Elowen's POV
Pain wakes me.
Not the pain from last night—though my body still aches from Cassian's rough treatment. This is different. The mate bond is screaming inside my chest, furious that I'm away from him, demanding I go back.
I curl into a ball on my narrow bed, pressing my hands against my ribs like I can physically hold the bond inside. It doesn't work. The pull toward Cassian is so strong it makes me nauseous.
"Elowen?" My roommate Maya whispers from the bed next to mine. "Are you crying again?"
I didn't realize I was. I wipe my face quickly. "Bad dream."
She doesn't believe me—her expression says she knows something terrible happened—but omega rule number one is mind your own business. Asking questions only brings trouble.
"Time to get up anyway," Maya says gently. "Breakfast duty starts in twenty minutes."
I force myself out of bed, every movement reminding me of last night. Of Cassian's hands. His words. His disgust.
"You're worthless."
"My dirty little secret."
"This never happened."
The other omegas in our shared room dress in silence. Six of us crammed into a space smaller than Cassian's bathroom. This is our life. Has been since birth. Will be until we die, probably young and forgotten.
Papa always says survive. But what if surviving isn't enough anymore?
The pack house kitchen is chaos during breakfast service. Fifty wolves need feeding, and they all want their food hot, fresh, and perfect. The omegas cook while beta servants deliver plates to the dining hall where the important wolves eat.
I'm scrubbing pots when she walks in.
Seraphine.
Beautiful, powerful, beta-ranked Seraphine with her perfect hair and perfect body and perfect life. The woman Cassian will probably choose as his public Luna while keeping me as his shameful secret.
My wolf growls inside me—the first real sound she's made since the bond formed. She doesn't like this female near our mate.
But Cassian isn't really our mate. Not in any way that matters.
"Coffee," Seraphine demands, snapping her fingers at me like I'm a dog. "Black, two sugars. Now."
I set down my scrub brush and move to the coffee pot with shaking hands. The mate bond flares with jealousy and rage. This woman wants my mate. Has been courting him publicly while I...
While I get used in the dark and paid to stay silent.
I pour the coffee carefully, trying to keep my hands steady. But the bond makes everything harder. My fingers won't stop trembling.
"Hurry up, omega," Seraphine sighs dramatically. "Some of us have important things to do."
I turn to hand her the cup. That's when she moves.
"accidentally," she bumps my arm. The scalding coffee spills across both my hands.
I scream. I can't help it. The pain is immediate and terrible—hot liquid burning my skin, blistering instantly.
"How clumsy!" Seraphine gasps, but her eyes are cold and satisfied. "You should be more careful, omega. What if you'd spilled that on me?"
The other omegas rush over with ice and bandages, but nobody defends me. Nobody ever does. Seraphine is beta. I'm omega. That's all that matters.
"I'm so sorry, Beta Seraphine," I force out through tears. "It was my fault."
"Yes, it was." She smiles sweetly, cruelly. "Clean this mess up. And next time, try not to be so pathetic."
She leaves, her laughter echoing down the hallway.
I sink to the floor, cradling my burned hands. The pain is nothing compared to the humiliation. Compared to knowing that she can hurt me whenever she wants, and I have to apologize for it.
Maya helps me to the medical closet where we keep basic first aid. "Let me see."
The burns are bad. Second-degree at least. My hands are bright red and already blistering. I'll have scars.
"She did that on purpose," Maya whispers as she applies burn cream. "Everyone saw."
"Doesn't matter."
"It should matter, Ellie. You deserve better—"
"I'm omega," I interrupt. "I don't deserve anything. That's the whole point."
Maya looks like she wants to argue, but what can she say? We both know the truth.
That afternoon, Papa finds me sitting behind the kitchen, crying over my bandaged hands.
Atticus Thorne is fifty years old but looks seventy. Life as an omega ages you fast—the constant work, the abuse, the hopelessness. He's spent his whole life being invisible, and it's written in every line on his face.
"Ellie," he says softly, sitting beside me. "What happened to your hands?"
"Accident. I spilled coffee."
He knows I'm lying. But he also knows not to push. In our world, sometimes lies are kinder than truth.
