005 In The Lockwood Manor

OCTAVIA

“Get out!” A voice growled outside as the carriage stopped. Before I could move from the cramped place where I had been squeezed between the servants, a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the carriage.

My head hit a hard chest and a sickening feeling spread over my body.

I slowly lifted my head and my eyes fell on a pair of angry dark eyes glaring down at me.

“Move forward!” The man spat in my face and shoved me to the side.

I staggered and almost fell to the ground but someone caught me.

“Be careful,” a female voice came up behind me as I straightened up.

I turned to thank the woman who had helped me but she raised her hand when she saw my lips part.

The smile on my face fell, and my heart was crushed.

I slowly turned away and stared at the manor grounds. The royal manor of the Lockwood Pack.

Servants and Pack members moved around the manor grounds. It looked nothing like the rumors the servants in the Blackwater Pack told.

It didn't have bodies hanging on the crumbling walls or vampires patrolling the place. The members weren't scurrying around in fear with their heads bowed and the place didn't look like some deserted, pathetic place.

It looked full of life and wealth just like the Blackwater Pack did. The towering black stone walls of the palace, standing at the center of the sprawling manor grounds, stared down at me intimidatingly, flanked by two enormous dark wings spread out at both sides like a predator ready to attack.

“Take her to the Harem House!” A voice thundered close to me and I jumped.

I jerked my head away from the building, and my gaze suddenly shifted to the Alphas a few distances away.

My heart sank as I watched them ascend the stairs that led into the royal building. Their faces were cold and their eyes were fixed on the large doors that led into the building. Their cold, dark aura filled the entire place.

Everyone close to them stopped whatever they were doing and bowed. The tense silence that fell over us remained heavy until they were behind the strong black doors of the building.

“Come with me,” the woman who had saved me from falling earlier, whispered and gripped my arm before I could reply.

I didn't dare ask questions as she pulled down a path full of flowerbeds and fountains.

I looked around, watching the butterflies perched on the flowers and the water that trickled through the fountain.

Everything there reminded me so much of my home. The flowers, the smiles on the faces of people, the fountains, high and indestructible buildings, the scent of joy and freedom.

But this wasn't my home. My home was covered in ashes. The scent of freedom was gone, the flowerbeds had burned to nothing, and the fountains had flooded red with the blood of my brothers, my father, my mother, and my Pack members.

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them back.

I refused to cry. Not now. Not until I have replicated what they did to my Pack on theirs.

“You must be aware of what a harem is.”

I jerked out of the pain I was drowning in and looked up at the woman's back.

Her hand was no longer tugged around my arm and she didn't turn to watch me.

“Yes,” I muttered.

“Every woman that joins the harem fulfills her purpose to the masters the night she is brought, are you aware of that too?”

My feet stopped abruptly and my heart dropped into the pit of my belly when those words hit me.

That meant that I would serve them in their bed tonight.

My heart raced at the thought and horror gripped me.

The woman stopped walking when she noticed that my footsteps had halted.

She turned to look at me, her brows raised in question.

“You had no idea?” She huffed.

“No,” I whispered in a quivering voice.

She sighed and shook her head.

“The women brought here knew the rules of the harem before coming to the Pack's manor. How do you not know?” she clicked her tongue.

How would I tell her that I was dragged away from my Pack and forced to accept this path?

How could I tell her that I was here for revenge and not to become her Alphas’ sex slave?

“You have a lot to learn before you're called in tonight. Hurry up!” She said and spun around.

I swallowed hard, gripped my fist, and dragged my feet behind hers.

My heart wouldn't stop thumping as her words echoed in my head.

I sucked in a deep breath, assuring myself that this was the best way.

I would eliminate them faster tonight.

“You have a weak scent.” The woman's voice forced me to raise my head again.

She paused and turned to narrow her eyes at me before continuing her walk.

“You must be an Omega,” she said.

My heart clenched and I bit my cheek to stop myself from snapping in disagreement.

I hated it when people teased me for my lack of pheromones. As an Alpha, I was supposed to have suppressive pheromones to mark my identity and superiority wherever I was, but I didn't have that. Even Omegas from my Pack had stronger pheromones than I did.

At times I wondered if I was truly an Alpha or just something else. Something lower than an Omega.

I was past twenty, yet I neither had strong pheromones nor the ability to shift into my wolf form.

My wolf was dormant and my pheromones were the weakest. The worst way to live as a werewolf.

“Are you an Omega?” The woman's voice came up again and I jerked back to reality.

I looked around and realized that we had stopped at the end of the beautiful garden.

I turned to look at her and with a burning throat, I nodded.

She sighed loudly, pity darting across her eyes.

“Omegas barely survive a night in the harem,” she said and turned again.

My heart sank at her words and fear engulfed me.

I fought with myself, wondering if I should ask for the reason or not.

“Why?” I finally spoke.

She swerved her head when I spoke.

“You'll get to find out soon,” she replied and turned again.

I looked up, and just a few distances away from us was another building.

It wasn't as massive as the palace, but it carried a similar elegance. The three-storey building stood quietly beneath the evening sky, its ivory walls lined with tall windows and dark balconies. Long canopies stretched over the right wing of the building, casting heavy shadows across the silent courtyard.

The place was as eerily silent as a graveyard and there was no one in sight outside the building.

The woman quickened her steps and motioned that I do the same. I obeyed her and soon we were standing in front of the tall white doors of the building.

“What is your name?” The woman turned and asked as she grabbed the large handles of the door.

My lips trembled as I parted them and blurted out my name, “Octavia.”

For the first time, I saw the hardened face of the woman soften and her dark-painted lips stretched into a smile.

“Welcome to the Lockwood Harem, Octavia.”