THE ALPHA'S REKINDLED BOND

Lillian's POV

"Pathetic," I muttered to myself as I picked up a dirty plate from the table and carefully put it in the sink, which was next to it.

Brenda and her silly friend Sylvia were at it again, gossiping about our Alpha.

It was tiring to hear them, yet I still couldn't stop myself from listening to their conversation.

"How on earth does he still look like he is in his twenties?" Brenda asked in a whisper.

"I know, right! Gosh, he doesn't age at all! He's in his late thirties, yet he still looks like a hunky teenager. Is that what it means to be an Alpha?" Sylvia answered as I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

Luckily, they couldn't see me because I had my back towards them, but that didn't mean I liked how they were talking about him.

And who was dumb enough to think that our Alpha wasn't aging because of his rank? It was clear that it was because of what we were!

Werewolves were different from humans in most ways. Not only did we age slowly, we had heightened abilities and impressive strength. We could heal in just a few seconds unless the wound was too deep; then it took some minutes.

But despite that, there were a few things that were a hazard and deadly to us, such as a vampire's bite. It brought about pain, and if not treated in time, one could lose their lives.

Red Otis, it was a rare flower that was hardly found because it only grew in hidden places and blossomed after fifty to a hundred years.

It was deadly in that a single dose killed any supernatural being or human. Then there was wolfsbane; it was made in both liquid and powdered form.

A simple dose made one's immune system weak for some hours, but that was it. It only became serious when it was overdosed. Silver usually burnt our skin but not to the point of inflicting wounds; it only made the skin itch, ache, and bruise.

We also had super speed and hearing, among other things. Although we lived in packs, some took it upon themselves to go rogue either due to being mateless, rejected, or banished.

The ranks that oversaw everything were the ones that were respected the most.

It was of no surprise that the Alpha was the topic spoken about every day by the she-wolves of our pack. After all, he was the Alpha male and the highest of rank. A born leader who ruled over us all, despite being a total cold bastard, no one paid attention to his wrongdoing.

His beta, the second in command (his right hand), was talked about too, sadly it wasn't as often as the Alpha. He too had an attitude which he rarely showed, but I saw past the innocent kind mask because underneath all that was the devil himself. He was worse than our Alpha.

Our Gamma, the third in command, was mischievous, and he was comfortable enough to show everyone that side. That's why the warriors too began taking after him.

The only one who was genuine, even though he spoke less, was our Delta,the fourth in command. Although he usually kept away from most things, that didn't mean he could interfere in anything.

Most times he would watch me or any other weak she-wolf being harassed yet do nothing. I found it odd, yet to me, he was better than the rest.

"Hey, bitch, why have your hands stopped moving?" Brenda asked loudly, pulling me out of my deep thoughts.

"I'm sorry," I whispered in a respectful, husky tone and began cleaning the plates.

My throat was still hurting from the pleading I did a while ago, and my hand had a deep cut that was now slowly healing.

My lip was slightly burst, and my scalp was still burning.

"Food," my wolf growled.

She was always speaking like a child. She wouldn't keep a conversation running, and she rarely spoke.

We were both starving because we had been ordered not to eat for three days. Sadly, we still couldn't go against the Alpha's orders and eat.

"We can't," I whispered silently.

Those two were there to watch me finish the chores flawlessly. If I did something like eat or steal anything secretly, it was going to end badly for me.

"Where is she?" The deep, demanding voice I knew all too well echoed outside the kitchen room.

"I asked a fucking question, where is that weak bitch!" He exclaimed, and this time I tensed in fear as my heart picked up.

I knew he had walked into the kitchen by his intoxicating scent, yet I chose to play dumb.

When the sound of his footsteps began approaching me, I felt so terrified, and my wolf began to whimper.

Before I could turn to look at his face, I was grabbed by the hair and yanked backward as I quickly moved my hands to grab his hand, which was inflicting pain on my scalp.

"You dumb bitch, what did you say to her!" He spat as his grip tightened, making me scream in pain.

Although the tingles that spread throughout my body were easing most of my pain, I couldn't believe how much my own mate, the Alpha,Chose to hurt me every day. If not for his mistress, then it was because he couldn't stand seeing me.

"Alpha, you are hurting me," I screamed in a pleading loud tone as my eyes became filled with tears.

My wolf was loudly whimpering, yet she couldn't stand or go against our mate.

"I come back after a long drive, and the first thing I hear is your disgusting name from my lover. Do you know how upset that makes me?" He asked and then let go of my hair and grabbed my hand that was healing, dragging me out of the room, ignoring my sobs.

"I did nothing wrong, please," I whispered over and over again while I tried my best to keep up with his movements. He went upstairs to his room, kicked the door open, then pushed me forward. I fell on the ground and groaned in pain.

"Now tell me, Leah, what did she say that made you so sad?" He asked.

