Chapter 1

Stephanie is accused of murdering her father in law by the Alpha. Demoted to a slave despite being pregnant, she struggles with the torture she faces and gives birth prematurely after a failed attempt to kill her by the Alpha's mistress.

Alpha Damien inherited the Eclipse pack from his father. He loved his Ex more than his mate or so he thought until he lost her and one of his twins.

How will he face her when he discovers the lie he thought was the truth had cost him almost everything.

Would Stephanie accept him back, will his children want him as their father.

001

Find your mate and live happily ever after they say.

Catching sight of her mate, Alpha Damien, Stephanie felt her heart leap into her throat, and not for good reasons too.

Truth be told, she cared about him probably more than she should, considering his horrendous ways with her... but he was her mate, and she was his Luna.

He treated her like crap, a mere possession to use and discard as he pleased.

"Here you are; of what use are you to me" He barked on reaching her

Stephanie is taken aback by his words, his temper not so much. She would never do right by him no matter how hard she tried.

"Did you need something? What can I get you?" Stephanie asked in a low voice, pushing away the hurt creeping into her heart

Alpha Damien hisses at her, his anger evident in the way he looks at her. He cursed softly at his father for insisting he get married to her. He had wanted another but his father and the moon goddess had other plans, now he had to settle for less.

Without another word, he started to walk away towards the direction he had come from. His giant strides echoing on the floor.

Stephanie hesitated briefly as she contemplated whether to follow him or remain. She knew he had a temper as venomous as a volcano, he would be angry if she did not follow him and she feared him greatly. He could be beastly at irrational moments and his temper was a source of great fear to her.

He expected her to know what he wanted of her even when he did not verbally express it.

Lifting her long dress, she followed him almost running to meet up with him.

He stopped in front of her room abruptly and waited.

Stephanie's heart sank, she understood what this meant.

The truth was that she had always loved Alpha Damien even before she found out he was her mate. She loved his luminous blue eyes and firm jaws, he had a body that could be likened to that of a god. But mostly she loved him for him and not for his title as Alpha or his general look.

However, Alpha Damien had never looked at her or longed for her the way she had always done.

When he touched her, it felt lifeless devoid of passion.

Being an Orphan, she never expected to be mated to anyone of higher rank, much more Alpha Damien. What a shock she felt on the night of the moon ball when she heard her wolf scream mate she turned and her eyes found and met that of Alpha Damien. She had felt an excitement bubble within her which was immediately shut down when he scowled at her and walked out of the ball hand in hand with his girlfriend Ava, the most beautiful girl in the pack.

Stephanie had always looked forward to the day she would find her mate, she was sure it would be the happiest day in her life but she was shocked by Alpha Damien's behavior.

She had heard stories of how mated pairs reacted to each other the first time their wolves recognised their mates, so she had waited expectantly that he would grab her and plant a kiss on her lips and they would live happily ever after.

Maybe he was shocked and did not know how to react-she concluded. How relieved she was when he sent for her a few days later, but he had a huge frown on his face when she arrived and for an instant, she feared he was going to reject her.

However, he asked her to marry him even though it was more of a command than a proposal.

They were married the next day.

The night of the wedding she waited for him but he never came. He came in drunk the next morning, he had the smell of a man who got a lot of sex.

Stephanie did not utter a word, she helped him out of his clothes and brought him a cup of strong coffee and some snacks. She had hoped for an apology when the alcohol wore off but she got nothing rather he pretended she was not there.

Stephanie could not bear it any longer after being ignored for some days.

"I…I…" She stuttered before continuing "Why are you ignoring me" she asked

He looked at her his face unreadable. "This…This marriage is a sham, so don't get ideas into your head or feel you matter to me because you don't."

"But I am your mate." Stephanie said feeling a bit bolder even though she was nervous

"I never asked for this, and that mate bond means nothing to me." He rose from the bed. "I will be staying in the other room from now on, you can have this room." He said and walked out of the room.

"Stop staring at the knob, you moron. Open the damn door will you." He shouted, making Stephanie jump and get out of her reverie.

She quickly opens the door and steps in, Alpha Damien follows from behind. He had a presence that made it look like he filled up the room.

