Chapter 1: The beginning of an End

Ella’s POV

“Get up.”

The command cracked through the still air like a whip.

My hands froze around the broom handle. My body obeyed before my mind did. I straightened, brushing stray hair from my face.

“Ella.” The voice sharpened. “Are you deaf?”

I turned and bowed my head.

Lyra.

The Alpha’s daughter leaned against the doorway, her golden hair spilling over her shoulders, her lips curved into a smile that was anything but kind. The sight of her always made me feel smaller, like a stain on marble that could never be scrubbed away.

“Yes, my lady,” I murmured, lowering my eyes.

Lyra swept into the room, her skirts whispering against the floor. She carried herself the way only an Alpha’s daughter could,she held her chin high, every step like the world belonged to her. I clutched the broom tighter, as if it could shield me.

“My father,” she began, her voice dripping with disdain, “is insufferable. Do you know what he wants now?”

I shook my head. Omegas didn’t answer unless they were invited to.

“He insists I attend the academy.” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Weeks of tiresome lessons, combat drills, endless politics… as if I need it. I already know what it takes to lead. I was born to lead.”

I swallowed hard. The Academy of Alphas. I’d heard whispers of it from the servants, how only the strongest heirs were sent there to be molded into future leaders. I couldn’t imagine Lyra submitting to anyone’s teaching.

“The academy is… important, my lady,” I muttered softly before I could stop myself.

Her head snapped toward me, blue eyes narrowing. My stomach sank.

“Important?” she repeated. “You sound like one of them. Do you think I’ll waste my life being paraded like a trained pup? No. I won’t go.”

I bit down on my lip, heart racing. “But your father…”

Lyra laughed, sharp and cruel. “My father won’t know.”

A chill spread through me. I shifted nervously, the broom handle slick with sweat. “What do you mean?”

Her smile widened, wicked and satisfied. “You’ll go in my place.”

The words slammed into me. My lips parted, but no sound came out. Finally, I choked, “M-my lady, I… I don’t understand.”

“Oh, don’t act stupid, Ella.” She stepped closer, her perfume cloying, her shadow swallowing me whole. “You’ve always been my little reflection. Same hair, same face, if one doesn’t look too closely. Dressed properly, no one would dare question you. You’ll wear my gowns, sit in my classes, and let the world believe Lyra Darius is obeying her father.”

The broom slipped from my fingers and clattered against the floor. My knees felt weak. “I can’t. They’ll see through me. I’m not like you. I’m…”

Her hand shot out, fingers digging into my chin with bruising force. I gasped, the sting blooming across my jaw.

“You will.” Her voice was low, dangerous. “Unless you’d rather I tell Father how you’ve been sneaking food to the kitchen boys again. Do you remember what happens to omegas who break his rules?”

Terror knifed through me. I remembered—the courtyard, the whipping post, the screams muffled by cloth shoved between teeth. The broken shells of people dragged away afterward.

My breath trembled against her grip.

Satisfied, Lyra released me with a flick, wiping her hand on her gown like touching me had left her dirty. “Good girl. The maids will prepare you. At dawn, you’ll leave as me. Don’t fail, Ella. If you ruin this, it’s not my name that will suffer. It’ll be yours… and you won’t survive it.”

She turned and swept out, humming a sweet tune that clashed with the venom of her words.

The silence she left behind pressed in on me. I stayed frozen,my hands shaking, broom forgotten at my feet.

Tomorrow, I was to step into the academy—a place built for Alphas and Betas. A place where someone like me, a low-born omega servant, had no right to breathe. If they discovered the truth, they wouldn’t show mercy.

They would kill me.

That night, I couldn’t sleep.

I lay on my narrow cot in the servants quarters, staring at the cracked ceiling. Around me, the others slept heavily, their soft snores rising and falling, but my mind spun with dread.

What if they saw through me the moment I stepped inside? What if they demanded I spar and my weakness gave me away? What if my scent betrayed me? Omegas always smelled softer, submissive. No silks or jewels could cover that.

My stomach knotted tighter with every thought. I buried my face in my blanket and bit back a sob.

I thought of running—slipping out before dawn, vanishing into the forest. But where would I go? Omegas without packs didn’t last long. And if Lyra’s father found me… no, there was no escape.

I had been born into servitude, and now I was trapped in a game far worse. A game of masks and lies.

My only choice was to obey and pray the Moon Goddess hid me from the sharp eyes of Alphas.

When dawn came, the maids woke me before the sun. They dragged me to Lyra’s chambers and fussed over me as if I were their mistress, lacing me into gowns too heavy for my frame, pinning my dark hair into neat coils, dusting powder over my face.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

For a heartbeat, I didn’t recognize the girl staring back. She wore silks, not rags. A necklace gleamed at her throat. Her hair shone under the lamplight.

But her eyes—my eyes gave me away. They were wide, frightened, pleading. No Alpha’s daughter ever looked like that.

I curled my hands into fists, nails biting my palms, and whispered a silent prayer. Let me survive this.

The carriage waited outside, its crest gleaming with the mark of the Darius pack. The driver bowed as I approached, believing I was Lyra. My legs felt wooden as I climbed inside.

The door shut, the wheels lurched forward, and the estate faded behind me.

Every turn of the whe

els carried me closer to the academy.

Closer to the place where a single mistake could end me.