CHAPTER 1

CARLOTTA’S POV

The whispers and heated accusations buzzed around me, but my ears barely caught their words through the haze of grief and fear. My eyes stared blankly at Dante's casket, draped in velvet, adorned with white lilies, ironically innocent flowers for an Alpha who knew nothing of gentleness. 

A man who robbed me of my youth and innocence. A ruthless Alpha I despised, yet whose death left me trembling, uncertain, and trapped in another nightmare.

The weight of my thick-rimmed glasses pressed against my nose as I kept my head down, playing the part of the broken little omega they expected to see. 

"Look at her, just sitting there like she lost something precious," Dante's aunt spat venomously, eyeing me as though I were a filthy insect. "She's probably glad he's dead."

"Ungrateful brat!" his cousin Elena snapped bitterly. "She should be on her knees, thanking Dante's corpse for feeding her worthless omega family for two years."

Omega family. The words stung because that's what they believed—that I was just another weak omega whose father had sold her to pay his debts. 

My fingers curled around the edge of my skirt, nails biting into my palm as humiliation stung my cheeks. Two years of hell flashed in vivid colors through my mind, bringing back the shadows I'd fought desperately to bury.

Two years ago. I was just sixteen, trembling in the dark, the night my father's weakness sentenced me to Alpha Dante's bed. I never knew that last night would be my last torment night and Dante’s last day of his life.

FLASHBACK

Knock! Knock! Knock!

I jolted awake, my heart racing as I heard the pounding at my door. Before I could reach for the handle, it swung violently open, revealing Dante's towering frame, reeking of whiskey and Alpha dominance that made my fake omega persona cringe in terror.

"Carlotta," he drawled, voice thick with Alpha command, eyes wild and hungry. "Thought you'd lock me out, did you?"

I stepped back, hands trembling, words caught in my throat. At sixteen, I was still learning to suppress my true nature, still fighting the urge to show him what a real predator looked like. "Please, Dante. You're drunk—"

"Shut your mouth," he snapped, his Alpha voice forcing an involuntary whimper from my throat—not because I was truly submitting, but because I had to make him believe I was the weak omega he'd bought. "You're mine, remember? Bought and paid for. Your pathetic father's debt, my precious little omega whore."

Alpha Dante Alessi—the most ruthless pack leader in the city, known for his cruelty and complete dominance over those weaker than him. And I was supposed to be just another omega, broken and submissive under his control.

"No—" I gasped, backing away until the backs of my knees hit the bed, forcing me to sit. My pulse thundered wildly as fear clawed up my throat, choking me. "Please—"

He moved with Alpha speed, capturing my wrists roughly, twisting them until I whimpered. He used his silk tie, binding my wrists tight above my head, laughing cruelly at my helplessness.

"Fight me and you'll regret it, sweetheart." His palm cracked hard across my cheek, the Alpha strength behind it snapping my head to the side as heat exploded over my skin. "DON'T YOU DARE TO FIGHT BACK. You should know your place."

"Dante, stop!" I cried desperately, tears welling, shame burning deep within me. My wolf howled inside, demanding I fight back, demanding I show him that I wasn't the weak omega he thought I was.

"Quiet," he hissed. His fingers sank into my hair, dragging my head back sharply, forcing me to stare into his cold, mocking Alpha gaze. "Everything about you—every inch of your pathetic little omega body—is mine. Never forget that."

His brutal touch ripped my gown from my trembling body, exposing me. His Alpha eyes roamed cruelly, a predator savoring his prey, every inch of me burning under his merciless scrutiny. He slapped my thighs apart, sinking his teeth sharply into my neck—not a true mating bite, but a marking that branded me as his property.

"Beautiful omega," he sneered mockingly, fingers bruising my skin. "But worthless. Your father knew exactly how little his omega daughter was worth when he handed you over to a real Alpha."

I cried out in agony and shame as he claimed me, violent and ruthless, using his Alpha strength to overpower what he believed was a helpless omega. My innocence shattered beneath his merciless possession, my wolf screaming in rage at the forced submission.

"You belong to me," he groaned darkly in my ear, his Alpha dominance crushing my spirit further with every hateful thrust. "Always. No other Alpha will ever want you after this."

He finally discarded me onto the bed, bruised and aching, a sobbing mess. I curled into a shaking ball, humiliation searing every nerve, my true nature buried so deep I could barely feel it anymore.

"Remember this," Dante's Alpha voice dripped with cruel satisfaction. "The only reason your worthless omega mother has a roof over her head is because I allow it. Disobey me, Carlotta, and her head will roll. An Alpha's word is law."

I nodded numbly, sobbing silently into the pillow, playing the broken omega perfectly.

He buttoned his shirt casually, smoothing his jacket with sickening Alpha arrogance. "Good. Now, I'm leaving for a business trip. Don't even think of running, little omega. It's been two years; you know I always find what's mine."

He left, slamming the door behind him, leaving me broken and trembling. Yet fate, in its twisted irony, granted him one final journey—a trip from which the ruthless Alpha would never return.

The next day, news flashed across the screen: Alpha Dante's car had plunged off a cliff, taking his life instantly.

My chains had been shattered. And yet, I felt trapped still, bound to a nightmare that would never release me fully.

The harsh slap of a suitcase landing at my feet jolted me back to the present. My eyes widened, snapping up to meet Elena's vicious smirk.