Chapter 1

“Hi, babe. Meet me at the college. I have a big surprise for you ;)” Sara’s face broke into a grin as she read the message from Victor, her boyfriend of three years. She tried not to let her mind run away with her as she rushed around her room getting ready to go meet him, but she couldn’t help it. It was her eighteenth birthday. The day she had been dreaming about for so long. Now that she was eighteen, she and Victor could really get together as mates. They had been dating since they were fifteen, and Victor had turned eighteen a month before. Now she too was eighteen…and she had a pretty good idea what his big surprise was about. He was going to propose. She had dreamed about the day they would formalise their union for years, and she couldn’t be happier that the wait was over. After getting dressed, she left the house and started the walk towards the college. She wondered what kind of surprise he had in store for her. If he had prepared it at the college…did that mean he was going to make a public proposal? She was smiling to herself and not paying attention to herself, so she didn’t see the foot stuck in her path until she tripped over it and almost stumbled to the ground. Luckily, she caught her footing quickly and managed to avoid a fall. She turned to see who had tripped her and found herself facing three girls she was never in the mood to deal with. “Oh, look who it is,” the one at the centre of their lineup sneered, giving Sara a once-over. “What do you want?” Sara demanded, looking from Melody to her two companions, Stella and Bianca. The three were missing their usual gang leader: Laura, the beta’s daughter. Which was fine with Sara. Dealing with three girls who hated her guts was better than dealing with four. The group had been bullying her for as long as she could remember, but mostly after she and Victor started dating. Victor was the Alpha of their Blood Moon pack, and the Alpha King. Sara was an Omega who just happened to be adopted by the Alpha family. Laura and her friends had never liked that an Omega like her got to date the Alpha King, and they made sure to remind her of her unworthiness whatever chance they got. “Where do you think you are going?” Bianca asked, reaching forward and pushing Sara’s shoulder with her hand. Sara stepped back and glared at her. “None of your business.” “Haven’t you guys heard?” Stella asked. “It’s her eighteenth birthday. Look at how dolled up she is. It’s obvious she is going to seduce Victor.” Melody scoffed, narrowing her eyes at Sara. “You are truly shameless, aren’t you? Do you really think Victor will settle for an Omega like you? He has been playing around with you for years now, but I bet he’s going to ditch you soon now that he is 18.” “I know, right?” Bianca seconded her. “If I were you, I would scurry along before I got humiliated. An Alpha King and an Omega? Oh please.” Stella twirled a strand of her brown hair around her finger. “Maybe we should save her the humiliation, girls. Now that she’s eighteen, she could be having grandiose thoughts about being formally mated to him.” “What a joke,” Bianca scoffed. Sara sighed and turned to walk away, not interested in humouring them any further. She had heard such things from them before. She wasn’t going to let them faze her today of all days. She didn’t care what others thought about her relationship with Victor. They had been talking trash about her being with him for three years now, but guess what? She was still with him. Whether they liked it or not, she and Victor were going to be mated, and they could choke on their jealousy for all she cared. “Where do you think you are going?” Stella demanded, grabbing her forearm and keeping her from walking away. “Let me go,” Sara demanded, trying to release her arm from Stella’s grip. “What’s the hurry for?” Stella asked. “We haven’t given you your birthday present yet. Bianca, get the bucket.” Birthday present? Bucket? Sara watched Bianca skip away, a sense of foreboding filling her. “I don’t want anything from you,” she told Stella, still trying to free her arm. “Let me go!” “Come on, you’ll like it,” Stella promised. “We took our precious time to prepare this present for you. You’re not allowed to say no.” Bianca reappeared, carrying a bucket in her hands. Stella finally let go of Sara, shoving her away. Sara huffed and rubbed the place she had grabbed her forearm. Stella stepped towards Bianca and helped her hold the bucket. Before Sara could catch on to what was happening, the two girls swung the bucket and emptied its contents on her. “Happy birthday!” they yelled between gales of laughter. Sara stood frozen to the path as smelly brown water cascaded down her hair, shoulders, and body. The three girls walked away, laughing among themselves. Cursing, she looked down at her outfit. The pretty sundress she had so carefully selected was now drenched with dirty water. So were her sneakers. “You can’t keep letting them get away with