10 years ago.
The day Leah turned eight, she ran out of the house, screaming with joy. She was ecstatic and full of expectations because, for a female alpha shifter, this was the day when her beast awakened.
Tracy, an elder wolf shifter, whooped along with her as she caught her in her arms and smiled at Little Leah.
Leah was eight, but she still threw herself into Tracy's arms, crying and laughing and babbling about the powers that were about to fester.
"You are a powerful beast, young lady," said Tracy as she brought her to the dressing table and sat her down on the plush couch. She picked up a comb and started to brush her hair as she said to Tracy, "Tonight, you will awaken as the strongest wolf shifter of the pack."
Leah let out a tinkle of laughter, feeling giddy at the prospect alone. Her stepfather had taken her in after her mother had died, though he had remarried; he treated her considerably well for a stepdaughter. Looking at the princess's room around her was enough to know that.
"There." Tracy pecked her on the cheek as she pulled away from Leah. "We are all done."
Leah jumped off the stool after getting ready in a pastel pink princess dress that was both floaty and flowy and spun on her feet before running out of the room. "I am going now, Tracy—"
Those words had hardly left her mouth when the sounds of screams and roars filled her ears. Startled, Leah turned to look behind her and saw a raging fire burning not far from where her mansion was.
"What—"
"Traitor! Someone has betrayed our pack!" Tracy cursed out loud as she reached out and caught Leah in her arms before running out of the mansion. Behind them, they could still hear the yells and the shouts that echoed behind them and that terrified Leah.
"What's happening, Tracy?" Leah asked, her voice filled with fear.
"Don't worry, princess. Everything will be fine." Tracy promised, but somewhere in her heart, Leah knew that nothing would be the same ever again.
**
"Tracy?" Leah called out softly. She had no idea how long she had been hiding under the small hollowed-out space under the tree. How many hours had it been? Three? Four? No one knew how many hours she had been hiding in this place. It wasn't until she heard the sound of faint footsteps that she perked up and softly called for the only woman she could trust at the moment.
THUD.
The sound of something falling on the ground sent her flying out of the hollowed space as all kinds of worries popped up in her little mind. What if Tracy were hurt? What if she were gravely injured?
However, as she arrived at the place where she heard the sound of falling, she only saw a little child—dying and frail—lying on the ground. He raised his head and looked at her, his hand reaching out to Leah, which she took heavily.
"I—I don't want to die."
That was all the boy could say before his eyes went blank and the light in them disappeared.
And that was when something in her shifted as bones started to crack and crunch.
A second later, where she should have been standing, a small furry body was standing.
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from behind, and Leah turned to look at the woman behind her.
Florin.
She called out to her stepmother, but only a purr escaped her lips.
And then —
"It's a mutt, an useless omega, Madam. What a waste."
Florin looked down at the furry little thing in front of her, and her eyes flickered as she curled one side of her lips. "Even a mutt has her own value. Bring her back with us; she will come in handy someday."
***
By the time Leah understood what had happened, her world had tipped upside down.
Florin had betrayed her stepfather, killing him, and had taken the position of the alpha female of the pack. Those who were close to her had all been executed, and their bodies were still piled up outside the small house where she had been left for hours—maybe days; who knows?
When her stepfather was alive, Leah had never been to the servants' quarters, but according to the rumours that were circulating in the pack, she was no longer the little princess of the pack anymore. Her stepfather's death had brought all sorts of changes, including that of her status as well.
Creak.
The door of the room where she had been locked up was pushed open, and Florin walked inside. She was dressed in a lavish one-piece black dress, which didn't suit the ongoing funeral.
Leah wanted to growl, snarl, or maybe even bite the woman, but at that very moment, her body froze in place. She watched her closely, even trembling as the woman walked inside.
"Come in."
A young woman around the age of eighteen walked inside; her amber eyes slowly turned to look at Leah and flickered under the lights. "What is your beast form, dear?" She asked in a soft voice.
Leah's voice was rough with the smothering sobs and silence. "I am forbidden to say."
Her eyes flicked to Florin, who was tapping her right heel as if she was getting impatient. Leah took a whiff of the air and realised the woman in front was from the phoenix clan, the ones with the most oracles born in their clans.
The woman smiled at her and then started to chant in a whisper, and Leah found herself enamoured by it as if the wind itself was speaking to her.
'Five feral ones approach
Five black hearts encroach.
It is they who will cry dark, enthralling songs that will bewitch their queen.
A panther, a dragon, a wolf, a serpent and…'
The sound of something crashing sent a tremor down Leah's spine as she turned to look at her stepmother; the woman's eyes were flashing madly as she turned to look at the phoenix. "I want the names of those men. Give me their names—"
"I cannot do that, madam. And you know that too." Her voice was cool and calm, which left Florin even more furious. She snapped her fingers, and a wolf walked in.
"Take the guest away," said Florin just as the wolf bowed his head and motioned for the phoenix to leave.
The door shut behind them, and Leah shivered anxiously. She touched her neck, where she could feel the mating marks appearing slowly. For the umpteenth time, Leah wished her mother were alive.
Florin, on the other hand, turned to look at her. "This is your home now."
Leah gaped at the peeling paint, the broken roof and the shattered glass of the windows. "Florin, I do not understand. Why are you doing this to me? To us?"
The woman didn't answer her. She simply looked at her and said in a low voice, "You will address me as Madam."
Her words burned like a brand.
Leah raised her head to look at the woman, but she was no longer the mountain of safety she had been in the past; in fact, the look in her eyes told her something opposite. "Do not look at me like that, child. This is the first and last lesson that I will teach you. Never trust someone. Never."
She then turned on her feet and said in a low voice, "From now on, keep your shields up. Maybe that way you will be able to escape the tragic fate that is waiting for you."
Her words were like a cruel blow to her gut, and Leah bowed her head, only to hide the tears of shame now falling freely. She knew that the woman was correct; she could never trust even her mates now.
Her life would never be the same again.