Mate by Fate, Bound by Love

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

Lena’s Pov

I quickly stood up from the floor and followed the head of the palace maids. When I came outside, I was shocked to see that it was morning already, not just early morning but I saw that the sun was already overhead. The dungeon had been a dark and gloomy place that I did not know how bright it was outside.

It was not only the brightness of the day that struck me. It was the festive mood of the pack. I could see different decorations already going on at the pack’s Square. It was in sharp contrast to the ordinariness of the day before. It was as if a massive change had occurred overnight.

Everywhere was bustling with people as everyone was very happy. In addition to the fact that today was the mating ceremony, it was not just an ordinary mating ceremony. Today’s mating ceremony was special because the Alpha’s son was also going to choose his mate today.

Everyone was happy and eager to see who will become the mate of the Alpha’s son for she will also be the future Luna. The Alpha’s son Ethan was a very handsome and good-looking man. He was loved and respected by all but he was also one of my bullies.

He always made sure to treat me with disdain that shows I was beneath him. Among all his harsh treatment towards me, one of them was the worst of all. It was the worst treatment anyone had ever given to me, not even my wicked uncle and his wife.

That day, I was sent by my Uncle’s wife to fetch water for one of the noble families. Though I was made a slave in my Uncle’s house, my Uncle’s wife was never satisfied with my work. She felt that the work I was doing at home was too little and she never wanted me to be idle even for a few minutes.

So what she does every time is that whenever I am done with my house chores, she always sends me to go work in the houses of her other noble friends. So that fateful and unfortunate day for me, I was done with my chores for the day and was resting in my room.

“Stand up, you lazy piece of rag!” My Uncle’s wife ordered as she stormed into my room.

I quickly stood up from the cloth I had spread on the floor as my bed. Though my uncle was well to do, they made sure my room lacked everything a room was supposed to have. There was no bed for me to sleep on so I had to make use of one of the wrappers my father had left behind for me saying it belonged to my mother.

“I am very sorry ma.” I apologize even though I still did not know my offense or what I was apologizing for.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“Keep your stupid apologies to yourself.” She said, “Now what are you doing here?” She asked me to look around the sparsely furnished room with an irritated look on her face.

“I was done with all my chores for the day ma, and so I was just resting a bit.” I explained, sounding timid.

“Resting uh! I can see that you are now so used to the work in this house that it is now too small for you, that is why you have time to rest.” She said.

“No ma, that is not what I meant.” I tried correcting her.

“You must be very stupid to think that I did not understand what you said. Now take your lousy self out of this room and go fetch water for the Micheal’s family.” She ordered.

I quickly ran out of the room before she could hit me. On my way to go give the water I fetched to the Micheal’s, I mistakenly stumbled on a stone and fell down. It was a very busy part of the town and there were people around. I heard people gasping in shock and I thought it was because of my fall.

I was too busy trying to get myself up when a hand suddenly dragged me roughly by my hair. I stood up to see that it was Ethan, the Alpha’s son. I knew I was in deep trouble.

“I am very sorry your majesty” I immediately went on my knees to apologize.

When I stumbled and fell down, the water I was carrying had splashed on Ethan who was taking a stroll with my cousin and was unfortunate to pass by me at that moment.

“You bitch!” Ethan kicked me violently. “I will make sure you regret this day!” He threatened.

And true to his words, he really made me regret that day. Whenever I remember the inhuman treatment he subjected me to, I always get nightmares.

“Go bath and change, you stink.” The head of the palace maids said to me,

“You will be given a cloth to change into, be fast with it and come out, there is work to be done.” She added.

“Yes ma.” I replied to her as I made my way to the common bathroom that the palace maids used.

I pulled the clothes I was putting on and saw that the wounds from yesterday’s flogging was trying to heal itself. My healing was slow due to the fact that I was an Omega and my wolf was a weak one. Though we Omegas had weak wolves, mine was weaker due to the physical, emotional and psychological pain I was being subjected to daily.

I quickly took my bath and winced at the pain as the water touched my injuries. I put on the clothes and ran outside to meet the rest of the maids for the work to be done was indeed much.

At exactly 8pm, people started going to the square for the mating ceremony. A bonfire was made at the center of the square and people gathered around it. Today’s mating ceremony was special to me because I was going to find my mate.

Getting my mate was the only thing that was going to remove me from my present situation because when I finally get married, the people will stop seeing me as the daughter of an outcast but instead I will take my mate’s family name and things would change for me. I was happy because I would finally mean something special to someone.

Suddenly, I felt a pull. It was the pull of the mate bond. It was so strong as my heart began to beat. My legs moved on their own accord and I began to look around for my mate. I was too engrossed in my search for my mate that I did not know when I stumbled into Ethan. Because everyone’s attention was on Ethan to see who he was going to choose as his mate, they all saw me stumble into him.

“Mate!” We both said together and I staggered back as the people all gasped in shock.

Ethan looked at me in disgust as I expected.