Chapter 1

Eliara's POV

“If that omega doesn’t crawl out here in the next five seconds, I swear on my father’s grave, I’ll force wolfsbane down her throat myself.”

Alpha Nikolai’s voice echoes through the house, tearing through the early morning silence.

I freeze where I am, fingers tightening around the broom in my hands.

Of course, I already know today is going to be the worst day of my life.

Just like every other day.

The moment I step into the main hall, Alpha Nikolai turns. His sharp grey eyes lock onto me, and before I can even open my mouth, he grabs the bucket from my hands.

Cold water crashes over my head.

I gasp as it soaks my clothes, runs down my hair, and pools around my feet. The shock steals my breath, and my fingers tremble as I stagger back.

“Where were you when I was calling your name?” he snaps. “Are you deaf, Eliara?”

I lower my head immediately.

Spending nine years under my alpha stepbrothers’ roof has taught me one thing:

Silence is survival.

If I talk back, my mother will pay for it.

She has already suffered enough because of me. I won’t give them another reason to hurt her.

Alpha Niven strolls toward me, slow and deliberate, a lazy smirk on his face.

He stops inches away, staring down at me like I’m something disgusting stuck to his shoe.

“Enjoying the water?” he drawls.

Then he leans forward and spits on my face.

My hands curl into fists.

The last time I reacted, they punished me by forcing me to scrub the office and pack house floors on my knees, on an empty stomach, for three straight days.

I almost died.

So I swallow the rage burning in my chest and stay still. I know exactly what they want, a reaction. If I give it to them, they’ll use it as an excuse to hurt my mother.

Alpha Niven chuckles softly, clearly disappointed by my silence.

“As you know,” he says casually, circling me, “our coronation ceremony is in a few days. The same day you and your mother are banished from this pack.”

My chest tightens.

Life as an omega is hell, but life as a rogue would be even worse.

My mother is bedridden, her heart weak ever since her mate died. We have no money for her medication, no money for rent, not even enough food to last a week.

Fear coils tightly around my chest, and I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t realize the alphas are still talking until pain explodes at the back of my head.

“Ouch…” I cry, stumbling forward.

Niven’s voice cuts in sharply. “Don’t tell me you weren’t listening to a single word we said.”

Tears sting my eyes as I lower my head again.

“I… I was lost in my thoughts.”

Nikolai scoffs. “Then why don’t you get lost completely?”

He continues coldly, “Some foreign investors arrived in the pack this morning. You’ll go to their hotel and welcome them. Stay close in case they need anything.”

His gaze hardens. “We’re not losing these clients. They’ll be investing billions into the company.”

I nod quickly. “Yes, Alpha.”

Because aside from being cruel alphas, they are also CEOs of the largest tech corporations in Canada, with branches spread across several continents.

And I, their step‑sister, am nothing more than an office messenger and their personal maid.

I don’t know where the boldness comes from, but the words slip out before I can stop them.

“Please, Alphas,” I whisper, my voice shaking. “When am I going to be paid my salary?”

I’ve been working for them for two years, ever since I graduated from high school.

I even got admission to study Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at one of the top tech universities in the country..

But they refused.

They told the pack I was interning at the company, learning the ropes, and that I’d be paid handsomely every month to gain experience before starting college.

Instead, the workload meant for a hundred staff was dumped on my shoulders every single day.

Niven suddenly rushes toward me, invading my space. His presence is suffocating.

“Did you say something?” His voice is low and dangerous.

I shake my head immediately, a small whimper escaping me.

“Thought as much.”

Nikolai steps forward, his patience clearly gone.

“Now get out of my sight before I strangle you.”

My breath catches.

“And don’t be late getting back,” he adds coldly. “Our mate, Selene, is arriving from France today.”

She’s their twentieth girlfriend this year alone.

A princess of the Moon Stone Pack. And from the way they fawn over her, it’s obvious she’s their favorite and the one they plan to marry.

What they don’t know is that their precious mate isn’t as loyal as she pretends.

The reason Selene hates me has everything to do with what I’ve seen.

Not that it matters.

Even if I screamed the truth, the alphas would never believe me. I would be the one punished.

And I hate everything about her.

I grit my teeth, remembering her cruel grin, the way she copies every wicked trait the alphas flaunt so effortlessly.

If I loathe the alphas for their cruelty, I loathe Selene ten times more.

Suddenly, a maid rushes into the hall, her face drained of color. She drops to her knees so fast her palms slap against the floor.

“Alpha… A‑Alphas,” she pants. “It’s… it’s Eliara’s mother. It’s an emergency.”

My heart lurches violently.

“She collapsed,” the maid continued, her voice shaking. “She’s not breathing. I think… her heart…”

“My mother?” I whisper, then louder as panic rips through me.

“What happened to my mother? Please… please, my mother can’t die!”

I move without thinking, my feet carrying me forward.

“Take one more step,” Alpha Nikolai says calmly, his voice deadly soft, “and I’ll cut your head clean off your neck.”

Niven lets out a sharp laugh.

“Why are you acting like this is an emergency?” he asks coldly. “She killed our father.”

My breath stutters.

“She poisoned him,” Nikolai adds, his grey eyes hard as stone.

“A traitor who murdered her Alpha mate deserves to die.”