"And last night?" he asks carefully. "The warrior who came for you. Where did he take you?"
My heart stops. "Nowhere important."
"Elowen." Papa takes my face gently in his rough hands, forcing me to look at him. "I'm not stupid. A warrior summoning an omega girl late at night? I know what that usually means. Did someone... did someone hurt you?"
Yes. My fated mate hurt me in ways you can't imagine.
"No, Papa," I lie. "I'm fine. Just tired."
He doesn't believe me. I can see it in his sad eyes. But he doesn't have the power to protect me even if I told the truth. We're both powerless.
"This is our life, daughter," he says finally, pulling me into a hug. "Survive. That's all we can do. Keep your head down, do your work, don't draw attention. Survive."
"What if I don't want to just survive anymore?" I whisper against his shoulder.
Papa is quiet for a long moment. Then: "Wanting more is how omegas get killed, Ellie. Don't want. Just exist. It's safer."
He's trying to protect me. I know that. But his words feel like a prison sentence.
Is this really all my life will ever be? Surviving? Accepting abuse? Being invisible?
The mate bond pulses in my chest, reminding me that somewhere in this pack, Cassian is going about his day—strong, confident, free—while I hide behind a kitchen, crying over burned hands and broken dreams.
That night, I'm lying in bed, trying to sleep despite the pain in my hands and heart, when Maya shakes me awake.
"Elowen," she hisses. "Someone's at the door."
I stumble out of bed, my heart already knowing who it is before I reach the door.
The same warrior from last night stands there, his expression apologetic.
"Alpha Cassian summons you," he says quietly. "Now."
The other omegas in our room pretend to sleep, but I know they're listening. Tomorrow, they'll whisper about me. Wonder what I did to attract the Alpha's attention. Pity me or envy me or both.
"Tell the Alpha I'm coming," I say.
The warrior nods and leaves.
I pull a clean dress over my nightgown with shaking, burned hands. Maya helps me, her eyes full of questions she doesn't ask.
"Be careful," she whispers.
I want to tell her it's too late for careful. That I'm already caught in something I can't escape.
But I just nod and leave.
The walk to Cassian's quarters feels longer tonight. Each step is a choice—I could run, could refuse, could reject the bond myself and end this nightmare.
But the bond won't let me. It pulls me forward like an invisible chain, demanding I go to my mate.
I reach his door. Raise my bandaged hand to knock.
Before I can, the door swings open.
Cassian stands there, his amber eyes blazing with something between desire and anger. He looks at my bandaged hands, and for just a second, something like concern flashes across his face.
Then it's gone, replaced by cold indifference.
"You're late," he says.
"I came as fast as I could—"
He pulls me inside and slams the door shut. The lock clicks.
"I've been going insane all day," Cassian growls, backing me against the wall. "The bond won't shut up. It keeps demanding I find you, protect you, claim you properly. Do you have any idea how distracting that is?"
"I'm sorry—"
"Stop apologizing!" He runs his hands through his hair, frustrated. "This is exactly the problem. You're too weak, too submissive, too... omega. How am I supposed to lead a pack with a mate like you?"
The words hurt, but I'm getting used to the pain.
"Then reject me," I whisper. "Break the bond. Find someone better."
Cassian's eyes flash dangerously. "You think I haven't tried? The bond won't break. Believe me, I've researched every method. We're stuck with each other."
"So what do you want from me?"
He stares at me for a long moment, his jaw clenched. Then he reaches out and carefully takes my bandaged hands in his.
"What happened?" His voice is different now—quieter, almost gentle.
"Accident in the kitchen. It's nothing—"
"Seraphine did this." It's not a question. "I can smell her perfume on the bandages."
My silence is answer enough.
Something dark crosses Cassian's face. For a moment, I think he might actually defend me. Might actually care that someone hurt his mate.
Then he drops my hands and turns away.
"You'll heal," he says coldly. "Omegas always do. Now come here. The bond is driving me crazy, and you're the only thing that makes it stop."
And just like that, I understand the pattern that's forming.
He'll use me. Hurt me. Send me away.
Then summon me back to do it all over again.
This is my life now. Secret. Hidden. Shameful.
Just like he promised.