LOGINHazel never wanted to be sold, or to be a slave. But fate has a cruel way of twisting her life. After her mother’s death, she returns to the pack her mother was exiled from years ago, hoping to finally meet her father, who her mother promised was still alive. Instead, Hazel finds herself trapped as a lowly omega, with nothing but memories of her mother and her skill with herbs. Everything changes one fateful night when she does the impossible, and catches the attention of Alpha Alaric. Alaric, cold and commanding, has never fancied a woman… until Hazel. Suddenly, he craves her, wants to protect her, and can’t ignore the pull between them. But enemies lurk in every shadow, ready to tear them apart. Can an apothecary fix more than just the body…or will she shatter his world entirely?
View MoreHazel's POV
“Get your stupid ass in there and go put on some makeup. The client should be here soon,” Miss Penelope snapped, yanking my arm. I froze, staring at her, my stomach twisting. I didn’t want to go in there. I didn’t want to smear colours on my face just so some random man could touch me. I didn’t want to be sold. I didn’t want this life. All I wanted was a home, somewhere in this pack I could finally belong. I wanted to find my father. I wanted to be happy. I wanted to make medicine, help people, not this. It's been months of scrubbing floors, carrying heavy boxes, obeying every command like a ghost. That was bad enough. But now… now she wanted me to sell my body. I could never do that. “Ma’am… please,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I don’t want to do it.” Miss Penelope’s eyes narrowed sharply. “Is it about what you want?” she sneered. “You want me to lose money just because you want to keep some stupid virginity? I don’t fucking care about that, okay? Go in there and put on some makeup.” I swallowed hard, my throat tight. My hands shook, my legs heavy. Miss Penelope grabbed my arm harshly and shoved me into the dressing room. “Fine! If you don’t want to put the makeup on yourself, then I will,” she snapped. She moved around, and the next thing I knew, a harsh pat of powder hit my face. I sneezed, startled, but she didn’t stop. She moved on to my lips, smearing lipstick like she was defiling me rather than beautifying. My stomach twisted. Running wasn’t an option. The place was heavily guarded, and even if I somehow made it past them, where would I go? The streets? The thought made me shiver. Maybe the streets would be better than this hell. “Let’s go,” Miss Penelope said, grabbing my hand. “No,” I croaked. “I don’t want to do this. Please. I’ll work. I’ll clean. I’ll cook. You can even starve me more than you already do, but please… don’t make me do this.” Her gaze was cold. “Listen, you’re not the first girl to do this. Over thirty girls have already been sold off in the past 3 months. You will not be an exception.” She circled me like a predator, sneering, and even grabbed my butt. “You don’t even have a big ass. You’re so skinny. You’re filthy. And that client saw you and still wanted you. You should be grateful, on your knees, licking my shoes that you finally get a good life.” “A… good life,” I whispered, the words tasting bitter in my mouth. “Do you know what they want from me? I’d rather—” “I don’t care what you’d rather do,” she cut me off, dragging me toward the door. My heart pounded. No. Not this. Just before she could reach the client’s room, panic took over. I yanked my hand free, twisting and trying to run in another direction. My foot slammed into something hard, and I stumbled. An imperial vase toppled. It shattered into a thousand pieces around me. My breath hitched. One shard pierced the bottom of my foot. Blood rolled down as I gasped, my body trembling. My wound was slow to heal, because I was a malnourished omega. I felt weak, barely able to move, but I forced myself forward. Pain stabbed my foot with every step, but I had to keep going. Then Miss Penelope’s grip reached around my wrist. She glanced at the shards scattered across the floor and smirked bitterly. “You just broke one of the Alpha’s most expensive vases,” she hissed. Her smirk twisted into something cold. “You don’t want to get sold off, do you?” She yanked my wrist, making me wince. “Now we’d take you to the Alpha and have him execute you for your little stunt. We'll tell him you’re stubborn and careless.” I swallowed, my stomach dropping. From what I knew, the Alpha had no idea what happened in this part of the estate. Everyone thought we were just slaves for chores, maybe sold off for work. Nobody knew that we were beaten down, starved, and lately…forced into sex work. Miss Penelope dragged me along, my bleeding foot scraping against the floor as we finally reached the pack house. “Please,” I begged, voice trembling. “I’m just a slave. An omega… a nobody. Don’t punish me just because I’m insignificant. Please reconsider…” “Oh, now you can plead?” she spat. “I’m not taking it. I’m not listening to you.” She yanked me harder. We reached a certain floor, and she pushed me roughly toward the Alpha. “Now bow, you idiot.” I trembled, about to lower my head, but then I noticed the room. The Alpha was seated, but he didn’t look calm. His jaw was tight, his eyes tense. Around him, there were others, one dressed like a doctor, another like a healer… and then I saw a child. A girl, maybe four years old, pale and nearly unconscious in the center of the room. My chest tightened. The Alpha’s hands hovered tensely, as the doctor barked, “Quickly, give me that bottle!” Someone scrambled, mixing something for the child. My eyes widened as I recognized the herbs and powders. Experienced as I was as an apothecary, I could see instantly that the medicine could make things worse. “Her temperature keeps increasing!” “She’s developing rashes, too!” My stomach