Chapter 1 ONE

SERAYA

“Scrub that clean, mutt,” a voice said, followed by a helmet striking my head before dropping to the ground near my feet where I was squatting.

“Ouch,” I whimpered, letting go of the wooden brush as I clutched my throbbing head.

My numb fingers moved over the spot, already feeling the bump forming where the helmet had hit. I bit my lower lip, forcing back the tears burning behind my eyes.

It wasn’t the first time something that heavy had been thrown at me. I was lucky it was just a helmet. Most times, it was a stone, an arrow, or even a spear landing dangerously close to where I knelt.

Sometimes, I got hurt.

That didn’t mean I was allowed a day off from this punishing duty.

“And this!” the voice snarled.

A cloth landed in the dust beside me, stiff and dark with dried blood.

I lifted my head and saw Lukas, one of the Alpha’s guards. A warrior whose rank was just high enough to treat me like dirt and be praised for it.

He didn’t slow his stride as he walked away. He didn’t even spare me a glance.

That was discipline, they would say.

She needs to learn her place. She’s nothing but a stupid, lowly Omega with nothing to her name.

But that was only how they saw it. To me, it was cruelty, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I was just a nameless Omega orphan.

I didn’t know who my real parents were. I had been told they found me deep in the mountains, surrounded by rogue wolves. One of the pack’s hunters had chased them off and brought me to Ashfall, where the lowborn Omegas like me resided.

“What are you doing, stalling there?” Mistress Yhlda’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“N… nothing!” I stuttered, reaching for the helmet, but her cold voice cut through the air.

“You useless Omega. It’s nearly sundown, and you’re still not done with the simple task I gave you?!” she screeched, her eyes flashing red.

I flinched, swallowing hard. “I…I’m sorry… You told me to work in the kitchen earlier, and…” My voice trailed off as my heart began to race when she took two steps closer.

I drew in a breath and said nothing more. My eyes stayed fixed on my trembling hands as I counted to ten in my head, bracing myself for the heavy strike of her palm and the curses that would follow.

But…

“Go to the kitchen now!” she ordered instead. “Take ten flagons of wine and deliver them to the Great Hall. You have until sundown to return!”

I scrambled to my feet, not stopping to question why she had let me off without a beating this time, without turning me into a spectacle for everyone.

As soon as I reached the kitchen, I grabbed one of the flagons filled with wine and hurried out.

—

I had barely taken five steps past the massive gates of Ashfall when I felt it.

That familiar tingling sensation between my thighs. A slow, simmering heat crept up from my neck into my cheeks, while something tight and restless pulsed in my chest.

I stumbled slightly, tightening my grip on the flagon. My eyes widened, my heart racing faster than it should, as I glanced around in a panic, searching for somewhere to hide.

Anywhere. Anywhere at all, until my body returned to normal.

This was my fault.

I should have taken the moonleaf tea and Ashroot Mistress Yhlda had handed out earlier. Instead, I had pretended to drink it and thrown it away when she wasn’t looking.

Now I was paying for it.

I pressed a hand to my chest, taking in two deep breaths. I straightened, smoothing my palm over the nonexistent creases of my thin white dress as I noticed one of the Alpha’s guards approaching.

“What are you doing idling around? Shouldn’t you be in your quarters, mending and cooking?” he asked.

His dark eyes narrowed as he looked me up and down.

I forced a smile, masking the turmoil inside me. He couldn’t know. He couldn’t see what I was going through. “My mistress asked me to deliver this for the ceremony before evening. I’m on my way.”

I turned and hurried off. If I lingered, he would notice, and that was the last thing I needed.

“Halt.”

The command stopped me cold.

My breath caught as I sensed him step closer behind me.

Please… don’t let him notice, goddess Selene. Please don’t let him know.

I squeezed my eyes shut, silently repeating the prayer as my body trembled, the flagon clutched tightly in my hands.

The guard sniffed the air. A few seconds passed. It felt like forever.

Then he stepped back.

“You may go,” he said. “But return to your quarters immediately once you’re done. If I catch you idling again, you know what will happen.”

“Y-yes,” I whispered, hurrying away on unsteady feet.

I knew the punishment for idleness, but it would be far worse if I were caught entering my heat.

It was forbidden for Omegas to enter heat unsanctioned or show any sign of bond-related distress. That was the law. We needed permission to mark or be marked. Omegas, especially.

All Omegas, from their sixteenth day after birth, were placed under strict control. Suppressant doses were administered daily until an Omega was properly claimed by a council-sanctioned Alpha, assigned to scent-silent service, or exiled.

We were raised to see our heat as a curse.

We were taught that we were not meant to be seen during it, that our scent would corrupt pure blood.

I had lived with those words for as long as I could remember. I carried them within me, abiding by every single one.

I hadn’t taken the suppressant tea, even knowing the consequences.

It wasn’t rebellion. The tea itself was unbearable.

It left you weak and barely able to stand, yet you were still expected to work, to move, to endure. They didn’t care about the pain.

I managed to slip out of the tunnel and was heading toward the Great Hall when a low, guttural growl sounded behind me.

Startled, I gasped.

The flagon slipped from my grasp and crashed to the ground. My eyes widened as the wine spilled across the dirt.

“Oh!” I exclaimed, bending to pick up the flagon, but a hand settled on my shoulder, stopping me.

I swallowed hard and turned slightly to see who had touched me.

“A-Alpha Rhazien!” I dropped my gaze at once.

Omegas were taught never to look Alphas in the eye. You kept your gaze lowered, fixed on their feet or the ground whenever they were near.

This was the first time I had been this close to him. I had only ever watched him from a distance.

Alpha Rhazien was the strongest wolf in the pack house. His dark hair seemed to defy gravity, his eyes were as blue as the ocean, and his face looked as though it had been carved by the goddess herself.

Despite the stories of his ruthlessness, he was… perfect. The most gentlemanly man I had ever seen.

He wasn’t needlessly cruel. He punished those who deserved it and, at times, showed mercy. I had seen him come to Ashfall a few times, mostly for inspections, but his presence always felt like a quiet blessing.

I had never expected to stand before him like this.

“What did you do, Omega?” he hissed, his voice snapping me out of my thoughts. “What did you fucking do?”