LYRA
My heart jumps into my mouth as I step into the grand, opulent ballroom. It's filled with Alphas and high-ranking Lords from different packs and their cohorts. The hall is alive with conversation and boisterous laughter from powerful men. The rest of the pack are outside the hall, in the arena, waiting for the ritual to begin, but inside, this is the real ceremony, the one of power, of alliances, and pride.
I take a deep breath and walk into the ballroom, just like the other omega girls who are serving drinks. I make sure to keep my eyes down, not wanting to meet the gaze of anyone who would recognize who I am. But even if I wanted to forget what I am or who my family is, the pack would never allow it.
I move slowly between tables, balancing a tray lined with goblets. A hand reaches out and grabs my butt as I lean to set down a goblet. I flinch, but I don't stop.
"Look at this one, gentlemen," one of the guest Alphas says, his voice heavy with too much wine and too little decency. "Is this not Thorne's sister? Did not her brother try to murder us Alphas by giving us all out to Kronos?"
"Come here, girl," another growls, his lip curling. "I thought they locked you up or sold you to the brothels. Still parading you about like a serving wench, eh?"
The wolves at the table snicker. One of them, probably no older than the triplets, leans close, his hand sliding up the back of my thigh. He pinches, hard, just where the fabric grows tight.
"It's such a shame that such a beauty comes from traitorous blood."
I blink and do nothing, because if I do something, it will be worse. The triplets taught me that lesson too well.
I see them at the head table, perfectly arranged, as if someone ordered their features from a catalog of nightmares and then made them flesh. Alpha Kade sits in the middle, every line of his face a ruler's edge, his eyes are colder than iron and twice as unforgiving. His hand rests on the hilt of the ceremonial dagger beside his plate like he is itching for someone to earn it.
Alpha Knox sprawls to his left, his mouth always curled in the shadow of a sneer. He leans back, his arms crossed, like a wolf bored of the hunt. He scowls at everything and watches the hall like a beast caged too long, just waiting for someone to make a mistake.
Alpha Kalem, the third, keeps his eyes down, swirling his wine, but every so often, I catch his gaze looking up; and when he does, it feels like he is reading sins off my skin. He doesn't drink his wine. He studies it, like he is imagining how it was made, who crushed the grapes or who bled for it.
They all watch me. They don't join the jest. They don't laugh or even smirk. But they do not interfere either. My eyes drifts to Seraphina, who is sitting beside Alpha Knox like a jeweled blade. She is his self-acclaimed mistress. When she sees me watching, her eyes burn with something cruel, and I drop my gaze fast and move on.
By the time I'm done serving the first tray, one of the Alphas beckons on me. I walk over to him, using the tray as a shield as I move.
"Thorne's little bïtch, right?" he drawls.
I nod, trying to keep my face blank.
He grins, all teeth and arrogance. "On your knees. I need you to pleasure me with your mouth," he says casually, like he is asking for more bread. His hand reaches for the nearest goblet without ever breaking eye contact.
The other Alphas chuckle. My entire body trembles with dread, and I open my mouth, but no words come out. I have not done it before, and any mistake I make, these men are going to punish me severely for it. I simply obey and lower to my knees, and the room falls silent.
I glance up, almost against my will. The triplet still watches. Alpha Kade's face is carved from stone. His face is always unreadable, and he watches with detachment. Alpha Knox's jaw twitches, but he doesn't move. Alpha Kalem watches the Alpha like he is dissecting him with his eyes.
"What are you waiting for?" the Alpha barks.
The room is deathly quiet now. Every noble, every lord, every mutt, every mistress. All of them waiting to see me grovel. I take a deep breath and reach for his belt.
"Uh, uh," he clicks his tongue, shaking his head. That cruel smirk returns. "Your teeth, girl. Use your teeth to unbuckle me, Thorne."
The room erupts in laughter and falls silent again as they wait patiently for my disgrace. I nod and move close, lowering my face to the Alpha's belt, eyes closed.
"That's enough, Igla!" someone snaps, stopping my movement.
My eyes snap open and I see that it is Alpha Kade who has spoken. His face is still carved in stone, but every eye is on him now.
"Alpha Kade," Alpha Igla grunts. "Why spoil the merriment?"
"The Moon Rising is around the corner," Alpha Knox puts in, his eyes fixed on Alpha Igla. "We can't be here frolicking while the rest of the pack waits beneath the sky."
Murmurs rise in the air as a few Alphas grumble, others chuckle, feeling disappointed.
"What do you care about a slave?" Alpha Igla huffs, annoyed that his show was stopped.
"She is not of age yet," Alpha Kade says, rising from his chair. "She is awakening tonight. By our law, no underage she-wolf should undergo any kind of mating or rutting until their awakening. We alphas are not exempted from that law. We can wait for The Hollowing tomorrow and you all can have a fill of her."
My heart drops at the mention of that. The Hollowing is a chilling term used by Alphas to describe the public breaking of a captor's spirit, body, and bloodline history. Packs believe hollowing someone purges their inherited sin and restore honor to wolves whose bloodlines once suffered humiliation or betrayal. Each affected bloodline will publicly use and mark the captor however they want. Most wolves don't survive this, especially she-wolves. It's horrifying.
I hear the resigned but unhappy sighs from the other Alphas as their entertainment is cut short. Everyone wants to see me hurt. They all want to see me broken.
Alpha Igla scowls down at me like I've ruined his feast. "Get out of my sight," he spits.
I scramble to my feet and starts to hurry out of the ballroom as the ceremony resumes as if I was never there. But a figure blocks my path. I look up to see Seraphina. Her auburn curls catch the candlelight, making her look like a goddess of fire.
"Well, if it isn't Blackwood's favorite floor mop," she says, her smile wide enough to show the tips of her canines.
I keep my eyes down. "Can I help you, Lady Gareth?" It almost comes out as a bite.
She laughs. "Goddess, you do have manners. You hear that, Maggie?" She turns to where Maggie waits in the doorway, stone-faced, pretending not to listen.
Maggie shrugs. "She tries, my Lady."
"How sweet." Seraphina leans closer. "You must have pissed the triplets off that all they do is watch your every move. Knox is in a foul mood. You know what that means for all of us, don't you?"
I don't answer. She isn't here for answers.
"Run to the stables for me," she says. "I left my shawl there; azure velvet, you can't miss it. If you hurry, you might get back before the moon rises."
It's not a request. It's an order. This is her way of showing her dominance, a reminder that even in this hall of powerful men, she still has the power to send me scurrying into the night like a frightened mouse.
I bite back the furious, defiant words that rise in my throat and bow. "As you wish, my Lady." I set my tray down beside the wine table and walk out through the servants' exit into the cold.
I get to the lonely stables alone. Every other person is at the arena, raveling and waiting for the full moon. I search the stables, but there is no shawl, of course. There was never a shawl. But there is Jarek, and two others from the lower gamma. Stable guards. They have been drinking, judging by the flush in their cheeks and the way they laugh too loudly at nothing.
I stand up fast, backing into the corner between two stalls. My heart hammers in my chest frantically. Jarek has been trying for the longest time to fûck me, but I have always avoided him and the stables altogether. Even when I'm sent here, I make sure it's when others are here.
"I told you she would come," Jarek says, his eyes glittering. "They always do what Seraphina says. Like a good little mutt." His smile widens as he comes closer. "You know, some of us bet you wouldn't even show. But here you are. Obedient as ever."
My heart sinks low into my abdomen. Did Seraphina send me here alone, knowing Jarek is waiting for me? Why on the night of my awakening? There is only one answer, and it is not pleasant.