"Strip." He barks at her and Stephanie draws back. She hated the way he came to her for sex, this was not supposed to be the norm but yet.

"But Alpha, I am not too well" She stutters

He swears at her "You dare to refuse me. You know why I married you woman." He says in a low voice his menacing eyes locking with hers "Know your place or contend with my wrath."

Stephanie blinked back the tears, it never solved anything. Sometimes she wondered why the moon goddess cursed her with a mate like Alpha Damien.

It was almost a year since they married, she had yearned for him, wanted his look of approval and acknowledgment. But that never happened. Instead each day became worse with his demeaning words and attitude.

"Strip or I'll help you." He challenges her, his eyes darkening. The last time she delayed he had torn the clothes off her body injuring her in the process.

She begins to take off her clothes, as each layer of cloth falls, it feels as if she was stripped of her dignity. Soon she stood naked before him, for the briefest second she thought she saw desire cross his face.

“Bend over.”

Stephanie did as she was told, refusing to allow her mind to dwell on the humiliation she was feeling.

002

Stephanie sprawled on the floor as soon as he left. She gave in to the pain that enveloped her, her quiet sobs rocking her small frame.

It was moments like this that she wished Alpha Damien had rejected her, it would have been a better fate for her. She felt more alone than ever even though she was married to her mate. In her loneliness, she yearned for a child, an heir for Alpha Damien but it was evident that he

did not want to have a child with her because he pulled out of her each time they had sex, except for today.

*************

NEXT DAY

Stephanie wakes up to the smell of bacon and pancakes. It was her favorite meal and somehow she knew the cook was making it especially for her. He seemed to have an intuitive mind of when she was down and needed a mood lift.

She tidied up and decided to wear makeup. The bags under her eyes needed to be masked, she had not slept well last night. For some time now she tossed and turned her heart heavy with pain.

As soon as the chef saw her he gave her a big smile. “Come sit, I made something special for you.”

Stephanie gave him a weak smile, the little joys left for her were from small gestures like this.

“I have no doubt it would be delicious,” she says and takes a big bite.

“You woke up late today Luna,” Mark said as he cooked

“I decided to sleep in,” Stephanie replies and continues to eat even though her mind reels in thoughts

“Has Mr King come down for breakfast yet?” she asks in between bites.

“Not yet.” Mark replies “He never misses breakfast.” he continues as if just realizing this.

“Make a platter of his food, I will take it up to his room.” Stephanie had a great relationship with her father-in-law. He treated her like his own child and to her, he was the father she never had. On some occasions, she had witnessed him reprimand Alpha Damien about how he treated her though it changed nothing between them. However, she appreciated his thoughtfulness.

After her meal, she thanks Mark for helping to keep her happy and healthy, he laughs and says it was his pleasure. It had become a tradition between both of them.

She carries the platter of food and makes her way towards Mr King's room. His quarter was at the left wing of the mansion on the down floor. He used to live on the second floor but since losing his wife, he decided to vacate the floor because it always reminded him of his wife.

Stephanie drops the platter on a table as she enters the room. Mr king was neither in his bed nor was he at the Balcony adjoined to his room. Stephanie, panicking, makes her way to his bathroom and drops to her knees as she sees the body of her father-in-law on the bare floor. He was naked, probably just had his bath when he fell.

She calls out to the servants and two of Mr King's servants come rushing in. They help carry him and place him on his bed after putting a robe on him to cover his naked body.

“We have to call Alpha Damien to tell him what happened.” A maid said. Stephanie nodded in agreement, she was so worried and forgot to call him.

She takes her phone from her dress pocket and begins to dial the number. In her panic state, she keeps messing up the numbers until Mark takes the phone from her and puts the call across.

It was on the fifth ring that Alpha Damien picked up, he had wanted to ignore the call but on a second thought, he changed his mind. Stephanie usually does not redial his number if he does not pick up the first time and this was the fifth. Something must be wrong.

“Speak.” He growls from his end.

“It's me, Mark.”

Alpha Damien was surprised and wondered if something happened to Stephanie.

“It's your father, he slumped. The doctor is here and we thought you should know.”

Alpha Damien stares at the phone, his father is strong and healthy. If there was foul play he vowed it to kill someone.

“What is the problem?” Ava says from across him, “You look as if you have seen a ghost.”