treating you like this,” her wolf, Edna, groaned in her head. “It’s fine,” Sara told her through her thoughts. “They won’t be able to do it for much longer.” Once she was formally introduced as the Alpha King’s mate, they wouldn’t dare do any of this. Even if Sara was from the Alpha family, she was only adopted. She was a homeless Omega before Victor’s family took her in, and everybody in the pack knew that. Being a homeless Omega made her a target for bullies, and it got worse after she started dating Victor. But once she became Victor’s Luna, nobody would dare bully her. She didn’t really care about Victor’s station as the Alpha King. He was her mate, and that’s what was important. But it was a relief to know that after years of putting up with insults and even physical assault, no one will dare hurt her again. She turned to walk back home. Since they had drenched her with dirty water, she had to take another shower and choose a fresh dress. There was no way she was going to see Victor looking anything but stunning. Once in the house, she rushed upstairs, where her room was. She was about to open her door when a strange sound stopped her in her tracks. She frowned when she realised the sound was coming from Victor’s room, which was right opposite hers. Victor was at the college waiting for her, who could be in his room? Curious, she stepped closer to his door and pressed her ear to the surface. Her eyes widened when Victor’s voice sounded clearly through the door. “You like that?” Sara froze. What was he doing in his room? Who was he talking to? He had asked her to meet him– “Yes, oh my God, do that again!” Sara’s heart hammered in her chest as the second voice came through the door. She knew that voice. Laura, the Beta’s daughter! Laura and Victor– Sara wrapped her hand around the door handle and turned it, pushing the door open. Her heart hammered even louder as she took in the scene in front of her. Victor was having sex with Laura. The guy who she thought was going to propose to her today, was fucking the girl who hated her and bullied her every chance she got. She wanted to run, forget she ever saw it, but her feet couldn’t move, and her eyes were glued to them. She had no idea how long she stood there, too shocked to do anything, when Laura’s eyes finally landed on her. Laura smirked at her over Victor’s shoulder, and then said, “Vic, we’ve got a visitor.” “What?” he asked, his voice breathy as he kept on with his movements between her legs. He lifted his head and looked towards the door. When he saw Sara, he quit moving and quickly jumped off Laura. “Sara!” “What is this?” Sara asked, finally finding her words. She had no idea why she was asking–she could see what it was. “I can explain,” Victor said, jumping from the bed and grabbing a discarded pair of boxers. He pulled them on and walked towards her. “What does it look like?” Laura asked from her place on the bed. She didn’t make a move to leave. “Sara, babe, listen to me,” Victor said, closing the door to the hallway. Sara shook her head and stared at the floor. She couldn’t bear to look at his face. In all the time they had been together, she had never imagined he could betray her like this. Whirling around, she reached for the door, but Victor stepped into her path and stopped her. “Don’t be mad,” he said. “Let’s talk.” “About what?” she snapped. “You were fucking her, and I saw it. What do you have to say?” Victor sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “What did you expect me to do?” Sara finally looked up at him, blinking in confusion. “What?” “You pushed me away when I wanted to have sex with you,” he pointed out. “I have needs, what did you expect?” Sara was struck speechless for a second. He slept with Laura because she refused to have sex with him? Her hands balled into fists. “You know why I couldn’t. I told you I didn’t want to lose my virginity until I was eighteen.” “Right,” he said, tilting his head as he watched her. “You wanted to wait until you were eighteen. It’s your birthday today. Are you willing to have sex with me now?” Sara stepped back, disgusted by his question. After everything he had done, he dared to ask her that? “Let me leave,” she said, passing a hand below her eye to catch a stray tear. “After you made me wait?” he asked. “You should keep your promise.” “What’s wrong with you?” she demanded. “You were just with her, and now you…you…” She huffed and tried to walk past him to the door. “I’m done with you, Victor. Let me go!” “I don’t take orders from Omegas,” he said, keeping his position in front of the door. He looked over her shoulder towards the bed. “If you’re so mad about it, why don’t you join us? Maybe you’ll like it.” Before she could fully grasp what he was saying, he bent down and scooped her into his arms. She fought against him, but he was too strong and managed to get her to the bed. She tried leaving the moment he placed her down, but Laura grabbed her arm to keep her in place.