Amia's POV
I looked at myself and then sighed softly as I moved to the bathroom to take a look.
The bathroom had only two things: a shower and, right at the far end, a toilet.
I moved closer to the shower and turned it on to see if it was working.
When cold water touched my palm, I couldn't help but smile.
Back at the pack, I usually took a bath in the river that was close to the pack house.
It was rather a terrible and scary thing to do because I had to make sure no one was watching me.
Usually, the pack warriors enjoyed a dive after training, so most she-wolves kept away from the river.
But since the small room I was given to share with my little sister had no bathroom, I had to bathe in the river after making sure no one was there or watching.
There were times when I even stayed up all night just to take a bath.
I closed the shower and moved away, going back to the bedroom.
The place was cold and quiet, yet it gave me a sense of comfort to have such a room to myself.
I slowly walked to the small table, sitting down on a chair.
"Cassidy," I whispered softly while my mind drifted to her, my little sister.
Our family had a secret that had been hidden for years: my father, the Alpha, had two she-wolves by his side.
One was my mother, who was his true mate, and the other was not.
My mother was an omega, while his chosen Luna was of Gamma blood.
He wasn't only perfect for the pack; he demanded perfection. So when it turned out that his one true mate was an omega, he did the very thing that came to mind.
He ordered her to keep her mouth shut and act like they weren't mates.
One would think rebelling or rejecting him was the ultimate choice any sane she-wolf would make, but no, she didn't.
It wasn't because it was hard for her to go against an Alpha's order and command, but because she was so in love with him.
She loved my father even before she knew that they were mates.
But my father was different; he despised her for what she was—an omega. He never wanted anyone to know about them; that's why he went on to take a Luna of his liking, one that everyone could praise because of her higher rank compared to his true mate.
As time went on, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't completely stay away from my mother. Not only did his wolf crave to be with their true mate, but whenever he was in rut, his instinct yearned to be intimate with her. That's how I was born—not by love or planning, but because of the desire he couldn't fight whenever he experienced rut.
Soon after my birth, the Luna finally found out what my mother was to my father, and the terrible mistreatment started. Not only did she get pregnant, but she also made sure that she showed my mother who had my father's heart and body.
When my stepsister was born, it was a blessing to the pack because she was born a female Alpha, unlike me, who was born as a lowly Omega.
My little sister was conceived yet again in the same circumstances as I was, and that was the true breaking point for our Luna.
She came to realize that no matter how much my father hated my mother, he could never completely let her go or stop seeing her.
That's why she took a critical step towards her own child. She poisoned her own flesh and blood and framed my mother.
No matter how my mother cried and begged my father, telling him she was innocent, he couldn't look at her. The poison weakened my stepsister's heart, and he solely blamed it on my mother without giving her a chance to explain.
Her punishment was death, and he went through with it.
That's when I realized mates were nothing like I had heard in stories; they were one's weakness and the cause of death.
I couldn't even mourn my mother in peace because the hate was directed at me and my little sister.
We became known as the daughters of a jealous slut who almost killed the future Alpha.
To protect my little sister, I took hits on her behalf and did everything, even if I hated it.
I had scars on my body that reminded me of the hellish life I lived. The only thing I was relieved about was that there was never a day when a male forced himself on me, but there were times I was sexually harassed.
I was called a disgusting bitch, among other names, so I decided to live in the pack as if I were dead.
I worked like a slave and ate on the floor with the rats and cockroaches. I never talked to any high-ups but only responded when asked something.
That's why I went on to teach my little sister how to behave because she was the only family I had.
As time went on, our pack became a constant target for rogues that tried to attack or ambush us. Not only was it weak, but its Alpha was not fully sane.
After my mother's death, he started acting insane, and there were times he would go through so much pain and wanted to see no one.
News spread throughout most territories, and soon everyone knew how he was our father and how he had killed his only true mate. Shortly after, attacks began to happen.
We had no alliance with any pack because no one wanted to be connected to such a pack.
But then, one day, we had a visit from the lord of the Serpent Nest.
His visit was shocking and terrifying. The elder beside him claimed that a revelation was foretold by their oracle about how he needed a breeder.
According to him, his breeder was a weak she-wolf from a weak werewolf pack. So he had been going for weaker packs in search of her.
Instantly, when my father heard that, he presented my stepsister to them. Seeing how her heart was weak, he took it as a sign that she was the right breeder, as the oracle had foretold.
But my sister was instantly rejected. Knowing how the Serpent Nest was one of the strongest territories in the world, he couldn't afford to lose such an alliance, so he went on to drag my little sister to them.
I was locked up, so I couldn't stop him, and all I could do was yell and plead with him. Although my sister was very pretty, she was still a young pup (twelve years old) who couldn't survive in a foreign territory.
When the door was opened by the Luna, her goal was to have me go there to disturb my father's meeting so he would lose his cool and kill me on the spot, but it backfired.