She sat upright on the bed, making sure the sheet which was around her was no longer covering her body.She was happily showing off the hickeys that were all over her naked body.

Even without her doing that, it was obvious that he was from having sex with her; I could smell her on him when he had walked into the kitchen.

I was disgusted, but my fear overshadowed that.

Ever since I knew that the Alpha was my mate, he wasted no time to laugh in my face and tell me how he never wanted me. It wasn't a direct rejection, but I understood his words clearly.

Not only was I a cursed Omega who caused the death of the two most respected Gammas of our pack, I was of no value to anyone.

If not for my mother having a complicated birth, my father wouldn't have gone out of the pack in search of a great healer for help. He wouldn't have been attacked by rogues, and he would have still been alive.

When the news of my father reached my mother, her situation got worse, and due to losing too much blood, she perished, and I was born.Since then, every pack member has hated me; they all wished I was the one who should have died at that time, not my parents.

Despite being raised in the pups' orphanage by the elderly omegas, I was the most mistreated.

I ate less and worked so hard. I did chores that were meant for others without complaining. Every time I did complain, I was badly punished both by the other kids and the elderly omegas. Pain became a part of me, and day by day, all that I wished for was to survive.

I wanted to live, not only for myself but for my mate who would accept and cherish me. Despite being harassed, and a few times being attacked by the warriors who attempted to rape me, I survived it all.

Then I turned eighteen and discovered the Alpha who everyone thought was mateless was my mate.

Two things dawned on me: first, he knew who I was to him because he was older than me and watched as I got mistreated.

Secondly, he hated me and wanted nothing to do with me. There and then, my heart and purpose were broken.

The will to live was still there, but I had nowhere to go and no one to love me. The only one who would lend a shoulder for me to cry on secretly was Flora, one of the elderly Omegas who usually avoided everyone and kept to herself.

My wolf, too, was weak, and she couldn't stand her ground because of her rank. We had to watch as the Alpha took on a lover who he openly praised and had sex with in his room every day.

Whenever I showed signs of being hurt or tried to plead with him not to hurt me, he ended up hitting me or making me regret ever speaking up.

"I heard her say how she had hoped you would still make her Luna," Leah spoke up as I widened my eyes in disbelief.

Why? Why was she always this hard on me? She already won because she had him in her grasp, yet she usually lied to only have him hit me in front of her. Was it because she thought I would ever be accepted by him?

She was of Delta blood, so why would she even pay attention to my Omega blood?

"Is that so?" My mate asked in a cold, husky voice.

"No, I didn't," I said in a low tone as I shook my head.

When he moved and grabbed my hair, roughly forcing me to get on my feet and look at him, I knew then and there he was going to kill me.

Lillian's POV

"It's all going to be fine," I whispered to myself, then coughed and sniffed, ignoring the scent of my blood in the little dark room I was locked in.

My face was badly bruised, and I couldn't see properly on one side of my eyes, which was hurting. My wolf was silent, and all I could do was comfort the two of us with empty words.

My mate had hit us again, and it came as no surprise. He did it most of the time, even when he wanted to take out his frustration on me whenever he argued with his lover. He called me to his room and then just began hitting me. Never was there a day he looked at me lovingly or talked to me tenderly.

Did he have a wolf? Definitely, and they both hated us.

"I don't think we will be in here for long; they need us," I said softly to myself, then chuckled.

No one was as good as I was with chores, so no matter what, they were going to call me. Only two days had passed, so I was sure that pretty soon they were going to call me.

"Beautiful day, yet again," I whispered with tears in my eyes, then laughed loudly and moved my hand to my chest to ease my heartache.

Now it was better than the first time the Alpha betrayed me. I couldn't understand why I was struggling to breathe and in so much pain the first time after I had found out he was my mate.

But then it happened over and over again, and I realized that whenever he was having sex with another, it grieved my wolf so much to the point of us going through unbearable pain. But with time, the pain became a part of us, and we learned how to live with it.

When I heard the sound of the door, I forced myself to my feet, smiling as it opened. I hated the dark so much but acted okay with it because there was nothing I could do about it even if I voiced out my words.

"You are in luck, the Delta asked me to tell you about the party that is happening this evening. Everyone has already begun to prepare," Brenda said lazily, then sighed loudly and continued to speak.

"If not for being short-staffed, I wouldn't have come here to free you, even if it was the Delta's orders," she said, then looked at me from head to toe.

"What, you don't want to come out? Do you prefer the dark?" she asked in a mocking tone.

"No," I forced out the words and slowly moved to where she was.

I had night vision because of my wolf, but still being in the dark was like hell.

She shut the door behind me then looked at me carefully.

"You are a weird one, aren't you? This time don't even think about talking or looking at Miss Leah. If you do, the Alpha might end you," she said as I frowned.

