Chapter 1 Branding of the Omega

I thought I was getting a crown. I got a branding iron instead.

My heart slammed against my ribs as I stood on the Moonlight Altar. Tonight was it. Twenty years of being the "little Omega"—the girl who scrubbed warrior boots and slept in a drafty attic—was supposed to end. The Moon Goddess had finally spoken.

Valerius, the Alpha King, was my fated mate.

The white silk dress clung to my skin like something out of a dream. First nice thing I'd ever owned. I stared up at the stage where Valerius stood beneath the glowing moon. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Terrifyingly handsome. His scent—cedar and smoke—wrapped around me and made my wolf practically sing.

He looked at me. I smiled, tears pricking my eyes.

Finally. Finally, I'm seen. Finally, I'm home.

"Elena." His voice rumbled through my chest.

I stepped forward. The pack went silent. Thousands of eyes on me. My father sat in the front row, his Beta uniform pressed and clean. He didn't smile, but he watched. I reached for the stone stairs.

"Stop."

Valerius didn't move toward me. Didn't reach out. His eyes weren't warm—they were cold. Hard as flint.

"Don't come any closer," he said.

I froze, one foot on the first step. "Valerius? What's—"

He turned away from me. Faced the crowd instead. "Members of the Moonlight Pack. You know the Moon Goddess gives us mates. Partners to lead beside us."

He paused. His gaze flicked back to me, and there was nothing soft in it. Only disgust.

"But a King puts his kingdom first." His voice boomed through the clearing. "A King can't lead with a weak link. I can't have an Omega as my Queen. Our bloodlines need to be strong for the wars coming."

The air punched out of my lungs.

"Valerius, please..." The words barely made it past my lips.

He ignored me. Turned to the side and held out his hand. A woman stepped from the shadows behind the pillars. Lady Seraphina. High-born Alpha from the Northern Pack. Beautiful in a dress that looked like it cost more than my life. She looked at me and smirked.

Valerius kissed her hand. Right there. In front of everyone.

Then he looked at me and said the words that tore my world apart.

"I, Valerius, Alpha King of the Moonlight Pack, reject you, Elena, as my fated mate. Our bond is a mistake. I refuse you. I choose Seraphina as my Queen."

The world exploded.

Not just in my head—physically. Like someone reached into my chest, grabbed my soul, and ripped it in half. I dropped to my knees. The stone altar bit into my skin, but the fire raging through my blood hurt worse. I screamed, hands clutching my chest.

The bond snapped.

For a second, I saw flashes—his hands in my hair, his mouth on mine, promises in the dark. Then nothing. Gone. Ripped away.

The warmth that had filled me for the last day vanished. Left behind was a black, gaping hole. I couldn't breathe. Gasped for air while tears streaked down my face, destroying the makeup the maids spent three hours on.

"Please." I looked at my father. "Dad, help me."

He stood. Didn't come closer. Didn't even reach out. He bowed his head to Valerius. "The King's wisdom is absolute."

His voice was flat. He wouldn't look at me.

Laughter erupted from the back. Spread through the crowd like wildfire.

"Look at her! The Omega thought she could sit on a throne!"

"Pathetic. Look at her crying on the floor."

Seraphina walked to the edge of the stage. Stared down at me like I was dirt on her shoe. "A King needs a partner, Elena. Not a pet. You should be grateful he's letting you live."

Valerius stepped forward again. He wasn't done. The rejection wasn't enough.

"Elena." I looked up, vision shaking. "By pack law, a rejected mate is a distraction. You have no rank. No family to claim you. No name."

He signaled the guards. Two massive men grabbed my arms and hauled me up. I was too weak to fight. The broken bond still pulsed through me like poison.

A servant brought out a tray. On it sat a heavy iron rod, the tip glowing red-hot and hissing in the night air.

My heart stopped. "No. Valerius, no. Please don't—"

The Nameless brand. Punishment for the worst traitors. It stripped you of everything. If you were branded, you weren't a person anymore. You were property. Couldn't shift. Couldn't own anything. Couldn't even speak unless spoken to.

Valerius picked up the iron. Heat shimmered off the metal. He walked down the steps, boots clicking on stone.

"You'll stay in this pack." His voice dropped, meant only for me. "Work in the kitchens. Scrub floors until your fingers bleed. Watch me marry Seraphina. Watch me love her. And you'll never speak my name again."

"I loved you." The words came out broken. "We were fated."

"Fate is for the weak."

He didn't hesitate. Pressed the hot iron against my neck.

The scream that tore out of me didn't sound human. The smell of my own burning flesh filled my nose. Pain so sharp it turned everything white. I felt my skin sizzle and pop. Felt the mark—a jagged X—being burned into my very bones.

When he pulled the iron away, the guards let go. I collapsed. My face hit the dirt at the altar's base.

"Throw her in the scullery." Valerius didn't look back. He climbed the stairs, took Seraphina's waist, and led her toward the feast hall where music was already playing.

The guards didn't carry me. They dragged me by my hair across the gravel. Every bump sent fresh fire through my neck. Pack members stepped aside. Some kicked dirt on my white dress as I passed.

"Waste of good fabric," a girl muttered, stepping on my hem and ripping it.

They threw me through the kitchen doors. I hit the cold, greasy floor and stayed there, gasping.

"Clean it up." A guard pointed at a pile of spilled guts and slop on the floor. "You're Nameless now. Start working. If the floor isn't shining by dawn, you don't eat."

The door slammed. The heavy bolt slid into place.

Locked.

I lay there in the dark. My neck screamed. My heart was shredded in my chest. I was an Omega with nothing. No mate. No father. No future.

A slave in the home where I was supposed to be Queen.

I curled into a ball on the hard, filthy floor and closed my eyes. Wanted to die. Prayed to the Moon Goddess to let me sleep and never wake up.

But as the moon hit its peak outside the small barred window, the only sound in the kitchen was my ragged breathing.

I was alone. Broken.

But still alive.

And somewhere in the wreckage of my heart, something small and fierce began to burn.