1

“You… How can it be?!” a frowning man with curly brown hair asked with a spiteful tone.

The short, scrawny young lady with shaggy black hair before him was on her knees quailing, a hairbreadth away from bursting into tears.

“Damn it.” He cussed, immediately venting his anger on the tree closest to him, the impact of his punch causing the once-sturdy tree to snap in two.

His action made the lady gasp in fear and shudder. Subconsciously, she fell back a little, wanting to create even a little inch more gap between her and this scary man.

“I can’t believe this. It has to be some joke, right? How can you, a lowborn ugly slave, be my fated one?” he asked, giving her a dirty look.

Unable to meet his intimidating gaze, her head hung low. Her lips quivered as she grappled with the fear of saying the wrong thing and facing the consequences of losing her head.

“Worst of all, you're just fucking skin and bones!” uttering another cuss word, he wildly ran his hand through his hair and even messed up the previous cool hairstyle. “What on earth should I do with you? You’re of no benefit to me. You aren’t even fit to be a breeder!”

“Al… Alpha…” the frightened female called out to him.

“Shut your mouth, you worthless piece of garbage!" the man yelled, his hand poised to strike but stopping just short of her face. “Oh, goodness!”

His chest rose and fell in quick succession while his teeth and hands remained tightly clenched.

“Don’t ever tell anyone that you are my mate, you hear me! If I hear it on someone else’s lips, I’ll have snakes make a party out of your body,"

“Y-yes, Alpha. I-I swear on my life,” she nodded her head frantically.

“Now get the hell out of my sight, you wretch!” he ordered, his scowl becoming more prominent.

Like a bat out of hell, she quickly expressed her gratitude. “Y-Yes. T-Thank you, Alpha…”

“Are you deaf! Fucking get lost!” he seethed.

“Sorry…” the trembling lady scurried away from his presence, falling many times in the process.

“Moon Goddess, I swear, if I lay my eyes on that disgusting thing again, I will kill her!” Unable to calm down, he decided to shift into his wolf form and go for a long run in the woods.

…

Meanwhile, the omega female that had just run away from him crashed minutes later in front of the slave quarters.

“Bellatrix, are you alright?” a middle-aged flaxen-haired woman in mangy clothes came running towards her.

“What happened to you?” the woman, who had a large, visible scar on her forehead, asked once more with a face shrouded in worry.

However, the latter couldn’t reply; all she did was cry and quiver.

“Please, tell me, my child. What happened?” the woman stooped to the latter’s level to entreat doughtily.

“Mum,” Bellatrix's voice was so faint, it was barely a whisper.

The woman brought her closer and hugged her, “I’m here, darling. What’s bothering you?”

“N-nothing,” Bellatrix replied and her mom stopped hugging her, looking befuddled.

“Nothing, you say?! Then why are you crying?”

“I got b-bullied by s-someone, Mum,” Bellatrix responded slowly.

At that her mother sighed, “It’s okay, my dear. Don’t let that break you,” she consoled, trying hard not to cry too in front of her daughter.

Two months had elapsed since their former pack, Star Light Pack, was suddenly razed to the ground in one night. Their Alpha and Luna were killed along with thousands more.

The few of them who survived that attack were then taken captive to the enemy pack. They were first imprisoned for weeks in tiny, damp and squalid cells, with tiny portions of food fed to them once a week. Out of 70 captives, only 19 survived and were then turned to slaves whose position was even lower than the enemy pack’s Omegas.

No day passed without being bullied. Remembering all these, Bellatrix’s mum ultimately teared up and even after wiping a stray tear, more followed and she gave up.

“It’s okay, Bellatrix. Don’t cry,” her mom said with a trembling voice as she stroked her daughter’s hair. “I believe this won’t be our permanent condition. So cheer up, okay?”

Bellatrix sniffled as her mom wiped her tears, “Yes, mom.” She nodded and allowed her mom to get her back on her feet.

Slowly, they made their way into the dilapidated building, with her mom trying to cheer her up by telling a joke.

~~~***~~~

“What?!” The Beta’s daughter, Helene Woods abruptly stood up from the pricey wooden chair. She was in a state of great fury, immediately crumbling the mug in her hand to bits.

The Omega maid before her quickly knelt, bowing her head, “Ease your anger, Mistress,” she entreated in a soft tone.

“Shut up! What do you know?!” Helene spat, throwing the fragments of what used to be a mug at the maid who didn’t even bother to dodge. That would just turn her to a punching bag.

Helene shook her head, “No, I can’t let this go on. I’m the worthy one; I’m of noble blood. I deserve to be his Luna, not that piece of trash from who knows where.”

“You’re right, Mistress,” the maid supported.

“I have a suggestion, if you’ll allow me,” the maid added, a trace of fear on her face.

Helene exhaled heavily and went back to her seated state, using the hanky to wipe her uninjured hand. “Spit it out, Carrissa,” she ordered. “It better be something feasible, or else, I’ll feed you to my pet dog,”

“Yes, Mistress,” Carrissa nodded, “I heard the Alpha warn her not to tell anyone else that she was his mate or else, calamity will befall her. As far as I know, that slave is called Bellatrix, and she has an ugly mother called Vivian. If we can spread rumours to a talkative maid, we don’t need to do anything else and the position of Luna will be secured for you,”

Helene nodded in approval, “Not bad. Go and do it at once. Moreover, make certain that the mother and daughter duo endure ample bullying before their day of demise,”

“Noted, mistress,” with that, Carrissa rose to her feet, bowed once more to her mistress and turned to leave.

Helene harrumphed, “The Alpha is mine and mine alone. I will get rid of every obstacle in my way!"