Enslaved By The Ruthless Lycan King

“Murderer!”

I looked up from where I was kneeling in the dirt. My wrists burned from the silver chains and I could taste blood in my mouth from where someone had hit me earlier.

“You killed my fiancée and my unborn child,” Alpha Logan snarled as he stood over me with pure hatred burning in his eyes. “I’m going to make you suffer for what you’ve done, Ruby Moonhaven, and when I’m finished with you, you’ll beg me for death.”

Tears streamed down my face as I stared into the eyes of the man who was supposed to be my mate. How did it come to this? How did I go from hoping for love to being accused of murder?

Three Days Earlier

“Ruby! Get your worthless self in here right now!” Head Omega Martha’s voice boomed through the kitchen and made me jump as I scrubbed the already clean floor for the third time today.

I dropped my scrub brush and hurried over to where she stood next to a mountain of dirty dishes that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The pile was so high I couldn’t even see the top of it properly.

“Wash every single one of these dishes until they shine like new,” Martha commanded while pointing her finger at the enormous stack. “And when you’re done with those, there are three more loads waiting in the storage room that need to be cleaned before tonight’s ceremony.”

My heart sank as I looked at all the work ahead of me, knowing there was no way I could finish everything before the mating ceremony started tonight. “But Martha, today is my eighteenth birthday and I was hoping—”

“I don’t care if today is the day you sprout wings and fly to the moon,” she interrupted with a nasty laugh. “You’re an orphan omega with no family and no status in this pack, which means you work while everyone else celebrates.”

She grabbed another stack of plates from somewhere behind her and slammed them down on the counter so hard that several pieces chipped. “After you finish all the dishes, you’ll clean the ceremonial hall floors and then scrub down all the tables and chairs, and don’t even think about showing your face at the ceremony because lowly servants like you have no business being around our pack’s important rituals.”

The other kitchen workers snickered and whispered as Martha walked away, leaving me alone with what felt like every dish in the entire pack house.

My name is Ruby Moonhaven and I am nothing. I have been an orphaned omega in the Darkfur Pack since my parents died when I was barely old enough to walk. The pack took me in out of duty and made sure I knew my place every single day since then.

Omegas are the lowest rank in any pack but orphaned omegas are even lower than that. We have no family to protect us and no status to fall back on. We exist solely to serve others and accept whatever scraps they throw our way.

I spent my childhood doing the hardest and dirtiest jobs while other children played and learned to shift. I washed dishes and scrubbed floors and carried heavy loads until my back screamed in pain. The other pack members treated me like I was invisible most of the time or like a pest when they bothered to notice me at all.

But tonight was supposed to be different.

 Tonight was the mating ceremony where unmated wolves would find their destined partners. I had been dreaming of this night for months and hoping that somewhere out there was someone who would see past my lowly status and love me anyway.

Now it looked like I would be spending my eighteenth birthday elbow deep in dirty dishes instead.

After finishing the dishes, I snuck out to find my best friend. Tessa lived in the omega quarters but her situation was better than mine. She had parents who died honorably in battle so the pack treated her with some respect. She was allowed to serve at important events while I stayed hidden in the kitchen.

I found her in her room getting ready for the ceremony. She wore a simple blue dress that made her eyes sparkle. Her blonde hair was braided with small flowers.

“This isn’t how I imagined my birthday would be,” I said flopping onto her bed.

“What do you mean?” Tessa looked at me in the mirror. “Aren’t you getting ready?”

“Martha banned me from attending. She wants me to wash dishes all night.”

Tessa’s face fell and she sat beside me with genuine sympathy shining in her green eyes. “That’s not fair at all, Ruby. It’s your birthday and tonight is the mating ceremony where everyone should have the chance to find their mate. You deserve to be there just as much as anyone else.”

“Omegas without parents don’t count for much, and you know that,” I replied bitterly, picking at a loose thread on her quilt. “I’m just here to serve and clean up after the important wolves.”

Tessa was quiet for a moment before her face brightened suddenly. “I have an idea, Ruby. What if we find a way to get you into the ceremony for just a little while? You could slip in during the busy part when everyone is distracted.”

My eyes widened with both excitement and terror at her suggestion. “Tessa, I can’t do that. If someone recognizes me or if Martha finds out I left my duties, I’ll be in serious trouble.”