“My father slumped.” He picks up his car keys and starts to walk away.

“I will come with you.” Ava insists and joins him in his car.

Alpha Damien would have wanted to be alone with his thoughts, but arguing with Ava was not something he planned to do now. She always managed to work him all up and he always found it difficult to deal with her excesses, unlike Stephanie who was a pushover.

Also, he was supposed to be married to Ava, but she was not his mate and his father had insisted that he would marry his mate, he did not want him to make the same mistake as he did.

Alpha Damien wondered why his father would say that when he had been married to his mother for almost 15 years before she died and they had been very happy. Unless they only pretended to be in love.

*****************

Alpha Damien rushes into his father's room as soon as he arrives and when Stephanie sees him she vacates the space so he can have close proximity with his father.

“What happened to him.” Alpha Damien asks the doctor.

“I'm sorry Alpha, but things are not looking good. There are traces of poison in his bloodstream.”

“That is impossible, no one has access to my father except…” he stops at his track

Just then Ava walked in, she was not expected to run all the way to see the sick man as Alpha Damien did. He had always been a pain in her backside and she wished him nothing good.

Ava heard what the doctor and Damien said as she got closer to the room.

“I told you not to trust anyone. They might look innocent on the face but they are evil personified.” She snorted as she made eye contact with Stephanie

“Will he survive this?” Alpha Damien queries the doctor.

“It would be a delicate few hours, the next 12 hours would determine it. In case of any emergency contact me.” The doctor makes to leave but Alpha Damien blocks his way.

“You will stay here and monitor my father till he wakes up. Make sure he does not die.” He storms off. Even Ava was wise enough not to follow him.

Mr King suddenly makes a deep-throated roar and the doctor rushes to his side. He examines him and checks his vitals.

“Someone should inform the Alpha that his father is dead.”

The silence was heavy, no one dared to move.

003

Sometimes your whole world turns upside down when you least expect it to. Even though I was officially mated and married to Alpha Damien, he continued having an affair with Ava, his girlfriend before we married.

First, he kept it a secret after our marriage, But he later threw caution to the wind and showed off their relationship not minding how Stephanie felt. Stephanie being a soft-spoken and gentle-natured girl who wanted no trouble pretended as if she did not notice anything going on between them. The whole situation only made her yearn for a baby, with the hope that a child would bring them together and he might start to love and appreciate her more. But all efforts to get pregnant proved abortive and at worst Alpha Damien seemed not too keen to have a child with her.

And now that his father was dead, she knew her fate was about to get worse unless there was a miracle.

***************

It had been two days since Mr. King died and no one in the pack had seen Alpha Damien, he had left the mansion two days after his father's death was announced, and Stephanie did her best to manage things at the mansion. The council of elders would do the preparation of the burial and this had been put on hold until Alpha Damien returned.

“Where is she.” a voice thundered from the gate.

No one dared to ask questions as they watched him storm into the house. Everyone took cover, as they acted as if they were engrossed with their chores.

Stephanie heard the voice, it was the same voice that made her jump and scared yet tickled her in ways she could not understand. She knew it was her he sought and why; she was about to find out.

As gracefully as she could she rearranged her skirt and stood upright waiting for him to come to her, her nerves almost failing her.

As Alpha Damien entered the room, his piercing gaze fell upon Stephanie. The intensity in his eyes sent shivers down her spine, but she refused to let fear consume her.

“Alpha," she murmured as soon as he entered her room. “You are back.’

“Spare me the concern. What happened to my father.” he roared, his anger overwhelming him as he spoke.

Stephanie wanted to take cover, she would rather be anywhere but near him. But his statement what was he implying, had he lost his mind?

“Your father…he died,” Stephanie replied

He growled this time “I know he died. Now tell me how.”

“I…I don't know. He never came down for breakfast, so I asked Mark to prepare his meal and I took it to his room. When I got there he was not in his bed and neither was he on the balcony so I went to the bathroom.” she took a deep breath, afraid she would burst from holding it in for long. “I found him slumped on the floor, he was not breathing; that was when I raised an alarm.”

He sneered, not believing her. Everything Ava said was making sense.

