Chapter 1 #Chapter 1 The Half-breed Hybrid

"CLAUDIA! Hurry up and get in here!" I knew Elly was going to scream my name long before her shrill voice echoed out of her room and into the hallway where I waited. This was the daily ritual, every afternoon. She would call for me, and while she sat at her vanity table, I brushed her long hair like a servant to her satisfaction. If a stranger saw us, I looked like any common slave of the pack house. No one would guess she was my half-sister, nor Maria in the other bedroom. It was true. Our father was Alpha Kris of Dark Moon. But whereas Elly and Maria were tall and slim with beautiful auburn hair, I was the odd one out with my inexplicably pale skin, shorter stature, and completely black hair. But it suited us… since I was only the illegitimate daughter of the Alpha and the human slave he had raped eighteen years ago and impregnated. I was a disgrace, along with my mother who had died giving birth to me. A disgrace of a hybrid, a half-breed abomination. As I said, no outsider would ever guess I was supposed to be part of the family. And no one would guess I could read minds, either. I had kept that secret all my life. How was it possible for me to read minds? I didn’t know. But I was privy to all of Elly’s secret thoughts just like now, and without fail, anytime something even slightly inconvenient happened, it was because of the no-good half-sister Claudia, illegitimate daughter of the Alpha, the half-breed. At least my mother wasn't here to suffer with me. Me, a hybrid forced to play handmaid to my half-sisters, and her, the human slave who had given birth to me -- our lives would have been hell anyway. Better that I suffered alone. I could endure it, at least until I escaped from this place, the estate of the Dark Moon pack. (What a stupid bitch), Elly seethed privately as I brushed her long hair out with gentle strokes of the brush.( But at least no one can possibly be so stupid they mess up brushing hair! Idiot. She had better not leave one strand out of place or I'll have them kick her ribs in to teach her a lesson. Bitch). I ignored her thoughts. It was unfortunate that everyone's private musings made it into my head regardless of my will, but I'd long since learned to mask it and pretend nothing was amiss. Besides, Elly was the boring one. Her thoughts were always the same, day in and day out, either blaming me for every little thing that happened to her or daydreaming about being the center of attention at school. Which then turned back to blaming me, since I attended the same high school, and who would want to have a disgusting half-breed hybrid for a sister? I was, in her world, always at the center of her woes. And she never missed a chance to give me hell for it. But life was life, and even hell could become trite. The highlight of Elly's and Maria's school days were the gossiping and bad-mouthing of their classmates and even so-called friends whom they complimented and simpered at to their faces. For all the time they spent in front a mirror, they should take a moment to really self-reflect. Their make-up could pretty up their faces, but nothing could be done for the rotten personalities beneath. Swimming in their thoughts was like trying to wade through a swamp. (Ugh! She doesn't deserve to look so pretty), Elly continued to seethe. ( She's just a fucking slave. Trash! Disgusting trash! I wish someone would just cut her face up so I don't have to look at it anymore. She can't even shift! She might as well be human. Just make her a regular slave! Why does she get even this privilege to serve me personally!) Nothing new there either. At least I didn't have to listen to her ugly thoughts all the time, only when she was close enough. As soon as she was far enough away from me to leave the range of my ability, I was free. ...Actually, her last vicious thought about my wolf had stung. She was right. While I had one -- Cassiel -- she couldn't take over, and therefore I was trapped in human form. I wondered sometimes if Cassiel hated me for it. Was that why she was so quiet sometimes? "Don't screw this up," Elly said aloud. "You're not important enough to deserve being involved in this, so don't get any stupid ideas. But I won't let you mess this up for me today, not in front of Alpha Evan." Alpha Evan. His name had been all over everyone's minds since yesterday, overwhelming me like a tidal wave. Yes, Alpha Evan, the current Alpha of the Scarlet pack who had deposed and killed his predecessor, Alpha Adrain. Rumor had been that Evan was his long lost nephew, but people knew better than to gossip too loudly about that. Alpha Evan was as ruthless as they came, dominating and annexing every