Chapter 01

NARRATIVE POV

“No, the banner is not centered!” Tia growled in frustration as the omegas scurried to make the changes that she was demanding.

Everything had to be perfect. After all, you only turn eighteen once.

It wasn’t lost on Tia that she was handling all the decorations and preparations for the event on her own. Her mother and father were completely hands-off. They gave her their black card and told her to decorate and buy whatever she needed for the pack-wide celebration.

Tia Elise Henry, was the youngest of three pups to Alpha Markus and Luna Ava Henry of the Cherry Ridge Pack. A pack with roughly just over two hundred pack members. They were a peaceful pack. They dealt a lot in livestock and farming. The Cherry Ridge pack has been a neutral, non-aggressive pack for nearly five generations, and the pack held faith that Alpha Markus instilled the same values in his son and future heir, Simon. 

At the age of twenty-one, Simon was now about to step into the role as Alpha over Cherry Ridge, one month after his sister, Tia’s, eighteenth birthday. With their middle pup, Hilary, mated and moved away to her Beta mate, Beta Miles Roberts of the Fisher Brooks Pack and Tia about to be arranged to her betrothed, Allan Price, the cousin of Alpha Rollings of the Ravens' Peak Pack, Markus and Ava wish to step down and retire somewhere tropical.

It wasn’t that Alpha Markus and Luna Ava didn’t love their youngest daughter; they were simply too busy to give her proper time and affection. Tia was unplanned, and before her conception, the Alpha pair were content with one son and one daughter. The arrival of Tia was a surprise to them both. Having spent their time and affection lavishing Simon and Hilary, all that was left from the parental pair was to lavish Tia with expensive trinkets and a lack of discipline and structure. Tia was taught that love for her could only be shown through hollow gifts, meant to convey the image of wealth.

There wasn’t a thing in the world that Tia couldn’t buy, other than genuine affection from others. Being the Alpha heir, Simon absorbed their father's attention and praise. Simon was perfectly groomed to become the Alpha their father raised him to be: a cookie-cutter image and leadership of Alpha Markus. Hilary was always the perfect daughter. She had their mother's hair, facial features and elegant mannerisms when entertaining guests. Luna Ava’s sole focus was on preening Hilary for status and displaying the quality and standard of elegance and poise that the Cherry Ridge Pack instills.

At the young age of nine, while Tia was playing alone in the garden, one of the house staff stole her away. No one had noticed that Tia was missing for hours, and by then, the omega had managed to remove Tia entirely from the pack grounds unnoticed by patrol. It wasn’t until they stepped past the borderline that the Alpha pair felt Tia’s absence, but even then, the pack delayed searching for her. They presumed she was wandering and would return soon enough. For days, Tia was missing before her absence was finally appropriately noticed.

Cherry Ridge pack reported the stolen pup to the council the following week, as they could not locate her anywhere in the pack area. It was then decided that Tia was officially missing from the territory and not throwing a childish tantrum. With warriors from both Cherry Ridge and the council searching, the country was aware of a potential Alpha pup trafficking ring popping up in the area. Stealing an Alpha pup was a crime punishable by death. Alpha pups, especially females, are sold on the market for a high price.

The country and neighbouring packs began to scrutinize the Cherry Ridge pack for leaving one of their Alpha pups unguarded and for their inability to protect one of their own—speculation about the convenience that the Alpha pair overlooked was circulating, slowly tarnishing the pack's reputation. Luna's from other packs began to question Luna Ava Henry about how she had not noticed her youngest daughter was missing for over a week before it was reported.

“How does no one notice an Alpha pup missing for days?” The rumour mill steamrolled ahead, and rumours of the Alpha pair trying to sell off their pups began forming. As a blessed pack, the Cherry Ridge pack needed to address these concerns swiftly.

Losing their reputation and financial backing from the trade business, Alpha Markus calls upon the Royal Court to assist in locating their missing daughter. The sooner they find Tia, the sooner they can restore their reputation and rank status. It had nothing to do with missing their lost pup; it was simply their tarnished image.

The weeks trudged on, and finally, a lead turned up. They found the Omega who stole and sold Tia. She was a house staff member of the family, and it soon came out that she was the jilted mistress of Alpha Markus.

The rumours continued to spread, but now they included Luna Ava threatening to take everything in the divorce, as the Cherry Ridge pack belonged to Luna Ava and her family. If Alpha Markus was discovered to have affairs, and they divorced, he would lose it all. He abruptly ended his affair, and they fired the omega to ensure that there were no more temptations. In the heat of rage, the omega stole the young pup, knowing no one would take notice.