"That's her,that's the omega.." Someone whispered.
"The one who manipulated the Alpha with her Pheromones and seduced him." Another voice snickered.
Ilara could hear the venom in their voices but she didn't care.
"Move faster!" One of the guards barked, pushing her forward. She almost tripped but steadied herself.
The Alpha's men had just returned from war. For six years,she had been assisting the Alpha's men in every war. Defeating enemies with her Pheromones no matter the blows and casualties she took from the wars.
She had helped Alpha Caesar conquer a total of 25 territories and packs which were now all under his rule,The almighty Alpha of the Midnight pack.
They said omegas were supposed to be weak and useless. But in Ilara's case,it was a different thing entirely.
Ilara was born to a family of omegas. Her father and mother were both Omegas but she wasn't born a normal omega. What she was born with was often seen as a curse but only she knew the real strength behind it. She was born with the ability to manipulate minds with her Pheromones which were toxic to lower ranking wolves. It could affect Alphas too but in an entirely different way.
Six years,that was how long she had been bound to serve as a slave to the cruel Alpha king Caesar. Six years,that was how long she had endured the hollowness in my heart after he took her son away from her,six years,that was how long she had been a servant to his fiancée Gaia,the daughter of the Alpha of her former pack because Gaia's father still had her mother held captive back at the Blood moon Pack's labour camp.
She had endured six long years of hate and the desire for revenge on all of them. She had endured six years of wanting to see what the child they took away from her looked like. Six years of a mother's longing and ache.
Caesar may not admit it more than he liked to but her Scent affected him more than most wolves because the Almighty Alpha king was her mate. The mate who had rejected her because she was a cursed Omega and he hated her with all his heart because,all these years he thought Ilara had seduced him that night.
She shouldn't have saved his life that night with her blood. She shouldn't have, because it's the one mistake that had ended up taking everything away from her.
The chains around her ankles and wrists burned,the collar around her neck kept digging into her skin but she remained expressionless. She had refused to cower in front of them for all these years and it wouldn't start now.
"Welcome home Omega." Gaia said,her tone subtle with mockery.
She stood proudly beside the Alpha like the mean,evil,spoiled bitch she was.
Ilara kept her face emotionless and her mind blank.
"You're not so useless after all." Gaia added with a scoff.
Alpha Caesar didn't speak, he just stood there with his hands in his pockets,his face unreadable, his eyes filled with disgust as usual.
"Alpha.." Ilara called boldly. She didn't care if he was simmering beneath that calm.
"I've kept my end of the deal, now I need to know where my son is." she said.
Alpha Caesar tilted his head slightly,that cruel and unreasonable smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he descended the marble steps.
His boots echoed through the silent hall. "I don't remember having a deal with you omega."
Ilara's heart skipped a beat,but she stood her ground refusing to back down. "We had a deal." she whispered,hating the tremor in her voice. "You said if I helped you defeat the enemy with my Pheromones.. you'd tell me where my son is."
His eyes flickered with something cold and dark. "And why," he murmured, stepping closer, "would I bring that bastard back to my pack? He's a stain on the Midnight lineage. A curse…just like his mother."
Ilara felt tears sting the corner of her eyes but she didn't lower her gaze. "I hate you." she breathed, trembling as the words left her lips before she could stop herself "You're a monster Caesar. One day,you're going to pay for everything you've done to me."
The air in the hall turned suffocating. His jaw clenched as he stared at her…then his hand suddenly shot out gripping her throat.
"You dare speak to me that way?" He growled,lifting her slightly off the ground. "You think your filthy venomous scent gives you power here?"
She struggled to breathe,clawing at his wrist. "Let..go," she choked, glaring into his eyes with burning hate.
Then it happened out of nowhere. The Alpha's storm-gray eyes flashed faint gold,his nostrils flaring slightly. His body tensed as he quickly let go of her like she had burned him. He stepped back,his jaw clenched as if to regain control.
He inhaled sharply, trying to steady himself but she could see it. She could see the faint tremor in his hand. The way his Adam apple bobbed up and down. He had inhaled her scent again.
"Filthy," he muttered through his teeth,his voice now low,rough growl. "You're filthy."
A sharp and bitter laugh escaped Ilara's lips before she could stop it. "Keep telling yourself that,Alpha." she whispered mockingly
"Enough!" He barked,turning away abruptly. "Throw her back into the dungeon where she belongs."
The guards seized her by the arms but she didn't resist. She just looked at him one last time..his rigid posture,his clenched jaw and the shadow of something he'd never admit that settled behind his eyes.
Ilara caught Gaia's smirk at the corner of her eyes as the guards dragged her out of the hall.
Her back hit the cold stone wall as the guard threw her into the dungeon once more and the heavy door clanged shut behind them. Her body ached but the hatred in her mind burned sharper than ever now.
She curled her knees to her chest, breathing in the dungeon's damp air. "I'll find him," she thought. "No matter what it takes,I'll find my son."
Footsteps echoed outside and two guards appeared at the entrance with a kind of arrogance and smirks that told her they were thinking of doing something filthy again.
"Orders didn't say we couldn't have a little fun with her," one of them muttered, stepping inside.
She didn't move,she just sat there with her head against the wall and watched them approach her slowly and deliberately. Her pulse quicked but she still didn't move.
"Stay where you are," the second warned as if she was the threat.
When his hand reached for her,she didn't even have time to think. Her Pheromones slipped free before she could stop it…just a breath of her Pheromones and the air changed instantly.
Two of them froze mid-step, their eyes dilating and their bodies trembling. One fell to his knees,gasping and the other stumbled back, clutching his chest. Her scent was deadly when I felt provoked but this time around it was because she was in severe heat and her control was slipping.
She closed my eyes, trying to control it,to stop it but the memory of Caesar's hand on her throat and his cruel words back in the hall,only fed it and made it worse.
"Stop this," a voice thundered suddenly.
She opened her eyes and looked up to find Caesar standing in the dungeon's doorway, his expression unreadable,his shadow blotting out the flickering torchlight.
"Enough,Ilara," he growled. "Stop!"
But she couldn't stop. The air was now thick with her scent,her Pheromones licking with everything she'd been forced to suppress and endure for six long years.
He moved fast, grabbing her by the shoulders. "I said stop!"
And before she could breathe and push him away,he grabbed the back of her head and kissed her deeply.
The world stilled around her and the guards collapsed unconscious. The air went still and heavy with her scent. Her mind spun,her body froze between the fury of pushing him away and the heat burning through my veins.
His grip tightened on her shoulder,his scent mixing with hers.
And just like that..the Alpha who had called her filthy and had hated her more than anything for six years…was kissing her.