Chapter 1

Esme's POV

“Esme! Did you hear me or are you deaf now?”

I flinched at the sound of Lydia’s voice. She was standing in the doorway, hands on her hips, glaring at me like I had committed the worst crime in the world.

“Yes, I heard you,” I said quietly, picking up the dirty plates from the long dining table. My back ached from scrubbing floors since dawn, and my hands smelled like soap and onions.

“Then move faster,” she snapped. “The Alpha will be here soon, and this place looks like a pigsty.”

I bit back the words sitting on my tongue. Lydia wasn’t my mother. She wasn’t even blood. But for the last ten years, I had lived in her house, eating scraps from her table, and following every order she barked. She and her husband, Thomas, had taken me in when I was ten, or that’s what they liked to say. “Took me in” sounded nicer than “turned me into a housemaid.”

“I’m trying,” I said, stacking another pile of plates and carrying them to the sink.

“Trying isn’t enough,” Lydia said. “You’re twenty now, Esme. Twenty and you are still useless.”

Her daughter, Nora, walked past me with a smirk. “She’s lucky we let her stay. I’d have kicked her out ages ago.”

I kept my eyes on the sink and scrubbed harder. If I answered back, Lydia would find a way to make today worse.

The door slammed open, and Nora’s brother, Eli, strolled in. “You missed a spot over there,” he said, pointing at the floor with his boot. “I almost slipped.”

“Sorry,” I murmured.

“Sorry doesn’t clean the floors,” he said, kicking a bucket of water toward me. It splashed across my feet and the tiles. Nora laughed.

“Enough,” Lydia said, though there was no real anger in her tone. “Both of you, leave her alone. We have guests arriving soon.”

They left, still laughing, and I crouched to mop up the water. I hated how normal this felt, being treated like dirt in my own pack.

Shadow Pack was supposed to be home, but I had never felt like I belonged. Omegas were already at the bottom, but I wasn’t even that. I was the orphan they’d picked up, the girl with no past, no family, and no future.

At least, that’s what they believed.

“Esme!” Lydia’s voice cut through the room again. “When you’re done here, go clean the pack hall. Rylan’s ceremony is tonight, and if the Alpha sees a speck of dust, I’ll make you regret it.”

My heart skipped at the sound of his name. Rylan Ashford. He was the future Alpha and the strongest wolf in Shadow Pack. He was the man the Moon had chosen for me.

I still remember the shock of the mate bond snapping into place a week ago. The warmth, the pull, the way my soul had whispered his name like a prayer. He hadn’t spoken to me yet. Maybe he was waiting for tonight and maybe this was the night everything changed.

“Yes, Lydia,” I said softly and hurried out.

******

The pack hall was already buzzing by the time I got there. Warriors were carrying tables, omegas were setting up chairs, and the Beta’s mate was barking orders from the stage. No one looked twice at me as I grabbed a rag and started wiping the floor.

“Make sure the Alpha’s seat shines,” one of the warriors said as he passed. “Wouldn’t want him to get dust on his royal backside.”

They laughed. I pretended not to hear.

By the time the sun dipped low, my back was screaming. The hall gleamed, every chair lined up perfectly, the banners fluttering in the soft wind that blew through the open windows. I stood by the wall, exhausted but proud.

“Still standing here?” Lydia’s voice made me jump. She was holding a tray of drinks. “Good. The guests are arriving. Stay out of sight, but be ready to clean anything that needs cleaning.”

I nodded. My chest was tight with nerves. Tonight, maybe, Rylan would look at me. Maybe he would say my name and I would stop being invisible.

The music started, and the pack poured in. There were men dressed in dark suits, women in gowns that shimmered under the lantern light. Laughter echoed off the walls, the smell of roasted meat filling the air. I shrank into the corner and watched as Rylan stepped onto the stage.

He looked perfect. He was wearing a black suit, his shoulders were broad and strong, dark hair fell over his forehead. When he smiled, the crowd roared. My heart thudded against my ribs.

“Tonight,” he said, his voice carrying across the hall, “I accept the title of Alpha and if the Moon Goddess wills it, tonight I will also accept my mate.”

My breath caught. This was it. This was the moment.

And then his eyes found mine.

The bond flared hot, pulling me toward him. I felt it and I knew he felt it too. His pupils dilated and his chest rose sharply. It showed that he recognized me as his mate already.

But instead of joy, his face twisted in disgust.

“No,” he muttered, shaking his head. “No, this isn’t right.”

A low murmur rippled through the hall. I took a step forward, trembling. “Rylan…”

He stared at me like I was a stain on his life. “The Moon Goddess must be mistaken.”

The crowd gasped. My stomach turned cold.

“I, Rylan Ashford, reject you, Esme Hunter,” he said clearly, every word sharp enough to cut. “I reject this bond. I reject you.”

The world tilted. My breath was stuck in my throat. He rejected me. He rejected me in front of the entire pack.

Someone laughed. Another whispered, “An omega? The Alpha’s mate? What a joke.”

Heat crawled up my neck. My chest hurt so badly I could barely breathe. I wanted to disappear. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.

“Clean this mess, omega,” Lydia hissed behind me, shoving a broom into my hand. “Now.”

The ceremony went on like nothing happened. Rylan danced with Nora, smiling and laughing like he hadn’t just shattered me. And I …….. I swept up spilled wine and broken glass while people stared and whispered.

“Pathetic.”

“Who did she think she was?”

“An omega Luna? Never.”

Each word stabbed deeper. But I kept moving. I didn’t cry, not where they could see.

Hours later, when the music finally stopped and the hall emptied, I was still cleaning. My knees hurt, my hands were raw, and my chest felt hollow.

“Leave the rest. We’ll finish tomorrow,” Lydia said, yawning as she walked out with the others.

I stayed. I needed the silence.

I was scrubbing a wine stain from the floor when I heard it. Two warriors, voices low, talking near the door.

“Did you hear?” one said. “About the girl?”

“What girl?”

“The omega. The one Rylan rejected.”

My grip on the rag tightened.

“They say she isn’t really an orphan,” the first one whispered. “That there’s a family out there looking for her. A powerful one.”

The other laughed. “Please. Who’d be looking for her?”

“I’m telling you, it’s true. I heard Dax talking about it. He said something about a bloodline. A secret family.”

My heart skipped. A family? My family?