Chapter 1 Chapter 1

SERENA'S POV

Moans-cries of pleasure-echoed through the sealed room. But they weren't from me and my partner. They came from my partner and his mistress.

I was forced to watch them.

Tied to a chair in the corner, I stared as Cora took him in deeper, tears streaming down her face while she kept making guttural noises. Derek gripped her hair tightly in satisfaction, pulling her closer, his thrusts growing more and more forceful.

Every one of Derek's thrusts, every breath of pleasure he let out, sent pain rippling through me. The heat at my marked spot burned so intensely that it felt like my neck might snap.

It was a violation, and yet there was nothing I could do-nothing except watch.

I was unable to bear the pain of watching my mate mate with Cora, so I squeezed my eyes shut. Suddenly, the sounds ceased, replaced by a satisfied grunt from Derek.

My heart raced as I sensed Derek slowly approach me. He forcefully took me by the jaw and demanded that I open my eyes.

"Look at me, Omega," he sneered.

I forced my eyes open, meeting his cold hazel gaze. He towered over me, wearing a cruel, amusing look on his face.

"Disrespectful, were we?" he snarled.

I didn't answer. What was the point? Fueling his anger would only bring me more pain. He let out a humorless laugh before grabbing a whip coiled at his waist.

"This is what happens when you disrespect your alpha."

He struck la eather whip against my exposed back. I screamed, and he struck me again, and again, until my vision was blurred by my own tears.

"Never. Close. Your. Eyes. Again!" he yelled between each lash.

"No closing your fucking eyes, Omega!" He yelled again, this time he lowered himself to my level. "You will watch, and you will learn your fucking place!!"

I was furious. Gathering a glob of spit, I launched it at Derek with all the force I could muster. It landed with a wet plop on his boot, a pathetic attempt at rebellion that only seemed to amuse him.

"Still defiant, Omega?" he chuckled.

I screamed, "Just break the damn bond, you coward! I'd rather be a rogue than your slave!"

He took the whip once more and struck me hard against my already wounded back.

"Silence, Omega!" Derek roared. "Disobeying your alpha is a crime punishable by worse than a few lashes."

"I'm your mate! Not your slave!" I glared at him and shouted. "Even if I'm ashamed of it."

"You bitch!" Derek raised the whip in a rage, aiming to strike my face, but Cora stepped forward and grabbed his arm.

"Stop, Derek," Cora said softly, her crimson lips curling into a smile. "Is this how you treat your mate?" She glanced at me with feigned sympathy.

Derek sneered. "She's not a mate. If it weren't for the werewolf king's decree. I would never have been bonded to this pathetic piece of shit."

"Ah," Cora's voice dropped into a purr. "Is there really no other way? My father promised that if you bonded with me, he would provide your pack with a generous amount of money."

Derek's expression darkened. "Cora, I'm sorry. But the king's law is absolute. An Alpha cannot reject his mate by choice or whim. I can't risk being stripped of my position."

"But if his mate betrays him first, he can," Cora said slyly, her eyes landing on my face.

I clenched my jaw. Betray Derek? I was born for it. Every painful moment, every cruel blow, only deepened my hatred for him. But I wouldn't take that risk. I had too much left to do.

Cora walked up to Derek and whispered something in his ear. I couldn't hear what she said, but I saw the spark of hope ignite in Derek's eyes again. Without hesitation, he left the room with Cora.

"Bitch," he grumbled. "Clean yourself up, and also clean up the floors too, Omega. It reeks of cum."

"Tomorrow, the King arrives. You wouldn't want to make a bad impression, now would you?" He added.

Cora burst out laughing, while Derek took her by the waist and led her out the door. The heavy slam of the door made me flinch. The room was filthy mess.

But as long as I survived another night, another test of Derek's cruelty, I was beyond grateful.

I pushed myself off the cold stone floor, wincing at the ache in my back. There was a bucket of stagnant water and a rough rag in the corner, those were the pathetic tools I was expected to use to erase the evidence of their intimacy.

After several hours of thorough cleaning, I took a deep breath and limped out of the room, heading towards the house that used to be my parents' residence.

Derek has already turned it into a ruin. However, even though it has become a ruin, I still have deep feelings for it.

Walking into the house, I ran my fingers over the dust-covered wooden table. Memories surged through me.

I was the daughter of an Alpha. My pack lived close to Derek's. When I was fifteen, a plague swept through and took the lives of every wolf-except me. Derek showed up and brought me to his pack. He said it was my beauty that saved me.

But that wasn't salvation. It was hell. Everyone in Derek's pack treated me like a curse. And things only got worse. When I turned sixteen, my wolf failed to awaken during the transformation. I was labeled an Omega. And a powerful force pulled me toward my mate-Derek.

From that moment on, his hatred grew deeper. The Werewolf King, ruler of all the packs, had decreed that no Alpha could reject their fated mate. He believed an Alpha's power could only reach its full potential by bonding with their destined partner, and that cruelty toward mates would be harshly punished.

No one dared defy the Werewolf King. But Derek found another way to rebel-he made me watch while he slept with other she-wolves.

But I won't surrender. Before they died, my parents told me I carried a great power inside me. That was the reason I didn't fall to the plague. I have to find that power, and uncover the truth behind the plague.

"I won't die, Mom. Dad," I whispered. "I'll survive. I'll take revenge on those who wronged me. This pack will rise again. I won't let you down."

Tomorrow, the Wolf King will arrive. I don't know why he's coming. Rumor has it he still hasn't found his mate. But he holds absolute power over all werewolves.

And I desperately hope. he will be the key to my freedom.

Exposing Derek's cruelty, his disregard for the laws, his abuse of power – it was a gamble, a risky move that could backfire. But it was my only chance.

And as I stared into the faded eyes of my parents in a partly broken portrait, I was determined.

I wouldn't beg. I wouldn't plead. I would stand tall, hold my head high, and expose the truth about this pack, this Alpha, and the living nightmare they had forced upon me.