minor pack neighboring him and making the Scarlet pack a complete juggernaut. And now, it was Dark Moon pack's turn today. In ceremony, the reins of this pack would be turned over to Evan to do as he saw fit, no resistance. All the female werewolves would be inspected and 'registered,' whatever that meant. The other rumor was that Alpha Evan ordered this done with every pack he conquered because he was searching for a suitable candidate to be his mate, his Luna. Hence, Elly's and Maria's excitement. How handsome he is! they had crowed, and strong and rich! They would make a perfect mate for him, and he would definitely choose one of them. Or so each one thought. Maybe one of them was even his fated mate, and they would find out when they looked into each other's eyes... I didn't care about that. I didn't know anything about mate bonds, and I'd never felt the urge to chase it. Probably because I was a half-breed, which was also likely the cause of the strange mutant power of my mind-reading ability that was far superior to mere mind-linking. Which was how I knew that although both girls pretended to be in full sisterly support of each other, what each one thought was that she was far more beautiful, so there was no chance the other would become Luna, ever. It was hard not to laugh sometimes. That was the real downside of my secret power, trying not to roll my eyes at the ridiculousness. But to an Alpha like Evan who had ambitions of ruling the whole werewolf world, finding their true mate was no laughing matter. It was a gift from the Moon Goddess, something to increase their power and complete them. This ceremony today could become a life or death matter if someone stepped out of line... ** It took place in the afternoon. All the female werewolves lined up in the front courtyard of the estate as ordered while I watched on with the rest of the human slaves from the side, ready to help the ladies back indoors and attend to their needs once this was over. But the inspection was thorough and dragged until evening, and we were all forced to watch, nearly bored to tears. Nothing, of course. No woman was selected for whatever it was that Alpha Evan was searching for as he moved up and down each row. Elly and Maria looked like they were going to burst into tears when he passed them by, not even bothering to inhale their scent as he did with a few others. When he returned to the front to stand on the platform, he gestured for my father the Alpha to join him up there, then glanced to his right at the brown-haired man who stood by him already. They must have mind-linked with each other just then. Not that I'd know anything about it. Other than my freakish mind-reading ability, I possessed no ability to telepathically communicate, to mind-link. And they were too far for me to eavesdrop with my power, which was unstable when it came to short distances as it was. But the man -- perhaps the Scarlet pack's Beta? -- possessed a booming voice, and he left no room to wonder about what had just been communicated. He waited until Alpha Kris joined them and asked, "Is this all? Every single female werewolf in your pack." "Yes, of course. Do you perhaps need to see my two daughters again?" Elly and Maria perked, but the perhaps-Beta pushed on. "Your last chance. If any women have been excluded, we'll find out, and you won't survive the consequences." "My Alpha, of course not --" Kris began to plead as he turned to look at the silent Alpha Evan, then seemed to remember something. "Well, there is one girl, but it's impossible. She's a half-breed, practically human. Surely she wouldn't be fit for--" "Her name, werewolf!" The man snapped, forcing Kris's attention back to himself. "Give it to me." "...It's Claudia Dale." And then the man turned and called my name. * It happened so fast. The Scarlet pack werewolves came for me, forced me to stand on the platform in front of everyone. I was still trying to understand how it had come to this when I had been trying so hard to stay out of trouble, and now it had come looking for me. Nothing would happen since Kris was right, I was just a lowly half-breed, but Elly and Maria would take it out on me with vicious hatred later for the sheer perceived insolence of obeying the order to present myself. But that became the least of my concerns when Alpha Evan stood in front of me... and leaned in, taking in my scent with visible relish. (It's her), he thought, and it seeped into my mind uninvited. ( It's her. The girl from nine years ago. This is that same scent. I've finally found her.) What? Nine years ago? Was he insane? I would have been eight years old, what could I have possibly done wrong to anyone when I was just a child?

