CHAPTER ONE

KARLA'S POV

My entire household was buzzing with an energy that we could all feel, but we couldn't quite describe what was in the air.

My mother, a small prim, and proper woman who would rather get caught in a fire than run, because running was not very proper. One could easily mistake our family for a royal family instead of an average family in the pack.

The only exception to the prim and proper image my mother tried so desperately to portray was the training my father put my two brothers, Lucien, Lance and me through.

"There is no space for a weakling in my house." My father, Richard, would say while eyeing me, as if I was already an embarrassment. It was not my fault that my brothers had already beefed up and now towered over everyone in the house.

What my father meant by a weakling, of course, was an omega. In our world, being an Omega was the worst thing that could happen to you. Omegas were treated like a blemish in the society.

"Will you snap out of your daydreaming and fold those clothes properly?" My father's growl jolted me out of my reverie as I scurried away from his sight.

My father has been on edge ever since my 18th birthday drew closer. My family members were all anxious to find where I ranked in the wolf hierarchy. No one said it outright, but I was pretty sure that my father would disown me if my wolf turned out to be an Omega.

That night, we gathered for dinner as usual, but for some reason, I couldn’t keep any food down, so I pushed my food around the plate.

"Karla, is the food not to your liking?" I should have known my father would notice that I was not eating. "You have to eat your vegetables to keep your strength up, little girl."

Yet, another reminder that I was expected to rank higher than an Omega. Which was why my father had been training me day and night.

At the crack of dawn, my father would make me run all over our small compound to build up my stamina. My father didn't discriminate when it came to hardwork. I pulled my weight as much as my brothers did.

Once, I had cried to my mother that I no longer wanted to train with my brothers. "Mom, there's no war coming, and I even doubt that I would be picked to fight in the war." Sixteen-year-old me had whined. All I wanted was to be like other girls in the pack who spent all their time painting their nails and kissing their boyfriends. With how closely my father ran my life, it was impossible to have a normal life.

"Karla, you are not like other girls. You have to be stronger." She admonished, but she didn’t stop there. She told my father, who in turn doubled the work I had been doing before.

I had since then learned to keep my suffering to myself. I was certain that all these would stop when I get my wolf and, hopefully, my mate. Some wolves were lucky to find their mates immediately, while others had to wait years. I didn't mind either, as long as it stopped what my father was making me go through.

I was so eager to get my wolf that I started to train harder and pray to the moon goddess to bless me with a Beta or Gamma wolf. I wanted my wolf for more reasons than one...

By the eve of the full moon, everyone in my family tiptoed around me. Even my father stayed out of my way. I was fed the food I craved. My father didn't make me train, either.

"You're going to need all your strength to turn." I had heard plenty stories of how painful turning was. Some even died in the process! Lucien's wolf was a Gamma, and it brought him great pain.

The tingling started shortly after dinner started. I gasped at the unfamiliar throbbing.

"Papa, what's happening? My back stings." He exchanged glances with my brothers, and they bundled me to the basement with tears in my eyes.

"It's only for a little while, Kiddo." My immediate brother, Lance, whispered and squeezed my hand in comfort. I couldn't smile my thanks at him because the pain increased. "Just remember to breathe."

I couldn't tell how many hours I spent on the floor howling and moaning. My eyes were sealed shut so I couldn't even see how far I was covered in fur.

At some point, taking deep breaths like my brother had prescribed became harder, so I just surrendered myself to the pain. I embraced the light, and the world went black.

It was a gasp that brought me back to life, but my eyes stayed shut still.

"What is it? So small?" It was my mother's voice. I forced my eyes open to find three pairs of eyes staring back at me.

"Mom..." I wanted to say something, but it came out as a small whine. I desperately wanted to know what my wolf was. Maybe it was a beta, judging by the pain I went through and how...

"Mom, she's an Omega," Lucien pronounced.

"Shut the f*ck up, Luc. How can you say that? It's too soon to tell." Lance chided.

"What, she's so f*cking small." Dread settled in my stomach.

"It's perfectly normal," my mother said in a small voice that I desperately wanted to believe. "Her bones still need to form properly. We will know by nightfall."

In the meantime, my mother had Lance carry me up to my room so I could rest and bond with my wolf.

I slept all through the day. It was the sound of my door being slammed open that woke me up. It was my father, and he looked at me with deep disdain showing on his face.

"You're an omega." He sneered. "Lock her up this instant. An abomination."