The Rivalry: Two Alphas, One Breeder

A-Little-Context

NOVA

"Get the f**k out of the way!" A deep voice rattles me. Strong, manly arms scoop me from the ground and move me out of the way. The car zooms past us, briefly lighting the street with its headlights. Soon it's pitch dark again.

I look up and I'm being mirrored by deep, piercing oval eyes. His breathing is rough and harshly landing on my face. His outfit syncs with the eerie darkness in the pathway, and his face is hidden in the darkness too. Just a lock of his hair dangling on his face, and that's all I clearly see.

His arms are still wrapped around me, while my body is pinned to his broad frame. My heartbeat races as his scent penetrates my nostrils.

What is that scent? I try to sniff him closer but he lets me go like a reflex. He stares at me seconds longer, and I shiver from it. He retreats into the darkness and disappears into it.

The next second, the street is silent and eerie again. Like I wasn't almost run over. And like I didn't have this faceless, dark-aura stranger scooping me out of my impending tragedy.

The shuddering moment with the stranger lingers in my mind as I walk the remaining way home. Who is he? He's definitely not from this Pack. Such a strong and unique scent doesn't belong here. So where did he come from?

With the Spring festival taking place tomorrow, our Pack is probably prone to strangers flocking in tonight.

But he is one weird stranger, with such a binding aura. Which brings me back to asking, 'Where did he come from?'

Seeing Master pacing the front porch of the Pack-house plunges me out of my misery and thoughts. How stupid of me to have forgotten that I left many chores undone and snuck out of the house just to go visit Rex.

With the pensive aura hovering over the house, I think it's safe to say I got busted. My steps are slowed and I'm scared to my wits.

Master looks up and his eyes dilate in rage. "Go grab that slut!" He orders fiercely.

The two men rush to me, pin my hands behind me, and drag me to him. I get forced on my knees, while Master picks up a whip.

"Where the hell have you been, Nova?!" He yells, landing a lash on my skin. It tears it open instantly, and blood drips out of it.

I stifle my painful scream, shutting my eyes at the excruciating pain.

"Tell me, you bloody slut! Where did you go?!"

"On an errand, Master." I sob.

"You miserable liar!" He thunders, landing another lash at the center of my back. I writhe in pain, dropping on the floor.

The men pick me up, forcing me back on my knees. I can't cry out loud. Master will rip my tongue out. He hates scandals. He hates ugly scenes. He hates anything that brings people staring, and sending tongues wagging.

"You went to see Rex Stephen, didn't you?" He drops the question and my heart stops beating for a second.

How did he know?

"Didn't you?!" He snaps, landing another lash on my other arm. I whimper hopelessly, fighting hard not to scream.

"Yes," I confess. But how did he find out? Rex and I have been dating for two years but we kept our relationship a secret.

His father had no idea and no one here at home knew either. So how did Master find out?

"Told you, father. She's been going to Rex's house. Peddling her body to him. Such a lousy slut she is." A feminine chiding voice says as footsteps draw closer to us.

I look up through my blurry vision and it's just who I thought it was. Kit, my half-sister.

Dressed in tight pants, knee-high boots, a fur coat, and a shawl around her neck, she looks like the absolute princess. A bitter one, to be exact.

She must have found out about my relationship with Rex. She must have been bittered because she even wanted him at some point.

Being the son of the richest merchant in the Pack makes Rex quite a catch among the ladies. Even the fact that he's illegitimate and his mother is an Omega doesn't taint him one bit.

Every girl wants him. But the fact that he chose me over them was my source of joy for two years. We might not have had a s****l kind of relationship. But he'd been the nicest and sweetest to me.

Knowing all that was a facade and he'd been screwing my best friend behind me makes my heart ache anew.

"Now tell me, Nova. Of all the guys in the Pack, why did you decide to show your slutty self to Rex Stephen? Why do you wanna ruin my good friendship with Don José, his father?"

"No, Master. Rex and I were —"

"Oh, shut up, Nova. You shameless slut." Luna Danielle interrupts as she joins us and stands beside Master.

Right. She's here. Kit is here. Master is enraged. I'm a goner. Master will never believe anything I say right now, no matter how much I yell and swear. Sadly, this is another 'Crucify Nova' moment.

And she had to call me in full 'Nova Grey.' Sometimes, that sounds like my name. Other times, it does nothing but remind me what wretched life I'm stuck in.

Being the illegitimate child of Alpha Kenzo Avalon, of the Northern Valley Pack, one of the three head-packs in the region, is my stigma.

Yeah, you heard right. I'm an Alpha's daughter. Nah, let me rephrase that – I'm the daughter of one of the 'head-Alphas' in the region. Our Pack might not be the strongest in the region, but it's the most populated. And that gives us a bit of an edge over the other head-packs.

Father…No, I can't even call him that. I've never called him that in my nineteen years of existence. It's always 'Master', with my gaze glued to the ground.

Illegitimate children are treated like some chronic disease and are segregated. You could think being an Alpha's child exempts me from that tragedy. I wish that's how it is, but that isn't the case at all.

As an illegitimate child to an Alpha, I'm subjected to even worse torture. I'm treated worse than other illegitimate children in the pack. Father detests me because my mother was an Omega, and he has a deep loathing for Omegas. He only had s*x with my Mother 'cause he was in a rut and she was in heat and their paths crossed. It was a one-time thing that wasn't supposed to bear any significance. But then, 'I' happened, and he never fails to remind me how much of a disgrace I am. How much he regrets ever getting together with my mother.

Even as an Alpha's daughter, I don't get to bear his last name. 'Grey' is the common last name for every illegitimate child of the Pack. I'm not worthy to bear the royal last name. So I've been 'Nova Grey' since birth.

Luna Danielle despises my very existence and would make me vanish if she could. According to her, I'm the blatant proof of her mate's infidelity. So my very existence is a sin too.

Kit is my half-sister, Luna Danielle's daughter, and my Master's most-cherished daughter. She's a year older than I am, but her tall and curvier figure intimidates my petite form and I'm always cowering before her. And then there's her Mum, the real reason I don't dare talk back to Kit. Luna Danielle will make me regret it, so I try to suck up all her mistreatments.

Kit's long, blond hair makes her quite a real-life Barbie. Her turquoise eyes are just the same as Luna Danielle's. Her pale skin glitters under the sunlight. She's a real beauty, but has the cruelty of both parents, making her the real witch of the North.

Ethan is my half-brother and he just turned 18. I'm a year older. He's not exactly as mean as Kit, but he ignores my existence like everyone else. Not sure if I should feel grateful or sad about it.

Each day, I die again in their hands. There's no winning against them. There's no pleasing them either. They feed off torturing me. Daily.

"Listen to me, carefully. Nova. You won't ever show your face in front of Rex Stephen ever again. Do you understand?" Master deadpans.

"Yes, Master." I sob in agreement.

I hear Kit giggle. If only she knew Rex and I already called it quits, before all this drama. Then maybe she wouldn't have gone through this stress.

"Now get your slutty self inside." Master orders heatedly. "You still have a lot of chores to do. It's the spring festival tomorrow!"