Chapter 2 #Chapter 2 His Personal Maid

Then suddenly, another thought...another voice. I guess it is his wolf. (No. It's not her. She's not our mate). I can't sense it. Oh, Moon Goddess. I had no idea what was going on but relief filled me at the words. Yes! Now let me go, I thought. But instead, Alpha Evan lifted my face, warm fingers under my chin. Oh, Moon Goddess. He was huge. He dwarfed me like I was nothing more than a child. But more than his size, it was the incandescent joy that flooded his mind that blew me away. Pure happiness. My breath caught in my throat, and for a second, I wondered if the secret childhood dream I'd long ago grown out of was about to become true. Was this a man who would see me in the dark, take me away from this miserable life and from all those who hated and abused me? Was this man going to tell me he had been waiting to meet someone like me all his life and save me from a lifetime of hurt and despair? He lowered his head and put his lips to my ear. "You," he said, "are going to my personal maid from now on." Maid? I was already a maid in every definition of the word for Dark Moon. If Alpha Evan wanted a maid -- or slave, more likely -- then I wasn't changing stations considerably. But why me? Why had he wasted time ordering his soldiers to comb the ranks of Dark Moon to look for a maid, slave, whatever it was he really wanted? And why had he specifically chosen me when he could have someone far more sophisticated? Or more importantly, someone who wasn't a mixed-breed disgrace? All eyes were on me. They probably thought Alpha Evan was seconds away from beheading me. Although my presence was at least suffered at the Dark Moon pack house as a quasi-slave to my half-sisters, there were traditional packs who would rather see me dead. Was Scarlet Pack one of them, they were probably wondering. The man I should call father was close enough at the base of the platform that I could hear his thoughts. ( Looks like this half-breed can be useful after all), he mused. Oh. How nice of him to have a minimum of faith in my value. Unlike him, however, the soldier that had called for me a moment ago was speaking loudly and insistently with Alpha Evan through mind-link, the distinctive ringing of it different from simple thoughts. (Is this the person who saved your life?) he asked. There was no sign of skepticism in his voice, only burning urgency. ( Evan!) But Alpha Evan remained silent as he stared at me instead of replying to his subordinate. (Why isn't she answering me?) he wondered to himself. But how could I? How could this be happening? I wasn't in range of most of Dark Moon or Scarlet, but anyone looking on who had overheard what the Alpha had said to me was also frozen in dumb shock. Alpha Evan was wrong. He was looking for someone who had saved him nine years ago, whatever that meant, but it wasn't me. And yet... the words he had said to me were no invitation or request. They were an order. If I argued, if I disobeyed, what would happen to me? The rumors of Alpha Evan's ruthlessness were no exaggeration. There was a reason packs simply surrendered without a fight when he announced he was about to take one over. Like Dark Moon. "... Yes, Alpha," I whispered. "I understand." That was what he wanted to hear, wasn't it? But he remained silent even then, only nodding at me to leave. No, a stray thought: (She has a nice voice.) A single compliment, but not kind or admiring -- assessing. I took no comfort in it as I turned and left the platform, making sure to keep my expression neutral. How was I not shaking as I went down the steps and moved back into the gathered Dark Moon crowd? Elly and Maria's thoughts struck me first, coated thick with vicious envy. What the hell is that, Elly seethed. ( Why does Alpha Evan want to take her? She's trash!) And then came the other thoughts as I passed between the other Dark Moon pack members. (“What did she do?) (Why did he call her up there?) (She's practically a slave. Why wouldn't he just kill her? Half-breeds...） (I must not have heard right. Did he say he wanted her to be his maid?”) I didn't have answers to those questions either no matter how I wanted them. All I could do for now was obey. ** I remained in my bedroom with my single duffel bag half-full of clothing and belongings. That was all I possessed; it had been no difficulty to fit them all. If anything, the most uncomfortable thing was being allowed to remain idle in here for this long at all. Around this time, I would normally be cleaning my half-sisters' bathrooms. ... I was leaving. I was really leaving. I'd dreamed of breaking free of Dark Moon for so long, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought it would happen like this. Not that I would miss it either way. The pack house had never felt like home, and Alpha Kris, Elly, and Maria had always made it clear they were my masters, not family. I didn't even have any friends to say goodbye to. When I was small, I used to sneak off to play with the children of the human slaves, but Elly had put a stop to that long ago. Even back then when we were only children, she took delight in my misery. Forbidding me from ever leaving the pack house except for school, locking me in my cramped bedroom whenever important guests came by, even turning the human slaves against me over the years simply became my everyday. But I was leaving it all at last. I prayed I would never have to come back.