twists as I watch the child wriggling slightly in the healer’s arms. The doctor stepped closer with the medicine in his hand, preparing to give it to her. My fingers fumbled, trembling. That medicine wasn't fit for a child. The herbs could make things worse. Much worse. It shouldn’t be my concern. I was nobody here. Just an omega, a slave. If I spoke up, I’d probably be punished. I should stay quiet. I should do nothing. But I couldn't. I couldn't watch the little girl suffer, just because I’m scared. I froze for a heartbeat and then my feet moved without me thinking. “Please. Don't give her that!” I moved, slapping the bottle from the doctor’s hands.Three wolves burst through in the space of one breath, black fur, yellow eyes, Silvermoon scouts. Ella’s men. They shifted mid-leap, landing on two legs with steel in their hands. Alaric moved before Hazel could blink. He was unarmed. Shirtless. Bare feet on frozen floor. Didn’t matter. He caught the first scout by the throat and slammed him into the wall. Wood cracked. The wolf choked, claws scraping uselessly at Alaric’s forearm. “You should’ve stayed in the packhouse,” Alaric growled. His voice wasn’t his own, low, layered with his wolf. “You should’ve remembered who I am.” The second scout lunged. Alaric twisted, using the first man as a shield. The blade meant for his ribs sank into his own scout’s shoulder instead. Blood sprayed across the hearth. Hazel didn’t think. She couldn’t. The dagger Alaric gave her was small, cold, but her hands knew what to do. Her mother had taught her which veins to cut to stop a bleed, and which to cut to end one. She darted forward as the
The cabin was small, half-collapsed, and buried under snow, but it had four walls and a fireplace. For now, it was enough.Alaric kicked the door open with his boot and carried Hazel inside. The air smelled of rot and old wood, but he didn’t set her down until he’d cleared the bench with his arm and wrapped her in every blanket he could find.“Stay awake,” he ordered, his voice rough as he knelt and shoved dry kindling into the hearth. “Hazel. Eyes on me.”She blinked slowly, her head heavy against his shoulder. “I’m awake,” she lied. Her voice was soft, threadbare. The claim had warmed her, but the cold was still in her bones.The first spark caught. Orange light flickered across Alaric’s face, carving shadows into his jaw. He hadn’t shifted back into clothes. He sat shirtless in the snow-melt, muscle coiled, every inch the Alpha who’d just committed treason for her.Hazel stared. Her bond with him pulsed, steady and warm, but underneath it she felt it. His rage. Not at her. At Ella.
Hazel stood at the edge of the packhouse gates. No pack. No cloak. No weapon. Just the thin clothes she’d worn yesterday and a small satchel with a waterskin and a piece of bread. The guards hadn’t stopped her. Orders were orders. Exile at dawn.The air bit her lungs. It was colder than it had been in weeks, and the wind cut through her like knives. She pulled the thin fabric of her shirt tighter around herself and stepped past the iron gates.Behind her, the packhouse doors stayed shut. Alaric hadn’t come. She hadn’t expected him to.He can’t, she told herself. If he follows me, he loses everything. But that didn’t make the ache in her chest any less sharp.The path down the mountain was steep and treacherous with ice. Hazel moved carefully, one foot in front of the other. The bond inside her screamed with every step that took her further from Alaric. It felt like her ribs were being pulled apart, like someone had hooked her heart and was dragging it backward.She didn’
The moon was high when the council doors opened. Moon light spilled across the stone floor of the great hall. It made the wolves’ shadows stretch against the wall.Hazel stood in the center of the circle. Alone.No seat. No shield. No Alaric beside her. Pack law was clear , during a trial, the accused stood unprotected. The Alpha could speak for her, but he could not stand with her. It was meant to prevent bias. Right now, it felt like abandonment.The seven council elders sat in a semicircle above her, their robes dark, their faces half-hidden in shadow. Ella sat at the center, on the seat that had once belonged to Alaric’s father. She hadn’t been offered it. She’d taken it. No one had stopped her.Alaric stood to the right of the circle, tall and still as stone. His hands were clasped behind his back, but Hazel could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his jaw was locked tight. He wasn’t allowed to interfere unless she was directly sentenced. Until then, he could only wat
Alaric’s PoVI wake up because she’s watching me.Not guard duty. Not a threat at the tent flap. Hazel. She thinks I’m still asleep. I’m not. Haven’t been for ten minutes. I was too busy memorizing the way dawn hits her face when she thinks I can’t see.“Staring,” I say. My voice is deep. Sleep-s
Hazel’s PoV Early in the morning the next day, Syra has to bang a pot with a spoon to get the forty-three children out of their tents. “Up! Unless you want Rook to eat everything!” Rook is already in the circle with a bowl bigger than his face. “Worth it,” he says when Miri shoves him. Mara l
Hazel’s POVWe train for two days. Not warriors. Kids. “You don’t have to,” I tell them. We’re in the old armory. Lina’s School now. Forty three sets of eyes. Some scared. Some angry. All listening. “Fighting is a choice. Healing is a choice. Running is a choice. You choose.”Rook raises his hand
The gates of the pack had not opened for an outsider in a long time. Not since the night the victims of the old rules were rescued .So when the iron bars groaned upward at dawn, every wolf in the courtyard froze. Even the guards. Even the wind.Ella stepped through first.She hadn’t changed.
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