Reyna
Three months would be ample time to get over someone who rejected you. Yet as I lay in my bed, staring up at the dusty ceiling, I can hear him in my step-sister’s bedroom above and it doesn’t hurt any less.
“Oh, my love, this ring is so beautiful!” Abby’s shrill voice grates my ears and I roll my eyes. “Our wedding will be a grand affair. Aren’t you happy you chose me and rejected my half-breed sister?”
I know this is all theatrical and showy just to hurt me, and to be honest, it has become quite pathetic.
“I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else as my beautiful bride,” Aiden says, and I wipe the tears that start to well up in my eyes. “You are the perfect Luna.”
I should have expected this when I discovered our bond. No one wants a wolf-less shifter as their mate, and perhaps even more than that, no one wants the illegitimate daughter of an Alpha as their mate. Especially not the son of a Highborn, who would much rather mate with the true daughter of an Alpha.
“Fuck them, they deserve one another,” I grumble as I pull my blanket over my head. “I don’t need him or this family. They can all go to Hell.”
Snuggling deep into my blanket and shutting my eyes, I breathe out a sigh and try not to listen to them in the room above. It’s damn cold in this cellar. But my father, who is a weak-willed man when it comes to his wife, refuses to even give me a room in the large pack house due to my stepmother’s wishes.
The manor is already cold as it is, but in my twenty-one years of being on this Goddess-forsaken Earth, I have never felt the warmth of the summer sun as it streams through my bedroom window.
Ha, what bedroom? This is a blasted wine cellar. It’s a wonder I haven’t fallen dangerously ill and died. Goddess knows it would have been easier for me that way.
“To hell with the lot of them,” I say yet again, fighting the tears as it springs to my eyes and breathing out a shaky breath.
You would think, given the circumstances of my birth, that I’d be quiet and submissive, right? Well, sometimes I wish I were. Being quiet would have gotten me out of a lot of bad situations, but I guess my birth mother must have been a real loudmouth.
I don’t shut up and because I don’t have my wolf yet, I’m not as strong as my sisters or parents when they decide to force me to be subservient. But being physically weak has never stopped me before.
I love the person I have become and I may not have my wolf yet, but I can feel her laying dormant. Besides, would I have found a mate if I didn’t have a wolf spirit?
Never have I willingly bent the knee to anyone, and trust me, I am not going to anytime soon.
Sighing, I close my eyes because tomorrow will be a busy day for the Omega maids, and yes, I am part of them. My father couldn’t bear the shame of disowning his illegitimate daughter, so he kept me because of that.
So, to earn my place in this pack, I am to be a cleaner and slave. Oh, I don’t hate it at all, do not pity me! Because not only does it keep me away from my stepsisters and their witch of a mother, but I get paid for it.
And I’ve been saving up to fund my escape.
It’s the only reason I get up and put the drive behind my daily tasks, because I am that much closer to reaching my goal. After the Hallowed Bond Ball in three days' time, I’ll be able to leave this place behind. It’s not like I’m officially in the pack because there’s no mind-link connection between me and them.
So, with that in mind, I breathe out a strained sigh and close my eyes while wishing for sleep to take me.
*
There’s a heaviness on my chest as I am roused from my sleep, and I’m about to yawn when a hand gets placed over my mouth. My eyes shoot open and I push at the weight on top of me, only to stare directly into the eyes of my assailant.
The scent of his lust feels acrid in the back of my throat, and the more I try to move, the more he holds me down.
Aiden, the mate who rejected me for my step-sister. His handsome face looms over me as his blonde hair falls into his eyes.
“Shh, it’s okay,” he says with a grin on his face and cocks his head to the side. “No one will know I’m here with you.
My protests are muffled as he shakes his head and covers my mouth more. “Be a good little girl for me, Reyna. I know you still want to,” he says and leans toward my ear. “Let’s do it like we used to. What do you say?”
A sliver of pain stabs at my heart as I recall our times sneaking around together. He may not have marked me, but he took that part of me only reserved for your mate—then he stepped on my heart.
I can still smell Abby’s desire on him, and it angers me even more that he would think I’d gladly be the one on the side just because I once loved him. He shattered my heart, there is no way I will let him back in.
With a plan in mind, I close my eyes and breathe through my nose, knowing there would be no other way to get him off of me. So I nod, and a sick feeling coils in my stomach when I see his serpentine grin.
