Sacrificed

CHAPTER ONE

I

was the wolf-shifter Cinderella.

No joke.

Reason number one: tonight was the Wolf Moon Mixer, a once-a-year event where the three most prominent packs of Europe brought together their most promising unmated wolves.

Our alpha was hosting it this year, but I wouldn't be there. As an outcast, I was lower than an omega-so far down on the pack hierarchy that I didn't even qualify to serve the drinks.

But I sure as hell was good enough to clean the visitors lodge.

I took the mop out of the bucket, emptied its contents down the toilet and flushed. After putting the cleaning things back in their cupboard, I wiped my brow on the sleeve of my overalls and admired my work.

The guest bathroom was pristine-marble surfaces, gold taps, and a jacuzzi large enough to accommodate eight. Sunlight streamed in through the frosted window, making everything sparkle.

Best of all, I got the work done without a Disney song or a crew of helpful birds or mice.

Raucous male laughter echoed from the other side of the door, reminding me of the second reason why I was the shifter Cinderella. Cinderella had two ugly sisters, and I had the Mondo twins.

I pushed open the door and stepped into the guest suite's living area, which I'd spent the morning cleaning to a shine. Eagon and Umber lounged on the sofas, watching a documentary on Scandinavian shamans.

"What are you doing?" I clapped my hands together, trying to get their attention. "We've got a whole list of chores to finish before noon."

Eagon turned his head to the side to shoot me a glare and continued watching the TV with his twin.

My jaw clenched. He was supposed to be the more responsible of the pair, yet the two of them together were bad influences on each other.

I reached into my overalls pocket and pulled out a pair of boxers one of them had tossed into the bathroom while I'd been cleaning. Sunlight streamed through the pale fabric, illuminating a crusty white stain.

"Which of you two slobs left your underwear for me to find?"

Eagon turned to Umber, who snickered before pointing the remote at the TV and turning up the volume. A closeup appeared on the screen of a man with blond locks cutting open a bird's belly to read its entrails.

My gaze followed the length of its power cable, which disappeared behind a low cabinet. "Of all the times you two decide to slack off, why now, when the alpha wants to make the best impression?"

"Lydia," Eagon drawled. "Why ask a question when you already know the answer?"

"Beowulf can go to hell for being such a shitty alpha." Umber placed his feet on the coffee table and stretched out his arms in an exaggerated yawn. "We stocked all the bars, unloaded the kegs, and set up the grill."

"That's our share of the work done," said Eagon. "Fetch us two more beers."

I stormed toward the power cable, my lips forming a tight line. For reasons I couldn't fathom, the pack administrator had put me on work duty with the Mondo twins-a pair of arrogant assholes whose father had killed mine.

It was a tangled set of affairs. Dad had been the pack alpha for years until the Mondo twins' father killed him and took his place. Then a few years ago, a young wolf called Beowulf came out of nowhere and killed their father in a battle. Being the children of defeated alphas was one of the worst things a young person could be in a pack.

Alpha Mondo had relegated Mum and me to the bottom of the pack, and his worthless sons had lorded over me at the academy. Now, they were disgraced because their lying, cheating, murdering parents had been bested in a fair alpha battle. With Mondo dead and defeated, a new alpha in place, they instantly reverted into omegas.

But the only people lower in the pack than them were Mum and me.

"You're only finished early because two people did the work of one," I said from between clenched teeth. "Frida said one of you should help me prepare the rooms."

Frida was the leader of the alpha's harem, a rag-tag group of skanks who orbited Beowulf and warmed his bed. She was also the alpha's housekeeper and allergic to a bucket and mop.

Umber ran a hand through his scraggly locks and belched. "What are you going to do about it?"

Eagon shooed me away. "Get to work, unless you want all three of us punished."

My nostrils flared. I reached down to the power socket and pulled out the plug, ending their enjoyment of the bird's guts.

As if synchronized by magic, the twins both turned to me and glared.

I raised my chin. "We have one more room to finish. If we all work together, we can leave before anyone comes-"

"Did you not hear my brother?" Eagon snarled. "Beowulf can call us omegas if he wants, he can flay the skin off our backs, but we won't help him ally with other packs."

"And cleaning duties are for weasel shifters or those who live among them," Umber added.

I folded my arms across my chest. "Neither of you have the balls to say that to his face."

They both rose from their seats and stalked toward me with the same menacing expressions they'd used when bullying me at the academy.

Anticipation rippled across the lining of my stomach. The twins had been my biggest tormentors, until Beowulf had killed their father and relegated them to omegas. They were no longer evil bastards, but they still acted like my superiors.