Chapter 2
Aria's POV
Pain. That was all I knew.
Days passed... Nights passed... But it was all the same.
Damian called for me every night and every night.. he took me. Roughly.
It didn't matter if I didn't want it. It didn't matter if I begged. It didn't matter if I cried.. if I screamed.. if tried to push him away.
He never stopped.
And when he was done?
He threw me out of his room.. Naked.
Like I was a plaything to be used and then discarded.
And when I tried to fight back?
He would hit me. Beat me. Hurt me.
When I resisted too much or I cried too loudly.. he would tighten his grip on my neck and squeeze it until I struggled for breath.
It was torture.
"Do you think you have a choice?" he had whispered to me one night. His voice was filled with threat.
"You are mine to use, filthy Omega." he growled. "And just so you know, a whore like you can never be my Luna. You're just my plaything, my sex toy. My sex rag."
I used to believe that rejection was the worst pain in the world.
I used to think there was nothing more painful than being abandoned by my mate.
But I was wrong. Because this? This was way worse than death.
-
I stood in front of the broken mirror in the servant's quarters and staring at the girl I couldn't recognize anymore.
Her eyes were empty and her lips were swollen from biting them too hard to keep from crying.
Her wrists were bruised and was filled with deep dark marks and scars. Her throat was covered with finger prints of someone who had claimed her roughly clearly not out of love but out of cruelty.
I raised my hand slowly.. pressing my fingers on the broken mirror.
Was this really me?
Was this what I had become?
Tears streamed down my face as I stared at my reflection. I was hurting but there was no one to help because everyone knew.
The senior Omegas knew. They had seen the bruises. They had heard my cries at night when Damian manhandled me and raped me.
When I return to the servants quarters every night looking lost and broken, they would look at me and then they would laugh.
"So.. the Alpha is using the little whore, huh?" One of the Omega had said one night as I returned.
I flinched.
"You must be enjoying it." Another laughed.
"No, she thinks after all this, Alpha Damian would pick her as his Luna. Such a fool." Another had laughed.
"You guys should stop, it's not her fault the moon goddess paired her with Alpha Damian." Head Omega Sarah had said mockingly and everyone had laughed in my face.
My stomach twisted violently within me.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to tell them that they were wrong.
That I never wanted this.
That I prayed every night for it to stop.
But the words never came.
Because deep down.. I already knew.
No one cared.
No one would ever care.
-
The first time Luna Marissa, Alpha Damian's mother saw the marks on my body I thought she would confront him.
I thought she would stop him.
But no.
I was wrong.
I was so so wrong.
Instead she slapped me. Hard.
I gasped. I staggered.
My eyes were filled with tears but I refused to cry.
Why? Why had she slapped me?
"How dare you!" She hissed, her voice filled with disgust for me. "How dare you try to seduce my son?" She accused.
Me? Seduce?
I wanted to laugh.. I wanted to cry.. I wanted to tell her the truth.
That I had never wanted this.
That I would rather die than let Alpha Damian touch me.
But she wasn't looking for the truth.
She had already decided I was the one at fault when I was clearly the victim.
"You are filthy servant okay? Don't think because you are seducing him you can succeed in becoming his Luna. You can't. I will make sure of that." she spat.
Tears filled my eyes but I refused to let them fall. Because she was right.
I was nothing. At least that's what I've heard countlessly until it was encrypted in my soul.
---
Tonight was the Annual Moonlight Mating Ceremony. A night were mates were declared and officially recognized as mates.
Wolves danced; laughed and toasted to another year of prosperity.
But none of it was for me.
I knew deep down already.
I adjusted my grip on the tray of wine glasses and kept my head down as I moved between guests trying so hard to be unseen.
I told myself I didn't care.
I told myself I didn't feel the sting of knowing my mate was somewhere in this room holding another woman.
I told myself I had already accepted my fate. But deep down that was a lie.
I was feeling the pain of being termed as worthless and pathetic.
The pain of knowing that the mate the Moon Goddess had given me was also the one who had always made it his duty to ruin me every night.
Damian had already made it clear what I was to him.
A toy. A mistake. A filth.
I knew that.. so I never expected anything.
But then...
Damian climbed up the stage, a champagne glass in his hand as his eyes moved across the room and landed on me.
"Tonight... we honor the Moon Goddess and the mates she has chosen for us."
The crowd cheered.
Damian raised his hand to silence them and soon the whole room was silent.
He directed his gaze at me making my fingers hold the tray so tightly that I fear it would break.
I was nervous.
Why was he looking at me?
Why was everyone turning to stare at me?
My heart pounded in my chest.
Damian had always rung it in my ears that I would never be termed his mate, so what now?
Why was he looking at me in that soft manner as if he had changed his mind?
I felt my body begin to tremble in panic.
"Come here, Aria." Damian said softly and the entire ballroom gasped in shock.
Soon whispers filled the room. They were just as shocked as I was.
My feets were stuck.
I couldn't move.
I didn't want to move.
But when Damian's stretched his hand, his eyes filled with something soft, I felt my legs moving.
Step by step.
My hands were shaking.
My legs felt weak.
My heart pounded painfully in my chest.
I reached the steps.
I stared up at him. He smiled.
It was a soft gentle smile.
And for the first time in forever… I felt hope building inside of me.
The crowd was just as surprised as I was.
Even Sandra who was standing in the corner of the ballroom looked confused.
Even Damian's mother looked quite horrified.
Everyone was stunned.
What was going on?
Was Damian going to accept me?
Was he finally going to claim me as his mate?
Was he...
Damian's hand held mine softly and pulled me up on the stage.
I stood beside him, my heart beating in my chest
I couldn't believe it. Standing beside Damian as his equal, as his mate.
He was going to announce to everyone that I was his mate.
That I was the one the moon goddess had chosen for him.
I felt hopeful. A small smile growing on my lips until it was evident on my face.
I was smiling. Smiling to the crowd.
I couldn't believe it. It was happening.
"Tonight... there is something even more important I want to announce to everyone of you." He said. "Y'all might not know this... but the Moon Goddess has already given me a mate."
Sandra stiffened.
Damian's mother looked at him in shock as if reprimanding him.
"Come closer Aria..." He said, pulling me softly and lifting my face to meet my gaze.
He smiled and then winked.
He was going to declare our bond. I could feel the sting of tears in my eyes.
I tried to stop them but they fell anyway.
Tears of relief. Tears of joy.
"Tonight.. in front of my pack.. I will make a declaration."
My breath caught in my throat.
Was this it? Was he about to say it?
Oh moon goddess. Thank you. Thank you.
And then... the smile on his face twisted and his grip on my chin tightened painfully.
And the next words he mentioned shattered me to pieces.
"I, Alpha Damian Thorn, reject this pathetic Omega as my mate." Damian denounced making me extremely shocked.
What?
"Did you really think I would accept you?" He chuckled evilly.
Then the crowd erupted in laughter.
My knees went weak.
My vision became blurry.
I wanted to scream but no sound came out until I passed out.