CHAPTER ONE: BRUTAL ABANDONMENT

Seraphina

“Fuck my life!” I shouted into the space that I thought was empty.

My pregnancy was messing with my mental health and I was the fragile Omega that no one wanted to associate with.

Interrupting my thoughts, the stench of high-rank perfume came closer. Consumed by fear, I pressed my back against the wall and my small fingers clutched the hem of my oversized cardigan.

I was just the prey as always. “Look at it” a female Beta sneered as she saw me “Does Rowan actually let you sleep in the main house, or do they keep you with the hounds?”

They all laughed at me. I was used to it; the mockery, the sharp shoves, the constant reminder that I was an unranked Omega living on the charity off a family that despised me. Being bullied and pregnant at the same time was unbearable.

‘Just endure it’ I told myself. Rowan, my long time boyfriend and father of my unborn baby, promised that it’ll all be over in a few weeks.

Once he rises, he would claim me openly. He would take me away from my toxic family. He would take me away from all of this.

But Rowan didn’t know about my pregnancy yet. I was waiting for the perfect time to tell him, to give him the ultimate gift when he took his place as Alpha.

“Hey! I’m talking to you” One of the male Betas stepped forward and shoved my shoulder hard. I hit the wall and the sudden impact sent a sickening shudder straight down my spine.

Then, all of a sudden my blood level spiked up.

It was burning like liquid fire through my veins. The early pregnancy, shocked by the sudden physical distress, threw my fragile Omega instincts into overdrive.

“Ugh, disgusting! Is she going into heat right here?” one of the girls gasped as she took a hasty step back.

“Step away from her, she is disgusting —”

I couldn’t hear them anymore. My ears filled with the sound of my own frantic heart beat. This time, I really needed safety. I needed an anchor. I needed a strong, solid Alpha presence to drown out the terror and steady the wild heat tearing through my body.

Desperate and half-blind with fever, I broke away from my tormentors, stumbling blindly deeper into the quiet, restricted side corridor.

“Hey! Come back here, we are not done with you!”

I didn’t answer them. I just kept going until I collided directly with a solid chest. Through the haze of heat and terror, a rich Alpha scent washed over me—strong, dominant, and instantly familiar to my clouded senses.

Rowan...my boyfriend.

It had to be Rowan. He had found me. Relief flooded my veins so intensely that my knees melted completely.

“What in the hell...?” a deep, resonant voice growled above me, laced with irritation.

In my delirium, the edge in his voice sounded like Rowan’s usual protective anger at my bullies. I didn’t realize it wasn’t Rowan at all.

I collapsed against his chest without thinking, clinging to him like a lifeline. I was drowning in the fever, desperate for the safety and cool comfort of the Alpha I thought was holding me.

“Please...” I whimpered, seeking his warmth.

He reached down to grab my wrists to throw me off, but driven by a wild surge of desperate gratitude, I pushed up on my tiptoes. Trusting him completely, I pressed my mouth to his and kissed him, offering the only grateful surrender a dying girl knew how to give to her saviour.

With a furious growl, he grabbed my shoulders and shoved me back. He held back just enough force so I wouldn’t smash into the floor, but the rejection was absolute.

I hit the wall, gasping for air as the sudden break of contact left me cold, exposed, and utterly disoriented.

That moved cleared my eyes. I saw him clearly now. I had kissed Asheron Sinclair, the infamous Alpha of the rival academy, here on a rare invitation, thinking it was my boyfriend

Asheron stood tall, his eyes burned with fury as he wiped the back of his hand across his mouth with utter disgust. The harsh reality shattered my hallucination; this wasn’t Rowan’s gentle presence. This was a predator.

“What the fuck did you just do? You do not get to touch me,” he snarled, emphasizing each word like he was speaking to vermin.

He looked down at me, quickly recognizing me through his rage as the quiet, low-status Omega step-daughter everyone mistreated. The fact that an trembling weakling had just forced a reaction out of him made his skin crawl with disgust.

“Touch me again...” Asheron whispered, taking a menacing step closer, “and I will hunt you.”

The realization of my fatal mistake crushed me. I pulled my knees to my chest, flinching violently at his harsh voice. “I’m... I’m sorry,” I whispered, tears finally breaking through the fever as horror washed over me. “I thought you were Rowan... I’m so sorry... I’m sorry...”

“So Rowan is your boyfriend uhn?” Asheron turned and walked away without a second glance, leaving me alone in the dark to face my shame.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few weeks later, it was the ranking ceremony of my boyfriend.

Across the room, standing at the high table alongside the pack elders, was Rowan. Tonight, he would be officially recognized as the future Alpha. He would totally name me his Luna.

I pressed my hand softly against my stomach. Just a little longer and we were going to have a better life.

Suddenly, the head elder banged his staff against the floor and silence fell over the grand hall.

“The time has come” the elder announced, his voice echoing over the quiet crowd. “Rowan, as you have moved up the rank, step forward and name the woman who will stand beside you as Luna.”

My boyfriend stepped forward. His eyes swept over the massive crowd. For a fraction of a second, his gaze drifted toward the shadow of the pillar where I stood. My heart stopped and I took a hesitant step out into the light.

He smiled. But his gaze didn’t stay on me.

It glided right past me, landing on the girl stepping out from the front row—Quinn. Golden, perfect Quinn, my step sister. What the hell?

“I choose Quinn” Rowan’s voice rang clear and loud through the silent hall. “To be my Luna, my equal, and the mother of my pack’s future.”

The room erupted into cheers. Quinn beamed, stepping onto the dais to accept the gleaming Luna-candidate pin from the elders.

I exhaled sharply “No...No, Rowan, no...”

Quinn had always been a thief stealing everything away from me. And now, she had taken my man; my only route to survival. I hated her with every bone in me.

He raised his hands to silence the crowd once more. He looked directly at me now.

“And for Seraphina” he added “in honour of her years of service to my house, I offer her a permanent place in my household... as my side mistress.”

Me? A side mistress? Over my dead body.