Stephanie looks so innocent, he had been fooled by her for so long. Lately, he had been having doubts about how he treated her and was willing to make amendments. He was ready to start a family with her, be kinder to her, and hoped she would conceive and bear him a child. An heir to the alpha throne.

But he had been so wrong about her, she was evil personified and he hated her so much he could rip her head off her shoulders.

“You poisoned him, didn't you? You killed my father Stephanie. Why?”

Stephanie draws back, shocked by the accusation. She would not kill anyone, less Mr king her father-in-law who meant the world to her.

"Alpha Damien, I would never do such a thing," Stephanie replied, her voice trembling with genuine shock. "Mr. King meant the world to me. I loved him as my own father, and I would never bring harm to him."

Alpha Damien's face contorted with anger and suspicion. The pain of his father's loss had clouded his judgment, and he was grasping for someone to blame coupled with what Ava had told him.

“You served his meal and he trusted you. Only someone close to a person can have access to poison his meal and you have all the access you need to my father. You might have loved my father but I know that you hate me and would want to cause me pain and the only way to do that was to kill my father. You ensured to gain his trust and love, you made him too weak to go to the kitchen for his meals, and then you started to lace his meals with belladonna because you knew it would not be easily detected by him. Then he grew weaker and senile till he died from the poison.”

Stephanie listened in disbelief at his accusation, she would never do this, never. But his eyes said it all as his mind was made up that she was his father's killer. Yet she would not allow him to conclude without defending herself. “You must believe me alpha Damien” Stephanie went to him, and she placed her hands on his sleeve “I loved your father, he was like the father I never knew or had.” she pleaded, her voice choking as she tried to hold back her tears.

He shook her hands off him and smacked her hard across her face. “Stay away from me, you want to kill me too just as you killed my father, but I won't give you the chance.: he barked at her, his fury as alpha overwhelming his body.

He had never raised his hands on her before, just verbally abused her, and most times he ignored her existence. Stephanie slumped on the floor and cried her body shaking in between sobs, he hated her more than ever for a crime she never committed.

“Thank the goddess for Ava, I was blinded by your faux innocence but she made me see you for who and what you really are; a gold-digging daughter of silver” He spat at her

004

"Thank the goddess for Ava," Alpha Damien sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. "I was foolishly blinded by your deceptive innocence, but she opened my eyes to the truth about you. You're nothing more than a gold-digging daughter of silver."

Stephanie’s head shut up at Alpha Damien’s word, she should have known that Ava was behind this.

Since her marriage to Alpha Damien, Ava has accused her of taking what belonged to her. But it was not Stephanie’s fault that the goddess chose her to be the mate to Alpha Damien and Luna of the Eclipse Pack. even though alpha Damien had prevented her from performing her duties as the Luna and instead appointed others to do tasks she could have easily done, she was still Luna although it was mostly by title.

Stephanie wondered now if Ava was behind her not getting her full rights as Luna, if she was capable of making alpha Damien accuse her of killing his father then she must have done worse in the past.

Stephanie could feel her fury building up, it was as if something cracked within her.

“And you believe your mistress above me your mate and wife.”

He slapped her again harder this time. “It seems you like been smacked,” he growled at her. Alpha Damien had been shocked by her response, she never responded to anything he did to her, and worse she rightly brought up his affair with Ava. He had to tame her before she turned wild.

“Keep Ava’s name out of your mouth.” he sneered pacing the room, he felt worked up suddenly.

“Am I wrong or is it assumptions on my part, if not why do you smack me for saying the truth for what it is? You have soiled our bed and made me the scapegoat.”

“You have not seen anything yet, a murderer pretending to be the victim. I will ensure you pay with your last breath for killing my father.” Alpha Damien's face remained hardened, his eyes filled with a cold resolve. He stormed off, leaving Stephanie alone with her broken heart,

*************

NEXT DAY

*************

Stephanie was summoned in the early hours of the morning the next day. Her eyes were puffy from crying but she did not make any attempt to mask it. She felt broken and targeted, there was no need to try to hide her pain and brokenness any longer. Alpha Damien had once again in the most brutal form shown her that she meant absolutely nothing to him.

“Take a seat Luna Stephanie.” one of the elders said. But she shook her head, preferring to stand. While other elders persuaded her to sit, alpha Damien got angry and scolded them all.