Chapter 3 #Chapter 3 Just me and Alpha Evan.

"Miss Claudia? I'm Peelle. A pleasure to meet you again." It was the subordinate from before, the higher-ranking one who had called me up onto the platform. There were three other Scarlet pack werewolves behind him who watched me with curious eyes, but none of them gave me disgusted glares even though they could doubtless sense my mixed-breed heritage. They stood at attention in the hallway, allowing me to leave my bedroom. Odd. Were they saving their scorn for later? (She's pretty) , Peelle thought as he offered his hand to take my bag, and I smiled. I could sense no hidden hostility from his thoughts, and the kindness was enough to lower my guard. "Hello, Peelle," I said. "It's a pleasure." But if I'd hoped for friendly company, I was to be disappointed. There was no conversation as they hustled me out of the Dark Moon pack house with no farewells, no conversation as someone drove us all to Scarlet pack territory and Alpha Evan's estate, no conversation as I was summarily towed into the luxurious manor. The high ceilings, the beautiful architecture, the sparkling fountains and gardens all took my breath away. Even the dozens of staff hurrying around were dressed in immaculate uniforms that looked more expensive that half the things in Elly's and Maria's closets. I didn't have a chance to absorb this new world. They rushed me through the halls and into a private dining room right away, and I sat stunned in my chair for several minutes after the double doors closed. What was all of this? Wasn't I supposed to be a maid? Surely there were maid quarters I was meant to place my things in. I should be learning how to start my cleaning duties. But there was food on the table, far more than I could ever finish. Maybe I was meant to wait for others to join me, but what if this was the only chance I had to eat? What if they realized they'd made a mistake and pulled me away? I had to take advantage of this while I could. I stuffed myself as much as possible, but with how little I'd always been given to eat at the pack house, I hardly finished one plate before I had to give up. The richness of the meat in particular made my stomach ache... but it was so delicious. I'd never had anything even a tenth as good in my entire life. When the dining room doors opened again, two women appeared in staff uniform and approached as I stood. The older one in the front looked me over with a scrutinizing eye, as if I were an item on display. "We have a lot to do, but the base is good," she said. "We'll take her to the beauty parlor.""Beauty -- parlor?" I stammered. "Yes, that's correct." Despite her brief answer, the thoughts swirling around in her head were far more hurried. (Hm... Alpha Evan will prefer it that way, with the hair done up, I think. We need to put her in decent clothes, those rags are outrageous. If only he had brought back women before so I could know his taste, but this is the first time he's taken an interest in any. We'll just have to make do, I suppose.) If I weren't so off-balance, I would have laughed. They thought I was his lover! Or certainly something other than an unfortunate maid. But... she was right about my clothes. They were rags. A wave of mortification swept over me -- even the lowliest laborers here were dressed far better than I was, but these were the most presentable clothes I possessed. "We have a lot of work to do," the woman repeated. "Come this way, please." *** They had called it a parlor, but it was an entire wing attached to the manor that would have made Elly and Maria weep with its grandness. Marble baths, perfumeries, whole rooms full of clothes that Dark Moon could never afford. And I was being pampered in the middle of it all. The scent of roses, jasmine, freesia, and a dozen other faint aromas ghosted around me as half a dozen women scrubbed me clean and fitted me in various fabrics. They even bathed me despite my mortified protests, but at least the compliments in their thoughts put my self-consciousness to rest. (Her skin is so smooth. So easy to clean.) She doesn't have a strong body but it's still a pleasant shape. On the small side, but she has a pretty face. That makes up for it, I think. Maybe it was vain to be so happy, but all my life in Dark Moon, no one had ever had a complimenting thought about me. It might be an invasion of privacy to be able to read these women's thoughts, but I couldn't help it anyway. I might