˙❥

The half moon hung lowly above, casting a soft glow in the eerie darkness. The tree leaves danced lightly to the cool breeze and maybe, to the sound of the crickets. We were far from the pack - very far, and any more steps, we would leave the pack territory and enter the forbidden area. I was just ten, but I knew, yet I couldn't help but ask again.

"Papa, we would be breaching the Pack's law if we went further, right?" My small voice drooled out, mingling with the darkness.

"You know too much, Val, and it's bad..." My father complained, tightening his grip on my wrist.

"Anymore questions from-"

He hadn't finished speaking when two big black wolves rushed from the shadows. One with grey patches and eyes, the other, black with eyes the same colour as its fur - dark, empty, and devoid of warmth. Their claws were tainted with fresh blood, stares deadly, intense, as they trudged fast toward us.

The grey-patched wolf suddenly yanked my dad from my grip, flinging him to the side before he could shift, while the other sneered loudly before me, his eyes narrow yet dangerous, mysterious, drawing me in like a magnet.

I should have screamed, should have run because that's what we were told to always do as kids born to an omega when we see a predatory wolf, but I didn't. Instead, I stretched forth my arms, ready to pat it on the head until it suddenly opened its mouth, grabbing my cloth so hard-

A loud wail left my lips and fear made my blood freeze...

"Are you okay?" A voice pulled me from the nightmare. I sat up, heaving loudly, my eyes roaming around the unfamiliar space- until it landed on a petite lady in a blue uniform by my side, and my hands grabbed her tightly.

I clung to her gown like it was a safety net from the horrific dream; the dream that had always tormented me after that night. "He... help...me." My voice shook.

The night I became fatherless.

The night I was given the name 'Cursed.'

The night everything started.

"Help me," I muttered again, my voice dry and croaky.

"It's okay," the young lady said, bringing a cup of water to my lips.

Afterwards, my breath steadied and I became aware of where I was. The white ceiling, large bed, fluffy blanket. I wasn't in my pack, the Hallow Wood pack.

Adrenaline rushed through my veins as I pulled the thick blanket from my waist. A golden gown graced my body. My eyes lifted to meet the lady and my neck burned gravely, reminding me of how I came here.

I glanced around the room again, my breath coming out at a fast pace. The moment in the branding room hit my memory like a wave, dread pooling in the pit of my stomach.

The room was big, bigger than even Jaydeyn's room at the pack house, yet my breath felt constricted, like a huge block was sitting on my chest, while the lady looked calm, her face unreadable, with her eyes just watching my frantic movement.

"Where am I?" I finally spoke, clutching the edge of my gown. Of course, I know I would probably be in the pack of Alpha Ryker but I wanted my thoughts to be wrong.

"Welcome to Grim Howl pack." A soft, creeping smile grazed the face of the young girl who was probably a maid.

I moved toward the edge of the bed, shaking my head lightly. "No...it can't be," I hollered, laughing hysterically but the maid didn't waver.

"Where's Alpha Ryker?"

"He demands your presence in his room," she said, walking confidently out of the room.

His room?

I dashed out immediately, tailing carefully behind the maid who took a turn to the right before stopping at a gigantic wooden door - brown with stripes of grey.

The door opened to us, like it heard some silent whisper, or magic but as I looked behind, the maid was gone, leaving me to walk into the devil's lair, alone.

The inside was dimly lit with just a streak of light seeping through a window, decorated with grey, ornate curtains.

He has to be team-grey.

I adjusted my sight to get a better view of the room. Grey ceiling, a large alpha-size bed in the middle, a three-legged table, and of course, a grey sofa at the side of the wall that I didn't notice earlier.

My breath halted.

"For someone unconscious, you sure have thick guts to just look around," Alpha Ryker whispered, standing from the sofa with a wine glass in his palm. His daunting, precise muscles spread magnanimously. He didn't make any movement, just smiling with a sharp stare that made my skin burn.

"Come here," he muttered hoarsely, sending a tremor down my spine, before setting the glass on a stool beside him.

"Me?..."

"Who else, or did the silver affect your eyesight?"

I took a step forward, my heart pounding within my ribcage. I took more steps, standing a foot before him, my head bowed lightly.