"I'm his mate," I answered in a whisper.

"Stupid, you are an Omega and it ends there," she spat loudly and then began to walk as I followed behind.

"You have a pack to clean and some washing to do. The elderly omegas will be in in charge of helping out the appointed she-wolves to prepare a meal, while I and a few others will be in charge of decorations," she said proudly.

"Um....is the party for the Alpha or are there guests who will come to visit?" I asked and then quickly bit my lower lip when she stopped walking and looked at me coldly.

When she smiled, I frowned.

"Since it's a good day, why shouldn't I answer you. Today's party will be held because the Alpha has decided to announce to everyone that Miss Leah will be his true mate and Luna," she answered as I felt the sound around us die and my vision blur for a second.

"What?" I asked in a cracked voice as my wolf growled angrily.

"You heard me. Today is the day the Alpha will officially introduce Miss Leah as our Luna. Come on, you must have known by now that it was going to happen sooner or later," she said then chuckled softly.

"He hates you as much as we all do, and he loves her. Look at yourself and then at her. You are a living definition of a pig, and nothing about your body is appealing. Your eyes are dull, and your hair... I don't know what to make out of it. Is it white or just garbage brown?" She asked with disgust.

"On the other hand, Miss Leah is a beautiful blonde with an amazing figure and height. She walks with grace, and whenever she speaks, she captures the hearts of so many pack members. She's gorgeous, and her wolf is pretty impressive too," she said, then laughed a little as I blinked back the tears that were beginning to blind my vision.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure if you have a wolf because no one has ever seen you shift. Are you certain you are one of us?" She asked.

"Perhaps you were human all along, and the elderly omegas were kind enough to pick you up on the streets of human territory and raise you with a lie," she said as I felt my heart ache badly.

I clenched one of my hands into a fist and then took a deep breath. Hitting her was only going to get me in trouble, and why should I when her words held truth.

I was ugly compared to Leah; I guess that's one of the reasons why my mate didn't want me. Back then, I tried my best to bathe a lot to look a little better.

I even did my best to starve myself deliberately, even when the leftovers were left, but nothing worked. It even got worse because I gained more weight than before.

It really was a waste of time. The more I did my best, the more I got picked on and mocked by the pack members and him.

The time he paid attention to me was only when Leah had accused me of something to make him upset, and each time he approached me, he had a disgusted look on his face, which was so hurtful.

"I'll do my best to assist everyone; after all, this pack needs a worthy Luna, and miss Leah is the best choice," I forced out the words.

"See, there you go. You are now understanding your place. I wish you could have said this sooner. Miss Leah could have even asked the Alpha to let you off. After all, she's a very kind and innocent soul," she said and then turned and walked away as I stood still, wiping away the tears that were rolling down my cheeks.

No matter how much I pretended not to care or react, it was very hard for me. Each day made me feel like dying, yet I couldn't even bring myself to die or reject the Alpha.

I was truly weak and pathetic.

Lillian's POV:

I stood at the far end corner of the hall that was lavishly decorated. Everyone was busy chatting while some were eating and drinking happily.

I was the only one who stood alone and looked out of place. I couldn't keep my gaze up for more than a few minutes because I didn't want to be accused of something or threatened by another pack member.

Although whenever I looked up, I stole a few glances at the Alpha who stood in front of us whispering sweet words into Leah's ear while she blushed.

The party had begun, at least that's what I thought, yet they weren't saying anything and half an hour had gone by of us witnessing their flirting.

Leah wore a beautiful blue strapless short dress that matched her heels. Her hair was straightened like silk that fell perfectly to her back.

Her face was covered in beautiful makeup and red lipstick.Whenever she laughed, she raised her hand to cover her mouth, showing off a diamond ring that the Alpha had gifted her not so long ago on her twentieth birthday.

Although she looked good, the Alpha stole the attention of everyone.

His medium curly brunette hair was kind of shining, even from afar, and whenever he smiled, showing off his beautiful white teeth and dimples, my heart fluttered.

His ear and lip piercings only added to how sexy he was. He wore a dark blue shirt to match Leah's dress, leaving the first three buttons undone. His black trousers only showed off his amazing long legs and great build.

All the she-wolves' eyes were on him, and I was positive he was aware of it.

I lowered my eyes and looked at myself sadly.

For years, I felt insecure about my body, even now. My back had skin folds, and my stomach was like that of a pregnant woman.

I also had stretch marks on my stomach, breasts, and thighs. One would think that it was impossible for a she-wolf to have, yet here I was.

Although I had taken a bath, I still didn't look good, that I knew, and the baggy pink dress I was putting on didn't match my white hair or my light brown eyes.

"Ugly," I muttered to myself and then looked up and met the Gamma's gaze.

He stood with a few warriors and the Beta, looking my way. He smirked and then muttered something into one of the warriors' ears.

