Seven Mates

Sold By Blood, Betrayed By Fate.

~ Rieka’s Pov.

I never want to go through this again, with someone who mistreats and disrespects me just because the moon goddess says so. f**k the moon goddess and her stupid matchmaking mates.

These alphas terrify me to my core.

When I was a little girl, my mom angrily threw me into the dustbin to punish me for beating up a girl who spilled her yogurt on me.

They defended her instead of me, painting me as the bad one. That girl got spoiled and adored despite her disgusting behavior — simply because I was an Omega and she started the fight.

“Stay in the dustbin until I tell you to, filth,” my mother scorned, slamming the door shut and leaving me out in the cold to freeze.

My parents despise me. They wished I’d never existed — that I had gotten aborted and flushed away like garbage. As years passed, the hate and prejudice only worsened. No matter how much I loved them, they never loved me back. They constantly fought each other, never truly loved, and blamed us for their failures. They stayed together only because of the pack’s bond, including us, to avoid shame.

My father grabbed Damon’s collar and pummeled him repeatedly with his fist in rage until my mother, on the verge of tears, shouted at the top of her lungs.

“LEAVE HIM ALONE!” she yelled fiercely, stepping back when she saw he wasn’t listening.

She rushed toward Damon and pushed him away from my father, standing between them with open hands. “KILL ME INSTEAD!” she screamed, breathing heavily, bloodshot eyes fixed on him, making it clear she meant every word.

“I SAID YOU SHOULD KILL ME FIRST IF THAT WILL SATISFY YOU BEFORE YOU KILL OUR SON. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I’VE ENDURED TOO MUCH FROM YOU AND I WON’T LET YOU LAY A HAND ON MY SON AGAIN. IF YOU DO, I’LL EXPOSE YOU TO THE MEDIA AND THE CLAN, AND LET THE WORLD SEE YOUR TRUE COLORS. THAT’LL DESTROY YOUR REPUTATION!” she shouted, her hair falling wildly around her face as she panted.

“Luna, get out of my way right now. Don’t make me hurt you too,” he roared.

I was terrified.

Damon is my older brother. He always ran away from home whenever he could. I never understood why he and my father always fought. My mother tried to stop them before things turned violent, and my younger sister Ylva hid in the shadows, acting like the perfect daughter they expected.

“I’m not moving unless you kill me. I won’t let you hurt my son anymore, hear me?” she shouted.

“Get out of my way. He needs to be dealt with.”

“Make me,” she dared.

He slapped her hard across the cheek. “You ruined him. You spoiled our son. Look what you made him into. If he wasn’t a maggot, he might have been useful to the clan.”

“Talk to me one more time and I’ll lock up your powers and leave you in the den to rot. This is your last chance. Get out. Don’t let me come back and find you in my house,” he warned.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, crying. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated and again as she hugged Damon.

Damon looked up at his father, who scoffed and walked away. Then he stopped and said his last words. “If this ever happens again, I’ll make you regret being my son. I’ll show you exactly what I’m capable of. Useless wolves and worthless beings. What a load of crap,” he retorted, then stormed out and slammed the door.

I was hiding behind the sofa, shaking, with tears running down my swollen face. My whole life is full of memories of my father hurting us. A punch to the face had left Damon bleeding from the mouth. But he stood up, held my mother’s shoulders, smiled, and spoke through gritted teeth. “You don’t have to do this, Mother. Calm down. I’m ready, Mother,” he whispered and kissed the back of her head. My mother’s eyes filled with tears as she hugged her son tightly.

My mother only gave love to my brother and Ylva—never to me. I was always the outsider. After that day, I never saw my brother again.

These fights went on for years, all the way until I turned eighteen. I walked into the living room, coming down the stairs with tears of anger. I couldn’t believe what was happening. When I got to the living room, I saw my father looking through some papers. I walked straight to him.

“How could you do this to me?” I yelled, crying hard. I had never yelled at my father before in my life. He always scared me. He was always crossing lines, mistreating me, and ignoring me for years. Wasn’t that enough?

Alpha Blizzard looked up at me with an angry face. Just seeing me probably annoyed him. He just scoffed.

“What use are you to me? You eat my food, live under my roof, and give nothing back to the clan. And I’m just supposed to accept that? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Is that why you got me engaged to that Alpha who sleeps with anyone he sees? You want me to stay with someone like that? You’re my father. How could you do this to your own child? Don’t you care? What did I ever do to deserve this? Is it because I’m an Omega? Do you hate me for that? Why?” I shouted, full of pain.

Alpha Blizzard stood up and slapped me hard across the face. It wasn’t the first time. He always wanted to control us, forcing his kids to follow his will. That’s why Damon left home years ago—he couldn’t take our father’s abuse anymore or the way he refused to accept Damon’s sexuality.

“You dare shout at me? You’re an Omega! Have no right to talk back. I’m the Alpha of this clan,” he yelled. “Talk to me like that again and I’ll throw you out. You’ll do what you’re told. Since your life is useless, the least you can do is marry that Alpha and bring benefits to this clan.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. Why was he treating me like this? Why did I even have to ask? This wasn’t new. It had always been like this. My whole life, my mother had never loved me, not even because of my gender.

Why was I born this way? Why wasn’t I born an alpha with parents who actually loved me? Did fate give me a life like this? What did I do to deserve it?

“You want to kick me out? The Alpha you gave me to marry almost raped me! You sent me to him! I thought you just wanted me to help him with some papers!” I cried.

“Help him?” he repeated with a laugh. “Are you stupid? You thought I sent you to help him? There are maids at his place. Why would I send someone like you to help him? When I said ‘help,’ I didn’t mean to clean his house or fix his documents. You’re dumber than I thought. I’ve always said you were useless to me. You’ve ruined everything I worked for.”

My mouth dropped open. I never thought my father could sell me out just for his own benefit. My family used to adore me—until they found out I was an Omega.