He slowly removes his hand from my mouth and kisses my neck, while I lay there feeling nauseous. But as soon as I feel him slacken and not hold me down, I raise my knee towards his groin with a grunt and he cries out.
I leap from my bed and he crouches on the floor, his hands between his legs.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, you bastard? Get out of my room right now!” I cry out with my fists clenched on either side of me. But as soon as those words leave my mouth, I immediately regret it.
Aiden grins as he gets to his feet and walks towards me. Then he slaps me so hard that my eyesight blurs and I stumble to the floor. Footsteps echo through the manor and for once I wish I’d stay quiet. I cannot afford a beating right now; I need to be strong enough physically to escape!
My bedroom door slams open and I don’t even have to look up to see who it is.
“What is going on here?!” Abby shrieks and when I look up, I see Aiden has slashed his cheek and is shaking his head. “Oh, my love, what has she done?”
He scoffs as she cups his cheek, wiping away the blood. “This harlot attempted to seduce me yet again—”
“You filthy liar, I did no such thing!” I exclaim, but Abby swiftly turns around and stalks towards me.
Her green eyes blazing with fury, she growls and kicks me in my stomach twice and stomps on my arm. I cry out as I feel the bones fracture, but it only serves to make her laugh.
Did I forget to mention that because I have no wolf, my healing is slower than most shifters? Yeah, this is not good for me at all.
“I will see to it that my father has you whipped—”
“Now, now, darling. Let us forget this happened and go about our business,” Aiden says as he wraps his arms around her and holds her close. “I merely came in here to tell her I would never love a mangy stray like her, but then she attacked me. I am sure my message has been received. Let’s leave this room before we catch something.”
I swallow my pride as I lay curled up, deciding for once to not bite back. I cannot afford another injury now when my escape is so close.
Abby huffs out and nods, and I watch them both leave without giving me a backward glance.
Sitting up, I cradle my broken arm and fight back the tears threatening to cloud my vision. There’s only so much I can take…the Hallowed Bond ball has to be life-changing for me, or I will forever be stuck in this cycle of abuse.
ReynaI walk into the kitchen of the maid’s quarters and as soon as my best friend Lily-Ann sees me; her smile drops. She saunters over to me, her blonde hair flying behind her as she rushes to get to me.“Oh, Goddess!” she cries out when she sees my bruised face. “What have they done now?”I shake my head. “Don’t worry, I can still work and will be healed by the time we open the doors to the Bloodmoon Hall. Do you need me to braid your hair so we can start?”Lily-Ann looks at me with a mixture of pity and sadness, and I could just die right there and then. She’s an Omega orphan and a maid just like me, but we’ve been friends since we were ten years old.She knows about my plans to leave and wants to go along with me, but to be honest I would much rather do this alone. Her life isn’t filled with pain like mine is and she has her wolf and mate already.I can’t let her throw all that away for me.She wraps her arms around me and I suck in a breath since my ribs are bruised from Abby’s k
Reyna It’s a beautiful evening on the night of the ball and we’re dressed in crimson gowns to indicate we’re servers and helpers for the evening. Headmistress Neave had my father make these specifically for us for this special occasion, and to be honest, they’re absolutely gorgeous. Our hair has been curled and pinned up; nothing like this has been done before when it comes to the different functions my father has at the manor. He must really be trying to impress these Alphas, and understandably so. The scent of roses floats on the breeze, coupled with the delicious foods being prepared in the kitchens. For the first time in a long time, I wished I were on the other side of the festivities. I look around the familiar hall and breathe out a sigh. The hall is vast, with soaring ceilings adorned with intricate, handcrafted chandeliers that bathe the room in a soft, golden glow. Draped from the ceilings are the banners depicting the pack emblems of the Four Kingdoms of Aether. A grand
Reyna I stumble backward as three pairs of blue eyes look at me as if I’m their last meal. The crowd moves out of the way, but then Alpha Malachi turns to face the other two with a frown etched on his face. “Pardon my fucking language, but did I just hear you both recognize my mate as yours?” he growls, and I see his claws start to extend. “Correct me if I am wrong, please, gentlemen.” Alpha Rune drops his hood and glares at him. “There’s no need for violence, Malachi,” he says, and the latter scoffs. “Violence!” Alpha Malachi chuckles. “I am prepared to go back to war to have her as mine alone—” “Such a brute. No wonder your father died at my hand,” Alpha Cassian says and crosses his arms. “It is obvious what has happened, and if you don’t put those kitten claws away, I will break them.” Alpha Malachi growls and I take a step back…then another… until I’m running out of the hall as fast as my legs can take me. There is no way I’m going to stay in the middle of this! The Moon Godd
