Tia's POV
"Happy Birthday, Tiara," I whispered to myself as I opened my eyes to the golden morning light filtering through the curtains.
But something was wrong.
The bed beneath me was too soft. The weight of the duvet draped over my body felt far too soft, it was too foreign compared to my usual threadbare mattress in Omega Square.
The room was too quiet.
Then it hit me.
The memory of last night came crashing in like a storm, his hands, his lips, his body pressed against mine, his voice whispering things I never thought I'd hear.
Oh Goddess.
Alpha Nux.
I had given myself to him.
A shiver ran down my spine, not from cold, but from the heavy wave of disbelief and regret twisting in my chest.
What had I done?
I clutched the white duvet closer, burying my face in it as if hiding could somehow undo everything.
My breath hitched when I noticed the blanket was tucked gently around me.
Had… had he covered me?
No. That didn't make sense. Alpha Nux didn't care. He didn't do gentle. He used women, discarded them, and never looked back. I knew—I was always the one he sent to clean up the mess.
But now, I was the mess.
And no one had come to discard me.
Alpha Nux.
I had given myself to Alpha Nux.
My heart twisted painfully inside my chest. I clutched the sheets tighter, not sure if I wanted to scream or cry.
What was I thinking?
The mighty Alpha of the SilverFang Pack—untouchable, unforgiving, and always in control—had spent the night with me, a low-ranking maid who cleaned up after his flings and lived in the shadows. I was a mistake. A temporary indulgence. A moment of weakness. Nothing more.
He never touched the same woman twice. Not even the most beautiful warriors dared to hope for more than one night in his bed. And me?
I was a ghost in the halls.
My gaze drifted to the empty space beside me. The sheets were cold. He was already gone.
Of course, he was.
Still, I noticed something odd. The white duvet was wrapped carefully around me. Not tossed aside. Not neglected.
Did he… cover me?
I quickly shook the thought from my head.
Don't be stupid, Tiara.
He probably did it out of guilt, or worse—habit. I wasn't special.
I couldn't be.
I slipped from the bed and rushed to clean myself. There was no time to wallow in feelings I had no right to feel.
He'd likely already gone to his morning training. If I was lucky, I could vanish before he remembered who he'd shared a bed with.
For once, I understood the embarrassment of the women I used to escort out of his chamber. Today, it was my turn to be discarded. My turn to vanish like I was never there.
Still trembling, I cleaned the sheets, dusted the room, and prepared his breakfast as always—like nothing had happened.
Afterward, I returned to Omega Square and slipped into my best dress.
It was an old, yellow cotton gown, slightly faded and too tight at the shoulders, but it had once belonged to my adopted mother, Eliza.
I smoothed it over my hips and applied a thin layer of gloss. I tied my hair up and took one final look at myself in the cracked mirror.
Today was still my birthday, after all.
And birthdays, no matter how simple, were sacred.
It was the only day of the year I was allowed to leave Omega Square. I held tightly to that privilege and made my way to the cemetery just outside the northern gates.
There, nestled between two crumbling gravestones, were the tombs of the only real family I ever had—Eliza and Joel.
When I reached their tombstones, my heart clenched. Their names were still etched clearly into the stone, though time had started to fade them.
"Hi, Mama. Hi, Papa," I said softly, kneeling between the two graves.
I set down the bowl of breakfast rice I had saved and placed a single candle in the center. Lighting it, I began to sing the soft lullaby Eliza used to hum for me.
"Happy birthday to me…" I whispered through a smile soaked in tears.
I blew out the candle and placed a spoonful of rice on each tombstone.
"I'm sorry it's not much," I murmured, my voice cracking. "I couldn't get flowers… but I thought you might still like this."
I sat between their graves, pulled my knees to my chest, and began to talk to them about my work, the Alpha, my fears, my regrets. Everything.
I cried, laughed, and poured out my heart like I used to when they were alive.
My fingers brushed the cold stone of their graves. "I messed up. I really did."
I shared everything, how Alpha Nux had touched me, how I'd surrendered to something I couldn't even name, and how empty I felt now that he was gone.
I cried. I laughed through tears. I ate beside them as if they were still here.
For a while, I wasn't a maid, or an omega, I was just Tiara, their daughter.
The sky was dimming when the cemetery's warning bell chimed in the distance, signaling closing time. I stood up reluctantly and brushed the dirt from my dress.
"I'll come again next year," I whispered, pressing a kiss to each stone. "I promise."
I hurried back toward the pack grounds. I was running late. Alpha Nux's dinner hadn't been prepared yet.
By the time I returned to Omega Square, the pack grounds were strangely unsettled.
Soldiers moved about with urgency, some entering the Alpha's wing, others pacing outside. The tension in the air was sharp.
Some of the soldiers went in and out of the Alpha's wing with strange looks on their faces.
But I didn't have time to wonder.
I rushed to the kitchen, tied my apron back on, and began preparing the Alpha's dinner. It needed to be flawless.
I plated his meal with care, balancing the tray in my arms as I made my way to his chamber. But as I neared the Alpha's wing, the stares started.
Omegas paused mid-step to look at me. Some whispered. Others turned their heads quickly like they hadn't seen me at all.
Whispers floated behind me. Some omegas avoided my gaze, others looked at me with pity.
What was going on?
I reached the double doors to the Alpha's room, but this time, two unfamiliar guards blocked the way.
"Are you Tiara?" one asked, his eyes narrowing.
I nodded slowly, suddenly uneasy.
They exchanged glances.
Before I could ask what was wrong, One of them yanked the tray from my hands.
"That's the Alpha's food," I said, voice trembling. "I was just—"
SLAP.
A loud crack echoed through the hallway as the second guard's palm collided with my cheek.
Pain exploded across my face. My vision blurred.
I staggered backward, my hand flying to my burning cheek.
"You will keep quiet, bitch!" he snarled before grabbing me roughly by the arm.
Panic clutched at my chest.
What was happening?
Why were they doing this?
What did I do wrong?
"What did I do?" I asked but they didn't answer.
They dragged me through the hall like I was filth, like I was no one.
My legs stumbled beneath me as they dragged me down the hallway toward the Alpha's private study.
I hadn't been summoned.
I hadn't even spoken to him today. Why was this happening?
They threw open the doors and shoved me inside. I caught myself on the cold marble floor before I could fall completely.
Alpha Nux was at his desk, studying some documents.
He stood the moment he saw me.
His face twisted with fury and disgust at once.
He locked eyes with me, and the warmth I had once thought I'd seen in them was gone.
Rage blazed on his face.
Two strides, and he was in front of me.
"Just because I let you dress me up, you think you're special?" His voice was low, dangerous like fire crackling before the flames erupted.
I blinked, stunned. I shook my head in confusion. "Alpha, I—"
"Silence!" he growled.
He reached for me and wrapped his hand around my neck, not tight enough to choke, but enough to make me freeze.
"You… dared…to…drug… me?"
My world stopped.
What?
"You won't live to tell the tale," he hissed, venom thick in his voice.
My knees gave out.
My vision blurred.
My breath caught in my throat.
"No," I gasped. "I didn't—I swear, I didn't!"
But his hand didn't loosen. His eyes showed no mercy.
No mercy.
No memory of last night. Just fury.
And in that moment, I realized something far worse than rejection.
I wasn't just being discarded.
I was being destroyed.
Alpha Nux stared at me, his eyes blazing with fury as he commanded,
"Take her to the torture room."