Amia's POV
"Did you hear? We're getting an important guest today."
An omega she-wolf squealed to her friends, all of them giggling in the kitchen.
I sighed quietly and kept my focus on the plates I was scrubbing. I knew they were watching me, making sure I finished all the chores without a slip-up. Any mistake meant punishment, and they would love nothing more.
If it wasn't this late, Geisel would've been here herself, breathing down at my neck, making sure I didn't sit or step out for even a second. She was one of the Luna's people, after all. Just like the Luna and most of the pack, Geisel enjoyed making my life—and my little sister's—a living hell.
"Hey pig, stop eavesdropping and move faster." One of the she-wolves snapped at me.
I hurried to finish the plates, and I was about to leave, when someone grabbed my wrist tightly.
My wolf growled in my mind, low and protective, but she couldn't break through. I had pushed her deep into my subconscious, locked her away for her own safety.
"Wolfless bitch," the she-wolf hissed, yanking my wrist, "you better be up early tomorrow, or Geisel will have your head."
I lowered my gaze and waited for her to let go. The second she did, I rushed out of the kitchen, heading straight for the hidden stream in the forest.
Being treated like this wasn't anything new. I had grown up with it—abuse, mockery and cold stares. I was twenty-three, and I couldn't even shift into my wolf. Most werewolves shifted by sixteen. For us, shifting meant everything—just like finding a mate did.
In our packs, ranks were everything.
The Alpha ruled over our pack. He was the one everyone worshipped like some savior. His Beta was his right hand, who usually managed his business and strategies. The Beta also kept order when the Alpha had stepped out.
Then there was the Gamma who was the third in command, he commanded the warriors, trained them, and kept the peace in the Alpha and Beta's absence. Our gamma was like the backbone of our pack, he was the one who even tried hard negotiating alliances with other packs.
Then there were the Healers, blessed by the Moon Goddess. Their magic wasn't powerful enough to bring back the dead, but they could mend wounds and cure sickness.
We also had the warriors—strong, brave, and ready to fight for the pack's safety.
But most of the pack, about ninety percent, were Nomis. They weren't special, but they weren't weak either. Regular wereolves who kept the pack running.
And then, there were Omegas. The bottom of the barrel. Fragile, weak, and despised. Even in wolf form, Omegas were small and pathetic in the eyes of the higher ranks.
The thing is—I didn't even know if I was truly an Omega. I could feel my wolf, hear her whispers, but I couldn't shift. I couldn't tell where I belonged, only that I didn't fit anywhere.
When I reached the stream, I glanced around carefully.
Back then, I used to bathe in the river near the pack house, but it was risky. I had to always be alert, making sure no one was lurking around. Warriors loved to dive into the river after training, so most she-wolves avoided it.
But when I stumbled upon this little stream hidden in the woods, it felt like I had found a secret haven.
I quickly undressed and slipped into the chilly water, a soft laugh escaping my lips as I splashed it onto my skin. For a moment, it felt like freedom.
Then, my thoughts drifted to my sister.
"Cassidy," I whispered, the name heavy on my heart.
Our family had always kept a secret. My father, the Alpha, had two she-wolves in his life—my late mother, his true mate, and his chosen Luna, who came from Gamma blood.
My mother was an omega. That alone was enough for my father to hate her. He couldn't accept that his destined mate wasn't someone powerful, someone perfect in the eyes of the pack. So, he did what cowards do—he ordered her to keep quiet, to pretend they weren't mates.
Most would think she should have rejected him, but she didn't. Not because she couldn't disobey an Alpha's command, but because she loved him. She loved him long before she even knew they were fated.
But he wasn't like her. He despised her for being an omega, for being his mate. To save face, he took another woman as his Luna—one that the pack could admire.
Still, no matter how much he tried to avoid her, he couldn't. His wolf craved her, especially when his rut came. That's how I was born—not out of love, but out of an instinct he couldn't fight.
The Luna eventually found out about my mother, and that's when the real torment began. She got pregnant herself, but it was a game to her—a way to show my mother that she had both my father's heart and body.
When my stepsister was born, the pack celebrated. She was a female Alpha, unlike me, who they called an abomination.
Cassidy came later, conceived the same way I was, and that drove the Luna over the edge. She couldn't stand the fact that my father couldn't let go of my mother, even if he hated her.
So, the Luna made a choice. She poisoned her own daughter, framed my mother, and smiled as the pack turned on her.
My mother begged my father, pleaded with him, but he wouldn't even look at her. He believed the Luna, and the moment my stepsister's condition worsened, he ordered my mother's execution.
That's when I learned that mates weren't the blessing the stories spoke of—they were a curse. They were a weakness.
I never even got to mourn my mother. The pack's hatred shifted onto me and Cassidy. We became the daughters of a jealous slut who almost killed the future Alpha.
To protect Cassidy, I took every hit, every punishment. My body became a map of scars, each one telling the story of a life I didn't choose.
The only relief I had was that no male ever forced himself on me, though the harassment was constant. They called me names, touched me in ways that made my skin crawl.
I learned to survive by becoming invisible. I worked like a slave, ate with the rats, and kept my head down. I taught Cassidy to do the same because she was all I had left.
Over time, the pack's strength faded. We became targets for rogues because our Alpha lost his mind. He isolated us, refusing alliances, and soon everyone knew the truth—that he had killed his true mate.
Our pack became a joke, a cursed place no one wanted to be associated with.
And honestly? I didn't blame them.