Reyna I turn around to face the Alpha behind me and see him leaning with his shoulder against the stable door. His Alpha blue eyes regard me curiously, and I detect no anger or annoyance in his scent. “Alpha Rune,” I whisper his name, and a faint smile appears on his face, astounding me. This Alpha is actually quite… gorgeous. Despite the, broody, mysterious air around him, he has an attractive young and chiselled face with the sweetest smile I have ever seen. “Hello again, darling. Where are you off to in such a rush?” he asks as he cocks his head to the side. My stomach clenches at the curious smile on his face, and I feel like I’ve been caught doing something I shouldn’t be doing. Well… I take a step back from him and swallow hard, only for him to push off from the doorway and walk toward me. That broodiness quickly shifts into something more dangerous, and my heart feels like it’s trapped in a vise. “I…uh…” “You can be lucky I’m the only one out of the three of us who can
I am roused from my sleep by the sound of hushed voices and I’m about to tell them to sod off when I hear my name.“...Yes, I am well aware of that. I know we’ve had our differences and we all hate each other, but I think this is more important than that. I caught her trying to run away last night. We all terrified her.”I sit up quickly in my bed, only to realise that I’m not even in my bed. Before I could even wonder where the heck I am, everything comes flooding back to me and the sweet bakery scents hit me right in the gut. Oh, Goddess gracious, I have three mates and they’re literal enemies!My heart is beating so fast that I think I might just pass out from lightheadedness. Placing a hand on my chest, I try to calm myself down by leveling out my breathing. However, before I can even get my heart to settle down, the carriage door swings open.I know for a fact that I am not a light sleeper; that when I sleep, it shows on my face. Right now I can feel my hair standing up wildly a
ReynaI roamed through a foggy forest that appeared to stretch on for miles. The trees are veiled in mist, which made it difficult to see and created an eerie stillness. Am I dreaming right now? That seems to be the logical explanation, seeing as I seem to be alone here.My heart leaps into my throat when I see a huge, shadowy figure appear in the distance, its form indistinct. I squint to try and make out what I am seeing, but my mind cannot comprehend what this creature could be.Black fog in a misshapen shape. However, it was the eyes that grabbed my attention - two captivating orbs of purple that shone like jewels in the darkness. An inexplicable urge pulled me forward as if the creature beckoned me to follow.Step by step, I ventured deeper into the fog, my heart racing with both trepidation and curiosity. Each footfall sent echoes through the silent forest, heightening my awareness of the unknown lurking in the shadows.As I trailed behind the creature, a sense of familiarity w
ReynaAlpha Malachi holds his head proudly as we enter the dining room and of course, every head turns to face us. Gods, I’m sure the rumours about last night have spread heavily across the city. The Alpha’s illegitimate daughter is the supposed mate of the Alpha Kings.I swallow hard when we arrive at a private table and Alpha Malachi pulls a chair out for me. “Alpha Malachi, if I may—”“You don’t need to address me so formally, Reyna dear. My first name is fine,” he says, leaning his face close to mine. “I am sure Cassian will say the same thing since you using our titles feels so…wrong.”“For the first time in your entire existence you’re correct about me, Malachi,” Cassian says as she sits down in the chair next to me. “Just my name without the title, little mate.”I shake my head and scoff. “Weren’t you two just at each other’s throats last night? What happened in the time I fainted?”Malachi chuckles lightly. “A near-death encounter which could have been prevented if Cassian an
CassianWe’re seated in Alaric’s meeting chamber, watching as he and his Beta fall over themselves in a bid to explain how they had nothing to do with the attack this morning.I’m well aware that he had nothing to do with it, I just want to see him sweat a little.“This can be seen as a signal of war. To attack when all three of us are here in a neutral country? Why aren’t there more patrols out during the day? Do you want more bloodshed on your hands, Alaric?” Rune asks. He’s standing with his hands braced on the table in front of him, anger radiating from his scent. The last time I saw Rune this angry was when his uncle turned traitor and I informed him about it. It was the beginning of our truce, the seeds planted to end a war our grandparents started. A war none of us wanted.“I understand the implications, but please Alphas, rest assured we will find whoever did this!” he declares, and I lean back bracing my chin on my fingers. “We will—”“And?” I ask, watching as confusion inch