THE WORTHLESS MATE OF THE ALPHA

Chapter 1

'Taaa!'

The slap came out of nowhere.

Lyra's head cracked against the stone floor. Pain exploded through her skull and blood flooded from her mouth. She tasted the red liquid on her tongue.

"Filthy murderer," Darren snarled above her.

She didn't move because fighting made it worse. Pleading made it worse. Crying made it worse.

His boot connected with her ribs. She heard the crack. Felt the air leave her lungs. Pain radiated through her chest with every breath she took.

"Get up," he commanded. "Floors need scrubbing. Move."

She forced herself to her knees, blood dripping from her split lip. Her hands shook. Her ribs screamed.

Just get up. Just survive.

She pushed herself to her feet. The world tilted. She grabbed the wall immediately for support.

Darren watched with cold satisfaction. "Pathetic. You're not even worth the food you eat."

He walked away.

Lyra touched her split lip. Her fingers came away bloody. Then she reached for the bucket without minding the freezing water inside it. She dipped her hands, covered in burst blisters into the water. Pain shot up her arms.

She bit her lip and began scrubbing again.

The sun rose through the narrow window perching the lights on the kitchen floor. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen something beautiful without it hurting.

She finished the last section and sat back on her heels. Her body trembled. Her stomach cramped violently. She hadn't eaten in two days.

A punishment for being so worthless. She had been made to understand that she doesn't deserve anything.

She pressed her hand against her stomach and closed her eyes. The hunger was becoming severe now.

The pack stirred overhead. Lyra retreated to the shadows, head bowed and maintaining her hiding spot. That was her only survival.

They filed in for breakfast. She served food onto plates. Her hands shook at every movement she made. Her vision swam but she moved anyway.

"You're slow," someone muttered. "Hurry up, murderer."

She moved faster.

Her brother, Logan arrived with the Alpha's family. He walked in like he owned everything. The Alpha's trusted advisor. The golden son who had destroyed his sister to save himself.

He didn't look at her. He never did.

Lyra watched him take his seat at the head of the table. He laughed with the Alpha's sons. Accepted their praise. Ate the food she'd prepared.

He looked healthy. Happy. Everything she wasn't.

He used to call me sister. She remembered before their parents died. Before everything changed.

She was ten years old. Her wolf had just awakened. Everything was new and terrifying and wonderful.

Her mother smiled at her. "You're going to be so strong, Lyra. I can feel it."

Her father kissed her forehead. "My little wolf."

And then there was screaming. Blood everywhere. Her mother's hand reached for her but failed to. Her father's body on the floor, eyes open, staring at nothing.

Her wolf howling, fighting and losing control.

She woke up covered in blood with Logan pointing at her with shaking hands. His voice breaking.

"Her wolf did it. She killed them."

Lyra blinked. The memory faded. She was back in the dining hall. Back in the present. Back in her nightmare. The blood seal on her chest throbbed. A perfect reminder.

"I want more," someone whined. "This plate isn't full."

She moved to refill it. Her vision swam again. She blinked, trying to focus.

Someone stuck out their foot in the process and she tripped. The plate shattered. Food scattered everywhere.

Silence filled the whole place all of a sudden.

"You worthless piece of trash!" the Alpha thundered. "Look what you've done!"

Lyra scrambled, trying to clean with her bare hands. Broken ceramic cut her palms in the process. Blood mixed with the food.

"Murderer," someone whispered.

Someone grabbed her hair. Yanked her head back.

Logan.

He crouched beside her, his face inches from hers. His eyes were cold and dead. No recognition. No mercy.

"You think this is bad?" he whispered. "You think this is the worst I can do?"

She shook her head. Tears burned her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Crying made it worse.

"Clean this up," he said, releasing her. "Then scrub the courtyard stones. Don't come back until they're spotless."

"Yes, brother."

He walked away. The pack laughed as she crawled on the floor, collecting broken ceramic with bleeding hands.

She was nothing. She'd always been nothing.

When she reached the courtyard stones, they were freezing.

Lyra knelt on the ground, scrubbing with her ruined brush. Her fingers were numb. She couldn't even feel anything anymore. The cold had seeped into her bones.

Her cracked rib also made it hard to breathe.

The pack watched from the windows. Children threw pebbles. She didn't flinch. Her tears froze on her cheeks. She hadn't realized she was crying.

Mom. Dad. I'm so sorry.

She remembered their faces. Their smiles. The way they'd held her. And then she remembered the blood. The screaming. The terror.

What happened that night?

She couldn't remember clearly. Just flashes. The chaos and the fear.

Her wolf had been wild. Untamed. She'd been ten years old and couldn't control it.

And then her parents were dead. Logan said she'd done it. Everyone said she'd done it.

She believed them. What else could she believe?

Her body was shutting down from the cold, the pain and the hunger. It was too much.

And then, the blood seal on her chest pulsed. Feeling very warm and different.

Lyra froze. Something stirred inside her. A presence she hadn't felt in years.

What...?

The warmth spread through her chest. For one brief moment, she felt something she couldn't name. Not strength. Not power. Just... something.

And then it was gone. The seal clamped down harder. Pain returned. She doubled over, gasping.

What was that?

She pressed her hand against her chest and tried to ignore the trembling in her fingers.

It was nothing. It had to be nothing.

At that moment, a rider galloped into the courtyard.

"Alpha!" he shouted. "News! The Bloodmoon Pack - Alpha Ronan Blackthorne - he's coming! He'll arrive tomorrow!"

The courtyard erupted in whispers. Lyra's blood ran cold.

Ronan Blackthorne. The most feared Alpha in the northern territories. Ruthless. Powerful. Merciless.

He was coming here.

She didn't know why, but the seal on her chest throbbed again. Different. Unsettling. She pressed her hand against it and tried to ignore the feeling.

It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. She was just a servant. Just a murderer. Just nothing.

She went back to scrubbing.

When night came, she couldn't sleep. She lay on her thin mattress, staring at the ceiling. Her ribs ached. Her hands burned. Her stomach was empty.

And in her chest, the seal pulsed with unfamiliar warmth.

What's happening to me?

She closed her eyes, dreaming of her mother's face smiling at her. Then the screaming. She woke up gasping. Her heart was pounding. Tears streaming down her face. Even in dreams, she was haunted.

"Mom," she whispered. "Dad. I'm so sorry."

She curled into a ball and prayed for morning. Morning meant more work. And more work meant distraction. Enough distraction to make her forget how much of a murderer and a worthless she-wolf she was.

She'd survived twelve years of this. One more day wouldn't kill her.