Alpha's Omega War Goddess Wife

Chapter 6: The First Tormentor

Stepping into the room designated as their 'quarters,' a chilly gust thick with dust and dampness hit Lyra. She looked around, her heart sinking.

It wasn't so much a room as a long-abandoned storage space or the bottom floor of a neglected tower. The stone walls were cold and rough, cobwebs clinging to the corners. In the center sat a simple plank bed covered with a thin, discolored old blanket. Beside it stood an equally dilapidated wooden table and two rickety chairs. An empty wooden wardrobe emanated a musty smell. The only light came from a small, grimy window set high in the wall, casting a few dim rays that barely illuminated the cramped space.

Outside the window appeared to be a weed-choked courtyard, seemingly untouched for ages, adding to the desolation.

"'Lyra… are we… are we really going to live here?'" Ella's voice trembled, on the verge of tears, her eyes wide with fear and helplessness. It was scarcely better than their hovels back in Whispering Creek, perhaps even worse—colder, more oppressive due to its isolation in this remote corner of the grand fortress.

Lyra nodded silently. After the pronouncement at the assembly and the humiliation in the great hall, this arrangement didn't surprise her. In fact, as she’d thought earlier, maybe it was a 'good' thing in a twisted way—proof that Alpha Rex truly regarded her, the 'sacrifice,' as utterly disposable, not worth a second thought.

"'It's alright, Ella,'" Lyra forced herself to sound calm, knowing Ella now depended entirely on her. "'At least… it's relatively clean. We can tidy it up ourselves.'"

Her tone was unnervingly calm, as if her heart had gone completely numb. Paradoxically, this calmness seemed to soothe Ella slightly. Sniffling, Ella nodded and began to help Lyra straighten up their miserable 'new home.'

They unpacked the wooden chest, hanging their few old clothes in the musty wardrobe. Lyra placed the bread and water from her father on the table, then began wiping down the furniture with a scrap of cloth she'd brought. Ella found some dry straw somewhere, trying to make the cold bed seem a little warmer. Despite the miserable conditions, they worked quickly, and soon the small space began to look marginally more lived-in.

"'Should we… should we go look outside?'" Ella suggested timidly, deeply uneasy in the completely unfamiliar surroundings, wanting to get her bearings.

Lyra agreed. They'd been dumped here with only a cold steward's parting words, no instructions, no information. Survival meant understanding their environment.

They cautiously pushed open the wooden door. Outside, a winding flagstone path snaked away, flanked by waist-high weeds, leading towards an unknown direction. They followed it slowly, observing their surroundings. This seemed to be the most remote, neglected corner of War Howl Fortress. They saw almost no one as they walked, only the faint, distant shouts from a training ground somewhere reminded them where they were.

Just as they reached a bend in the path, preparing to see what lay beyond, the sound of female laughter, accompanied by deliberately heavy footsteps, reached them.

Lyra's heart clenched. She pulled Ella to a stop.

Three female werewolves, dressed in clothes far finer than theirs, were approaching. The one in the lead was tall and strikingly beautiful, with fiery red hair, sharp, aggressive eyes, and a disdainful smirk playing on her lips. Lyra could sense her aura was stronger than a typical Beta's—perhaps a powerful Beta, or even... a female Alpha? (Though female Alphas were exceedingly rare). Two other Beta women, clearly her followers, trailed behind her, fawning over her.

They acted as if they were just 'passing by,' but the way their gazes locked onto Lyra and Ella, radiating undisguised malice, made it clear they had sought them out deliberately.

"'Well, well, isn't this the great 'sacrifice' our Alpha brought back from Whispering Creek?'" the redhead sneered, stopping before Lyra and looking her up and down with pointed mockery. "'Tsk, tsk. Not much to look at, are you? Scrawny as a bean sprout. Can't imagine what the Alpha saw in you… Oh, wait. Your pathetic little Pack pawned you off on him, didn't they?'"

Her followers immediately chimed in with sycophantic giggles.

Ella shrank behind Lyra, trembling.

Lyra's heart sank. Trouble, as expected, had found them. She could feel the hostility radiating from the woman, mixed with a strange... jealousy.

"'Heard you're some 'pure bloodline'?'" the redhead stepped closer, lowering her voice to a venomous whisper. "'Don't kid yourself. An Omega is an Omega, the lowest of the low! Did you really think trash like you could win the Alpha's favor? Don't be stupid! Let me tell you, Alpha Rex wouldn't spare you a second glance! He only accepted you for the Pack's benefit—a tool to be used and discarded whenever he pleases!'"

The words struck Lyra like poisoned barbs. Though she'd braced herself for such treatment, hearing it spoken so bluntly to her face still felt suffocatingly humiliating, sparking anger deep inside. But she knew she couldn't fight back, couldn't show weakness. She merely endured it, lowering her eyelids to hide the turmoil in her eyes.

Seeing Lyra's submissive posture seemed to bore and annoy the redhead further. Her gaze suddenly snagged on Lyra's neckline where, from Lyra's earlier cleaning efforts, the thin cord of her mother's ancient amulet was slightly visible.

"'What piece of junk is this?'" the redhead's eyes flashed as she abruptly reached for Lyra's neck, intending to snatch the amulet. "'Let me see! Some worthless rock your dirt-poor Pack dug up?'"

Her movement was fast, sudden, and clearly malicious.

Almost before the redhead’s fingers could brush her skin, an icy, utterly alien sensation shot through Lyra! Like a wild animal whose territory was invaded, her body reacted faster than thought. She instinctively jerked back half a step, simultaneously clapping a hand protectively over the amulet at her chest!

The move wasn't large, but it was unnaturally swift. What truly made the redhead freeze was that, in the same instant, Lyra's eyes—previously downcast and seemingly meek—snapped up to meet hers!

Gone was the earlier fear and numbness. In their place was an utterly cold, sharp light... a glare that seemed to pierce right through her! The flash of power was fleeting, but it carried an inexplicable pressure that made the redhead instinctively flinch, her outstretched hand freezing mid-air.

Time seemed to stutter for a heartbeat.

The redhead quickly recovered. Being startled by the glare of a lowly Omega filled her with immense shame and fury!

"'You… you dare glare at me?!'" she shrieked like a stepped-on cat, instantly bristling. "'You worthless mongrel! Who do you think you are?! Just a plaything sent here to please the Alpha!'"

The cold light in Lyra's eyes vanished, replaced by a confusion and bewilderment that even she didn't understand. What… what was that feeling just now? Her body seemed to react on its own, that icy sensation, tinged with some kind of power… where did it come from?

But she had no time to dwell on it. The redhead's fury was fully ignited.

"'You just wait!'" the redhead spat, glaring venomously at Lyra. Perhaps wary of causing too much commotion within the Alpha's residence, she restrained herself from further physical assault, resorting to threats. "'In War Howl Fortress, there are plenty of ways to make your life a living hell! Let's go!'"

With that, she stormed off with her two followers in tow.

Only when their figures disappeared around the bend did Ella dare release Lyra's hand, her voice choked with tears and lingering fear. "'Lyra, a-are you okay? Who… who was she? So scary…'"

Lyra shook her head, signaling she was alright. She patted Ella's shoulder reassuringly, but her gaze was distant, falling to her own palm before her fingers subconsciously drifted back to the amulet at her chest.

That fleeting chill, that sense of power… what was it? Was it just an illusion born of desperation?

But why did the redhead seem frightened by her glare?

Lyra felt deeply puzzled. But she quickly pushed the confusion aside. Whatever happened just now, one thing was certain—that redhead wouldn't let it go.

Trouble had only just begun.