My mind was too hazy and I could feel my bones tightening against my skin. Just how did I end up here? Who brought me here? Ajax―why in the world would he...?
To my surprise, Ajax, with his magnetic and low voice, asked, "Where do you think you're going?"
I almost jumped out of shock. "Y-You're awake?"
"The entire time," he said. His tone was serious and held no humor in it. Slowly, he got up, revealing his naked chest and six pack abs.
I hesitantly looked away, covering my own self with some apprehension. With my chest pounding a little louder than before, I asked, "Why... am I here?" What did the Alpha Prince want me, a mere omega, here for?
I did not want to see his expression so I remained looking far and away from him. I could feel he was already standing and in the middle of getting changed. His movements didn't comfort me nor made me think I was safe.
In a while, I heard him finally respond.
With an icy tone, Ajax said, "From now on, you're going to live here."
Thousands of images flashed back to my mind. If this was the me from a year ago, I would've already jumped from joy upon hearing such things. He was, after all, the person I've been loving from afar. But now that things have changed and I knew how Ajax saw me as...
I gripped hard at the white sheet covering my body. Bravely, I responded, "Would I be living as your personal servant?"
From what I knew, it was rare for servants―omegas―to serve the masters in bed. This was a rare occurrence since Alphas rarely wanted to mate with low races like omegas, but it was still a plausible reason in my current situation as such, there were only few female omegas in our pack and only there was only me who was around Ajax's age. I just didn't fully understand why Ajax would do this all of a sudden and out of so many people.
"That's right. You're a servant," Ajax said, his tone devoid of any warmth, the complete opposite of what I've loved and dreamt of before. "You're here to be my servant and nothing more."
I bit my lower lip while listening to his words. Again, I was treated like this. A servant, someone who couldn't even do what she wanted, someone who couldn't even say NO no matter how she desired...
Before anything else happened, I heard Ajax's footsteps and soon, he was already leaving the room. He paused, seemed to be glancing over me, before he finally exited and closed the door behind him.
I breathed out a sigh. Just what went wrong to this simple life of mine?
I remembered being content to some degree and living a life where much complications did not exist. Even if I was only an omega and was treated badly by those people at the academy, I decided to endure. This much, I could do and always thought I would willingly do.
I thought to myself, that time particularly, that I could and would not ask for more. Because I was part of the unpriviledged. Because I was an omega.
*"You're here to be my servant and nothing more."*
Recalling Ajax's sentence pricked my heart, slowly stabbing it repeatedly until it began to bleed. Did I ever ask to be treated this way? Did I ever wish to be brought along to this house and what, serve him in bed?
Suddenly, I remembered Selene Alcarez, the beautiful member of the pack living near our pack's territory. The she-wolf everyone expected to be Ajax's future Luna.
She and Ajax... They had mated.
I couldn't be wrong. I saw the fresh mark on her neck that time. They really had done it for real. They were now mates.
Then why was I even here? Why did Ajax bring me to this place? If he had a mate, shouldn't he bring her here instead? Didn't they say, once mated, a wolf could only live and engage sexual activity with him or her?
This wasn't right. I should tell Ajax this wasn't right at all.
Springing from the bed, I grabbed the only set of clothes placed on the table that I saw and quickly wore them. In a speeding movement, I half-walked half-ran to the door and opened it.
*Where is Ajax?* I needed to tell him he was wrong and he shouldn't be touching me anymore, else, he would suffer from the consequences from the moon goddess!
Sprinting down in hopes to look for Ajax, I looked around and ran through the hallways, the huge white t-shirt I wore almost falling from my slender body but I couldn't care. I needed to see Ajax and tell him, perhaps he had forgotten about it, so I should remind him...
"Ow," due to the thoughts continue swirling in my head, I didn't notice another person when I made a turn to the left, bumping my head against him.
A tall, handsome man looked down at me, his eyes a deep hazel brown, almost similar to mine. I realized it was his chest that I bumped into and immediately apologized, "I'm sorry!"
The man, who looked like nothing far from my and Ajax's age, said in a magnetic, low voice, "It's fine. Watch where you're going next time."