as well accept it. It got me through the arduous grooming and cosmetics and even the massage. I cringed at the sensation of others' hands all over me, but I gritted my teeth and bore it. I eventually fell asleep on the massaging table. I knew it only because I began dreaming. Grass... blue sky. Clouds above. Something about this place was so familiar, but the wolf lying on the grass stole my attention. "Cassiel!" I exclaimed. "You came back!" I hadn't felt her presence in so long... but before she could reply, I was pulled out of the dream and out of my sleep. "It's time, Miss Claudia. Please follow me." They showed me to the master suite several floors up, the band of women in uniform filing one after the other. They were so formal, so sophisticated. I was so out of place among them no matter what beautiful silks they draped me in, even this delicate sleepwear. Alpha Evan would be sorely disappointed when he figured that out. But there was no putting it off. The lead woman bowed me into the suite, escorting me through the beautiful double doors in silence. And there, in the center of the room on an armchair, Alpha Evan waited like a king. The room was large and just as magnificent as the rest of the manor, but it was... dark. The only light came from the crackling fireplace, and the shadows hid his face. There was no hiding that Alpha stature, though. The woman backed away, still bowing, and the doors closed behind me. Now it was just me, and Alpha Evan. He observed me for a moment, and I smelled alcohol in the air. Had he been drinking? And... what was that other scent? Metallic... blood? I shivered. “Come here.”

Chapter 4 #Chapter 4 Had he been trying to play games?

I was well within range. His thoughts should have seeped into my mind unbidden. But there was such turmoil in them that I couldn't tell them apart, and the dark veil that covered all of them didn't help either. So much... grief, and loss, and hatred. And above all, such anger. Was he going to attack me? Why were there so many terrible thoughts in his head as I approached? I wanted to flee, but he was a strong Alpha -- he could leap and catch me without breaking a sweat. All running away would do was make him even angrier. But... maybe it wasn't directed at me after all. Now that I came closer, I could see the gleam of his eyes, and he was looking downward, not at my face. "... Alpha Evan?" He looked up, gaze unfocused. Was he drunk? The way he had ordered me to come closer had sounded a little slurred too, now that I thought about it -- "You are my mate." His words cut through the silence. I shook my head, unable to respond any other way. My heart pounded so hard I thought he might able to hear it. He probably could. He stood. "Why?" he demanded. "Why aren't you?" What? What kind of question was that? Was he asking why I wasn't his mate? Maybe this was a test. I steadied myself. "Because... Alpha Evan, the Moon Goddess pairs mates together. We're not mates, Alpha.""Maybe she's wrong." Was there a proper response to that? Was he waiting for me to deny it? I wasn't a believer in the Moon Goddess myself, and maybe he'd guessed as much since I was a hybrid. But one thing was for certain. Every werewolf had a fated mate, and an Alpha in particular needed to find theirs. That was the source of their true power. But that raised more questions. Most werewolves found their mates by the time they were eighteen. Evan was older than that, wasn't he? "You should rest," I said carefully. "You look tired." Maybe that was overstepping, but he didn't reprimand me. He allowed me to take his elbow and guide him to the massive bed. It took some effort to get him under the covers since he seemed to forget what he was supposed to do halfway there, but I finally managed it and tucked him in. Heavy. Moving his large frame even that much was exhausting. When I bent over him to straighten the other side of the covers, his eyes focused on my face again, but there was a flash of recognition in his gaze that hadn't been there before. Was he sobering up? "My little maid," he said, voice guttural. "It's been a long time.""Yes, you haven't seen me since this morning.""No. I'm talking about when I first saw you. It's been nine years." That again. Nine years this, nine years that. But it was useless to argue with a drunk. I finished straightening the plush covers and rearranged the pillows. Now I could leave before he rambled more nonsense at me. If I didn't