Chapter 1 Her miserable daily life

"When will you finally stop?"

Grace Murphy stood in the middle of the messy living room. Empty alcohol bottles were scattered on the floor, the chairs and sofas were pushed far out of place in a messy arrangement, and a strong odour filled the air. In the middle of the room lay Samantha, her mother, asleep with a pale face and wrinkles that seemed to grow deeper day by day.

Grace sighed deeply. This was the umpteenth time she had found her mother in this state. She had never imagined her mother could sink this low. The Samantha she remembered was a loving person, always striving to give her best despite their simple life. But that was years ago, before her mother became consumed by alcohol.

"Mom," Grace called out, her voice barely audible.

Her mother only let out a soft snort, as if she were having a nightmare. Since Grace entered her teenage years, her mother had begun to change. At first, she just seemed more withdrawn and easily angered, but gradually, the habit of drinking alcohol began to take hold of her. Almost every night, Samantha would get drunk, disappearing into her world. In the morning, Grace often found herself with bruises on her hands or a sore cheek from her mother's wild outbursts.

"Can you stop this drinking habit of yours? You do it almost every day." She complained while tidying up the place.

Samantha tried to sit up, leaning against the sofa, giving her a dismissive glance. "Stop telling me what to do, Grace!" the woman snapped, holding her throbbing head. "You have no right to control my life! Stop being so annoying like everyone else!" The woman raised her voice further.

Grace took a deep breath and exhaled. "Alright. I'll leave." She quickly got up from her seat, knowing it was pointless to argue with her mother, but she couldn't bear to just ignore her and leave without saying anything. "Please don't do anything stupid while I'm gone-"

"Oh God... just go, Grace!" Samantha shouted impatiently.

Grace walked out, closing the door slowly. The path to campus felt cold in the morning. After a few minutes, Grace arrived at the campus corridor. She tried to focus on that day's lessons, but as soon as she took a few steps, she saw two very familiar figures standing at the end of the corridor-Agnes and Brix. Her heart raced. Those two people, who had once been her best friends, were now a nightmare she couldn't escape.

"Look, our loser is finally here." Agnes greeted Grace with her shrill voice, approaching her while exchanging laughter with Brix.

Agnes and Brix had once been her closest friends. They had grown up together, but everything changed when they each discovered their wolf identities. Agnes became a delta, while Brix became a gamma. With their higher status, they felt Grace, who was merely an omega, was no longer worthy of being their friend.

Grace knew this was part of the hierarchy that had existed for ages. As an omega, she was at the bottom of the hierarchy, which meant she had no right to resist. But the change was so sudden, so painful.

"Have you finished our assignment?" Agnes glanced at her with an expression that hinted at a threat behind her smile. "This morning, Brix and I have to present the assignment you worked on. I hope you haven't let me down."

Grace nodded. "Yes, I've finished it. You don't need to worry." She began to open her bag and search for the files she had worked on all night for them. "Everything is done. You just need to study it before presenting it so you understand it better." Despite their shortcomings, Grace guided them without trying to harm them.

Agnes took the flash drive without even looking at it. "Yeah, you're so bossy." She laughed along with Brix, who seemed to agree with her.

Brix's eyes glanced at Grace again with a scanning gaze. "What's wrong with your clothes, Grace?" He narrowed his eyes as he assessed Grace's appearance. "Are you trying to show everyone that your life is miserable? You don't need to try so hard to make your appearance worse, because everyone already knows how miserable your life is."

His harsh words were music to Agnes' ears, and she immediately stepped forward, turned around, and looked at Grace more closely.

"Aught, you're right, Brix." She shook her head and looked up at Grace's face. "What's wrong with you? You look more and more miserable every day. Come on, Grace, try to look better. You look like a homeless person with that scruffy appearance. But yeah... I understand why you look like that. You're too busy taking care of your alcoholic mother to have time to take care of yourself."

Both of them shook their heads simultaneously, staring at Grace with pity. "It's truly unfortunate. Every time I see you, I feel so frustrated, Grace." Brix uttered those sympathetic words in a mocking tone, crushing Grace's self-confidence.

Agnes laughed smugly. "She's truly pitiful. Let's just leave her be. Taking care of her is too much of a burden." She wrapped her arm around Brix and walked away.

Grace tried to steady herself by taking a deep breath and continuing to walk, though she felt disturbed and increasingly self-conscious. Her life was already filled with insults. At school, she was always looked down upon. Labelled as "the daughter of a crazy woman who likes to drink," "a useless omega," and she often heard taunts that she didn't belong in their circle.

She only hoped to finish her studies quickly. After that, she would leave, far from everyone who looked down on her, and start a new life elsewhere. That was the only hope she had now, the only dream keeping her going.

When class finally ended, Grace hurried out of the campus building. Her steps were hurried, trying to distance herself from the people who always looked down on her. However, as she walked toward the campus gate, a conversation nearby caught her attention. A group of students were talking about someone with admiration and enthusiasm.

"Lucas Xanders is truly extraordinary. He's perfect," said one of them, his eyes sparkling with admiration.

Grace paused, unable to resist her curiosity. She had heard the name Lucas Xanders many times before. Lucas himself was a handsome, charismatic, and intelligent young alpha. It was no wonder so many people idolised him. Lucas had everything Grace didn't: strength, status, and honour. Sometimes, Grace imagined what her life would be like if she were like Lucas-someone respected, adored, and with a bright future.

However, she knows it's just a futile fantasy. Lucas's world and hers are so far apart, and the possibility of becoming like him is impossible. Grace smiles bitterly, pushing the daydream out of her mind. She continues walking toward her house, trying to forget her admiration for someone so far beyond her status.

Upon arriving home, Grace feels something is off. She opened the door and was stunned to see the house in a state vastly different from usual. The house, which was usually cluttered with empty alcohol bottles, now looked tidy. There were no more bottles scattered on the floor, no pungent smell of alcohol. There was even an unusual fresh scent in the room.

"Mom?" Grace called out, her voice trembling slightly.

But there was no response. The house was quiet, unlike usual. Grace walked into the living room, making sure no one was there. But the room was empty, only the silence felt off. Grace sat on the sofa, looking around in confusion.

Her mind began to fill with questions. Why was the house suddenly clean? Where was her mother? Did this mean something bigger was happening? Grace couldn't suppress the growing sense of unease in her chest. On one hand, she felt relieved that the house finally looked more livable. But on the other hand, something was bothering her, something felt wrong.

"What happened to her? Could she have finally come to her senses?" Her expression furrowed, doubting that possibility.