“Let her stand, and as I said earlier to you all, she is no longer my mate and Luna.”

Stephanie gasped in disbelief.

“Alpha Damien, you can’t just reject her after accusing her of killing your father without proper trial and investigations.” another elder said.

However, alpha Damien remained adamant and unyielding. “What other proof do I need to know that she murdered my father, she took his food to him and my father trusted her. Also, Ava….” he trailed off, not completing his words.

“Alpha, you need to think this through don't make irrational decisions.” Beta Chris pleaded through the mind link. “She might be innocent”

“Spare me the lecture.” Alpha Damien mind linked his beta and abruptly shut down the mind link to prevent further communication. He was not about to let anyone including his beta make him change his mind.

“What do you want to do?” The eldest among the elders asked, his eyes focused on Alpha Damien.

“I can't have her staying in the mansion with me after what she did, I want her out.” He raked his hands over his hair, as he fumed.

After some moments of silence the elders spoke “It's your decision to make at the end of the day, whatever you decide is binding” They all stood up and left the room without sparing Stephanie another glance.

Beta Chris left too, it was a private moment between the alpha and his luna.

Alpha Damien looked at Stephanie, her eyes shone red from unshed tears even though they did not spill, for a second he wondered if he was right if what Ava said was true, she was sometimes dubious, yet his father's image as he lay dead flashed over him and hardened his heart yet again.

“Please think this through, you can blame me for anything but not your father's death,” Stephanie said her eyes meeting his and staying

Alpha Damien did not bulge as he held her gaze “It was all a mistake, I shouldn't have married you Stephanie, today I set you free; I Alpha Damien of the Eclipse Pack reject you Stephanie as my mate and Luna.”

Stephanie froze for an instant but quickly regained her composure “If marrying me had been your mistake, mine was loving you, and deluding myself that you could one day love me too. I... accept your rejection."

Stephanie left the office and as soon as she closed the door behind her, she rested her body on the door and cried, her whole body feeling the pain of rejection. It almost wrecked her.

The body pain was less than the heartache she felt, she had only wanted to love and be loved by Alpha Damien but he never loved her and never would. Once she regained her strength, she left the office for the mansion, she knew that the word would spread soon that she was no longer the pack Luna, and the disrespect towards her would only increase.

Meanwhile, Alpha Damien had been shocked by Stephanie’s reaction to his rejection, he had thought she would grovel at his feet and beg him for mercy, maybe he would have reconsidered and given her lesser punishment but she had rejected him back. The abruptness of her rejection did not help as he felt a deep ache and detachment from her, as if a love so powerful had been cut off from him, draining him of his strength, if not for his position as alpha he would have squealed out in pain and loss of breath. When he felt better, his anger toward Stephanie only grew worse, and he made his way to the mansion to deliver more punishment to her.

005

Alpha Damien ran from his office to Stephanie's room. He wanted to ensure that he hurt her more. Disbelief at her acceptance of his rejection while also rejecting him was a big blow to his ego.

When he reached her room, he barged in and met Stephanie packing her bags. A part of him was distraught, especially his wolf who was against his rejection of their mate but Alpha Damien was too furious to act on his vulnerable side, he went to her and yanked the clothes off her hand and carelessly flung it across the room.

Stephanie was too sad to respond to his behavior, she equally was not expecting him to come to her after his rejection and now he was throwing tantrums. She sighed and asked him if she had done something wrong, only to be met with more nastiness from him.

"Alpha Damien," Stephanie said, her voice filled with sadness, "did I... do something wrong?"

"You? Wrong?" he scoffed, his tone dripping with disdain. "You've done everything wrong, Stephanie. You've dared to reject me, to defy me.”

“But …but you rejected me.”

“Of course I did, you are unworthy of me. But I am Alpha Damien alpha of the Eclipse Pack, it is I that do the rejection, not you, a nobody, an orphan.’ he spat out.

Stephanie could not understand why alpha Damien was hell-bent on humiliating her to the fullest, but she knew he was powerful and it was unwise to poke him further so she remained silent.