"Valkyrie, right?" My name drew out of his lips - low, sleek, like a murmured prayer. He closed the tiny space between us, snaking his palm around my throat, raising my head. I winced from the impact of his hold as the pain of my branding throbbed with unbearable heat.

"You're hurting me."

"That's what happens when you don't have a wolf." He simmered, his thumb pressing harder on my wound.

"Please..." I begged.

"Why don't you have a wolf, Val? Why do you have to be so... human?" He asked, his voice low, then his grip loosened, to my surprise. He was acting like he was high on whatever was in the glass he was holding earlier.

Next, he brought his lips to my neck, trailing lightly to my shoulder, and down to my collarbone. For some reason, my skin quivered, shaking with unexplainable need. I lay forward, pressing my bre@st to his chest, as I felt the fast beat of his heart.

His hands didn't hold back either - they moved over my back, waist, and hips. Kneading, touching, as if memorising the sketch of my curves... until he abruptly stopped. I pulled back immediately.

"I... I'm sorry," I blurted, fiddling with the thread of my gown. I watched as he lay back on the sofa, replacing that desire I saw in his eyes with cold stares.

Stretching forth his arm, he collected the wine glass from the stool, brought it to his lips while his gaze still settled on me. I gulped loudly, loosely, and I had to bite my tongue to prevent the heat settling beneath my gown.

It was a painful sight to see as his Adam's apple moved up and down in an intriguing way. My legs clenched tightly.

"Strip." Ryker's voice boomed within the room, slicing through the cold moment like a sharp ice.

"You say-?" I bent lightly, hoping to hear differently.

No, this wasn't happening.

It can't be.

"Would you prefer I repeat my statement or... Do it myself?"

★ RYKER

"No," Karl screamed within. I could feel the despair in his voice.

"She's an Omega, Karl. A slave."

Silence.

I heaved heavily, pushing him to the back of my mind.

I can't possibly accept a wolf-less wolf, almost equal to a human. A curse." I spat, tugging my teeth as I watched her face stained with tears.

"Please," she pleaded, rushing forward until her back slammed the foot of the sofa. "Please, I beg you!"

"Make it snappy," I muttered, shifting my eyes to the window. A white dove perched at the side of the window pane - spotless, pure, like the white witch beneath me right now, who's pale and still.

The handler who had brought her in earlier, along with another young man bundled her out of the room and into the carriage situated just at the foot of the thick forest.

Two pack members, Finn and Gerald, who had followed us here, quickly shifted into their wolves, holding the reins of the carriage in their mouths before gliding into the thick forest.

I took Valkyrie's vulnerable state in my arms.

My father's wolf swooshes beside us. The intensity of his anger could be felt in his wolf's loud snarl and large gallop. He'd refused to enter the carriage.

We arrived at the pack late, the shadows thicker with the half-moon casting a dull glow over the earth. Everywhere was quiet. Finn and Gerald shifted back, changing into a spare coat. I glanced behind, watching my father as he strode into the mansion.

My eyes settled on Valkyrie on my lap, her chest rising slowly. Her face looked serene, peaceful, with her freckles that seemed like galaxies in the sky. I traced my thumb over her supple lips, feeling the softness of them.

The primal urge to slam my lips on them overwhelmed me. To claim them, to know how they feel against mine.

"Alpha, we would be settling the carriage in the field." Finn pulled me out of my trance.

"Okay. Gerald, tell the head maid a guest will be using the guest room."

Carefully, I placed her over my shoulder, trudging up the stairs of the mansion.

"Welcome, Alpha," I heard Blaise's voice in my head. Whipping my head to the side, he lay on the door arms crossed.

"You couldn't even come down to welcome me properly," I said while he walked forward to open the door of the room.

" It's not a victory cause, so why should I welcome you properly?"

I didn't respond as I lay Valkyrie on the purple, smooth bed.

My gaze lingered on her small frame until the door creaked open and Hannah, the head maid, entered.

She bowed lightly, taking a thick blanket from the closet, covering Valkyrie's body.

"Clean her body with warm water and change her clothes," I ordered before leaving the room.

"You promised not to be like your father!" Blaise thundered, halting me in my steps.

"You don't talk to me in that manner."

I saw his eyes flicker, a strong resolve between anger and obedience, and I would rather he chose the latter.

"You're pathetic." He walked off, opening the door to my room and stepping inside like he owned it.

