Chapter 2: Kira's POV

It's now a common thing in the Nightfall pack for the higher ranks to do to the omegas as they please.

The Alpha inclusive.

And unfortunately for me today, I became their target.

I gasped for air as my body trembled in my futile attempt to push this strong massive warrior off me. His weight was suffocating, his two hands pinned me down easily beneath him. I was petrified as I wondered if this was how I would lose my virginity in the most cruel way possible.

“No! Please! Don’t do this! I’ve been saving myself for my mate!” I begged, my voice raw with terror.

But all I got in response was laughter. The two other men standing nearby smirked as they loosened their belts, preparing to take their turn. My stomach twisted in fear.

“Your mate?!” the man pinning me sneered. “What mate would want a worthless omega like you?! You should be thankful we find you attractive enough to please us”

The two other men laughed mockingly.

Tears burned my eyes. I fought harder, but he was too strong. My heart pounded so loudly I almost missed the sudden growl that tore through the air like a thunderclap.

The two warriors stood frozen in shock and in a twinkle of an eye, the warrior on top of me was lifted. I blinked through my tears, my vision clearing just enough to see who had saved me.

Alpha Asher?

He held the warrior by the throat, I could see the rage in his eyes as his grip tightened, almost choking the warrior to death.

I should have been scared. I should have feared him. But in that moment, he was my savior.

He had come for me.

For the first time in my life, someone had protected me.

The other men stood frozen in shock, their fear evident in their wide eyes.

With one command from him, they all scurried away like cowards.

He bent over on one knee pulling my chin to look up at him. His eyes were filled with concern.

But how's that possible? How could Alpha Asher show concern to a low status like me?

His eyes hovered over me, making me shrink back, not from fear but from embarrassment.

Then—just as suddenly as it came—everything changed.

His expression hardened.

I felt my breath hitch.

Why was he looking at me like that?

The concern in his eyes was gone, replaced by… disgust?

Did I repulse him? Did my shattered appearance offend him?

Bile rose in my throat. My mind struggled to comprehend what was happening. He had just saved me. He had looked at me with concern, even lust. Now, his face was twisted in hatred.

Then his next words were like a bomb, shattering my every being.

“Throw this trash out of the pack. She is banished. I never want to see her again.”

I froze. Trash? Banished?

“I—I didn’t do anything, I cried out, my voice breaking. “No! Please! I don’t have anywhere to go! I swear I did nothing wrong!”

But my pleas fell on deaf ears as Alpha Asher coldly turned his back on me.

Just like that, my fate was sealed.

The guards dragged me through the packhouse, past people who had once been my family. No one dared to stop them. No one spoke up for me. Some even had a happy grin on their face.

Tears streamed down my face.

I had heard the rumors about Alpha Asher. They said he was ruthless. Arrogant. Cruel. But for a moment, when he saved me, I thought maybe—just maybe—those rumors were wrong.

I was a fool.

He was a complete bastard.

I hated him!

***

The sun had already begun to set as I dragged my aching feet away from the pack's border, my body weak from exhaustion and hunger.

I had nowhere to go.

No family. No home.

My mother, Reika, was still in the pack. What would happen to her now that I was gone?

Tears blurred my vision, but I forced them back. I had already cried enough for one day.

Tomorrow was my eighteenth birthday.

Tomorrow, I was supposed to meet my wolf for the first time and probably meet my mate too.

A bitter laugh escaped my throat. How ironic. I don't even have a pack anymore. I'm now a rogue with no destination.

I kept walking, my legs growing heavier with every step. I had no destination in mind, only the desperate urge to get as far away from that place as possible before darkness swallowed the forest.

But the farther I walked, the weaker I became.

My feet began to wobble.

Then, a sharp chill ran down my spine.

Something was watching me.

I stopped, my heart slamming against my ribs. The hair on my arms stood on end. Slowly, I turned.

Two glowing red eyes stared back at me from the shadow of the trees.

Then another pair appeared.

My blood ran cold.

Rogues.

Two of them.

Their bodies were covered in scars, their fur matted with dried blood. Their lips curled back as they snarl at me, revealing rows of sharp, yellowed teeth.

I took a shaky step back.

“Oh, Moon Goddess,” I whispered. “Can my day get any worse?”

The rogues growled lowly, inching closer, their hunger evident in their glowing eyes.

I had no wolf. No strength. No weapons.

This was it.

This was how I was going to die.

One of them lunged.

I raised my arms to shield my face, bracing for the pain, the tearing of flesh, the agony—

But it never came.

Instead, there was a sickening crunch.

A pained yelp.

I peeked through my arms slowly, just in time to see the rogue’s head—detached from its body—rolling across the forest ground.

Standing before me was not a wolf.

Not a rogue.

Not a man.

But a Lycan.

He was massively built, his piercing blue eyes locked onto mine. His chest heaved, his body vibrating with barely restrained fury.

Then, his gaze softened.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice deep and gentle.

I couldn’t answer. My eyes flickered to the ground, where the second rogue lay lifeless, its body torn apart.

He had killed them.

Both of them.

The sight was gruesome.

My knees buckled. My vision blurred.

Before I could hit the ground, strong arms caught me.

The Lycan pulled me into his arms, cradling me like I was something fragile. His expression was something else—did I see panic?

“Hey—stay with me,” he murmured.

I blinked weakly up at him, my mind spinning.

Who was he?

Why was he staring at me like that?

I didn’t have time to ask as I allowed the darkness to swallow me.