Chapter 1

Samantha's POV

"Slave, you've been summoned to Alpha Kade's private chamber." My stomach dropped when I received the order from the Gamma of the pack.

I had just finished my work for the day. My work as a slave had been grueling as usual, but being summoned to Alpha Kade's chamber for sex—that was far more terrifying than any other dirty chores I was asked to do.

But I had no choice.

This was all part of my punishment. My punishment for a crime that my twin sister Serena, and not me, had committed.

Kade and I were best friends when we were kids. We were both strong Alpha kids living in neighboring packs, so we had a lot to talk about and always trained and adventured together.

Kade also has a sister, Debbie, who was two years younger than us. Serena and Debbie were both the quieter type. They weren't strong like Kade and I, but that didn't matter. Not back then, at least.

Everything was perfect until five years ago, when Serena somehow managed to bring Debbie with her when she adventured past the border patrol and into the forbidden forest out of curiosity. I wasn't sure if that was Serena's first time doing that, but unfortunately, their presence was discovered by rogues.

They tried to run away, but they were weak and young. Just when they were about to be caught, they ran into Kade's parents on their way home. Kade's parents mindlinked the pack for help while they tried to protect Serena and Debbie.

However, by the time help finally arrived, Kade's parents had been killed by the rogues. To make matters worse, Kade's sister was dragged away and raped by the rogues. Serena was the only one who escaped while Kade's parents fought desperately. Conveniently, she was gone by the time Kade arrived.

Kade angrily demanded that someone had to pay for the crime—the punishment was indentured servitude of five years—and so my parents decided to hand me over instead of Serena.

When I resisted, they begged me—told me that Serena was weaker, that I could handle it and she couldn't. It didn't matter that I didn't do anything wrong. It didn't matter that I didn't want to take the blame.

They forced it on me anyway. And no matter how many times I tried to explain myself, it was useless.

Everyone trusted my parents. No one thought they would lie about something like that, and Serena, the perfect and quiet girl who would never get in trouble, went unsuspected. Even Debbie didn't believe me; she was so mentally unhinged after that night that all she did was point at me with a shaking finger and say that she saw my face right before it all happened.

No one thought that it was only because I looked like Serena and not because I actually caused the accident.

So, for five years, I became Alpha Kade's slave.

For five years, I did everything Kade wanted me to do.

By now, I had become numb to the physical pain and exhaustion I endured in the pack house of Crescent Hollow. The Gammas and Omegas beat me nonstop and forced me to do all of the worst jobs around the house as punishment for my crime.

But whenever I was summoned to Kade's house… I was terrified.

Kade usually summoned me to his room for humiliation when he was triggered by Debbie's pain. It was revenge for what his sister had been through.

Though not as violent as what Debbie had been through, Kade made sure what happened in his chamber humiliated me deeply.

The worst thing about all of it was that I found out Kade was my fated mate after I turned eighteen. My wolf tried her best to hide our scent from him. But still, every cruel intimacy between Kade and I made my suffering a thousand times worse.

How could I be both drawn to him and frightened of him at the same time?

"But I haven't even had dinner," I protested to the Gamma weakly, standing. My joints ached from kneeling on the floor; I had spent hours scrubbing the hardwood until it practically sparkled in the torchlight.

"You know the rules," the Gamma growled. "Come with me. Now."

I had no choice but to obey, of course. Even though my hands shook and my legs wanted to carry me in the opposite direction, I obeyed and followed the Gamma down the hall.

When I entered the bathroom, I found two stern-faced Omega maids waiting for me beside the tub. I was rarely allowed baths anymore, but I knew that it wasn't a luxury. It was part of my punishment.

The maids stripped me violently, revealing my naked body, which had grown frail and slender from lack of food over the years. Once, I had been curvy and beautiful, but now my body could only focus on mere survival. I could count my ribs, and the long days of constant work with only a single slice of bread and a tiny bowl of porridge made it difficult to even think straight.

