The Ruthless Alpha's Claimed Breeder

~CIARA~

Tomorrow was the day my life would end.

And the text on my screen did a great job reminding of it.

"Miss, your coffee's getting cold."

My head snapped up to meet a brunette's warm gaze. She pushed the cup forward until it touched my palm. "You've been standing here for several minutes. Are you okay, miss?"

No.

By tomorrow, I'd be getting married to a stranger, how could I be okay? I had a plan in place but I didn't even know if I was doing the right thing or giving myself a death sentence.

Three nights ago, I'd hidden a small bag beneath the old bridge near the eastern border, a change of clothes and some cash I'd been secretly saving for months. It wasn't much, but it was enough.

All I had to do was make it past the border before dawn.

Then maybe I could disappear before anyone forced me into this marriage.

"Yes." The lie slid off my tongue as I placed my last dollar on the counter. "Thank you."

Clutching the cup tightly, I walked out of the small café, my eyes locked on my stepmother's text. She wanted me to come home for the wedding dress fitting. A wedding I'm clearly being forced into. I once thought being an omega was the worst thing that could ever happen to me because it altered my life.

My father was the beta of the pack.

My mother carried Alpha blood.

By all means, I should have been strong. Instead, I was a weak omega who couldn't even hear the voice of her own wolf, cursed to transform only during the full moon.

From a tender age, I had to learn how to survive.

I practiced twice as other wolves.

I tried to prove I belonged here as much as others.

But it was never enough.

I was never enough for the Riverstone pack.

And like I hadn't suffered enough, I was being whisked away like a bag of goods to get married to Alpha Graham. I didn't even know the man, but the rumors I heard about him were enough to make my blood run cold.

I was so busy calculating the safest route to the eastern border when a loud horn nearly burst my eardrums.

"Get the fuck off the road. If you want to die, jump off the fucking bridge!"

I stiffened, the sudden shock jerking me out of my thoughts.

"Get off the damn road." The man yelled again, and I scurried off the road, nearly tripping due to how unstable I was, but a firm grip steadied me.

Icy blue eyes sent sparks flying through me as he gazed into my soul.

An average heighted man rushed toward us, pushing me off him like I was some dirt beneath his shoes.

"Have you no manners?" the man snapped at me. "Do you have to throw yourself into his arms because of his status?"

I forced my voice to stay steady. "It was a misunderstanding."

"Shut your mouth." The man snapped. He took a glance at the man who had helped me, who seemed clearly unbothered, then lowered his head to give him a small bow.

"I'm sorry about what happened, Alpha. The car will be here any minute from now. We'll be out of this slump soon."

I stiffened.

Alpha?

No wonder there was this aura around him. It must have been why a single glance felt like he was staring into my soul. And right now, he was still staring at me as if I were a mystery he was trying to solve.

I looked away quickly.

"You're an omega." The Alpha's cold voice rang out. "Shouldn't you be in the pack house serving your Alpha?"

A stupid rule, that was what it was. All omegas in my pack-Riverstone-were turned into the Alpha's slaves. I was an exception because I was the Beta's first daughter. It was one of the reasons most pack members hated me.

"Can't you speak?!" The other man's voice made my jaw tighten. "An omega disrespecting an Alpha is unheard of. Do you want to be hanged?!"

"I'm Beta Kieran's daughter." I kept my eyes fixed on my beat-up sneakers that were already screaming for a change. "I am not one of the maids of the pack house."

"You're Beta Kieran's daughter." His voice turned so serious that it made me wonder if my father had done something wrong. He grabbed my chin, lifting it with a single finger. "Look at me."

My whole body stiffened. "An omega shouldn't-"

"I gave you the order," he insisted. "Look at me."

My brown eyes clashed with his blue ones, and they flared up with surprise. He quickly pulled away like he'd been burned. While my brain scrambled to understand what the hell was going on, the other man's voice broke my train of thought.

"The car is here." He hurried to open the car door. "I'm sure the Alpha of Riverstone must be expecting you, Alpha Hayes."

So his name was Hayes.

He looked at me one last time and my stomach stupidly flipped. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." For a second, something strange crossed his face. Recognition. He was staring at me like this wasn't our first meeting. "You should be more careful near roads."

My brows furrowed.

The words sounded ordinary, but the way he said them felt personal. As if he'd been watching me long enough to know I was always getting hurt.

Before I could question him, he slipped into the car, slammed the door, and zoomed off. My fingers grazed my chin-where he touched me-and a jolt of electricity zapped down my spine.

Why did I feel this strange sense of familiarity?

~~~~

"She's getting married tomorrow. Pack all her stuff into the basement, she can have her last night there." My stepmother's voice reached my ears the second I stepped into the house. She hated me, no doubt.

I hung my coat on the hanger, stepping further into the house, and she laughed.

"Finally, you're back. I almost thought you'd spend your last night as a lady whoring around." She tosses something at me. "Sign the contract immediately."

I picked up the brown file. "You didn't tell me there's going to be a contract."

She glared at me. "Does that change anything?"

"It does." My throat closed up as emotion filled my voice. "It feels like you're selling me off to this unknown Alpha. I don't even know him. I don't want to do this."

"And there she goes again." My stepsister strode down the stairs, her tone mocking. "Always trying to act like the world isn't fair. What's so bad about getting married to Alpha Graham? What's so wrong about being his breeder?"

"What?!"

"You didn't know?" She laughed. "Read the fucking contract. After all, that's what omegas are for. For an Alpha's pleasure."

My hands shook as I flipped through the pages.

Then I saw the words boldly written on the very first page.

Marriage contract between Alpha Graham Hayes and his breeder, Ciara Norman.

My world tilted.