"I'm Viora. Your groomer. Your mating ceremony starts in two hours and I'll be getting you ready."

I don't reply.

She looks at me in somewhat pity, then snaps her fingers in the air. The omegas whisk me off the bed, stripping me of my clothes.

"Stop. Wait...." I don't even have the strength to fight when they drag me to the en suite bathroom. Viora runs the bath. I try not to cry, imagining the next two hours of my life. Walking down the aisle and handed to Montclair like a prize.

Where was Tess... How had we been caught?

The questions remain unanswered. The omegas scrub me dry till my skin is red, turning on the hot shower.

Viora sits me down in front of the vanity mirror half an hour later.

I'm adorned in a white velvet gown. My hair is parted into seven elegant braids and held up in a tight bun. The makeup hides every trace of the violence that morning.

I don't recognise the girl in the mirror, but my eyes are glassy with defeat.

The omegas exit the room, leaving Viora to apply the finishing touches. I can already hear the orchestra playing two floors down.

"Smile," Viora orders, putting down the lipstick. "No one wants to see a crying bride."

I sniff, turning away from the mirror.

My tutor's instructions ring in my head.

"...Walk down the stairs with a smile."

"Curtsey to the alpha and his father."

"Let the alpha do what he wants with you..."

For three years, I've been trained for this moment, for this life.

My eyes dim. Glancing away from the mirror, I stand up. "You don't understand."

Viora holds my gaze in a hard stare. "Last week, my only daughter was selected for the rogue mission." Her stoic expression cracks.

She turns away, packing the makeup off the table. "Every one knows she won't come back. Three of her friends were auctioned off as breeders the same day."

She meets my eyes. Her voice breaks. "So yes, we don't understand the sheer terror of being mated to the most powerful man in the pack."

My cheeks burn. I look away. Tears prickled at my eyes, but I blink them away. Why did we have to be omegas?

I manage to hold my head high as we walk down the red carpet on the stairs.

A deafening applause fills the air as the people rise to their feet, throwing roses as I head down, one graceful step after the other.

I spot my family—Malric, Calista, and Rune—at the forefront. Every member of the Bloodmoon clan is present... Almost.

My eyes scan the crowd for Tess.

Nothing.

Instead, I meet his gaze. Lukas Montclair. Dressed in a Victorian coat, his devilishly handsome face contrasting sharply with his soulless green eyes that watch my every move. I think back to the stranger from last night. The similarity is clear now. Only that Lukas is older, and deadlier.

"The Alpha's mate, Elena Graymoor," an elder announces as the crowd quietens down.

Lukas takes my hand, kissing it. His voice drops to a whisper that only I can hear.

"You tried to escape."

Four words that promise punishment.