Chapter 4: Alpha Viktor’s Property

~VALERIE~

My head was spinning but it had nothing to do with the sickness. Sold? The word didn’t even make sense. I was a person not a piece of furniture. And to Alpha Viktor?!

Every horrible story I’d ever heard about the brutal Alpha of the Shadow Pack came back to me at once. His name alone sent shivers down my spine. Alpha Viktor was a ruthless psychopath who cared about no one.

“No,” I whispered, the word scraping my dry throat. “No, you can’t. I’m not going.”

Lady Vivianne looked more irritated than a cat in a rainstorm.

“Oh, shut up, Valerie. It’s done and the agreement is signed. Where exactly do you think you’ll go? You have nothing. You are nothing.”

Sonia smirked.

“She’s right, you know. You’re just an Omega and a knocked-up one at that. Who would even want you? At least this way, you’re good for something.” She wrinkled her nose. “Even if it’s just as a punching bag for some brute.”

They weren’t just tossing me out.. they were handing me over to a monster all wrapped up like a gift.

“I don’t care!” I cried with my voice cracking. “I won’t do it!”

Vivianne’s eyes went flat and cold.

“Let me be perfectly clear, you stupid girl. I have no intention of housing you and your… bastard child. This house is not a charity for disgraced Omegas. Viktor is already on his way to collect his property and you will be gone by tomorrow.”

Property. The word finally broke me. I couldn’t breathe in that room with them for a second longer so I turned and bolted.

I heard Sonia call out, “She might try to run, Mother!”

Vivianne’s reply was the last thing I heard before the front door slammed behind me.

“And go where? Don’t be ridiculous. That little bitch has nowhere to go. She’ll come crawling back when she gets hungry.”

I ran until my lungs burned and my legs threatened to give out. I collapsed against a tree on the edge of the common ground heaving with sobs shaking my whole body.

Of course, that’s when they showed up. A trio of bratty girls only a few ranks above me with nothing better to do than kick someone when they’re down.

“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” one of them sneered. “Or should I say, look what dragged the cat? Heard from Sonia you’ve been spreading your Omega legs for anyone.”

“Aw, are you crying?” another one mocked, putting on a fake pout. “Did your fake mate not want you and your puppy?”

I just curled in on myself wishing the earth would swallow me whole. This was my life… always being the target and too weak to fight back.

“Back off.”

The new voice was familiar and absolutely furious. Mia pushed her way through the circle of bullies with her hands on her hips and a glare that could curdle milk.

“Don’t you three have anything better to do?” she snapped. “Like maybe go suck some dicks like you always do? It might improve your personalities. Or at least give you something productive to do with your mouths.”

One of the girls rolled her eyes.

“Stay out of it, Mia. We’re just having a chat with the pack's slut.”

“It looks like a real engaging conversation,” Mia shot back, not backing down an inch. “Three of you talking at one crying girl. You must be so proud of your winning personalities. Really top-of-the-pack material.”

For a second I thought it would turn into a real fight as the girl's hands circled into fists. Mia dropped into a slight crouch and I saw the glint of her claws extending.

“Whatever,” One of the girls finally muttered, seeing Mia wasn’t bluffing. “She’s not worth the trouble. Come on.”

They went away, tossing one last dirty look over their shoulders and the moment they were gone, Mia’s tough exterior melted and she dropped to her knees in front of me.

“Val..,” she said, pulling me into a hug and then she pulled back, holding my shoulders. “But seriously, you have to start hissing back at these jerks. Or spitting. Spitting is good. You can’t just take it.”

I couldn’t help it. A wet shaky laugh escaped me. Only Mia could make me laugh while my world was falling apart.

“They’re s-selling me, Mia,” I choked out. “Vivianne… she sold me to Alpha Viktor!”

Mia’s face went pale.

“Viktor? Shadow Pack Viktor?" She grabbed my arms tightly. “Valerie, you can’t. You can’t go to him. Especially not… like this.” Her eyes flicked down to my stomach. “I heard too. Your stepsister could make a good reporter.”

“I don’t have a choice!” I wailed.

“Yes, you do!” she insisted fiercely. “You run tonight. You get as far away from this pack as possible.”

“But where would I go?” I asked, feeling utterly helpless. “I have no family, no money…”

“Anywhere!” Mia said, shaking me a little. “Anywhere is better than Shadow Pack! You could go… I don’t know, be a waitress in a human city! Humans are weird but they don’t sell people! Probably.” She took a deep breath. “Listen to me. Meet me tonight by the stump on the north border at midnight. I’ll get you some supplies and create a distraction with the patrols. We’ll get you out.”

Hope began to flutter in my chest.

“You’d do that for me?”

She hugged me again.

“You’re my best friend, you idiot. Now, pull yourself together. Go back to the house, act defeated and don’t let them suspect a thing. I’ll see you at midnight.”

******

The hours dragged by like they were wading through mud. I stayed in my room, pretending to be the broken Omega they all expected me to be.

Finally, the house fell silent and dark. I waited an extra hour just to be sure, listening to the creaks and sighs of the old building settling. This was it!

Moving like a ghost, I slipped out of bed. I’d already stuffed a small bag with the only things that mattered to me. A photo of my mother, a warm sweater and the little bit of money I’d managed to hide over the years.

I crept down the hallway, avoiding the floorboards I knew would groan in protest but every sound seemed magnified a thousand times in the dead silence. Was that someone stirring? I froze and my breath caught in my throat. But it was just the fridge humming in the kitchen.

I made it to the back door, unlocking it with painstaking slowness.

I slipped outside and melted into the shadows, keeping to the tree line as I made my way toward the northern border and the pack grounds were eerily quiet, the only light coming from the sliver of a moon overhead.

“Psst! Over here!”

Mia emerged from behind the stump with a bundled-up cloak in her arms and a pack slung over her shoulder.

“I got you some food, water, and a map,” she whispered, thrusting the heavy pack into my arms. “The patrol just passed this sector. You’ve got a ten-minute window. Head due north through the forest. It’s three days to the human highway. Stick to the trees.”

Tears welled in my eyes again but this time they were from gratitude.

“Mia, I… I don’t know how to thank you.”

“You thank me by getting safe and naming your weird-looking baby after me,” she said, her own voice thick with emotion as she pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.

“Now go!” she finally said, pushing me toward the tree line that marked the end of our territory. “Run, Valerie! And don’t look back!”

I gave her hand one last squeeze, turned and plunged into the dark forest. I was free! I was actually doing it. I was...

“WHO’S THERE?!”

A blindingly bright torchlight cut through the trees, sweeping over me and freezing me in its beam. A guard! He must have doubled back on his route!

For a second, I was paralyzed but then pure instinct took over. I crashed through the bushes with branches whipping at my faceand arms.

"Get back here!!"

The guard’s shouts echoed behind me as I sprinted deeper into the unknown darkness.