Chapter 1

(Amber's POV) Today was my eighteenth birthday and it seemed as though I had been waiting for this day forever. For years I had been hidden away from the rest of the pack, a dirty little secret whose mere presence brought shame on my father, the Alpha of the Scarlet Pack, and today was the first day that I had ever been seen in public. For so many years I have lived here as a slave, my true identity kept from anyone. But recently, out of the blue, my father told me he was going to have a Bar Mitzvah for me and introduce me to the entire werewolf world. My wolf Rae and I have no idea why he's doing this. To be honest, I have a bad feeling that this is definitely not a simple bar mitzvah. I wasn't a child anymore, I didn't believe in fairy tales. But I can't resist, I'm not just any daughter who can be capricious and disobey her father, I'm just an unloved slave. I am not even allowed to see my real mother. My mother is still lying in a hospital bed, relying on instruments to keep her life alive with difficulty. Whenever I didn't go along with my father's plans, he threatened me with my mother's life. And I know he wasn't kidding; he really wouldn't hesitate to pull out my mother's oxygen tube. "The fucking arrogant prick." My wolf Rae raged in my head, "How can he be so heartless as to dangle our mothers life over us at every opportunity just to get what he wants!" "There's not much we can do about it, Rae," I replied quietly as I made my way over to where my father stood side by side with his wife and other daughter, my stepmother and stepsister, who watched me wryly as I approached. "I mean there is... but you won't let me do anything about it..." "It wouldn't solve anything Rae. We aren't strong enough to challenge and defeat him, besides, I desperately want to see mom again. If we can just get through tonight then there's a chance..." "Never had a chance!" Rae scoffed loudly. "He's a sneaky bastard, I don't believe he'll keep any promises!" Rea was right, my father hadn't promised me anything, but I believed that maybe today would be the beginning of all the changes. My father's admitting my existence to the pack might mean that I would meet my mate. Perhaps my mate could help me escape from my father's imprisonment. "I have a feeling that our mate will show up tonight..." Rae exclaimed excitedly, immediately agreeing with me. Displeased with my distraction, my father shattered my fantasy with his cold voice. "Amber, come here." Instantly, all the werewolves in the auditorium turned their gaze towards me. My face immediately burned, and for a moment, I felt dizzy. I still couldn't get used to being scrutinized by so many people. But my father's gaze was as sharp as a whip, sending shivers down my spine. I quickly walked over and stood on his left side. And on the other side of me were my stepsister and stepmother. "I don't want to stand near her. She's a fucking embarrassment." My stepsister murmured to her mother as she shot me a filthy look. "If you pretend she doesn't exist it will make getting through tonight a lot easier." "I'm the Alpha's daughter! She's nothing but a bitch, just like her mother! How can she stand with me? This is just humiliating to me! " She pressed as she glared at me furiously, but a look from my father silenced her as I stood in front of him. My father cleared his throat and began introducing me to the crowd with the authoritative voice of an alpha. "This is my other daughter, Amber. Today is her 18th birthday, and just like me, I know you all are eager to know what level her wolf will be. We'll see the result before midnight tonight. But one thing is clear, she is beautiful, and I believe it is a shared treasure of our pack..." What did he mean? My beauty is a treasure for our pack? Was he planning to sell me to some powerful pack for resources? I knew our pack had been losing money these years... but I was still shocked by his shamelessness! He didn't even bother concealing it from the pack members! I clenched my fists. This was it! This was why he'd presented me tonight! I felt smoke rising in my throat and my chest uncontrollably heaved up and down. Bastard! The fact that my father is a bastard has never changed! The crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause. My father didn't give them a chance to ask questions because he saw my eyes turning red. He knew that if he continued, I might not be under his control anymore. When he approached to give me a final hug, I dodged him in disgust. Immediately, he threatened me. "If you cause any problems tonight, or open your mouth to the wrong people, then I won't arrange for the visit to your mother, do you understand?" I nodded quietly as Rae's anger rolled off me in waves and he tightened his grip on me. As the Alpha and my father, he must have felt Rea's insecurities. So he whispered a warning to us, "That goes for your bitch of a wolf as well. I can quite easily have her suppressed if she steps out of line, leaving you all alone. You wouldn't want that would you?" His words were mechanical and emotionless, and even though I stood with them, we were not family, and I was still a slave. I swallowed the emotions that were about to overwhelm me, and with a dignified smile on my face, I carefully scanned the crowd in front of me, trying to distract myself from my bitter disappointment. "Amber, perhaps we'll be lucky and our mate will be here to save us from this pathetic existence," Rae murmured sarcastically to me as my father's voice faded into the background, "We could run away together, find our mother and bring her somewhere safe..." My expression remained cold when someone greeted me. The pack members, just like my father, were all bastards. They all accepted what my father had done to me without question. But Rae's excited voice suddenly stopped, catching my attention. In the next moment, I could feel an odd sense of excitement beginning to ripple from her. She was on high alert and I could feel her anxious pacing in my mind increase in intensity as the omega's began making their way into the ballroom and filling the tables with various dishes that gave off mouth watering aromas. As my eyes drifted over the workers they landed on one particular man. He was tall and wiry, with a gentle-looking face, and as he turned to glance in our direction, our eyes locked, and the plate of food that he had been carrying clattered to the floor noisily... Instantly, I felt as though I couldn't breathe. All of the air had been stolen from my lungs and my heart felt as though it would burst as Rae screamed loudly in my head. "MATE!!!" Rea's voice exploded in my head, and for a moment I froze in place. "MATE! Amber! Go to him!" The sweet smell of my mate washed over me and I pushed my way through the crowd, ready to cling to him, but a familiar chorus echoed through the hall, "Amber!" My father's angry face appeared in front of me, his glaring eyes blocking me from my mate. "Father..." I struggled to swallow the lump in my throat as I tried to explain, but a sneer spread across his face as he tightened his grip on my arm and turned his head to look at the man standing in shock. I was afraid my father would hurt him and gathered my courage to try to say something, "Father, he's my..." "Mate?" Father interrupted without waiting for me to finish, his tone filled with mockery. Quickly he added, "The Moon Goddess gave you this poor Omega as a mate?" Yes! She did! How I wanted to say it out loud! But then I remembered how my mother had been tortured by him just because she was an Omega. The excitement in my eyes vanished. My father would kill him! He would kill my mate! No! I will never allow this to happen! "No... he's not..." I immediately shook my head and tried to signal my partner with my eyes not to approach me. I didn't want him to be in danger because of me. But he didn't seem to read my eyes, and with the attraction of the mate bound, he rushed past my father and tried to grab my hand, yelling "MATE!" "No!" I quickly shook him off. "I, Amber Jasper, daughter of the Alpha of the Scarlet Pack, reject..." I hadn't even finished my oath of refusal when I saw my father turn into wolf, his claws swiftly piercing my mate's neck. Pfft... In an instant, blood began to gush from his neck and even splashed onto my face. "No!!!" I watched him fall to the ground with a frightened look in his eyes...