Chapter 1 One

Chapter 1

Lyra POV

The cold hit like a slap.

One second, I was enveloped by the darkness, my body and mind far from consciousness.

And the next… a sharp jolt of icy water crashed over me.

My eyes instantly flung wide open. My breath got caught in my throat.

I jerked up from my bed at onc, continuing to gasp for air.

Then, I heard her voice, firm and sharp. “You whore. How many times do I have to keep waking you up?!”

Madam Zoye, my step mother who absolutely despised me.

“Do I have to remind you that today is the pack’ mating ceremony?”

I whimpered. “...no Ma’am. I'm sorry, I barely got any sleep last night…”

Just then, I felt a hot slap on my cheeks. My knees buckled.

“I don't care!” her sharp voice sliced through the silence in the room.

“You better run to the kitchen and start cooking, or I'll beat you to a pulp!”

I sniffled, but managed to stumble back to my feet and dash out of my room.

My footsteps echoed softly against the floor.

Before I could reach the kitchen, the corner of my eyes began heating up.

I tried to be strong, but I couldn't hold it in.

I let the tears flow, rolling down my cheeks and dripping to the floor.

My life wasn't always this horrible for me.

I never knew my mom, and my dad refused to talk about her.

But I still found joy in a few things and lived out my childhood like any other werewolf… until my sixteenth birthday.

A few weeks before my acknowledgement ceremony, my dad, Beta Harold, decided to marry another woman, Madame Zoye.

She hated me right from the start, and I hated her too.

But in arguments, for some reason dad always took her side.

I felt alone and rejected for a while.

And as if, things couldn't get another worse for me… it did.

On my acknowledgement ceremony, I was tagged an Omega wolf.

The worse rank of any wolf. There ranks of werewolves that can't shift, wolfless, and most times end up getting rejected by their fated mates.

I became the laughing stock of the whole pack.

I became hated even by my own father, and literally everyone in the pack, most of all Madame Zoye.

“Hey bitch!” a voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

Of course it's her, Cersei Avala, the daughter of the packs Alpha, Alpha Zayne.

The most arrogant and narcissistic werewolf in the pack.

And flanking her, were her two best friends, twin daughters of Beta Harmon, Lizzy and Ellie.

“Good morning.” I said, my tone strong.

“And who gave you permission to speak…Omega?!!”

Cersei scoffed. She loved nothing more than making fun of my rank.

A sudden rage boiled up inside me, but I held it in.

I need to leave, before I say something I regret.”

I moved my legs trying to walk past them, and then, I felt a leg from nowhere.

My knees buckled and I collapsed to the floor at once.

I bowed my head, my hair falling down my shoulders, as I listened to them mocking me.

“... Make sure everything is ready for the ceremony. Because that's the closest you'll come to even attending it.”

I heard Cersei’s voice.

“An Omega would never get a mate. And even if you did, they'd reject you without a second thought.”

Her words hit like a punch to the gut.

And even as much as I hate to admit it, she wasn't lying.

It was no use for an Omega like me attending a mating ceremony.

"You don’t belong here," one of them said. Maybe Ellie or Lizzy, I couldn't tell.

Their inhuman laughter continued, getting even louder.

I clenched my jaw, my hands curling into a fist against the floor.

"You’re lucky…" The words slipped out before I could stop them… it was just a whisper, barely audible. "You were born into an Alpha."

Everything went still.

I shut my eyes hard hoping she didn't hear me.

"What did you just say?” Cersei’s voice became sharper.

She stepped closer to me.

“... Nothing.” I muttered.

The flash of rage in her eyes was instant. She lunged, her hand raised…

"That’s enough."

A voice cut through the clearing.

All of them froze.

I snapped my head to the direction of the voice.

Mrs. Yolanda. The oldest member of the pack, and most respected, even for bullies like Cersei.

She stood at the door of the kitchen, her arms folded.

“Cersei, I was told your father, the Alpha sent for you… he says it's urgent.”

She said, her eyes scanning the three of them.

Cersei didn't say anything.

And then she just hissed at me and walked away, Lizzy and Ellie followrd behind her.

Mrs. Yolanda came closer and held out a hand.

"Come on, girl," she said. "There’s strength in standing. Even more in knowing when not to fall.”

And acknowledged it, as she helped me up to my feet.

“ Thank you so much, Ma’am.” I said genuinely.

Mrs. Yolanda, was probably the only person in this pack who didn't hate me or think of me as different.

“Sorry, I'm late to the kitchen. I barely got any sleep last…”

“It's not a problem really. I understand. In fact why don't you take today off, we're almost done in the kitchen anyway.”

She said, tugging a warm smile.

“Uh.. No…”

“I insist. That's an order from your boss.” Her voice now firm.

“Okay…”

“You’ll be at the mating ceremony tonight, right? Just because you're an Omega doesn't mean you can't have a mate. ”

She encouraged.

“NO, but.. Even if I did, they'd always reject me. I'm hopeless.”

And with that, I walked away from her, my head buried to the ground almost in shame.