Being the bastard child of an omega and the respected Beta of the Wayland pack made Ava the target of abuse every day of her life. Treated as nothing but a maid and punching bag, Ava is determined to leave the pack once she turns 18. However, fate has other plans for her. The day of her birthday becomes a day of doom in Ava’s life when she discovers the powerful triplet Alphas of the Wayland Pack to be her mate. Ava expects rejection from the three men who had joined in bullying her all her life. What she doesn’t expect is for them to accept the bond and pull her into their orbit so quickly. But secrets lie beyond what she sees, and those secrets could tear them apart. What happens when all Ava knows is questioned? Will her mates stand by her through the chaos?
Lihat lebih banyakAva’s POV
“Scrub harder!” she yelled, and I had no choice but to obey.
I pressed the brush harder into the floor, though it made little difference. The head maid stood over me with her eyes sharp, judging me. My knuckles were red and starting to bleed, but she didn’t care. She sipped her steaming tea like a queen watching a servant perform.
Technically, that was exactly what I was.
“Missed a spot,” she snapped, then kicked the bucket at me. Cold water splashed across my legs as the metal edge struck my elbow and pain shot up my arm.
“Even a bastard should know how to clean… Oh wait, that’s what you are.” She cackled at her own joke, her laughter raspy and smug.
I said nothing. Speaking earned slaps. Eye contact earned worse. So I bit the inside of my cheek and kept scrubbing, ignoring the sting in my joints and the ache in my bones.
The scent of roast meat floated down the hallway. Full Moon Festival preparations were well underway. For most of the pack, it would be a night of music, feasting, and celebration. For me, it meant more work, more chances to be “accidentally” shoved, stepped on, or touched by drunk male wolves who thought I was fair game.
Footsteps echoed from down the hall.
“Miss Rhinehart,” the head maid said, straightening.
I didn’t have to look up to know who it was. I still did.
Ella. My half-sister.
Same father. Different mothers. Different worlds.
I stood and gave a small bow, just like I’d been taught, just like a servant.
“Oh hi, Ava,” she cooed sweetly, her eyes scanning me like I was filth. “What are you wearing to the festival tonight? Probably a pretty dress?” She tilted her head, smiling cruelly. “Oh, wait. You don’t have one, do you?”
Before I could move, she shoved me hard. I hit the floor with a dull thud, my hip catching on the bucket, pain shooting through my side.
Her heel dug into my hand as she stepped over me.
“You’ll be scrubbing while the rest of us dance. Try not to cry too much. It makes the floor slippery.”
I didn’t cry.
Not when I was scrubbing. Not when Beta Joshua, my father in name only, walked by without glancing my way. Not when the warriors used me for target practice during training. Not even when Ella twisted my wrist last week for spilling tea on her expensive skirt.
I only cried when I was alone. But even that had stopped.
My room, if you could call it that, was a supply closet with a cot shoved into the corner. I curled up on it, watching as the last streaks of sunlight filtered through a crack in the wooden wall.
The festival will start soon. Music, dancing, and food. Maybe they’d toss me scraps. Maybe not.
I turned over and stared at the ceiling. Mould crept in from the corners. The wood was cracked and rotting. My claw marks were still there, scratched into the wall from the nights I was lashed and left alone, hoping someone would hear me.
No one ever did.
I used to think my mother would’ve saved me if she were still alive. She would’ve taken me away, somewhere quiet, where no one called me "bastard" or looked at me like dirt. But she was dead. And I was the mistake she left behind.
Being an omega didn’t help either. It made everything worse.
“You’re too weak,” Joshua had said flatly the one time I asked why I wasn’t allowed to train with the others. There had been no anger in his voice, there had been no emotion at all.
I curled tighter on the cot. Outside, I could hear distant music and laughter.
It was my birthday.
No one had said a word. Not that I expected it. But part of me still wanted to be noticed.
I should leave. Run far away. But where would I even go?
I’d asked myself that question too many times. Rogues roamed the woods. I had no allies, no money, no food.
Staying here was safer. It was cruel, but it was familiar. The devil I knew.
Maybe I’d find my mate. He’d take me away, love me, give me the life I deserved. That was all I had to hold onto.
So I told myself I’d stay. Like always.
I drifted into an exhausted sleep. Music sounded loudly beyond the walls but just when the noise faded into my dreams, the door slammed open.
Sarah’s voice filled the air. “Lazy girl! Get up. The Alpha Hall needs cleaning after dinner. And wear something that doesn’t stink like a wet dog.”
She threw a gown at me, stained, and reeking of sweat.
I stood slowly. My legs were trembling. Hunger? Fear? Both.
The cracked mirror on the wall showed a version of me I barely recognised, tangled black hair, hollow cheeks, fading bruises on my jaw and collarbone. But the eyes stopped me.
Golden but dull.
My mother’s eyes. The ones they all hated.
I left the closet in silence and made my way to the Alpha Hall. It was dimly lit, mostly empty. I stepped inside with the bucket and cleaning supplies, hearing the faint echo of the guests ' laughter passing by.
Then I felt it.
A hand on my wrist, gripping it tightly.
I gasped and twisted, but the grip held firm. “Let go of me! Leave me alone!”
I was yanked behind a tall pillar, then shoved into a corner. My back hit the wall with a hard force. A shadow loomed in front of me and my heart raced in fear as his face came closer to mine and his reeking breath hit my nose.
