SERENA’S POV

Moans, a pleasure driven cry echoing in a secret room. I was with him, Derek, my mate. But these sounds weren’t coming from me.

He groaned from satisfaction, but I wasn’t touching him either. No, his pleasure came from Cora, his prostitute wolf. And I was forced to watch them.

I was bound to a chair in the corner, watching them mate. Every thrust, every pleasured gasp from Derek, ached me. It was a violation, a reminder of my inability to do nothing, except watch.

I watched as Cora sucked him out, deep throating him until she turned red. I watched how roughly Derek handled her. Pulling and grabbing her hair like she was a still object.

I was unable to bear the pain of watching my mate mate with Cora, so I squeezed my eyes shut. Suddenly, the sounds ceased, replaced by a satisfied grunt from Derek.

My heart raced as I scented Derek slowly approach me. He forcefully took me by the jaw and demanded that I opened my eyes.

“Look at me, Omega," he sneered.

I forced my eyes open, meeting his cold hazel gaze. He towered over me, wearing a cruel amusing look on his face.

"Disrespectful, were we?" he snarled.

I didn't answer. What was the point? Fueling his anger would only bring me more pain. He let out a humorless laugh before grabbing a whip coiled at his waist.

“This is what happens, when you disrespect your alpha."

He struck leather whip against my exposed back. I screamed, and he struck me again, and again, until my vision was blurred by my own tears.

“Never. Close. Your. Eyes. Again!" he yelled between each lash.

“No closing your fucking eyes, Omega!" He yelled again, this time he lowered himself to my level. "You will watch, and you will learn your fucking place!!"

Now, I was furious. Gathering a glob of spit, I launched it at Derek with all the force I could muster. It landed with a wet plop on his boot, a pathetic attempt at rebellion that only seemed to amuse him.

"Still defiant, Omega?" he chuckled.

I screamed, "Just break the damn bond, you coward! I'd rather be a rogue than your slave!"

He took the whip once more and struck me hard against my already wounded back.

“Silence, Omega!" Derek roared. "Disobeying your mate is a crime punishable by worse than a few lashes."

“And I will not tolerate such thoughts.” he added. "You're nothing but a slave, and slaves don't get a fucking say!"

He wasn’t entirely right, of course. Since I had only obtained my wolf form without completing the shift, I was relegated to an Omega.

While other teenagers spent their days learning, socializing, living, I was here, chained to a life of servitude. But that didn't mean I had to accept my fate.

Fortunately for me, Cora interrupted his field day.

“Now, now, Derek," Cora purred, her scarlet lips stretched into a smile. "Is this how you treat your mate?" She glanced at me, all battered up and broken.

Derek scoffed. “She's no mate. Just an Omega who can't even shift properly."

"Ah, but isn't that what makes it all the more...interesting?" Cora's voice dropped to a whisper.

"Maybe the Lycan King wouldn't mind having a...different kind of Luna."

Derek's face hardened. "Don't be ridiculous, Cora. The King's laws are absolute. An Alpha can never reject their mate based on choice or personal whim.”

"But he can if his mate betrays him first." Cora stated with a sly smile.

She turned to me. "But of course, our dear Serena wouldn't dream of such a thing, would she?"

My jaw clenched tight. Dream of betraying Derek? I lived for it. Every agonizing hour, every cruel blow, fueled my hatred for him.

Cora then shrugged. "Just a thought, Alpha. Besides, you do know you can't keep beating her like this. The Lycan King arrives tomorrow, and you don't want him to see her in such a state, do you?"

“Imagine the disgrace if he saw her looking like a beaten dog." Cora added as she pointed towards my bloodied back.

The message was clear to Derek. Reluctantly, he nodded in agreement.

"Fine," he grumbled. "Clean yourself up, and also clean up the floors too Omega. It reeks of cum.”

“Tomorrow, the King arrives. You wouldn't want to make a bad impression, now would you?" He added.

Cora burst out laughing, while Derek took her by the waist and led her out the door. The heavy slam of the door made me flinch. The room was filthy mess.

But as long as I survived another night, another test of Derek's cruelty, I was beyond grateful.

I pushed myself off the cold stone floor, wincing at the ache in my back. There was a bucket of stagnant water and a rough rag in the corner, those were the pathetic tools I was expected to use to erase the evidence of their intimacy.

After hours of thorough cleaning, I took a deep breath. I limped out of the room and headed towards the building that was once my parents' home.

Derek had ensured it was now a ruin. Yet, even in its ruined state, I still harbored deep affection for it.

Stepping inside, I ran a hand across the dusty surface of a wooden table, memories flooding back. Here, I remember telling my parents about having a normal school life, a dream that had now been dashed the moment Derek took me in his pack.

This was my parents' haven, a place of laughter and love before Derek ruined it.

I fell on my knees. Derek had stolen more than my freedom; he'd stolen my youth, my innocence.

"I won't die, Mother, Father," I whispered. "I will live on. I will exact my revenge on those who have wronged me. This pack, will rise again. I won’t let you down.”

Tomorrow, the Lycan King would arrive. The man who held absolute power over all werewolf packs. The man who, I desperately hoped, would be the key to my freedom.

Exposing Derek's cruelty, his disregard for the laws, his abuse of power – it was a gamble, a risky move that could backfire. But it was my only chance.

And as I stared into the faded eyes of my parents in a partly broken portrait, I was determined.

I wouldn't beg. I wouldn't plead. I would stand tall, hold my head high, and expose the truth about this pack, this Alpha, and the living nightmare they had forced upon me.