The warrior chuckled softly before he gave a bow and went to where the Alpha was standing.

"Excuse me, Alpha, I apologize for interrupting your conversation," he said with a bow.

The Alpha looked at him in annoyance, then sighed softly.

"What is it?" He asked coldly.

"I and the other warriors want to praise you for all your achievements and how amazing you are with Miss Leah," he said in a respectful tone and continued.

"I do understand that you have an important announcement coming up, but the Gamma and a few other warriors were wondering if you could allow us to make one of the weak Omegas our fun bait for our entertainment," he said as my heart picked up.

For a second, the Alpha looked bored, but when Leah tip-toed and whispered something in his ear, his face lit up.

"Fine, but I'll expect you to be back in an hour. Now if you will excuse me, I have something to do," he answered and then wrapped his arm around Leah's back and walked away with her, leaving everyone laughing at how horny he was.

My heart was hurting at their words, yet I forced myself to smile even when my wolf was whimpering.

I looked down and sniffed, trying so hard to push back the tears.

When I felt the atmosphere around me change, I quickly looked up and noticed how the warriors were approaching me. I desperately wanted to run away, yet their aura scared me enough to freeze in one place.

"What do we have here?" The warrior who had spoken to the Alpha asked.

I was able to ask them what they wanted when I was grabbed on each side of my arms and dragged.

I was about to scream when a loud, threatening growl silenced me. It was the Beta's and a warning to keep quiet. If I was to go against him, my punishment would be severe. I didn't want to be put in the dark room for nearly a month like they did one time in the past.

Not only was I starving to death and only allowed half a glass of water every two days, I was only taken to the toilet every three days with a blindfold.

It was so bad that I vowed to be on my best behavior since then because I nearly died from starvation.

"Please, I apologize for whatever I did," I pleaded.

"Shut up," came the Gamma's orders.

My wolf instantly submitted, but I couldn't shut up.

"Please," I sobbed.

A few minutes had gone by, yet they were still dragging me into the forest. I knew that even if I were to scream at the top of my voice, no one could come and save me.

They all hated me. The only thing I could think of was to prepare myself for anything.

"Is this far enough, Beta?" The warrior on my left side asked.

"Yup," came his reluctant response.

The warrior instantly let me go and pushed me forward with laughter.

"Listen up, you little worthless omega bitch. Right now, we are bored as well as pissed over the news we heard from Leah. So we will make this clear to you. In order for you to entertain us, we are going to give you a five-minute head start to run, and then we will take off after you," the Gamma said.

"If you manage to stay away from us and cross the river in time using a boat which is there, then we promise to leave you alone. But if you don't make it, then we will get to do anything we want to you. Now the time starts ticking," he said, and that was enough to send me off running.

If there was one thing we all knew in the pack, it was that the Gamma was very mischievous, and he never meant what he said because he enjoyed making pack members suffer.

Whenever he gave orders and someone failed to follow them, he literally found a way of killing them or making them disappear from the pack.

Me standing still would have only angered him enough to hurt me like I had witnessed before. I needed to cross that river as soon as possible.

My breath was labored, and my throat was dry. I felt weak due to overworking, and I was terrified for my life.

My wolf had a problem as well; she was so weak that she couldn't fully take over or allow us to shift. Even at a crucial time when we were being hit, all she could do was growl.

I couldn't understand what was wrong with her. But because she was still a great part of me, I embraced her very being.

"Little fat pig, here we come," I heard the Gamma say in our pack's mind link.

"Stay away from the open field," my wolf ordered as I instantly made a turn running towards a lot of trees. In my life, there was never a day I went to the border or river despite hearing about them.

I felt so confused as everything was new to me, and I had no idea where I was running to.

"River ahead," my wolf yelped, and I could smell it too.

I picked up my pace and rushed there. When the river came into view, I began looking around and slowed down.

I stood still, breathing heavily for a few minutes to catch a breath. After feeling much better, I began searching for the boat the Gamma had talked about.

"Move," my wolf ordered in a loud growl.

"Stop growling at me! You know how scared we are of the river!" I yelled back, then looked at the river.

"You know that we don't know how to swim. If we dive in, something might make us its food or worse, we could drown," I whispered huskily, then quickly turned when the growls sounded near.

The warriors, Gamma and Beta, appeared in their wolf form.

The more they moved closer, the more I moved backwards, shaking my head and pleading to them in fear.

The Beta growled louder, making the place slightly shake. I quickly moved backwards and lost my balance, falling into the river.

The first thing I felt was my nose and throat hurt as I tried to swim. I was swallowing water and trying to scream at the same time; my eyes were hurting, and my heart was hurting as the warriors' laughter filled my ears.

My throat felt like it was burning as the force felt like I was choking. I was terrified, yet I was losing my strength to swim up.