The Cursed Alpha's Dark Obsession

I dropped to my knees so hard the tile cracked under me. “Please,” I said. My voice broke right in the middle. “Mum, please don’t do this. I’ll work. I’ll bring you money every day. I’ll clean houses, wash clothes, anything. Just don’t sell me.” She stood over me with her arms crossed. The kitchen light made her face look sharp and mean. She had already packed my father’s things into two black bags by the door. He had only been dead for a few hours. “Don’t you dare call me that,” she said. Her voice was flat. “Your real mother died years ago and left me stuck with you and that useless man. Now he’s gone too. I need the money. Madame Vex already paid.” I grabbed the bottom of her dress. The fabric was cheap and thin. “I’ll pay it back. I’ll work double. Triple. Please. I’m your family.” She slapped me. The sound was loud in the small kitchen. My head snapped to the side. Heat spread across my cheek and my eyes watered, but I didn’t let the tears fall. Not yet. “You are not my family,” she said. “You are a mouth that eats and a body that takes up space. Get up.” I stayed on the floor. My hands were shaking. I could still smell my father’s old coat hanging by the door. He used to hide money in the lining for me when she wasn’t looking. That coat was in one of the black bags now. “Get up, Rhea.” I stood. My knees hurt. My face hurt. Everything hurt. She pointed at the door. “They’re outside. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” I heard boots on the front step. Heavy ones. More than one pair. My stomach dropped so fast I thought I might throw up. The door opened without a knock. Two men walked in like they owned the place. Both were big. One had a scar running from his eyebrow to his jaw. The other carried a black bag that looked too small for what I knew was inside it. The scarred one looked at me and then at my stepmother. “This the omega?” “Yes,” she said. She didn’t even look at me when she said it. “Take her. I already signed the paper.” I backed up until my spine hit the counter. “No. You can’t. I’m not going.” The man with the bag stepped closer. He smelled like smoke and metal. “Don’t make us drag you, girl. It’ll only hurt more.” I grabbed a kitchen knife from the drying rack. My hand was so sweaty the handle almost slipped. “Stay away from me.” My stepmother laughed once. It was short and ugly. “Put that down. You’re embarrassing yourself.” The scarred man moved fast. He knocked the knife out of my hand and it clattered across the floor. I tried to run for the back door. He caught me by the hair and yanked me back so hard my feet left the ground for a second. I screamed. I kicked. I scratched at his arm until I felt skin under my nails. He didn’t even flinch. The other man opened the black bag and pulled out a cloth. It was already wet. I knew what that smell was. I had heard stories about it from other omegas who never came back. “No—no, wait—” He pressed the cloth over my nose and mouth. I held my breath as long as I could. My lungs burned. My vision started to spot. I bit his hand through the cloth. He cursed and pressed harder. The last thing I saw was my stepmother watching from the doorway. She didn’t look sad. She looked relieved. Everything went black. *** I woke up to the smell of piss and fear. My head felt like someone had split it open with a rock. My mouth was dry. My wrists hurt. When I tried to sit up, metal clinked and something cold bit into my skin. I was in a cage. The bars were thick and black. The floor was concrete with old stains that looked like blood. There were other cages around me. Girls inside them. Some were crying quietly. Some just sat with their backs against the bars and stared at nothing. I grabbed the bars and pulled. They didn’t move. I shook them harder. The whole cage rattled. “Let me out!” My voice came out cracked and loud. “Somebody let me out of here!” A few of the other girls looked at me. One of them, a thin girl with short hair, shook her head like I was stupid. “Stop it,” she whispered. “You’ll make it worse.” I didn’t stop. I threw my whole body against the bars. Pain shot up my shoulder. I did it again. And again. Footsteps came down the hall. Slow ones. Someone who wasn’t in a hurry. A woman walked into the light like she had all the time in the world. She was tall and thin with dark hair pulled back so tight it looked painful. She wore a long black coat and smiled like she was happy to see me. She must be Madame Vex. “Ah. The noisy one is awake.” I pressed my face against the bars. “Let me out. You can’t keep me here. My father—” “Your father is dead,” she said, still smiling. “And your stepmother already spent the money. You belong to me now until someone buys you.” “I’m not for sale.” She laughed. It was soft and mean. “Every omega is for sale if the price is right. Sit down before you hurt yourself.” I spit at her. It didn’t reach far enough, but the look on her face was worth it. “You little b***h,” she said, still calm. “I was going to let you settle in nicely. But you want to be difficult.” She reached into her coat and pulled out a syringe. The liquid inside was clear. My heart started slamming against my ribs so hard I could feel it in my throat. “Don’t,” I said. My voice cracked again. “Please. I’ll be quiet. I’ll sit. Just don’t—” Madame Vex stepped closer to the cage. One of the men from earlier appeared behind her and unlocked the door. I tried to push past him. He shoved me back so hard I hit the opposite bars. Madame Vex walked in like she was entering her own living room. She grabbed my hair with one hand and tilted my head to the side. “This will make you much more polite,” she said. I saw the needle coming. I tried to twist away. The man held my arms. Madame Vex pushed the needle into the side of my neck and pressed the plunger all the way down. Cold fire spread under my skin. I opened my mouth to scream— And the world started to slow.