CHAPTER 1

SERAPHINA

I needed to find ginger roots as fast as I could. My mom was coughing up blood again back at the house, and the pack wouldn't give us any real medicine because we were just low-class Omegas who no one cared about. After my father was killed in a war years ago while protecting the Alpha, she's the only family I have left. I couldn't lose her too.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and pushed deeper into the woods, gripping my basket tight.

Suddenly, the wind blew right at me and a metallic smell hit my nose. 

Blood. So much blood.

And all of a sudden, the forest, which was usually full of birds chirping and leaves rustling, went dead silent. It was as if they had all gone into exile..... no. Like they were mourning. 

“Birds can never stop singing during the day. If suddenly they do, it's a bad omen.” My father's words replayed in my head. 

My heart started beating like crazy against my ribs. Every single instinct inside me told me to turn around and run back to the village. But the smell was too strong, and it was so fresh. I couldn't just ignore it no matter how I tried.

Holding my breath, I set my basket down gently against a tree and crawled toward a thick patch of bushes. I parted the leaves just an inch to peek through.

My heart completely stopped. 

There, in a small patch of grass, was a bloodbath. Alpha Richard and his wife, Luna Elena, were on the ground. 

They weren't just dead—they were being slaughtered. Beta Harold, the Alpha’s own brother and the man everyone trusted, was standing over them. His face was covered in blood. He looked like a madman as he drove a silver knife over and over into the Alpha's chest. Luna Elena was already still, her throat completely ripped open.

I gasped, slapping my hands over my mouth to choke back a scream. Tears flooded my eyes. The powerful Alphas who were supposed to protect us were being slaughtered like animals by one of our own— by Beta Harold. 

​In my pure panic, I backed up. My foot hit a dry branch.

​Crack.

Beta Harold’s head snapped right toward my direction. His eyes locked directly onto me. 

No. No. No.

I didn't even think. I turned around and ran as fast as my legs could carry me, my heart hammering in my ears. 

“Run, run, run,” my mind screamed.

But I was just a weak Omega. I didn't have the speed of a warrior. 

Before I could even make it ten yards, a rough hand grabbed a fistful of my hair, brutally yanking my head back with a force that I feared my head would snap.

I gasped from the sharp pain as Beta Harold flipped me over and pinned me down. His knees dug painfully into my shoulders. The bloody silver knife was pressed right against my throat. 

He held the bloody silver knife inches from my face. The sticky blood of my Luna smeared all over my skin.

"Please," I sobbed, my voice shaking so hard I could barely get the word out. "Please, don't kill me. I didn't see anything. I swear to the moon goddess. Please."

Beta Harold stared down at me. 

He didn't look like the kind man the pack always saw. Right now, he looked like a monster, a terrifying one. He leaned down so close his hot breath hit my face.

He pressed the sharp edge of the knife directly against my throat. I felt a sharp sting as it cut my skin, but I couldn’t make a sound.

​"You tell a single soul about this, and I won't just kill you," Beta Harold whispered, his voice dark and cruel. "I will go straight to your little hut and tear your sick mother apart limb from limb right in front of you and after that, I'll send you straight to hell. Do you understand me, Omega?"

The mention of my mom made my stomach drop into a bottomless pit. My mom was all I had left in this world. 

If I told anyone about this, I'd lose her. 

"I won't tell anyone." I wept, the tears pouring down the sides of my face and soaking into my hair. "I swear on my father's grave and the moon goddess. I'll never say a word. Just please spare me and my mom. Please."

Beta Harold stared at me for a few seconds, as if checking to see if I was lying. Finally, he spat on the dirt and lifted the knife. He stood up, wiping the blood on his pants.

​"Get up and go home," he ordered coldly. "And remember your vows, Omega. Your mother’s life depends on it. And trust me, I'll know when you say a word.”

​I scrambled up and ran. I didn't care about my basket anymore. I ran through the dark woods, tripping and falling face-first into the mud, but I kept forcing myself back up. 

I didn't look back until I burst through the door of our small house.

​My mom was sitting by the fire. She gasped when she saw me covered in mud and blood. "Phina? Oh my god, what happened?"

​But I couldn't say a single word. If I spoke, she would die. Beta Harold would kill her.

​I rushed across the room and threw myself into her frail arms, burying my face in her shoulder. I held her frail body as tight as I could, sobbing uncontrollably. 

She rubbed my back, asking me who hurt me, but I stayed completely silent. I just held her, crying in the dark, truly believing that my silence was the only thing keeping her alive.

​I had no idea that my nightmare was only just beginning.