If not because of the years of our friendship from childhood, I would have broken his mouth until he'd prefer to be mute.

"She killed her mother."

"Was that why you bought her?"

I took my robe off, exhaling loudly from the freedom of the thick cloth.

"She's intriguing," I answered, moving my hands over my hair.

Blaise laughed mockingly. The kind do after killing a rogue.

My face contorted into something sinister but I masked it with a forced smile.

"Can you listen to yourself, Ryk? The same act that had made you almost leave the Alpha Academy years ago? The same act that your father picked a year after the death of your mother? Like she was of no value?"

Blaise's eyes cut through my skin, like fire- fierce.

"This same act that made you kill a man to save your father? This same act you swear you wouldn't partake-?"

"It's okay, Blaise." I walked to the window. Stars scattered over the moon, and the quietness loomed over the forest that only sang the songs of the crickets and owls. I stared blankly, briefly reminiscing about the moment I saw her on that stage.

"It wasn't possible." My voice drooled out unknowingly, and I didn't realise I had said it out loud. "It wasn't possible that I could leave without doing something." I turned to him.

"So you bought her?"

"Her name is Valkyrie. Valkyrie Nightborn." Even the name tasted ancient, pure.

"I can't believe you," Blaise muttered weakly, walking to the wine rack, pouring himself some drink, "that you would tell me you want to be different from your father only to start becoming the very thing you hate."

I closed my eyes, his words hitting a nerve.

"And do you realise you just graduated from the Alpha's academy? Is this how you intend to begin your reign?" He added.

"I have already done what I hate, Blaise! There's nothing I can do about it; it's not like there's a refund." He glared at me in disbelief. "But I won't reign like my father."

"A pleasure slave. That's what his reign is about."

"Don't make it seem like my father created this act. Let it be the last time we talk about this," I said sternly, heading to the bathroom.

"What about her? Noura?"

"Blaise, leave my room," I commanded and he did without a thought, slamming the door on his way out.

I walked into the bathroom, the day's activity weighing deeply on my shoulders. As the warm water hit my skin, I didn't realise how tired I was.

After the bath, I lay on the bed, without a single meal or dinner. I had mind-linked the staff not to bother.

I didn't sleep, I couldn't. With every toss and turn on the bed, her eyes kept me awake, like they had taken me in if I closed mine, and when I finally succumbed to the light palm of sleep, I woke up to the chirping sounds of birds outside my window.

"Alpha Ryker," Hannah's voice called in time. "Would you prefer I bring your breakfast now or-"

"Call the slave, Valkyrie. Bring her to my room."

I took a swift shower, then poured myself some drink before sitting casually on the sofa, Blaise's voice making my blood boil as the memories of yesterday came flooding back like waves.

The door opened at that moment. Valkyrie ducked her head, taking light steps inside and boldly looking around. I lay back, enjoying the obvious reaction on her pale face.

"For someone unconscious, you sure have thick guts to look around."

˙❥ VALKYRIE

"Would you prefer I repeat my statement or... Do it myself?"

I shuffled my feet, suddenly forgetting how to pull a dress off, "Uhm... Sorry," I mumbled, fumbling with the tie of the gown.

"Now."

How was I supposed to shred a dress this expensive-looking?

"No. I won't," I said defiantly, taking two steps back.

"You won't or you can't? Choose your words carefully, Val." He sat upright, returning the glass to the stool. My feet kept dragging me to the door. I won't destroy the dress or take it off.

I looked boldly at his face, noticing the shade of emotions; from anger to something darker.

Doom's words at the auction replayed in my mind. "They would continue what their mother started." Tears welled in my eyes, clinging to my lashes.

"Let me go!" I screamed, but he was sitting unmoved, taking more drink from the wine glass.

You don't have to wait for him to take action. The words rang in my head, and I lurched to the door, placing my hand on the knob so I could bolt out but it was locked.

How?

My heart raced.

I didn't remember locking the door when I stepped in.

"No, please." I shook the door, glancing over my shoulder only to see him closely behind me. His hand quickly grabbed my neck, the air chilled, sharp as a broken glass in my lungs.

His finger stuck painfully on my wound.

"So silly of you to think you can run from me." His lips whispered near my ear, the tickling sensation making it twitch.

Stupid ear.

