Chapter Two

Her voice, crisp and authoritative, rang out in the stunned silence. "Halt. You have no permission to enter my private quarters."

For a moment, the guard actually froze, conditioned by years of obedience to that voice. But then, a low chuckle broke the tension. It came from Kael. He looked at Kara not with anger, but with a kind of patronizing amusement, as if a pup had just tried to nip him.

Across the clearing, a few of the pack's males exchanged smirks. Their gazes, which had once held deference for their Luna, now held a hungry, leering quality. The once-untouchable queen was now fair game, and everyone knew it. Beside Kael, Siobhan’s lips curled into a smug, satisfied smile.

Before Kael could even speak, a sharp, condescending scoff cut through the air. It was Siobhan. She looked Kara up and down as if she were something she'd found on the bottom of her shoe.

"Private quarters?" she sneered, her voice dripping with venom that was all her own.

Kael immediately backed her up, taking his cue from his new mate. His own voice was low and cruel as he finally answered Kara. "An Omega has no property," he said, his words loud enough for the entire pack to hear. "You have what the pack allows you."

The statement was a final, brutal severing of her old life. But Siobhan wasn't finished. She turned, tugging on Kael's arm with a possessive, petulant whine.

"Kael, darling," she cooed, loud enough for Kara to hear every word. "Why are you wasting your breath on this... thing? Let your men deal with the omega whore. Your Luna needs your attention."

Kael placed a placating hand on Siobhan’s arm, but his cold eyes never left Kara. A cruel smile touched his lips.

"No, my love," he said, his voice deceptively gentle. "This one is mine to deal with. As I was the one who allowed the lie to persist, it is my duty as Alpha to personally put her back in her place."

His gaze on Kara hardened, the Alpha command returning to his voice, sharp and absolute. "Omega. On your knees."

The world swam. The pack was silent, watching. Her pride screamed, but her body, stripped of its defenses and newly subject to her Omega instincts, trembled with the need to obey. With tears of shame burning her eyes, she sank to her knees in the damp, muddy earth.

"Now," Kael commanded, his voice low and dangerous. "Crawl."

He didn't need to say more. She knew what he wanted. Shaking, she crawled the few feet toward him, the mud soaking through the knees of her pants, every inch a movement of pure degradation. She reached his boots, her hand trembling as she pulled the cold, familiar diamond ring from her finger. She held it up to him.

He plucked it from her fingers as if taking a piece of trash. Then, with a grunt of disgust, he shoved his hand against her shoulder, pushing her face-first into the dirt.

As she lay there, mud and tears streaking her face, Kael's voice boomed out to the entire pack.

"I know her heat is due within the week!" he declared. "Once it hits, she is fair game! Any male of age who wants her can have her!"

She lay there, the cold of the damp earth seeping into her bones, the scent of mud and her own shame filling her nostrils. A sob she could no longer suppress escaped her lips, and hot tears began to fall, carving clean, pale tracks through the grime caked on her cheeks.

Kael didn't grant her another glance. He had already turned his back on her, wrapping a possessive arm around Siobhan's waist as he addressed his guards.

"Seize her," he commanded, his voice bored and dismissive, as if ordering a servant to clear away garbage. "Throw her in the cellar. Lock her in to await her heat in the dark."

Rough hands grabbed her arms, hauling her unceremoniously from the mud. The world blurred as she was dragged away from the clearing, the last thing she saw being the triumphant, victorious smirk on Siobhan’s face.