Bitten, Branded and Bare

LISA

That evening, I woke in a cold sweat.

Another nightmare. Another unwanted memory of my parents' lifeless bodies.

I clutched the silver crescent moon pendant at my neck, the worn leather cord pulling tight against my throat. I'd found it a decade ago-clutched the same way in my mother's cold, still hands.

Shaking off the memory, I rolled over on the scratchy pallet that passed for my bed pressing a hand to my very empty stomach.

From the great hall, music thumped, shaking the floor. The savory scent of roasted meats and warm pastries drifted through the cracks in the stone.

I hadn't eaten in days. Not properly, at least. And in that moment, I made a reckless decision.

I was going downstairs.

I stood, grabbed my tattered coat that was more patchwork than fabric now, shoved my feet into torn boots, I'd long outgrown, and waited until the cheers and laughter peeked. Then, quiet as a shadow, I slipped out through the rear door.

Fee didn't need to know. I'd just bring her something later. Something warm and sweet for her to eat.

I didn't stop to admire the beauty of the grand hall. I ducked behind a marble pillar, keeping low. The room pulsed with life, full of happy faces.

I did not want to admit to myself how badly I wanted a taste of their life. Just one taste.

As I crept around the room's perimeter, I overhead some drunk guards talking.

"Can you believe it?" one said, a half drunken beer in his hands. "She said the child was Alpha's son."

A roar of laughter followed his comment.

"Filthy omega," another jeered. "I'd rather lay with the pigs," he added, thrusting his hips as his friends howled.

I kept my head down. Omegas weren't treated like people here. But even I knew Bryan used them often for his pleasure.

I reached a banquet table, brushing trembling fingers along the white linen. Above me, dishes towered from roast beef, creamy potatoes, buttery biscuits, and... was that chocolate cake?

My mouth watered instantly.

I ducked underneath, my back curled low, and my heart pounding. I reached up, my hands trembling, and snatched a biscuit. It was still warm. I tore into it like a beast, barely chewing before I swallowed.

"Oh, my gods," I whispered. It tasted like heaven.

For a second, I imagined my mother's humming, remembered stealing bread from her kitchen. For a heartbeat, I was just a girl again.

Back then, I used to dream of having a mate. But that was before the war took everything from me.

Now? I didn't want a mate. What was the point of having someone bound to you when they could still leave? Still die?

And by midnight, I'd be eighteen.

"Happy birthday in advance," I muttered sadly.

I reached for another biscuit, then wiped my dirty hands as best I could.

The music slowed and their laughter softened.

I reached for a piece of cake next, moving with more care now. I couldn't afford to drop anything.

Then, I felt it.

A rough hand twisted into my hair and yanked me out violently. I yelped, dropping the cake.

"Well, well," a sneer said. "What do we have here?"

I blinked up, my face burning from both shame and fear.

Alpha Baron Peters stood over me, a cruel smirk on his face.

"Don't you understand, mutt?" he spat. "This party isn't for strays."

Every eye turned to face me.

"Thieving little cunt," he snarled, hurling me forward. My body hit the marble floor, cold seeping through my dress.

"Look at her," someone muttered. "Weak and useless."

"She's fucked half the pack."

"Worthless. Just like her rogue parents."

Tears rolled down my eyes in rivulets. Baron shoved me and the laughter stopped.

A little circle had begun to form around me-partygoers, guards, packmates. I felt like a circus clown.

Baron's voice rang out.

"This is why we don't take in strays. No appreciation. No respect."

His words received laughter and murmurs of assent from the crowd.

"You think you can slink in here, like the rat you are, and help yourself to food that's for nobles?" his lips curled. "You'll learn, girl. You'll be whipped for this."

I felt the blow before I saw it, my whole face moving to the side from the force of it. A bruise bloomed instantly.

Then...

Ding.

The clock in the hall chimed. Once. Twice. All the way to twelve.

I blinked.

Happy birthday, Lisa, the ghostly voice of my parents rang in my head.

Eighteen.

And like a cruel joke, the gods delivered their gift.

At eighteen, the mate bond kicks in. An instinctual, primal connection. It starts with a scent, a chill and the stirring of your wolf.

And mine... stirred.

I smelled something familiar yet terrifyingly comforting.

I turned my head, and saw Bryan Peters. He strolled into the room with Irene on his arm.

Beautiful, venomous Irene. And apparently, Bryan was my mate.

My lips parted, but I was speechless. It felt like a string attached us, emanating from both our chests and pulling us together. Like my body was attuning itself to a frequency I didn't even know existed until now.

Bryan's stride slowed and his eyes locked onto mine. And then, the atmosphere turned electric.

His eyes flashed-a spark of electric blue. And I was sure mine did the same, probably a bright green.

Gasps echoed around the room.

There it was. The mate bond.

Our wolves had seen each other and recognized what we were.

I felt it all-flames licking my skin, a shiver running down my spine, my heart thudding like a stampede. Every strand of my being screaming, He's yours. I also felt the unmistakable heat that consumed you once the bond snapped. The need to mate him.

And then, Irene's grip on his arm tightened.

Baron's eyes went wide for half a second before squinting in anger.

"No." His voice cut through the room like a blade.

I didn't move. I couldn't even if I wanted to.

"This," he swore, jabbing a meaty finger my way, "this is no match for my son."

Bryan said nothing.

"Do you all see now?" Baron roared. "This union is an error. A glitch in the system. This fatherless, useless, thieving omega can never be the Luna of this pack."

The word omega felt like acid against my skin. I wish I wasn't one, but I was.

"And it doesn't matter what the moon thinks," he continued, sneering. "I've already chosen Bryan's mate. Irene, the daughter of Alpha Dean of the Silver Lotus Pack, will be a better Luna."

Irene lifted her chin and smirked at me like she'd won something.

I looked at Bryan, expecting him to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth.

Not a word and not a look of protest at what his father said.

Just blank eyes.

I let out a bitter laugh. What did I actually expect?

The bond between us screamed, begging for acknowledgment. For something. Anything.

But Bryan said nothing.

Coward. He'd always been a coward.

"You'll be escorted to your quarters," Baron said to me, "and tomorrow, you'll be whipped. Let this be an example for all omegas who forget their place."

I hardly registered the guards guiding me away. I was numb. The heat, the bond, the connection, all of it extinguished like a flame in the wind.

They dragged me down the corridor, and though my legs moved, my mind didn't.

Immediately they forced me into the room and closed the door behind them, I dropped to the floor.

Not from the shove. But from the pain.

It hit my chest first, a pressure so intense air left my body. Then came fire, searing through my veins like hot silver, engulfing every one of my nerves like I was being set aflame from the inside out.

I screamed. A raw, broken sound I couldn't recognize as mine.

My hands clawed at my ribs, trying to hold myself together. Trying to hold my heart together.

I'd heard about this.

The bond being strained. The tether between mates snapping tight like it was trying to hold together something that had already started to break.

It only ever happened for two reasons.

One: your mate died.

Two: ...Your mate was cheating.

I choked on a sob, bile rising in my throat.

He didn't even wait.

He didn't even wait.

The connection was new. Totally brand-new and he'd gone and shredded it to pieces already.

He'd slept with her tonight while I lay starving. While I bled in shame in front of people.

Bryan had already chosen her.

I curled myself into a ball, my palms scouring the floorboards, teeth clamped hard over my bottom lip, blood dripping from my mouth as I attempted to keep down the scream rising in my chest.

I'm useless... worthless. The moon was cruel. Always has been from the very beginning.

But the mate bond? That was crueler.

And if this was what it felt like to be mated... I wanted no part of it.