Bonnie’s POV
“Please! Stop hitting me! I won’t rest anymore, I promise—I’ll keep working! I’ll do whatever you want, just… please…”
My voice cracked with desperation, but the blows didn’t stop.
“You ungrateful brat! We feed you, clothe you, and let you stay here, and you dare slack off?” The voice snapped.
“And what’s that look? Keep glaring, and I’ll gouge your eyes out!”
It was my foster mother, Casey Winter, screaming at me.
Yes, I’m the adopted daughter of the Pierce family. They claim they found me in the forest years ago, nearly torn apart by a lion. They saved me from death—but I’ve never once felt grateful.
The food they "gave" me? Cold leftovers after the family had eaten. The "clothes"? Rags discarded by the housemaids. The "home"? A dilapidated shack at the back of the estate, reeking of mold and decay.
Since I could walk, I’ve been their servant—cooking, cleaning, scrubbing floors, tending to the animals. I did more than anyone in that house, yet I ranked lower than the staff.
If I had known what their idea of “rescue” meant, I would’ve rather died in that forest.
Tonight, at midnight, I’ll turn eighteen. That means I’ll finally gain my wolf. For just one day, I wanted to rest. Only one. But when I dared to frown at Casey for piling more chores on me, she exploded.
A slap landed hard across my cheek, and agony burst through my skull. My vision blurred. Every kick that followed felt like searing needles piercing my skin. Each blow lit my nerves on fire. I tried to curl in on myself, but I was too weak to stop them.
When the beating ended, they left me in the barn like discarded trash.
Tears streamed down my face as I lay there, trembling and aching. I whispered into the silence:
Moon Goddess… have mercy. Please… give me a strong wolf. Help me escape this nightmare.
Midnight fell. Pale moonlight spilled through the cracks of the barn’s wooden walls, casting a silvery glow across the floor.
Then, it began.
An overwhelming surge of energy coursed through me—fierce, primal, like a storm tearing through my veins. My body trembled as a strange warmth bloomed from within. This was it—my first shift.
My heart pounded. My bones twisted. I screamed as the transformation tore through me.
And then—
It happened.
I shifted into a large, silver-furred wolf, her coat shimmering in the moonlight. My breath caught in my throat—she was breathtaking.
But my body was too weak to stay in that form for long. Darkness pulled me under.
When I awoke again, I was back in the Pierce household. Disoriented. Still sore.
“Put this on,” Casey barked, tossing a white dress at me.
I caught it, confusion clouding my mind. Before I could ask anything, mocking laughter rang out from behind the door.
“Oh, wow.” Monica, Casey’s precious daughter, sneered. “A filthy little wolf girl like you has probably never even touched a dress this nice. You should thank me. If it weren’t for your wedding today, I wouldn’t waste it on you.”
Wedding?
My blood ran cold.
“To who?” I whispered.
Monica laughed louder. “To Gabriel—the dying Alpha. You should be honored. Without this, someone like you would never be allowed into an Alpha bloodline.”
Gabriel? That Gabriel?
The one known for his cruelty—the rumored monster who burned through wives like candles?
They say he’s terminally ill now, desperate for someone to take care of him until the end. His previous wives? All mysteriously gone. Whispers say he killed them all.
So… I was to marry a dying Alpha, just to be his nurse? Or worse—his burial gift?
I had just turned eighteen. I had just gained my wolf. My real life was supposed to start, not end.
“No! I won’t marry him!” I shouted.
Casey’s face twisted with fury. “You think you have a choice?”
“We raised you for eighteen years. It’s time you paid us back.”
“You didn’t raise me,” I spat. “You enslaved me! You never cared whether I lived or died—!”
Before I could finish, Casey slapped me again. Harder this time. My face burned.
But something inside me snapped.
I wouldn’t submit. I wouldn’t be their pawn anymore. I had to escape.
They locked me in my room, refused to feed me, forbade the servants from helping. But I overheard them talking outside.
Monica was supposed to marry Gabriel.
She was terrified. So, Casey chose me instead—her expendable, unwanted ward.
That was all the resolve I needed.
When they dragged me out to be dressed and made-up for the “wedding,” I waited.
I watched the gates.
And when I saw the opening, I ran.
I ran like my life depended on it—because it did.
Then—bam—I collided with someone.
I stumbled back, and a powerful scent hit me like a lightning strike. Earthy. Raw. Wild.
It wrapped around me, igniting a fire in my chest, making my heart race.
Every nerve in my body screamed: Mate.
My wolf surged with recognition.
I looked up, breathless.
And froze.
It was Quinn.
My foster sister’s boyfriend.
My body trembled. My family caught up behind me, eyes darting between us, sensing the invisible pull.
Monica’s voice sliced through the tension. “Quinn! Don’t tell me she’s your mate? This pathetic little Omega?”
I dropped my gaze, shame flooding me.
Then Quinn tilted my chin up. His eyes—hungry. Drawn to me.
Was it true?
If he accepted me… he could destroy them all. Quinn was next in line to lead our entire pack.
I’d loved him in silence for years, never daring to speak it aloud. No one loves an Omega.
But the bond—the bond was real.
The Moon Goddess had chosen me.
“Mate,” I whispered.
Then, he smiled.
A soft, gentle smile that made hope bloom in my chest.
But then he spoke.
“To be honest… I’m disappointed.”
My heart stilled.
“You’re nothing like the mate I imagined. It’s almost funny how fate works.”
“What—what did you say?” I barely managed to breathe.
He didn’t flinch. “I said—I reject you, Omega. I refuse to claim you as my mate.”
