One

~CIARA~

Tomorrow was the day my life would end. 

And the text on my screen did a great job reminding of it. 

“Miss, your coffee’s getting cold.”

My head snapped up to meet a brunette’s warm gaze. She pushed the cup forward until it touched my palm. “You’ve been standing here for several minutes. Are you okay, miss?”

No.

I’m not okay.

By tomorrow, I’d be getting married to a stranger.

How could I be okay?

“Yes.” I fought the burn in my eyes and grabbed the paper cup, placing some dollar—my last cash—on the counter. “Thank you.”

Clutching the cup tightly, I walked out of the small café, my mind still circling around the text my stepmother had sent some minutes ago. She wanted me to come home for the wedding dress fitting. A wedding I’m clearly being forced into. I once thought being an omega was the worst thing that could ever happen to me because it altered my life. 

My father was the beta of the pack.

My mother carried Alpha blood.

But I was a weak omega who couldn’t even hear the voice of her own wolf, cursed to transform only during the full moon.

And that was okay.

It was tough, but I’d been surviving.

But I don’t think I can ever survive getting married to Alpha Graham. I don’t even know that man. My fingers trembled around the cup when a loud horn nearly burst my eardrum.

“Get the fuck off the road. If you want to die, jump off the fucking bridge!”

A sob broke out of my throat. “I’m…I’m sorry.”

“Get off the damn road.” The man yelled again, and I scurried off the road, nearly tripping due to how unstable I was, but a firm grip steadied me. Icy blue eyes sent sparks flying through me as he gazed into my soul.

An average heighted man rushed toward us, pushing me off him like I was some dirt beneath his shoes. “Have you no manners?” the man snapped at me. “Do you have to throw yourself into his arms because of his status?”

I blinked. “It was a misunderstan—”

“Oh, shut your trap.” The man continued. He took a glance at the man who had helped me, who seemed clearly unbothered, then lowered his head to give him a small bow. “I’m sorry about what happened, Alpha. The car will be here any minute from now. We’ll be out of this slump soon.”

I stiffened. Alpha? No wonder there was this aura around him. It must have been why a single glance felt like he was staring into my soul. And right now, he was still staring at me as if I were a mystery he was trying to solve.

I lowered my head quickly.

“You’re an omega.” The Alpha’s cold voice rang out. “Shouldn’t you be in the pack house serving your Alpha?”

A stupid rule, that was what it was. All omegas in my pack—Riverstone—were turned into the Alpha’s slaves. I was an exception because I was the Beta’s first daughter. It was one of the reasons most pack members hated me.

“Can’t you speak?!” The other man’s voice made me flinch. “An omega disrespecting an Alpha is unheard of. Do you want to be hanged?!”

“I’m Beta Kieran’s daughter.” I kept my eyes fixed on my beat-up sneakers that were already screaming for a change. “I am not one of the maids of the pack house.”

“You’re Beta Kieran’s daughter?” His voice turned so serious that it made me wonder if my father had done something wrong. He grabbed my chin, lifting it with a single finger. “Look at me.”

My fingers trembled. “An omega shouldn’t—”

“I gave you the order,” he insisted. “Look at me.”

My brown eyes clashed with his blue ones, and they flared up with surprise. He quickly pulled away like he’d been burned. While my brain scrambled to understand what the hell was going on, the other man’s voice broke my train of thought.

“The car is here.” He hurried to open the car door. “I’m sure the Alpha of Riverstone must be expecting you, Alpha Hayes.”

So his name was Hayes.

He looked at me one last time and my stomach stupidly flipped. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Norman.” My name slid off his tongue like a prayer, and my whole body stiffened.

How did he know my name?

“How did you know my—”

He didn’t even allow me to complete my sentence. He slid into the car, slammed the door, and zoomed off. My fingers grazed my chin—where he touched me—and a jolt of electricity zapped down my spine.

Who was he?

And why was he making me feel this way?

~~~~

“She’s getting married tomorrow. Pack all her stuff into the basement, she can have her last night there.” My stepmother’s voice reached my ears the second I stepped into the house. She hated me, no doubt. I hung my coat on the hanger, stepping further into the house, and she laughed. “Finally, you’re back. I almost thought you’d spend your last night as lady whoring around.” She tosses something at me. “Sign the contract immediately.”  

I picked up the brown file. “You didn’t tell me there’s going to be a contract.”  

She glared at me. “Does that change anything?”  

“It does.” My throat closed up as emotion filled my voice. “It feels like you’re selling me off to this unknown Alpha. I don’t even know him, Mom. I don’t want to do this.”  

“And there she goes again.” My stepsister strode down the stairs, her tone mocking. “Always trying to act like the world isn’t fair. What’s so bad about getting married to Alpha Graham? What’s so wrong about being his breeder?”  

“What?!”  

“You didn’t know?” She laughed. “Read the fucking contract. After all, that’s what omegas are for. For an Alpha’s pleasure.”  

My hands shook as I flipped through the pages.  

Then I saw the words boldly written on the very first page. 

Marriage contract between Alpha Graham Hayes and his breeder, Ciara Norman. 

My world tilted.