Chapter One

I had almost forgotten what the outside was like. Since the annihilation of my pack and my capture as a trophy I lived my life in a constant abyss. My body moving on autopilot while my mind shut down just to make it day by day. I had to endure, be strong but sometimes the abuse was too much. Physical. Emotional. Mental. There was no line these thugs wouldn't cross, none other than sexual. I was a minor. No matter how much those savages wanted to, I could see it in their chilling gazes. I had the small hope that on my eighteenth birthday I would find my mate and runaway from this hell. I used that small thread to hold onto my sanity but I didn't know if they would ever release me.

              I woke up, my body aching as I rolled off my old worn cot. I tried to mentally prepare myself for another day as a punching bag but as I moved I knew that if I was beaten anymore I might just die. None of my wounds ever got long to heal, sometimes they would prolong my mounds just for joy. I could barely move as I shuffled towards my rusty bathroom. It was a closet poorly renovated for showers and bathroom necessity. The shower only sprayed cold water and it took a minute before it would be clear enough to use. I tried to avoid using it but I couldn't stand how filthy I felt after a day or two. I slunk into the shower, shuddering as the cold water hit my bruised flesh. I tried not to cry. Crying never solved anything. I just marked the days leading to my birthday. I happened to glance it through the dirty mirror. Huh. It was today. In all my exhaustion I hadn't even realized. I felt anxious. I felt pain. I felt everything but joy. I didn't trust them to let me go. I doubted I would live honestly. I finished my unsatisfactory shower and hobbled to my broken wardrobe. The nicest clothes I owned were a simple blue flattering top and black denim capris, I had a few holey work shirts and another pair of khaki work shorts. I only had the one pair of black flats to my name but I did my best to manage them. I looked at myself in the mirror, in my nice clothes I almost seemed like a normal person. Of course the bruises and scars were hard to conceal. I hated looking at my reflection. I resembled my late mother with her wavy platinum blonde hair and big icy blue eyes, I even had her beauty mark on the bottom right of my mouth. I always wondered why I never matched her beauty. I felt like a sick imitation. I was everything she wasn't. I was weak, pathetic and cowardly. Though due to my cowardice I lived. I hung my head in shame thinking back to that night.

                  The smell of fire and blood permeated the winter sky. There was no warning. No chance of negotiations. Only senseless, merciless bloodshed. Men, women and children all dragged from their homes and torn apart. My father, Alpha Jax, did his best to fight but he was ambushed and he fell the teeth of my captor. Alpha Mikhail. The blood across his face as he found me cowering in the forest was my fathers. He said nothing as he picked me up and threw me before my mother who he had intended to take as his prize. Her face stubborn and emotionless until she saw me, small and helpless. When he went to kill me she screamed out in tears, begging for my release. He found her motherly devotion amusing and gave her the option to kill me herself or die in my place. She didn't hesitate to die in my place. Unfortunately he wouldn't grant her an honorable, quick death. He had his own fun with her and let his warriors do the same until she was a broken shell. The emptiness in her eyes as he took her head haunt me every night. He was man of his word though and spared me, more or less. A fact he loved pointing out as if he was my benevolent benefactor. He used me to boost his image when others visited. The man who raised the traitor's daughter with care and compassion. A ridiculous tale of lies. In truth my pack never did anything to be titled traitors, it was a cover from the council of elders to avoid having to prosecute the Blood Fang pack who padded their pockets. It made me sick thinking about how corrupt our elders had become but I was no one. A prize of conquest. I had to bow my head and wait for my chance. I tried to calm the fury raging through me, I couldn't show my alpha pheromones if I wanted to live. I had to be docile and obedient like an omega.

                      I calmed myself and walked through the tattered wooden door, up the creaking old stairs and into the kitchen where the omegas and other "trophies" were hard at work. Of course I forgot. The coronation was today. The alpha's rotten son little Alpha Maverick would be taking his father's place. Maverick was selfish and cruel. His parents spoiled him rotten and he shared their bloodlust.  I don't know how many women went to serve him and never made it back. I dreaded the mere thought of him. I submerged myself into the preparations, trying my best to blend into the crowd but for some reason I was always sought out for torture. Emilie came behind me and grabbed a fist full of my hair, pulling me to the ground. She was the alpha's daughter and a notorious whore. Her mate was a gamma male she kept chained to her side with their mated bond but she wasn't satisfied with an eternal love. No. She had to test the waters no matter how much trauma it put her mate through. She was considered the Ice princess for a reason. I tried to act as she desired, lowly and pathetic.

                              She smiled as I sat on the ground at her feet, head bowed low and body trembling in fear. I had this perfected, I just channeled the scared child inside. Though each time I did I could hear the wolf inside cry out on anger, I had to survive. Emilie smiled as he placed her foot on my head, her stiletto barely piercing my flesh as she ground it against my skull.

                      "What a pathetic Puppy, oh but you're not a pup. Are you?" The tone in her voice made me truly shudder in disgust. The chuckle of her goons only made it worse. I prayed she was just toying with me but I couldn't get rid of the fear. She bent down and whispered venomously in my ear, "I'll send you a little present later, from us. To you." She snickered at the horrified look on my face as she walked away. Her eyes full of malice.

             How could I have forgotten?! I was an adult now! The rules that had kept me safe no longer applied! I did my utmost to turn invisible for the rest of the day, I really thought I succeeded to until I ran into. HIM.