2

LYRA.

There was thick silence within the hall, and I noticed some of nobles sharing tense glances amongst themselves.

After so many years, the Alpha king had finally found his mate. And it turned out to be... me?

Alpha Ronan shifted his gaze to the guards who were still holding my arms, and they unhanded me immediately.

'Did we really find our mate?', my wolf whispered in my head. I could feel that she was genuinely shocked, but also elated.

I... I couldn't believe it either. And I wasn't just mated to any man, but to Ronan Kendrick.

Oh, goddess... this was too good to be true.

I knew I shouldn't, but I lifted my head to look at his face again.

Our eyes locked instantly, and the coldness in his gaze sent a shiver down my spine. I looked down immediately, and my heart dropped. But I didn't want to overthink things yet.

"Who owns her?" His deep voice cut through the silence.

"It is... It is I, your Majesty," Lord Bailey stuttered, the color drained off his face.

"Hmmm...." Alpha Ronan hummed low.

From my peripheral vision, I could see him turning his neck to observe the gathering.

"How many nobles are present in this hall?" He asked again, and Lord Bailey quickly signaled the head maid to come to him. They whispered some things to each other, before he turned to the king and answered.

"36 nobles are present, your Majesty."

"Not bad," Alpha Ronan muttered, sounding somewhat... irritated. "What happened here tonight does not leave this hall."

The moment he said that, I wasn't sure what to think. He didn't want anyone else to know?

With how surprised the nobles looked after hearing him say that, whispers would have probably filled the hall, but no one dared to make a sound.

"If word about me finding my mate leaves these walls, the consequences would be far too great," he finished.

The warning was clear enough, but still, I didn't understand why he gave it. Or maybe I did understand, but was in denial.

The night had spiraled so fast for me, and I desperately needed some sort of anchor to stay afloat.

Right then, Alpha Ronan turned sharply and started heading out, the same way he'd come.

I wasn't slow. It was clear he didn't want me.

I felt my heart clench painfully, as my eyes began to water.

He didn't want me so much so that he made sure no one else outside Lord Bailey's residence tonight, could know that I was his mate.

My life was really so pathetic.

I watched as Lord Bailey followed after him as he headed out, the audience turning their gaze on me immediately.

Some looked at me with obvious shock, while others were just confused. The lord who had been shooting at me before the king arrived, simply returned to his seat, clearly weak in his knees.

While I wanted to feel heartbroken over the fact that my mate had indirectly just rejected me, at least I didn't die today because of him.

"Come with me my dear."

A familiar voice whispered beside me, and I turned to see the head maid, madame Jocasta. She took my hand and pulled me away from the curious eyes of the nobles.

For that, I was thankful.

As soon as we were out of the hall, a fresh feeling of shock hit me. Everything that happened several minutes ago landed even harder.

As we walked into the omega's quarters, everyone had their eyes on us, whispers filling the whole place. It was so crazy how quickly news could spread in Lord Bailey's residence.

Once madame Jo had successfully escorted me to my room, she gave me a warm pat on the back and left.

I shared the room with four other omegas, and right then, I was grateful they were all busy catering at the event.

Fresh tears brimmed up my eyes and I swallowed hard, physically feeling the pain in my chest. It hurt even more because I wasn't sure what my fate held.

He hadn't verbally rejected me, but I knew within myself that he would do so eventually.

"Is my life a joke to you?" I whispered, my voice trembling. That question was meant for the moon goddess.

Of all the men she could have bound me to, the goddess had chosen the Alpha King.

Who was I kidding? As dreamy as it seemed, I stood no chance. A man like Alpha Ronan would not spare a girl like me a second glance.

I was a low-born omega who had barely escaped becoming a slave. My late mother had been a human slave in Lord Bailey’s residence, and she died while giving birth to me.

No one knew who my father was, but of course, he had been a werewolf. I was born with the crescent mark on my arm, just like every other wolf, and that was the only thing that saved me from ending up a slave like my mother.

In this world, slaves were lower ranking than omegas, but most times it felt just the same. We were used and abused the very same way.

But on the brighter side, I wasn't branded.

Slaves were usually branded with hot iron on their backs or foreheads, carrying the initials of their masters like permanent marks of ownership. To the nobles, slaves were nothing more than property.

Omegas were properties too. The only difference was that our category came wrapped in the illusion that we were somehow better than the slaves.

But we knew we weren't.

"Where is she?!!" The angry voice of my master's daughter echoed through the omega's quarters.

I could hear the depth of her fury even from my room, and my heart thudded in fresh fear. This night had already been horrible enough for me, and I didn't need another reason to break down.

The next minute, the door swung open with force and Aurelia stalked in angrily. My heart lurched as I stood up immediately, twisting my fingers together in fear.

"My lady..."

The remaining words got stuck in my throat as Aurelia's palm kissed my cheek violently. The left side of my face burned hotly, as the pain shot straight to my brain.

"You lowly vermin!" she growled at me. "You think you can ruin my chances of becoming Luna Queen?!"