I am Amber Jasper, daughter of the Alpha of the Scarlet Pack. But others only thought I was the lowest of slaves, and no one knew I existed. Because my father never wanted to acknowledge me, he treated me as a stain on his life just because my mother was omega. The day I turned eighteen, my father killed my mate in front of me, just so he could get me to marry his vicious enemy instead of my stepsister. And it was also the day I received the deadliest curse of all. I will never forget him gasping for breath, lifting his head helplessly with rage in his eyes, and saying with his last strength, "I, Eric Johnson, curse you with my life to never be happy, to be betrayed for all eternity-". This curse that filled the rest of my life .... *** I am Alpha King Ryan, and I have watched my father be struck down in front of me, a nightmare that has haunted me for years! And now the chance for revenge has come. [Alpha, we've picked up Luke's daughter and will be returning soon.] A grin of pure, unadulterated happiness tore across my face and I laughed triumphantly. I had been waiting for this day for what felt like an eternity. After enduring years of painful memories and biding my time until the perfect moment presented itself to me, as if by magic, that moment had arrived. But as I stood there stoically as the car parked and the back door opened, my heart almost stopped. As much as I wanted to throw her away from me, I inhaled deeply and my wolf surged forward growling a single word possessively as our eyes locked. "MATE!" My stomach sank and a wave of disgust washed over me as I fought furiously against my wolf for control. No, it's not possible! I will never accept her as my mate, I will make her the lowest of slaves! I will destroy everything about her, just like her father once did to me!
(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...
"Lucien, let's get a divorce," I said in a peremptory tone that was long overdue, the most decisive farewell to this absurd marriage. We had been married for exactly three years-three years that, for me, were filled with nothing but endless loneliness and torment. For three years, the husband who should have stood by my side through every storm, Lucien Sullivan, had completely disappeared from my life as if he had never existed. He vanished without a trace, leaving me alone to endure this empty, desolate marriage. Today, I finally received his message: "I'm back. Come pick me up at the airport." When I read his words, my heart leapt with joy, and I raced to the airport, thinking that he finally understood my love and was coming back to me. But his cruelty was far worse than I could have ever imagined-he was accompanied by a pregnant woman, and that woman was Carla, my closest and most trusted friend. In that moment, all of my previous excitement, all my hope, and all of our shared laughter and tears turned into the sharpest of daggers, stabbing into my heart and leaving me gasping for air. Now, all I want is to escape from this place that has left me so broken-to lick my wounds in solitude. Even if these wounds will remain with me for the rest of my life, I refuse to have anything to do with him ever again. He should know that it was his own hand that trampled our love underfoot, that his coldness and betrayal created this irreparable situation. But when he heard those words, he desperately clung to this broken, crumbling marriage, unwilling to let it end-almost as though doing so could rewind time and return everything to how it used to be. "Aurora, come back. I regret everything!" Regret? Those simple words stirred no emotion in me-only endless sadness and fury. My heart let out a frantic, desperate scream: It's too late for any of this!
Janice, the long-forgotten legitimate heiress, made her way back to her family, pouring her heart into winning their hearts. Yet, she had to relinquish her very identity, her academic credentials, and her creative works to her foster sister. In return for her sacrifices, she found no warmth, only deeper neglect. Resolute, Janice vowed to cut off all emotional bonds. Transformed, she now stood as a master of martial arts, adept in eight languages, an esteemed medical expert, and a celebrated designer. With newfound resolve, she declared, "From this day forward, no one in this family shall cross me."
To the public, she was the CEO's executive secretary. Behind closed doors, she was the wife he never officially acknowledged. Jenessa was elated when she learned that she was pregnant. But that joy was replaced with dread as her husband, Ryan, showered his affections on his first love. With a heavy heart, she chose to set him free and leave. When they met again, Ryan's attention was caught by Jenessa's protruding belly. "Whose child are you carrying?!" he demanded. But she only scoffed. "It's none of your business, my dear ex-husband!"
Darya spent three years loving Micah, worshipping the ground he walked on. Until his neglect and his family's abuse finally woke her up to the ugly truth-he doesn't love her. Never did, never will. To her, he is a hero, her knight in shining armour. To him, she is an opportunist, a gold digger who schemed her way into his life. Darya accepts the harsh reality, gathers the shattered pieces of her dignity, divorces him, takes back her real name, reclaims her title as the country's youngest billionaire heiress. Their paths cross again at a party. Micah watches his ex-wife sing like an angel, tear up the dance floor, then thwart a lecher with a roundhouse kick. He realises, belatedly, that she's exactly the kind of woman he'd want to marry, if only he had taken the trouble to get to know her. Micah acts promptly to win her back, but discovers she's now surrounded by eligible bachelors: high-powered CEO, genius biochemist, award-winning singer, reformed playboy. Worse, she makes it pretty clear that she's done with him. Micah gears up for an uphill battle. He must prove to her he's still worthy of her love before she falls for someone else. And time is running out.
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”
Rumors said that Lucas married an unattractive woman with no background. In the three years they were together, he remained cold and distant to Belinda, who endured in silence. Her love for him forced her to sacrifice her self-worth and her dreams. When Lucas' true love reappeared, Belinda realized that their marriage was a sham from the start, a ploy to save another woman's life. She signed the divorce papers and left. Three years later, Belinda returned as a surgical prodigy and a maestro of the piano. Lost in regret, Lucas chased her in the rain and held her tightly. "You are mine, Belinda."