I haven't even thought of how I was going to escape this hell, this pack, and the weird people in it. I only wanted to leave the room to avoid spoiling the dress and stripping before him but it seems I have a plan to orchestrate now. Leaving here.

"Argh!"

His hands gripped my neck hard, and I felt my throat stiffen. My eyes rolled to the back of my head as my hands held tightly to his wrist.

"Plea..."

"Strip!" He threw me off, my waist hitting the table in the middle of the room.

"You're wolf-less, Val." He fumed and I was shocked. Why was he so angry? "An Omega. A witch!"

Hot fluid ran down my cheeks at his words. No, it wasn't the words, it was the way he said it. Like I was an abomination. Something that shouldn't exist.

I found my footing, holding the edge of the table so I didn't fall. Without hesitation, I shredded the dress and the ripping sound filled the room.

The room was warm with the red glow from the fire burning in the hearth, but cold chills washed over my body, as if tiny ice were placed on them. Worst was his stare; it made my skin crawl in disgust.

He moved in light steps, watching me with his head tilted like he was analyzing a specimen.

Afterwards, I felt him behind me, his lips on my neck; just there, not moving.

His hands roamed my skin and I whimpered, clenching my teeth. My fist curled at my side.

"I hate you!" I seethed, not scared if I would get punished for my utterance but his next word made my legs shake.

"But your body says otherwise, Val. You don't know it but I can feel the way you shiver under my touch."

"It's a lie."

He stepped back a bit, his eyes sweeping over my frail physique-from my face to my chest; staring a bit longer than usual before looking at my face again.

"Then prove me wrong," he muttered, snaking his palm around my waist. Before I could resist, he slammed his lips on mine, our tongues entwining like twisted vines.

Heat flushed over my skin, and an unknown desire I didn't know existed gripped my body.

A loud moan escaped my lips, my hands finding their way to his shoulder. My nails dug lightly into his shirt as I tried to control the turmoil swirling in my head.

The sound on the door disrupted us and I pulled away quickly from his hold, arranging the torn piece of my gown.

My ribcage hurt with each thud of my heart.

I glanced towards Alpha Ryker but his face was calm, like we weren't almost caught in an act.

Like he didn't just make my skin crawl with need.

"Take the cloth on the bed..." I turned to the black dress on the mattress, a large contrast to the torn golden gown. "And get out."

Why was I dressed in a nice gown only to make me spoil it?

I slid the dress over my head, rushing toward the door but like earlier, the door wouldn't open. The knock came again, followed by a feminine voice.

"Ryk, would you open this door?"

I glanced towards Alpha Ryker and he pointed at the side of the door. A tiny hole was seen with a long, metal object that seems like a key but isn't.

"Twist it," he said stiffly. The moment the door opened, a lady in a tight, blue corset burst into the room.

She stared at me for a while, her eyes sizing up my disheveled appearance.

"Ryk, don't tell me it's true," she retreated slightly, her eyes darting from Ryker to me. "Don't tell me you really bought a low-life Omega. A pleasure slave?"

The words stung, and I rolled my tongue to hold the words that lay at the tip of my lips.

"I bought her because I wanted to teach her a lesson, Noura," Alpha Ryker muttered, trudging to the young lady.

A lesson?

My fingers trembled, restless, grasping for something solid until they wrapped around the doorknob but I couldn't run, not when my legs were weak with fear.

Alpha Ryker opened his arms, bringing her to his chest as he planted a light kiss on her hair.

He was the same man who held me in that same manner. Who had made my legs clench with need?

I scoffed inwardly.

So foolish of me.

"Why?" The lady whispered, her hands hugging tightly as if he had vanished if she let loose.

"She killed her mother and for some reason, I was intrigued. What kind of power does she have?" Alpha Ryker muttered above the lady's head, his eyes looking into my white ones while stroking her back up and down in a slow, intimate pace.

His words jabbed at my heart like a sleek ice,

"I didn't kill my mother!" Heat coiled in my gut, ready to spill.

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? It's like a black wolf saying they're white. Doesn't it sound ridiculous?" The lady whom Ryker had referred to as Noura, said. Her arm didn't loosen entirely from his waist but she spun just enough to look me straight in the eyes. "When I'm speaking, you bow."

My voice thickened with unspoken curses but I swallowed the words, bowing.

"So... how do you intend to punish her?"