“For your attitude, I demote you to the lowest of the low, even an omega is better than you. Today I make you a slave in the pack, you will receive no favors and you have no authority. I severe whatever fragment of our relationship that remained. Leave now and never step foot in this mansion or my life again. Don't take anything, not even a pin. Just go.”

Stephanie refused to break down in front of Alpha Damien, she was sure he wanted to rub her self-worth off her. She did as he ordered her and walked out of the room that was no longer hers, as she walked through the halls and steps memories of her life here filled her almost overwhelming her. She wondered where she went wrong, why alpha Damien had not been able to love her even after been mates. As she contemplated all this in her heart, she heard Ava giggle and watched as she ran to Alpha Damien, the sound of their kissing filled her ears, making her wish she couldn’t hear.

“Have you told her?” Ava said loud enough for Stephanie to hear. “You are not welcome here, ever again witch” she heard Ava say to her, confirming that alpha Damien was affirmative to her question.

As Stephanie made her way towards the exit, Mark, emerged from the shadows, accompanied by several other loyal staff members. They had gathered to bid farewell to their former Luna, their expressions filled with sympathy and weary.

Mark stepped forward, disregarding the hard glare from Alpha Damien. With a heartfelt smile, he enveloped Stephanie in a warm embrace, hoping to comfort Stephanie in the only way he could

"Take care of yourself, Luna Stephanie," Mark whispered, his voice breaking.

Stephanie reluctantly pulled away from the embrace, tears glistening in her eyes. She would miss Mark the most for his endearing support towards her.

As Stephanie walked away from the mansion, she knew eyes were on her, some with kindness, others condescending and from their sneers, she knew words had leaked out. She was now a slave, a commoner and even though she had never been unkind to the community, they never fully embraced her as their own especially due to circumstances surrounding her and how she came to stay at the pack.

***************

As Stephanie approached the omega quarters, the place where she would now reside as a slave, a feeling of apprehension tightened her chest. She did not know what to expect as she had little or no interaction with them since she became a Luna, not by choice but due to Alpha Damien forbade her from doing any Luna duty. But things were to become worse as her suffering was far from over. The moment she stepped into the midst of the omegas, they attacked her with their venomous words.

"Look who decided to join us," one omega sneered, his voice dripping with mockery. "The fallen Luna cast out and rejected by Alpha Damien. Did you really think you could enjoy the privileges of a position you never deserved?"

Laughter erupted among them, their cruel taunts piercing Stephanie's heart. Their words intensified the pain of her recent downfall, fanning the humiliation and unworthiness she was feeling.

"You were nothing more than an orphan picked from the gutters," another omega jeered, relishing in Stephanie's vulnerable state. "Did you honestly believe you could rise above your lowly origins? Alpha Damien saw through your facade, and now we all get to revel in your disgrace."

Stephanie's eyes welled up with tears, the pain of the last two years overwhelming her. The omegas encircled her, their laughter growing louder, fueling her torment.

"Look at her, the pathetic Luna," another malicious omega spat, his voice hard. "Let's remind her of her place." With a cruel grin, he snatched a nearby bucket of water and hurled it at Stephanie, drenching her from head to toe.

The omegas erupted into laughter, reveling in their act of humiliation. Stephanie trembled, her soaked clothes clinging to her body. Her heart pounded in her chest as she fought to maintain her composure, refusing to let them see her broken. She moved away from the mocking crowd, hidden from their view, she allowed herself to release the tears that she had held back for so long.

“I don't deserve this, moon goddess.” Stephanie cried “My only crime was been mated to Alpha Damien and loving him even though he despises me. I have nothing to show for my love for him and all the humiliation I bore since being with him. I am better off dead.” Stephanie moaned.

006

Chapter 006

“Here you are, sorry excuse of a woman. Little wonder the alpha kicked you out, you are all beauty, no character, and no worth. Useless, totally useless.”

Stephanie had decided to take a break after working all morning. Since being demoted as a slave she has worked round the clock with little amount of food and more work.

“You are a slave, slaves work and they have no choice.” the head of the omegas had told her when she complained of the back-breaking work she had to do.

“It is women like you that cause so many problems for other women, you knew the Alpha and Ava were a couple but you had to break them up. Karma only paid you according to your deeds.” she scowled at Stephanie

“I..” Stephanie tried to defend herself but stopped it was of no use trying to explain to someone whose mind was made up about you.

