Mated to my Stepfather claimed by my stepbrother

Aria's POV

Moonlight poured in through the cracked window of my tiny room, painting the walls silver.

Morning already? My heart sank.

I threw off the thin blanket, grabbed my towel, and rushed into the bathroom, shivering as cold water hit my skin.

"Oh God..." I said under my breath.

"I'm already late."

Today was my stepfather's Pack Mating Ceremony, and I was supposed to be at the hall early, helping the other omegas clean and set up. But here I was, just now getting dressed.

I dashed out of the bathroom, still dripping, and flung open my wooden wardrobe. Its doors were barely hanging on, termites long since making a meal of it. I grabbed the only dress that could possibly pass for the day. It had a small hole in the back.

Whatever. No one would care. No one ever did.

Just as I was pulling it over my head, the door to my room slammed open.

"Orphan!"

His voice struck like a whip.

Alpha King Lucien Thorn, my stepfather.

"What the hell are you still doing in here?"

"I-I'm so-" I stammered, barely able to speak.

"Get out of this house and go join the other omegas.

Stupid orphan."

Orphan.

You heard him right. That's the name he calls me every single day.

The man my mother gave her life for, this is who he is.

I didn't even realize when I burst out of the room, legs moving on instinct, running my ass off toward the traditional hall where the Mooncroft Pack holds its mating ceremony every year.

"Maybe the Moon Goddess will bless us with a mate this year," my wolf whispered, a tiny spark of hope in her voice.

"At what age?" I mumbled back. "I'm just eighteen."

Everyone knew the rule in the Mooncroft Pack, if you weren't at least twenty, you couldn't be mated. Not officially.

Besides, who would want to be my mate in this pack?

"Dirty-ass omega."

"Alpha Lucien's family errand wolf."

"The omega whose wolf isn't even strong."

"The girl with no traceable origin."

Their voices echoed in my head, over and over, like a cruel chant.

I didn't know when the tears started. I just felt them sliding down my cheeks.

By the time I got to the grand hall, it was still covered in dust. I wiped my face quickly and headed straight for the rag stand.

Grabbing one of the worn-out clothes, I began to dust the tables and chairs in silence, like always.

"Look at her dress," one of the omegas whispered behind me, just loud enough for me to hear.

I acted like I didn't.

Like I hadn't heard the sneer in her voice. Like it didn't sting.

I kept dusting the chairs, eyes down, fingers trembling around the rag.

The omegas who were supposed to be my friends, but no, they weren't friends at all. Their words cut deeper than anything the high-ranking wolves ever did to me.

Their laughter rose behind me, cruel and familiar.

And still, I said nothing.