LILITH
I woke up smiling. For a few blissful seconds, I lay still beneath the covers, letting the memories of the night before wash over me.
I had known intimacy before with a few careless men who took what they wanted and left me emptier than before. But last night was different. Alpha Jaxon… no, Jaxon had been so caring and yet so damn perfect. He made sure I was comfortable and thoroughly satisfied.
My body still hummed faintly and pleasantly sore. Nothing could ever come close to what we shared. He was mine and I was his.
I lifted a hand, expecting to find him beside me, and touched only cool sheets.
The absence startled me, but I told myself it meant nothing. He was the Alpha and had plenty of duties. This did not erase what we had shared.
I pushed myself up, the sheet slipping slightly as I moved. My body ached pleasantly, reminding me of his touch and voice. Who would have believed that my life had just changed overnight? Just a few hours earlier, I'd been working myself to the bone.
I laughed softly. Yes. I was going to bask in this. I was going to enjoy whatever benefit life threw at me. Also, Alpha Jaxon, wow! They got him totally wrong. He was a lot more than the rumors spreading about him.
Suddenly, the doors burst open. I startled violently, my heart leaping into my throat as the same high-ranking women from the night before stormed into the room.
I drew the sheet closer instinctively. "What—?"
Their expressions were cold, and unreadable.
Their hands roughly closed around my arms before I could even stand properly. Panic flared as they dragged me from the bed, not giving me time to dress or even gather my bearings.
"Stop!" I cried, struggling. "What's happening?"
They began pulling my naked body away from the room.
"Wait—please, I need to dress—" I screamed.
One of them snapped a sheet around me, barely securing it as they hauled me out of the chambers. My feet barely touched the floor as they pulled me along, my heart pounding wildly.
Fear clawed its way up my throat.
They dragged me through the corridors and then shoved open the doors to the Great Hall.
The entire pack was there. Hundreds of eyes turned toward me at once. I stumbled forward as they shoved me down, landing hard at the Alpha's feet.
The sheet slipped.
A hand yanked it back into place just in time, but the damage was done. Heat flooded my face as laughter rippled through the hall.
Alpha Jaxon stood at the front, relaxed, amused, his arms crossed loosely over his chest.
"Last night was… enjoyable," he said casually, his gaze dragging over me in a way that made my skin crawl. I could still feel the memory of his desire and the things we whispered to me.
I felt like I was shrinking, collapsing inward. "Jaxon," I whispered. "What is going on?"
A sharp blow struck the side of my head. Pain exploded across my cheek as I cried out, nearly losing my balance.
The laughter grew louder.
"How dare you speak his name," a voice snarled.
Jaxon laughed. I stared at him, my vision blurring. This was not the man who had held me close hours ago. This was not the man who had looked at me as though I were precious.
"Why am I here?" I asked, my voice trembling.
He stepped closer, looming over me, with a sadistic smile.
My heart pounded so hard I thought it might tear itself apart. "Please," I said, desperation clawing its way into my voice. "If I've done something wrong—"
"I was curious," he interrupted, his tone bored. "and wondered what it would be like to fuck an Omega."
The hall went silent.
"I've satisfied that curiosity," he grinned. "I must compliment you because I enjoyed it."
I swallowed. The meaning of his words seemed to ring a bell but I couldn't comprehend them.
"You were good for a night, Omega. Nothing more."
It seemed as if I'd been punched in the ribs.
I shook my head slowly. "No," I whispered. "You are… we are mates."
He burst into laughter. The pack was laughing too.
My chest burned as though something inside me was tearing apart.
"No!" I cried. "This isn't true."
"Lilith Travers!" He commanded. "I reject you!"
Instantly, pain tore through my chest. I screamed, clutching at myself as the bond shattered. The invisible thread that had connected us only hours ago was ripping violently from my soul. The agony showed on his face too, but he suppressed it with a grin.
"Why?" I sobbed. "Why did you have sex with me if you were just going to do this? You could have rejected me as soon as you felt the bond yesterday."
"Because I could," he snapped. "And because Omegas like you will never be fit to stand beside me. You are good for nothing. You are filthy. Your kind disgusts me. You will never be Luna. I would rather become an Omega myself than place someone like you beside me."
Rage flared through the pain. I hated him. He was the worst type of cruel!
"You will suffer for this," I screamed, tears streaming down my face. "I swear it, you will pay!"
His expression hardened.
"She's become irritating," he said coolly. "Take her away. Let her learn her place."
Hands dragged me backward as the hall filled with noise again. The doors slammed shut behind us. I was still screaming even as they threw me into the dungeon.
Exhausted from screaming, I curled into myself on the stone floor. Everything hurt: my chest, my throat, my pride, and most of all, my heart. That bastard had stripped me of my dignity and thrown it before the pack like carrion.
I pressed my fist against my mouth, to keep in the broken, strangled sob that escaped me. Hot tears poured down my face. I hate the pack. They all watched him perform such an injustice and laughed. I hated them all. But I hated him most.
Suddenly, a soft sigh echoed through the dungeon.
I startled violently, jerking upright in fear. My heart slammed against my ribs as I scanned the darkness. I thought I was alone.
"Who's there?" I demanded hoarsely.
A low, humorless scoff answered me.
"You think that was the worst of it?" a woman's voice said from the shadows. "You poor, foolish girl."
I swallowed hard. The pain inside me twisted sharply and fed my anger. I would not let myself be mocked.
"I have nothing left to lose," I snapped. "So say what you want."
The woman stepped closer, just enough for me to make out her silhouette. Her eyes gleamed with something that was not pity.
"Do you think your humiliation ends with his rejection?" she said. "Now that the Alpha has tasted you and deemed you enjoyable, the rest will come sniffing. Foolish, horny wolves with twisted appetites. Omegas like you don't get left alone after something like this."
My stomach turned violently.
"I want revenge," I growled. "I want him to suffer. I want all of them to suffer."
The woman laughed softly. It was not kind.
"The greatest revenge you can give an Alpha," she said slowly, "is death."
I stiffened.
"If you die," she continued, "he will feel it. Losing a mate is not a wound that heals. It can bend fate… or drive a wolf mad."
I shook my head and whimpered. "He rejected me," I whispered. "There is no bond."
"Some bonds," she cackled, "are not severed by words spoken in arrogance."
I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms. "I want him to suffer," I said again. "But I'm not ready to die."
"Young people," she muttered, shaking her head.
Then she held out a small cup toward me.
"You're thirsty," she said. "Drink."
I was about to retort but I suddenly felt parched. Hatred and bitterness continue to rise within me.
I took the cup and drank angrily. The liquid was cool and strangely soothing as it slid down my throat. Relief spread almost instantly through my body, easing the tightness in my chest.
And then a thought struck me.
"How do you know what happened to me?" I asked, lifting my head.
There was no answer. The woman was gone. The dungeon was empty.
A strange heaviness settled over me. My limbs felt suddenly weak, my eyelids unbearably heavy. I lay back against the wall, confusion swirling sluggishly through my mind.
Maybe I had imagined her. Maybe grief had finally broken something inside me.
The darkness folded around me as sleep claimed me, deep and unnatural, pulling me under before I could fight it.
If I had my way, I promised silently, all of West End would feel my wrath.