As the maids roughly washed me in the ice cold bathwater, scrubbing violently against my skin and angrily combing through my once-beautiful golden locks and hitting me in the head with the hairbrush whenever I moved, I tried my best to shut my eyes and breathe deep, preparing myself mentally for what was to come.

Once I was clean and decent enough for the Alpha, I followed the Gamma down the hall to Kade's private chambers. My heart thudded violently in my chest while he knocked, and a voice called from within, "Enter."

It was Kade's voice, deep and rumbling and terrifying. I shuddered just at the sound, but that little piece of my heart also lurched with anticipation.

The Gamma opened the door and shoved me inside, sending me to my knees. Pain barked through the joints as I fell to the hardwood. I didn't need to look up to know that Kade was lounging in his usual chair by the fireside, watching me with those cold gray eyes of his.

"Come here," he ordered.

I slowly looked up and felt my breath caught. He was shirtless, tanned muscles on full display, raven hair loose around his shoulders. In this light, with the scars on his chest highlighted by the firelight, he looked like a rogue warlord.

"Didn't you hear me?" Kade leaned forward. "Come. Here."

My pulse spiked, but I obeyed and stood, walking over to him. When I stopped in front of him, he stared at me for a long moment, gray eyes wandering my form. For a moment, just a moment, I could smell his cologne. It was rich and warm like coffee and spices.

Wordlessly, Kade stood, towering over me, and lifted me into his arms. I didn't resist—couldn't resist, because even though I knew I was about to face the most brutal humiliation of all, that foolish little shred of my heart still wanted this. Wanted him.

He laid me down on the bed face-down and lifted my skirt just enough. He never fully undressed me, never looked at me in the face when he slipped himself into me.

Maybe that was for the best. Because I knew if I looked him in the eye, I might lose control and reveal the secret I'd been keeping for five years.

"Debbie had two episodes today, screaming and thrashing everything in her room," Kade whispered as he slipped his hard member into me with painstaking slowness. His hand cracked across my ass, sending pain stinging through my skin.

Kade curled his fingers into my hair as he seated himself fully in me."I want you to remember that you are a gross murderer. A sinner." His other hand spanked me again. "Say it."

"No."

It was humiliating and perfect and terrible all at once—that feeling of completeness as he began to move in me. But emotionally… Emotionally, the man I was bound to hated me to my very core.

"Say it," he commanded again. One thrust. Then another. Another spank that made my eyes prick with tears.

"No—"

"Say. It."

The thrusts became slower, more halting. My body ached for the only sensation of pleasure I'd received in months. And though tears began to prick my eyes at the humiliation, I grit my teeth and said the words he wanted me to say.

"I am a murderer."

"Again."

"No—"

"Again!"

"I… I am a gross murderer!"

"And remember that your sin will never be forgiven. And you will never be loved. Not by me, not by anyone. "

What followed was the most humiliating joining we'd had in months.

Kade never hit me, no, but he didn't need to—the mental torment was far worse than the physical abuse of the Omegas and Gammas.

To have a man—the man you truly want on a deep and primal level, even if he hates you—inside of you in the most intimate way possible, bringing you to your edge only to pull back and tell you how worthless you are to him…

The only reprieve I got from it was when my world finally went black mere moments before my climax. The last thing I saw before everything turned dark was Kade's face moving above me, twisted with equal parts hatred and ecstasy.

When I woke, I found myself lying on the small cot in the tiny storage closet that was my bedroom. My entire body ached, and my head felt like it was on fire. I groaned, pressing my hand to my temple.

"Ava… What happened?" I whispered aloud into the darkness. I felt strange and foggy, and I faintly recalled passing out during my punishment. "Did I faint from lack of food again?"

Ava was quiet for a long moment. Too long. Finally, she whispered, "There's something I have to tell you…"

"What is it?" I struggled to sit up, but it was useless. My body felt too weak and fragile, and I felt like I might vomit if I moved too much.

"Samantha… You're pregnant."