answer him, he might have nothing more to say, and I could make my escape before things got hairy. But before I could slip away, his hand shot out of the blankets with a speed a drunk man shouldn't possess, startling me. His grip wrapped around my hand, grasping it tight. "Claudia. Don't leave me.""Alpha--""Don't," he insisted. I swallowed. His hand was so warm, and so large. No one had ever held my hand like that even when I was a child. But even more jarring than how he held my hand was the way he called me by name. He'd remembered it? And he was calling me by it instead of just addressing me as the 'maid'? I took a deep breath. Calm down, I thought. He was drunk, and as long as I was careful, I could extricate myself from-- "I don't want to sleep alone," he said, and my eyes gravitated to the other side of the bed. The empty half. He couldn't possibly mean...? His eyes bored into me, and I swallowed again. He did mean it. Heaven help me. *** Something was wrong with me. I shouldn't have been able to sleep a wink. But seconds after my head dropped onto the pillow, I was out like a light -- I couldn't even remember falling asleep. And I had slept so deeply that when I woke up with the sun on my face, my first thought was that a storm had punched a makeshift skylight through the roof of the dank hut where I used to sleep. That place -- it would be with me forever. It had only been a couple of years since Maria and Elly got tired of me not being constantly on hand and forced me to move out of the slave quarters, that musty place. But this was neither the hut nor my bedroom. This was Alpha Evan's suite. This was Alpha Evan's bed. I glanced to my left, heart pounding, and sure enough, a pair of gleaming blue eyes stared at me. Oh, no. "G-good morning," I stammered, still struggling to understand how I'd gotten into this situation. Me. A half-breed slave. I had just woken up in bed with the Alpha of the Scarlet pack. I still had my clothes on, right? Thank heavens. But I hadn't washed up and I had just woken to the sight of a man staring at me for who knew how long. "I'll help prepare breakfast," I said, desperate for an excuse to run off, wash up, and find my senses. "I think I know the way to the kitchens.""You don't need to take on the chefs' responsibilities.""Then... what duties do I need to take on? Is there something you require of me this morning?" Amusement rippled through his thoughts. ( I slept well) , he mused. (I haven't done that in a long time. I'm in a good mood.) I'd never been more grateful I could read minds. Relief swelled inside me and soothed my worries. For now, he wasn't going to do anything to hurt me. "What I require of you is simple," he said. "This goes for every day, not only this morning. But your duties are to take care of yourself, to never leave my sight without my permission, and to sleep by my side so I can rest as well as I did last night." ... To take care of myself? Was he saying he wanted me healthy so I could always be of service? But there was a faint dusting of concern in his mind, as if he was worried about me. "Does that mean I will be staying by your side at all times?" I asked. "No. You have other things to do. Did you attend high school when you were in Dark Moon?" Caught off-guard by the non-sequitur, I could only nod, though uncertainly. "Not regularly, sir, but some days." I wasn't even sure if I'd actually qualified for graduation. Not that it mattered. I would never have been allowed to attend. "Then Peelle will take to Scarlet University today to continue your education." Continue my education? He was telling me, a half-breed, to enroll at a university? Why would he do that? Of course it was up to him whether I was accepted -- Scarlet University was a venerated institution firmly nestled in Scarlet pack territory. But this was unbelievable. And he was only doing this because he had the crazy notion that I was some kind of savior. I had to at least say my piece. He had called me his mate last night -- I prayed he remembered what I was talking about so I wouldn't have to say it out loud. "Alpha Evan... I truly believe you have the wrong person," I said. "I'm not who you think I am. Or what you think I am.""And why is that?" I was about to answer when the thought rolled through his mind, crystal-clear. (I know you're not my mate.) I paused. He knew? So what was that nonsense he had said last night? Had he been trying to play games with me while drunk?