I opened my heavy eyelids as the first rays of the sun brushed over my pale face. Blinking away the remnants of sleep, I glanced at the small, old clock in a chipped wooden frame hanging over my bed, and a slight smile curled my lips.
Two hours before work starts. Perfect.
No matter how exhausted I was from the previous day, my body always knew when to wake up. It was something the other servants never understood, but I didn't care. I needed at least an hour a day just for myself.
Moving quickly, I dressed in my usual worn clothes and gathered my wavy hair into a loose tie. The mornings were pleasantly cool but I still resorted to just a loose old t-shirt and the long shorts that went all the way down to my knees.
Grabbing an old knitted bag—a rare possession gifted to me by another maid—I lifted my thin mattress and reached for the few precious items I refused to share.
A half-used, refillable bottle of soap. An old wooden hair comb. A small glass bottle of fragrant lavender oil. And my most prized possession: a compact with a really good mirror inside. One of the male omegas had stolen it from Yulianna's quarters and given it to me as a gift when I mentioned that I wanted to have a mirror I could carry with me everywhere.
I tucked everything inside the bag and slung it over my shoulder, finally ready to leave.
As I tiptoed past the kitchen, I could hear a few omegas whispering. That was a relief—if they were up, it meant I wouldn't have to fiddle with the lock to slip out the back door.
The moment I stepped outside, the suffocating weight of misery lifted. The cool morning air filled my lungs, washing away the heaviness in my heart.
Today was supposed to be my day off, but Yulianna always found ways to keep me busy. That meant these few quiet morning hours were the only time I could truly call my own.
Yulianna.
Just thinking about her name made me shudder. Yesterday had been yet another reminder of the hell she put me through on a daily basis.
But she wasn't the only one.
The entire pack despised me—had despised me since the moment I arrived. And no matter how many times I tried to endure it, their hatred still burned deep.
The reason was simple: I was an outsider.
Alpha Theron of the Black Woods Pack had found me when I was just two years old—abandoned in the forest, bound at the wrists and ankles, wrapped in nothing but a tattered silk shawl. Cold and on the verge of death, I would have perished if not for him. The only clue to my identity was a small golden locket around my neck, with the name Teya etched into it.
The Alpha's patrol wolves had urged him to leave me, to let nature finish what someone else had started. But Theron wasn't a heartless man. He'd heard the rumors—how the rogues were attacking the packs, slaughtering every single member to capture their lands. Maybe I was a survivor of such a purge. Maybe I wasn't. Either way, he took me in, placing me with a servant family willing to raise me as their own.
But omegas didn't like outsiders too. Another mouth to feed meant less food for them. And though they dared not plot against me openly, they made sure I paid for my presence every single day.
My adoptive family was no different.
Zion, the man who claimed to be my father, barely acknowledged my existence—except when he could use my name to get extra scraps. His son, Coryn, however, made it his mission to turn my life into a waking nightmare. His obsession with me was sick, twisted.
To make matters worse, at twenty-one years old, I had yet to shift.
Not only was I an outsider. Not only was I an omega. Not only was I practically a slave. I was an abnormality. A disgrace.
And, to add insult to injury, I had never found my mate.
It was said that the Moon Goddess chose soulmates for all wolves—a fated partner meant just for them. But what did it mean when no one had been chosen for me? Was I that unworthy? That unlovable?
Mateless wolves were deemed cursed, feared. And the proof of that lay in my own Alpha.
When Theron died in battle, his son, Noel, took over the Black Woods Pack. But because he had yet to find his mate, the King forced him to take a Luna of his own choosing. That was how Yulianna became his wife—and my tormentor.
A necessary evil, they called it. Our pack couldn't have a mateless Alpha. So, Yulianna wore the title of Luna, despite the fact that her bond with Noel was nothing more than a political arrangement.
At least Noel's younger sister, Odette, had been spared such a fate. At eighteen, she had already found her fated mate at another Alpha's daughter's banquet. Soon, she would leave to join his pack. The last few weeks had been a whirlwind of preparations for her engagement banquet—a celebration Yulianna obsessed over as if it were her own.
I let out a quiet sigh, thinking about the sheer wealth being poured into the event. Would I ever see that kind of luxury in my lifetime?
Lost in thought, I barely noticed when the trees parted, revealing the Mirror Lake.
It was the only body of water within our pack's territory—a breathtaking sight, as if nature had granted us a piece of heaven. The lake's surface was so still, so clear, it truly lived up to its name. The sky reflected upon it like a perfect twin, the water shifting only when the wind whispered over it.
I stepped closer, dropping my bag onto the ground.
One last glance over my shoulder to make sure I was alone.
Satisfied, I pulled my clothes off, retrieved the soap, and leapt into the lake with a quiet squeal. The morning cold wrapped around me like ice, but I welcomed it.
For these few stolen moments, I was free.