“You can't even defend yourself because you know you are as guilty as sin, you appear innocent but you are as evil as they come.” she gave her a mean look and left.

Wiping a tear away from her eyes Stephanie went to the sink to wash the piled-up dishes and seeing some leftover food, her stomach growled. She had not eaten anything since last night, madame as they called the head omega had made sure of it. It was as if she had a personal vendetta against Stephanie and Stephanie was sure she had never had any personal encounter with her, but she was so mean to her that many times Stephanie wondered if she was doing all this at someone's bequest. Everyone knew about the mate bond and how it was the moon goddess that gave everyone their mate, yet she was accused of stealing Alpha Damien from Ava. It was at this time of weakness that Stephanie cursed her life and fate, it would have been better if she had died in the fire at the orphanage at least she would not have had to endure this thing called life, and as for alpha Damien and Ava, Stephanie hoped they both rot in hades.

As her mind wandered the sudden growl of her stomach brought her back to reality and she started scraping the leftover meals from the plate and shoving them into her mouth, as she ate she cried at the degradation her life had been leveled to. Two nights ago she ate stale food, now she was scraping leftover meals from plates of those she was once Luna to.

As she did her work Stephanie contemplated whether or not to attend Mr. King's funeral which would be happening in the afternoon. Preparation had been going on for a month now and Alphas and dignitaries with their entourages had started arriving, everyone in the pack had been involved especially the omegas who saw to the cleaning and ensuring that the lodge was ready to receive guests. However, Stephanie had been cooked up in the kitchen, her help was not needed madame had said.

After the burial, there would be a grand feast, but Stephanie was not interested in the feast, she just wanted to pay her last respects to the only father she knew. And that was what she did after everyone had left for the funeral she made her way to the site where past alphas had been laid to rest, she stood at a distance to ensure alpha Damien would not see her. The ceremony started with some rituals and rites and suddenly there was a roar and everywhere went still.

Stephanie was confused as she had been so absorbed with the ceremony.

“What is she doing here?” Alpha Damien shouted and suddenly he stood face to face with Stephanie.

All eyes landed on her and she felt fear and shame wash over her.

Aloha Damien was angry, more with himself. Since rejecting and downgrading her to a slave he had wondered if he had been so harsh on her. If she had a hand in his father's death. He had not noticed her at the burial and even if he did he would not have minded since it was his father's burial and people were here to pay their final respects.

It was Ava who first saw Stephanie and pointed her out to him. When he saw her, his heart twisted with pain at how raggedly she looked, her eyes looked sucked in and blank, and the laughter was gone from it. When they were still together, he used to admire her ability to stay happy even after the way he treated her. He had destroyed her, he should be happy because that had been his goal since they mated, but he felt defeated and diminished.

And Ava was nagging again beside him. What did she want now?

"She should not be here, after what she did," Ava whispered, her voice filled with disdain.

Alpha Damien sighed, in frustration. "Let it be, Ava. Stephanie is far away, and she loved my father."

Ava's eyes narrowed, her voice dripping with venom. "Yet she killed him. Look at the smirk around her lips; she knows coming here would make you feel pity for her."

Alpha Damien's gaze hardened as he watched Stephanie from across. He willed her to look at him, but when their eyes finally met, Stephanie immediately looked away. His irritation grew, fueled by Ava's relentless nagging.

"Remove her from here," Alpha Damien commanded, his voice thundered with anger. "She is not welcome and befitting to mourn my father."

The guards moved swiftly, closing in on Stephanie. But before they could lay a hand on her, Stephanie walked away. Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision as she struggled to hold back her emotions.

As Stephanie retreated, a hushed silence fell all over the funeral ground followed by whispering sounds. No one dared to speak out against Alpha Damien's orders, but an uncomfortable tension lingered in the air.

“Continue with the ceremony.” Alpha Damien ordered the priest.

The priest did as he was ordered and the rituals started as if nothing just happened

However, Alpha Damien's heart sank as he watched Stephanie's figure disappear from sight. Conflicting emotions swirled within him—guilt, regret, and a sense of loss.

“I am the Alpha, I can never be wrong.” He murmured to himself. The only problem was he did not believe it himself.