“I’ve been waiting for you, sugar,” he said, voice dark and filled with lust.
Light from a gap in the curtains hit his face and my stomach dropped.
One of the warriors. The one who always stared too long, who made lewd comments when no one was listening. He had tried to make a move on me and professed love so many times but I refused him.
But something was wrong this time…
“Did you miss me?” he smirked.
Ava’s POV“Is there a reason why you brought that up, Jake?” I asked, forcing myself back to reality. “I just wanted to take you back to the first times when everything was genuine.” He said. “Are you telling me that because I know it’s what I’d want to hear or because it’s the truth because it’s difficult to imagine being genuine about something and then turning into something.. something indescribable within the blink of an eye,” I said. Jake opened his mouth and he immediately snapped it shut, much to my relief. I was happy that he didn’t plan on saying something that might potentially set me off. We sat on the rocks, basking in each other’s silence as the gentle breeze swept across our faces. The sun was setting in the west and the sight before me was as beautiful as the gardens where I spent most of my free time. I caressed my stomach, my facial expression seemingly relaxed as I watched the sunset intently. There were a lot of things I would love to discuss with him despite
Ava’s POV“Do you remember the incident at school? The one that happened with everyone present?” Jake asked, chuckling as he spoke. Of course, I remember. How could I forget something like that? I had no love for Ella and that was one of the best moments of my life because for a while before my life turned around, I felt superior to her and there was nothing she could do about it. I felt satisfaction coursing through my veins seeing her in pain. She had brought me so much humiliation in the past and her cohorts had aided her in making high school a place of trauma for me. I wasn’t completely sold on the idea of being a mate to the Wayland triplets but I was pleased to get one over her for the first time in my life. “The heart wants who the heart chooses.” Jason began. “We’ve spent our lives together and yet, you haven’t given us the spark Ava has. You don’t expect us to spend our lives with someone we haven’t claimed yet, our union was founded on materialistic principles and stre
Ava’s POVI kept tossing and turning on the bed, unable to sleep after the discussion I had with Lukan in the office. It didn’t take long after that for Renee to interrupt us to say that she’d managed to find the culprits who drugged Lukan’s drinks and after a thorough investigation, we learned that they were sent by one of Lukan’s numerous jilted lovers who wanted to exact revenge on him for the supposed heartbreak he caused. Taking away the attempted murder part, the whole situation was funny and after they’d been taken into custody, we couldn’t help but burst into laughter over the whole thing and Renee suddenly found her confidence and ended up teasing Lukan about the entire situation. Shawn tried to flirt with me but I didn’t give him the light of day because even though he was handsome and all of that, I wasn’t interested in him.After the shoot, Lukan ended up asking Renee out to dinner and she said yes faster than I could blink, leaving me alone for the rest of the night. S
Ava’s POV“Do you always need to be so dramatic, Ava?” Lukan began as I pulled him into the office and closed the door behind us, shutting the curtains as well to ensure that we had privacy. “Dramatic?” I turned to face him. “There wasn’t anything happening out there, we were having a civil conversation and now that you pulled me away, everyone is going to start cooking up their version about what just happened. Don’t tell me you didn’t think about this before you dragged me in here?” Lukan said.I paused and processed what he just said. Maybe he had a point but I wasn’t buying his excuse just yet. People were always going to talk regardless of what happened or not. “I don’t think that counts for anything, Lukan. I know you don’t care about gossip, you never have and you’re not going to start now. So except something has changed and you’ve got something to tell me?” I said. “What are we doing here, Ava? The studio is holding the accomplices who tried to poison me and I need to fi
Ava’s POV“You'd better have a good explanation for what you just did right now.” The man said in a low warning tone as he stood up, towering over Renee and me while Lukan merely frowned. I wasn’t a short person by any chance but I felt dwarfed. He was at least seven inches taller than I was. “I’m sure that she didn’t mean to cause you any disrespect but I—we had to step in. Your cocktail was drugged, I overheard a couple of men talking about it while I was in the restroom.” I struggled to get my words right. “Are you sure about that?” He said, his voice held a lot of skepticism which infuriated me so much that I raised my head to look at him. God, he was beautiful. He was frowning but it was etched the right way on his face, his long black hair cascaded down the side of his face, partly shielding his black orbs from me. He had about a day’s growth of beard on both sides of his face giving him a rakish look. My warning bells rang out loud, telling me to steer clear of the incomin
Ava’s POV“Renee!” I yelled, my loud voice interrupting her daydreaming. “Jesus Christ, Ava! You nearly gave me a heart attack.”She let out a groan as she turned her head around to glare at me. I wore a scowl on my face as my eyes narrowed in slits. I looked like I wanted to murder someone — Renee, that is— she was the only one in the restroom with me. “I’ve been trying to get your attention for a full minute but you’ve been busy daydreaming about some wolf you probably met last night!” I yelled again, my voice rising. “There you go again.” She said. “Tell me what I said is false.” I dared her. She opened her mouth and snapped it shut. I knew that there was no way she was going to tell me what had been on her mind willingly. I turned on the tap and washed my face before examining my appearance in the mirror. I wondered if she could tell that I knew she had been crying—again. If she did, she never said anything. Her eyes were swollen and puffy, her hair was pulled up in a me
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