The Alpha Queen, heavy with her pregnancy, found the noise of pups in the courtyard too much to bear. She decided to assign us motherless Omegas to various mistresses to be looked after. I was placed under Kaeli Payne’s care.

Kaeli didn’t take to me at first. She had no pups of her own and wasn’t fond of tending to others’ children. But as time passed, she softened toward me, perhaps because I was quiet and never caused trouble. She often embroidered, and I would sit silently beside her, watching her work. I think she grew used to having a mute pup nearby, someone who wouldn’t disrupt her solitude. Eventually, she began to talk to me.

She told me she had no family name. In her pack, only the high-ranking wolves—alphas, betas, and gammas—had surnames. She was just a common Omega, born to a farmer’s family. Her parents had called her “Eldest Girl.” It wasn’t until Gael Foster, the Alpha, noticed her that she was given a name. He said she resembled a famous beauty and called her Kaeli, after a legendary figure. From then on, she was known as Kaeli Payne.

Her words made me think of my own mother. I never knew her name either. Outside the pack, I called her “Mother,” but within the walls of the packhouse, they made me call her “Little Mother.” Yet, since I became mute, I never spoke that title aloud. Gael Foster—would he even remember her face now, let alone her name?

Kaeli told me that Gael had spent a small fortune to bring her into the pack, just as he had for Regina Stephens, another Omega. But when Kaeli entered the pack, her family had only asked for a single cow in exchange. A cart had carried her away, and she thought her life would change. Gael had called her beautiful, but his interest faded after a couple of years. Now, he barely remembered her.

She laughed bitterly. “What does it matter if a woman is valued highly?” she said. “Regina was worth more, wasn’t she? A prized Omega, young and beautiful. Yet, in the end, she was just a bargaining chip, traded away to strengthen Gael’s alliances. She was nothing but a pawn.”

Kaeli continued, her voice edged with bitterness. “And me? I was only worth a cow, but at least I wasn’t treated like a commodity. I wasn’t bought and sold like an object.”

I listened quietly, my thoughts swirling. No matter the price, whether a fortune or a cow, we were all just pawns in the Alpha’s game. In the end, every Omega was a victim of the pack’s rigid hierarchy.

The Alpha Queen gave birth to a daughter.

She was clearly disappointed.

She had hoped for a son, a future Alpha to secure her position.

But it didn’t take long for her to soften. After all, the pup was her own flesh and blood.

Alpha Gael Foster only came to see the newborn when she turned a month old.

He named her "Ainara Foster," after a fleeting glance, and left almost immediately.

The moment he was gone, the Alpha Queen ordered his used glass and plate to be thrown away.

"Filthy," she muttered, her face twisted in disgust. "It makes me sick."

A young Omega servant, who accidentally dropped a spoon while cleaning, was dragged out of the room.

The Alpha Queen watched coldly, her expression unreadable.

Then, she turned to me, smiling as she pressed a small pouch into my hand.

"Here," she said, her voice sweet but hollow. "Take this and share in the pup’s joy."

I clutched the pouch, feeling the few coins inside, and bowed my head in silent gratitude.

I pretended not to see the despair in the eyes of the Omega being dragged away.

Some words, the high-ranked could speak, but the rest of us could not hear.

Even if we heard, we could not repeat them.

Luckily, I was mute.

Kaeli had prepared a tray of snacks, urging me to take them to Aviana. She had always been skilled with her hands, and she often encouraged me to spend time with my Alpha sister.

When I arrived at Aviana’s wing of the pack house, she was in the midst of a tantrum. She had gotten into a dispute with another high-ranking she-wolf during a pack run and had gone to the Alpha Queen for comfort, only to be scolded instead. Then, the Alpha Queen’s newborn pup had woken up crying, and Aviana had been dismissed hastily by the Beta caretaker.

Fuming, she had stormed back to her room, and I stood outside with the tray, waiting for the commotion to subside before daring to enter. Inside, the room was a mess. Aviana’s two personal Omegas were scrambling to clean up, their movements trembling with fear. When I stepped in, Aviana hurled the last teacup in her hand at the Omega closest to her.

“Get out!” she screamed. “You’re all just like my mother now, aren’t you? That little whelp is all you care about! You don’t even listen to me anymore!”

The Omegas scurried out, their heads bowed low, leaving me alone with Aviana. She turned to me, her eyes blazing with anger and frustration.

“Ainara,” she snapped, her voice sharp but tinged with desperation. “Why did she have to have another pup? She’s not even an heir—she’s just another she-wolf! I’m her daughter—her Alpha daughter! Isn’t that enough? I wish she’d just disappear! Then no one would take her away from me!”

I stood there, holding the tray, silent as always. Even if I could speak, I wouldn’t dare to repeat her words. But in the quiet of my mind, I wondered if Aviana’s anger was less about the new pup and more about the fear of losing her place in the Alpha Queen’s heart.

Aviana’s outburst echoed in the room, but I remained still, the tray heavy in my hands. She glared at me, her Alpha aura crackling around her, but I didn’t flinch. She knew I wouldn’t betray her. I was just the mute Omega, invisible to the rest of the pack, but to her, in moments like these, I was the only one she could trust.

“Ainara,” she said again, her voice softer now, almost pleading. “You understand, don’t you? You’re the only one who does.”

I nodded faintly, setting the tray down on the table. She didn’t need my words to know I was there for her. But as I glanced at the mess around us, I couldn’t help but wonder how long Aviana’s anger would last—and what it might cost her in the end.