Chapter 3

Omega.

The lowest rank in the pack. No status. No dignity. Anyone could order her around, abuse her at will.

Hearing this, Katia suddenly laughed.

Beta Glen frowned. "What are you laughing at?"

"I don't have a family." Katia lifted her head, fighting back tears.

Glen's face darkened, but Katia continued. "I've been a servant in this house for years. You never cared. So what difference does it make if I'm demoted to Omega?"

Glen stared at her but said nothing.

Of course he knew Allison and Kaelen had bullied Katia for years. But he'd chosen to look the other way. After all, Allison was the daughter from the prophecy. And Katia...

"Katia, don't cause any more trouble." Glen sat behind his desk, hands folded.

He paused, his voice turning colder. "Tomorrow you'll report to the Omega quarters. And when King Cahir returns from the battlefield... you'll be sent to his fighting pits."

Katia's entire body stiffened.

Disappointment and hatred surged through her chest, but she said nothing.

What was the point of arguing? No one would believe her. No one cared.

"You can go pack your things now." Glen waved dismissively.

Katia turned and left the office.

But she didn't go to her bedroom. She headed straight for the dungeon instead.

She had nothing to pack. The only thing she cared about was Rena.

The dungeon was silent.

Katia knelt beside Rena, carefully lifting the black wolf into her arms. Rena's breathing was so shallow, Katia could barely feel her chest rising.

"Rena..." Katia's voice trembled. "Hold on... please..."

She'd found Rena years ago in the forest. Back then, Rena had been a pup. Abandoned. Dying.

Katia had secretly brought her home and hidden her in her room for months.

Every time Katia was attacked, Rena would stand by her side, snarling and protecting her. But it always ended with Rena getting hurt.

And now, Rena was dying.

Katia struggled to carry Rena out of the dungeon and back to the Beta house. Her body burned with fever, her vision blurred, but she forced herself to search the house for medical supplies.

She found some herbs and bandages, using trembling hands to clean Rena's wounds and wrap them. By the time she finished, it was past midnight.

Rena weakly opened her eyes and licked Katia's hand.

Tears finally spilled down Katia's cheeks.

"Today is my birthday, Rena." She whispered, burying her face in Rena's fur. "Happy birthday to me."

She'd been born at eight in the evening. Technically, her wolf wouldn't awaken until then. Usually, other wolves celebrated this moment. It was a major milestone for a shifter.

But no one remembered Katia's birthday.

She held Rena close, leaning against the wall, and drifted into a feverish sleep.

The next morning, Katia woke still burning with fever.

She carefully settled Rena in her bedroom, leaving water and food, before dragging her exhausted body to report to Gamma Mark.

"You should know that running away caused serious problems for our pack." The Gamma sighed, leading her to the Omega quarters.

The room was tiny. A bed against one wall, a cabinet against the other. The window was small and barred shut.

After the Gamma left, Katia sat on the hard mattress, feeling the room spin around her.

She needed to find a doctor for Rena. Her own fever could wait, but Rena couldn't.

Just then, the bedroom door slammed open.

Xandar strode inside, eyes cold as ice.

"You've cost us a fortune." He growled. "Alpha Damon demanded compensation. He wants us to cede border resources. Otherwise, he'll take this to the Council."

"Then you should have let me leave the pack." Katia glared at him, though her body trembled.

"Let you go?" Xandar laughed coldly. "If you leave, who pays for Allison's death?"

"I didn't kill her!" Katia screamed. "I just turned around for one second. And she was gone!"

"Enough!" Xandar crossed to her in two strides, wrapping his hand around her throat and slamming her against the wall.

His fingers crushed her windpipe. Katia could barely breathe. He could feel how burning hot her skin was beneath his touch.

Xandar stared at Katia's face. Despite the bruises, her beauty rivaled Allison's. Especially that defiant look in her eyes. It stirred something dark inside him.

"Pity you're still so young." He lowered his head, kissing her neck, his hand sliding up her inner thigh.

"Let me go!" Katia whimpered, trying to struggle, but he was too strong.

"When you come of age, you'll be my little whore." Xandar whispered in her ear. His voice dripped malice. "Better than being completely useless before you die in those pits."

Luckily, he didn't know that today Katia had turned eighteen. She yearned to find her mate. Someone who could rescue her from this nightmare.

"You'll be mine to use however I want," Xandar murmured, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

With that, he released her and left the room.

Katia sank to the floor, nausea rising in her throat.

She curled up as fever pulled her back into sleep.

When Katia woke again, night had fallen.

Her body felt weaker, but she remembered Rena.

She had to check on Rena.

Katia forced herself up, stumbling out of the Omega quarters toward the Beta house.

When she pushed open her bedroom door, her heart plummeted.

Rena lay on the floor, barely breathing.

"Rena!" Katia staggered forward and dropped to her knees. "Rena, hold on!"

She tried to stand, but the world spun violently.

She was about to collapse.

But Rena was dying.

She wanted to save her. Desperately.

That overwhelming need awakened something inside her.

"You can save her."

A soft voice echoed in her mind.

Katia froze. "Are you my wolf?"

"Yes. My name is Carol." The voice was gentle but firm. "Do you want to save your friend?"

"Yes!" Katia was nearly crying. "Please!"

"Then trust me. Put your hand on her wound."

Katia trembled as she pressed her hand over Rena's worst injury.

Suddenly, an electric current surged through her body.

A brilliant white glow spread through her hands. The light drained every ounce of energy from her. Sharp pain lanced through her, but she gritted her teeth and held on.

The glow lasted several seconds before slowly fading.

Katia collapsed to the floor. Utterly spent.

But Rena's breathing had steadied.

"We need to shift now." Carol's voice rang in her mind.

"Your eighteenth birthday has passed. It's time for me to come out."

First shift would be brutal. She'd need an adult shifter to guide her, but she had no one. She'd have to endure it alone.

But she couldn't bear it. Her body hurt and ached.

And then, a sweet scent filled the air.

Thick. Intoxicating. Impossible to ignore.

"Mate." Carol whispered.

Katia's heart pounded wildly.

She struggled to her feet, her body moving on instinct toward that scent.

She stumbled through the hallway, down the stairs, following the pull.

Finally, she stopped outside the Alpha's office.

Her mate was inside.