Beneath Her Darkness: The Alpha's Little Demon by Cassandra M novel Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Half She-Wolf, Half She-Demon

LUCY.

I was on my way to the main kitchen from the main floor of the house when I heard Manuel’s voice looking for Stella as he entered the kitchen from the exit door, making me stop in my tracks.

I never liked Manuel. He was lazy as a pig but mated to a wonderful female. And I tried to avoid him as much as I could because we always clashed. And I was sure, if Stella was not around, I would have been kicked out of this orphanage a long time ago because of him.

"Lucy is ready for the Omega Feast. Make sure she has the proper clothing to attend the ceremony." Manuel blurted out as his footsteps sounded on the kitchen floor.

Stella was preparing dishes for the night’s dinner and I was supposed to come and help her. But instead, I hid in the walk-in cupboard so I could listen to more of their conversation.

"What? What did you do?" Stella asked, and I could only imagine the frown on her face.

"I listed her for the Omega Feast. They just checked her photo and she got accepted right away."

My eyes widened as my hands flew to my chest, clutching my shirt as if it was enough to stop my heart, but it was beating rapidly. I leaned my back against the cold wall, as I steadied my breathing. The spices and the mixing of too many scents would be enough for them not to smell me, but they would probably hear my heartbeat if I couldn’t control it.

The Omega Feast, where Omega females that had come of age, ranging from 18 to 19, were paraded to the public either for bidding or a duel, in case no one wanted to give up the bidding. And after that, the Omega will be owned by the winner and made a slave, mostly for pleasure.

I didn’t understand at the beginning why the need for an Omega Feast when males could just purchase a female they wanted for the night with the growing population of night and strip clubs everywhere, both for humans and shifters. Only when I heard some of Stella’s friends stating that Alphas and other billionaire shifters used this event to boost their egos, wanting to be the most powerful man in the North, which of course the organizer of the feast was taking advantage of.

"But she doesn’t have a wolf."

"But she’s eighteen already, right?"

"Yes, she is. But don’t those Alphas want an Omega with a wolf?"

"Well, she’s not the first Omega who will be chosen without a wolf in the feast, so I’m sure it won’t be a problem. They just need to be informed. And if no one wants her, I will throw her back here and she’s free to go next month. But they said, she’s beautiful like no other Omega at this year’s feast, so I'm sure she’ll be chosen."

"She’s a sweet girl..." Stella really liked me. I liked her too. She was the only adult in this place that treated me fairly.

"Sweet? She’s reckless and causing too much chaos here. It’s better if she goes somewhere where she’ll be useful and where we can earn from her. Besides, I’m sure one day she’s going to grow horns and boss around every other wolf here, so better throw her to someone who came tame her down."

I snickered quietly. Be careful what you wish for, asshole.

"I don’t know why you don’t like her. She protects the pups here, and if she throws a nasty attitude, it’s because she was protecting herself and them."

Check. Check.

"And I don’t know what she did to you that you liked her too much. I told you, never get attached to them. Did you forget that these young pups were just handed to us to be taken care of until they’ve come of age? Once they turn eighteen, then off they go on their own."

"But then, why don’t we just let her go like the others? Why do you need to list her to the Feast?"

Check again.

"Because we need money! Are you stupid? This feast happens once every two years! We’re lucky that we have an eighteen-year-old this year. We didn’t have any on for the last two feasts. "

"She knows she’ll be leaving this place next month." Stella sounded distressed while I kept hearing the knife clashing with the chopping board.