chapter 1
Lillian's POV
"Pathetic," I muttered to myself as I picked up a dirty plate from the table and carefully put it in the sink, which was next to it.
Brenda and her silly friend Sylvia were at it again, gossiping about our Alpha.
It was tiring to hear them, yet I still couldn't stop myself from listening to their conversation.
"How on earth does he still look like he is in his twenties?" Brenda asked in a whisper.
"I know, right! Gosh, he doesn't age at all! He's in his late thirties, yet he still looks like a hunky teenager. Is that what it means to be an Alpha?" Sylvia answered as I rolled my eyes in annoyance.
Luckily, they couldn't see me because I had my back towards them, but that didn't mean I liked how they were talking about him.
And who was dumb enough to think that our Alpha wasn't aging because of his rank? It was clear that it was because of what we were!
Werewolves were different from humans in most ways. Not only did we age slowly, we had heightened abilities and impressive strength. We could heal in just a few seconds unless the wound was too deep; then it took some minutes.
But despite that, there were a few things that were a hazard and deadly to us, such as a vampire's bite. It brought about pain, and if not treated in time, one could lose their lives.
Red Otis, it was a rare flower that was hardly found because it only grew in hidden places and blossomed after fifty to a hundred years.
It was deadly in that a single dose killed any supernatural being or human. Then there was wolfsbane; it was made in both liquid and powdered form.
A simple dose made one's immune system weak for some hours, but that was it. It only became serious when it was overdosed. Silver usually burnt our skin but not to the point of inflicting wounds; it only made the skin itch, ache, and bruise.
We also had super speed and hearing, among other things. Although we lived in packs, some took it upon themselves to go rogue either due to being mateless, rejected, or banished.
The ranks that oversaw everything were the ones that were respected the most.
It was of no surprise that the Alpha was the topic spoken about every day by the she-wolves of our pack. After all, he was the Alpha male and the highest of rank. A born leader who ruled over us all, despite being a total cold bastard, no one paid attention to his wrongdoing.
His beta, the second in command (his right hand), was talked about too, sadly it wasn't as often as the Alpha. He too had an attitude which he rarely showed, but I saw past the innocent kind mask because underneath all that was the devil himself. He was worse than our Alpha.
Our Gamma, the third in command, was mischievous, and he was comfortable enough to show everyone that side. That's why the warriors too began taking after him.
The only one who was genuine, even though he spoke less, was our Delta,the fourth in command. Although he usually kept away from most things, that didn't mean he could interfere in anything.
Most times he would watch me or any other weak she-wolf being harassed yet do nothing. I found it odd, yet to me, he was better than the rest.
"Hey, bitch, why have your hands stopped moving?" Brenda asked loudly, pulling me out of my deep thoughts.
"I'm sorry," I whispered in a respectful, husky tone and began cleaning the plates.
My throat was still hurting from the pleading I did a while ago, and my hand had a deep cut that was now slowly healing.
My lip was slightly burst, and my scalp was still burning.
"Food," my wolf growled.
She was always speaking like a child. She wouldn't keep a conversation running, and she rarely spoke.
We were both starving because we had been ordered not to eat for three days. Sadly, we still couldn't go against the Alpha's orders and eat.
"We can't," I whispered silently.
Those two were there to watch me finish the chores flawlessly. If I did something like eat or steal anything secretly, it was going to end badly for me.
"Where is she?" The deep, demanding voice I knew all too well echoed outside the kitchen room.
"I asked a fucking question, where is that weak bitch!" He exclaimed, and this time I tensed in fear as my heart picked up.
I knew he had walked into the kitchen by his intoxicating scent, yet I chose to play dumb.
When the sound of his footsteps began approaching me, I felt so terrified, and my wolf began to whimper.
Before I could turn to look at his face, I was grabbed by the hair and yanked backward as I quickly moved my hands to grab his hand, which was inflicting pain on my scalp.
"You dumb bitch, what did you say to her!" He spat as his grip tightened, making me scream in pain.
Although the tingles that spread throughout my body were easing most of my pain, I couldn't believe how much my own mate, the Alpha,Chose to hurt me every day. If not for his mistress, then it was because he couldn't stand seeing me.
"Alpha, you are hurting me," I screamed in a pleading loud tone as my eyes became filled with tears.
My wolf was loudly whimpering, yet she couldn't stand or go against our mate.
"I come back after a long drive, and the first thing I hear is your disgusting name from my lover. Do you know how upset that makes me?" He asked and then let go of my hair and grabbed my hand that was healing, dragging me out of the room, ignoring my sobs.
"I did nothing wrong, please," I whispered over and over again while I tried my best to keep up with his movements. He went upstairs to his room, kicked the door open, then pushed me forward. I fell on the ground and groaned in pain.
"Now tell me, Leah, what did she say that made you so sad?" He asked.
She sat upright on the bed, making sure the sheet which was around her was no longer covering her body.She was happily showing off the hickeys that were all over her naked body.
Even without her doing that, it was obvious that he was from having sex with her; I could smell her on him when he had walked into the kitchen.
I was disgusted, but my fear overshadowed that.
Ever since I knew that the Alpha was my mate, he wasted no time to laugh in my face and tell me how he never wanted me. It wasn't a direct rejection, but I understood his words clearly.
Not only was I a cursed Omega who caused the death of the two most respected Gammas of our pack, I was of no value to anyone.
If not for my mother having a complicated birth, my father wouldn't have gone out of the pack in search of a great healer for help. He wouldn't have been attacked by rogues, and he would have still been alive.
When the news of my father reached my mother, her situation got worse, and due to losing too much blood, she perished, and I was born.Since then, every pack member has hated me; they all wished I was the one who should have died at that time, not my parents.
Despite being raised in the pups' orphanage by the elderly omegas, I was the most mistreated.
I ate less and worked so hard. I did chores that were meant for others without complaining. Every time I did complain, I was badly punished both by the other kids and the elderly omegas. Pain became a part of me, and day by day, all that I wished for was to survive.
I wanted to live, not only for myself but for my mate who would accept and cherish me. Despite being harassed, and a few times being attacked by the warriors who attempted to rape me, I survived it all.
Then I turned eighteen and discovered the Alpha who everyone thought was mateless was my mate.
Two things dawned on me: first, he knew who I was to him because he was older than me and watched as I got mistreated.
Secondly, he hated me and wanted nothing to do with me. There and then, my heart and purpose were broken.
The will to live was still there, but I had nowhere to go and no one to love me. The only one who would lend a shoulder for me to cry on secretly was Flora, one of the elderly Omegas who usually avoided everyone and kept to herself.
My wolf, too, was weak, and she couldn't stand her ground because of her rank. We had to watch as the Alpha took on a lover who he openly praised and had sex with in his room every day.
Whenever I showed signs of being hurt or tried to plead with him not to hurt me, he ended up hitting me or making me regret ever speaking up.
"I heard her say how she had hoped you would still make her Luna," Leah spoke up as I widened my eyes in disbelief.
Why? Why was she always this hard on me? She already won because she had him in her grasp, yet she usually lied to only have him hit me in front of her. Was it because she thought I would ever be accepted by him?
She was of Delta blood, so why would she even pay attention to my Omega blood?
"Is that so?" My mate asked in a cold, husky voice.
"No, I didn't," I said in a low tone as I shook my head.
When he moved and grabbed my hair, roughly forcing me to get on my feet and look at him, I knew then and there he was going to kill me.