“But what if no one notices?” she pressed. “You could stay in the back, maybe even behind some of the decorative screens. Just long enough to see if you feel any mate bonds or to experience what it’s like to be part of something important.”

The idea was both thrilling and terrifying but something deep inside me yearned to take that risk. Maybe it was time to stop accepting that I deserved nothing more than a life of invisibility.

“Alright,” I whispered. “Let’s do it.”

An hour later I stood at the entrance to the ceremony hall wearing one of Tessa’s old dresses. Everyone was dressed in their finest clothes and the air buzzed with excitement.

The entire room was decorated with flowers and candles, creating a magical atmosphere that took my breath away. Wolves from all over the territory had come to witness the ceremony and hopefully find their mates.

I tried to stay hidden behind Tessa as we moved through the crowd with trays of drinks, but I couldn’t help staring at all the beautiful dresses and handsome men. 

This was a world I had never been allowed to see, and it was even more wonderful than I had imagined.

Everything was going perfectly until I saw Head Omega Margaret scanning the crowd with her sharp eyes. I panicked and ducked into the first empty room I could find. My heart was pounding as I pressed my back against the closed door and tried to catch my breath.

Only then did I notice the room I’d chosen to hide in was decorated with expensive furniture and had the distinct scent of an Alpha lingering in the air.

This was definitely not a place I should be, but before I could leave, the door opened behind me.

I spun around and came face to face with Alpha Logan himself. 

He was even more handsome up close than I had ever noticed before. His dark hair was perfectly styled and his strong jaw made him look powerful and commanding.

I had never been this close to him before and the effect was overwhelming. Logan was tall and broad with muscles that showed through his formal shirt. His eyes were the deepest brown I had ever seen and they seemed to look right through me.

Then I felt it. The mate bond hit me immediately and my entire world shifted. The tingling sensation started in my chest and spread through my whole body until I could barely breathe. Logan was my mate. 

The soon to be Alpha of this pack was my fated mate.

My heart soared with happiness and hope. He wasn’t just any pack member but the Alpha himself. He was single and wasn’t betrothed to anyone yet which meant I actually had a chance with him. But when I looked into Logan’s eyes, I didn’t see recognition or joy. I saw pure disgust.

“What are you doing in here?” he demanded.

“I… I felt the mate bond,” I whispered while hope and fear battled in my chest. “You’re my mate.”

His expression grew even more disgusted. “A pathetic omega servant could never be my mate. You’re delusional.”

The door opened again and Isabella Vale swept into the room. She was the daughter of the Red Moon Pack’s Alpha and one of the most beautiful wolves I’d ever seen.

She visited our pack often for political meetings, but I never understood why she came so frequently.

“Logan, what’s taking so long?” She stopped when she noticed me cowering near the wall. “Who is this lowly creature?”

“Just an omega who thought she could be my mate,” Logan said with hatred in his voice.

Isabella laughed with cruelty. “How ridiculous. I think it’s high time you announce our engagement to the pack officially. And our pregnancy too so riffraff like this knows exactly where they stand.”

My world collapsed around me as I realized Logan was already taken and expecting a baby with another woman. Everything I had hoped for was nothing but a foolish dream.

“You’re right,” Logan said, still staring at me with hatred. “No more delays.”

“What are you waiting for, darling?” Isabella continued and wrapped her arm around Logan’s. “Tell her exactly what she needs to hear.”

“No, no, no,” I whispered and shook my head desperately.

Logan straightened to his full height and his Alpha voice filled the room.

 “I Logan Darkfur, future Alpha of the Silver Crest Pack reject you Ruby Moonhaven, as my mate and future Luna.”

CHAPTER TWO

The pain in my chest was worse than anything I had ever felt before. It felt like someone had reached inside my ribs and was twisting my heart with their bare hands. Every breath hurt and my legs felt too weak to hold me up properly.

I gripped the wall next to me and tried to hold myself. The mate bond rejection was supposed to hurt but nobody had ever told me it would feel like dying.

My wolf whimpered inside my head and I could feel her pain mixing with mine until I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.

Logan looked at me with those cold green eyes and waited for my response. I knew what I had to do even though it would hurt worse than anything I had ever experienced.

“I Ruby Moonhaven accept your—” I started to say but Logan cut me off with a sharp hand gesture.

“Before you complete that,” he said with a cruel smile, “You’re going to watch something first.”

I didn’t understand what h