I bowed still, wary of my status once again, and apologized. A little while later, I heard the man began to walk away, only to stop midway. He turned to look at me and I saw him flash a gentle smile―something I haven't seen in a while.
"Are you Ajax's mate?" He asked me with a gentle tone. "My name is Elias Thornwheel. I came to talk to Ajax about his and my territory."
His territory...? So he was―he was an Alpha?
Elias seemed to have noticed what I was thinking and stared deeply in my eyes. "Yes, I'm an alpha, but I'm about to be the king yet. My father sent me to have a talk with the North pack's leader, Ajax Larwoods."
"But Ajax isn't the leader..." I murmured to myself. There was still his father, Thomas Larwoods.
A look of surprise painted on Elias' face. He gave me a look that neither belittle nor mock me out of my ignorance. Instead, he patiently explained, "Mr. Larwoods, his father―he went missing few days ago. Haven't you heard about it?"
My eyes widened at what I had heard. Ajax's father... was missing? Our pack's leader was missing??
"Aren't you his mate? How come you didn't know? His pheromones are even all over you and that cloth... or was I mistaken?" Elias asked, more to himself.
In my desperate need to know more, I grabbed his arms and asked. "Where's Alpha Prince Ajax?"
Elias did not utter a word for a few seconds, his eyes only landing on the pair of hands that suddenly touched him. "How would I know? I'm also looking for him."
I need to see Ajax and ask him about our pack. What happened and why was I brought here. No, why did he keep me in the dark? Why did he not tell me about the Alpha King, Mr. Larwoods', disappearance?
Wait. His father disappeared, too. Just like my mother and brother did...
No, it couldn't be, right?
Slowly, the words of the woman which I assumed to be a witch or a mage, who visited in my dream as a wisp, came to my mind.
"A witch cursed your family race a long time ago. If one of you gets rejected by his or her fated mate, one or more of the other living family members and his or her's mate's family members will vanish. They or they may not continue to live in another world, lifetime, or timeline, as completely different people."
My mother and brother's disappearance, and Ajax's father's disappearance... It couldn't be... There was no way they had something to do with each other... Right?
In the South Eastern woods, near the river that connected the two biggest lakes in the world, lived the Thornwheel Clan―or in the wolf term, the Crescent River Pack.Just like Larwoods family or the Crescent Glacier Pack, Ajax's clan in the North, Elias Thornwheel was a part of the Thornwheel Clan occupying the largest area in the South Eastern Woods they had claimed as their territory. Elias, similar to Ajax, was also someone next to the throne and was prophecied to become the next Alpha King. Both Elias and Ajax were responsible to rule, especially when the Alpha King suddenly went missing.Just as what was currently happening.I later found out that the Alpha King Thomas disappeared after battling a group of humans with lethal weapons while trying to scout the barriers of the place where everyone in the pack resided. According to Kid, the beta and right hand of our Alpha King Thomas Larwoods, the humans tried to use their bullets and s
The surroundings became hazy and my mind paused from thinking countless things, including my current position.I couldn't see the expression on Ajax's face but I could feel his anger as in a swift movement, he appeared to my side and grabbed my arm. He probably was furious for seeing such a scene caused by an omega... Especially with the fact that there were two visitors, too...Unexpectedly, I didn't hear any word from Ajax after that as he only seemed to have stared at me and my body, as if checking something from head to toe which I couldn't comprehend, before releasing me from his hold. Immediately, I was escorted by two omegas, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, back to the room I woke up in earlier.While on our way, I heard the omegas whispering behind my back."Is she really the one...?" One of them asked."Sshh, we're not allowed to talk about her. You already know that," another said.Two were female omegas I h
I met Ajax when I was six years old. He was seven that time but among all the other alphas born, he was the smallest and weakest in looks. Naturally, even betas began to question whether he was a real alpha or not.During those times, I still didn't know the line between alphas and omegas. All I knew was I was a kid and he was a kid. And no kids deserved to be treated harshly, whether by actions or words.When the kids went away and all that was left was Ajax, I hid myself from one of the trees, peeking and waiting for him to get mad or cry after being bullied. I waited and waited, but the birds flew and the clouds changed their colors, yet Ajax remained silent.I realized he wasn't the type to cry nor get mad easily.Even when people began questioning his abilities when he turned sixteen and transformed, Ajax only silently listened to them. On the day of the annual battle training, he defeated the same people who had doubted his s
"No."In the midst of almost being controlled by whatever it was that enveloped me in this dark place, I clenched my fists. My desire of wanting to know more lessen as my mind kept going back to Ajax's eyes that stared at me with warmth.No matter how little, no matter how absurd, I must cling onto it and not let it fade."Claire...!" The voice called me once more.But I remained unbothered. How can I listen to these voices when I didn't even know them? What if they were only lying and trying to control me?I wasn't born to be someone to let that happen.More than anything and anyone, I knew myself and understood what I wanted.And right now, I chose and want to understand Ajax.With a resolute mind, the voice of Ursula who claimed to be a witch and member of the Jaderoot Order, slowly faded. In another second, my eyes opened."Ah, you're awake!"A voice of a young w
As Ether stared at me with a pair of raging, desperate eyes, my heart pounded loudly at the thought of the person mentioned and I found myself glancing over the past.Ajax.He was the one who treated me fairly when everyone did the opposite. Even knowing he was an alpha and I was an omega, he never made me feel there was a line between us, that we were from different worlds, that there were no possibilities of living in peace together regardless of our races. When I reached the age where I began to understand my position and his position, I began to treat him with so much, more respect, than ever, and even tried to distance myself so as not to cross the line."You can still call me by my name," he had replied then. The mahogany trees around us had dried leaves dancing as they fell to the ground, the wind humid and my eyes couldn't help but feel enthralled by the image of a handsome boy. From a certain point, he looked like a live painting, and I, his
The strong scent of sandalwood and rain came, filling up my senses.I could feel the ground colder than the days the North experienced a heavy pour of snow and ice. Those days weren't the darkest ones but they hid the sun enough to make our pack live more carefully in every hunt.The hunters.Whenever they went out of our main village where everyone in the Crescent Glacier Pack resided, I would try to catch a glimpse of them and watched how they showed how mighty and brave they were from head to toe.Navi had always talked about them before going to sleep and in every word he uttered about them, I began to feel a deep sense of excitement inside me. I couldn't help but compare the hunters to those knights and soldiers in the story book I had read. For me, their job was the most amazing in the pack. Exploring the outside world and gathering food for everyone... Just how great and fun would that be?"You want to be a hunt
"I heard you in your sleep. You're calling someone named Ursula. Ursula is a witch from hundred years ago. She's supposed to be dead, yet, you were able to talk to her. Being able to talk to witches... My grandmother once told me such power exists. I dare not believe it until you, Luna Claire, did it. Whether you're this pack's Luna or some other pack's future Luna, the fact that you possess such great power makes you special, Claire."Feeling my chest twinge at the word 'special', I sighed. "I'm not special, Shila..."There was a pause before she replied. "You are, Claire."Then another voice came, "Can you stop exchanging cheesy words for a while?""Ether!" Shila called out. "What about the betas guarding the hallway?""I took care of it. Anyway, Claire, the ritual is going to be over tomorrow. If we're going to escape, we have to do it as early as now," Ether exclaimed, loudly whispering through my door.I could already
*Rendall*I had always hated omegas.They were the lowest of the ranks among all races. And when one was in the most bottom part, one would not hesitate to bring forth selfish wants and needs.They had always been that way. Omegas desired to be looked over, watched over, taken care of, desired back, loved back. Always needing something, always wanting something.And when one wanted a piece of something but failed to achieve it, there would be a possibility of succumbing to destroy it instead.This was what I hated the most to happen and thus the reason why I kept reminding our Alpha King Ajax, particularly on his obsession with Claire Hanzel. The damn omega who had liked the Alpha Prince - now Alpha King - for who knew how long had been.Ajax was the leader of our pack, the Crescent Glacier pack of the Northern Woods, the biggest Werewolf Crescent Land among the rest in the world, and since he had now become our leade