Chapter One | Buried Alive.

FRANCESCA

"Attention, attention, Omegas! The Alpha King, Hector of the Lockwood Pack North, has passed away!"

My breath was heavy as my backpack repeatedly slammed against me while running back to what I call home. But it never felt like one for me.

Shit!

It had rained earlier, so the muddy ground clung to my shoes, but I paid no mind and kept running until I reached the wooden porches of our house, situated in the middle of a green forest.

I rested my hands on my knees, catching my breath and sweating.

"The Alpha King, Hector of the Lockwood Pack, has passed away."

It echoed in my head like a daydream. That's significant news! Like really big news!

I am an Omega in the Lockwood Pack North, and so are my parents. The death of the Alpha king must have caused chaos everywhere already.

I opened the door with the rusted doorknob, and my eyes fell on two people, my mother and father – looking into nothingness as if they had just seen a ghost.

I gulped as I stepped in, but it didn't feel like they cared because they never turned to look in my direction. I always felt alien in their midst, as if I was never part of the strange family to begin with.

Yes, this family was strange. Even though I don't understand much about parental love, there's an undeniable tension among us, pushing them away from me. I can't pinpoint what it is, but I've sensed it my whole life.

Daring to ask is out of the question; my mother would take offense as usual and beat me until I fall unconscious.

I bowed my head slightly. "I'm home, Mom, Dad."

Instantly, I received dagger stares from my mother's side-eye, thrown at me from across my father, who only growled.

Next thing I knew, two huge figures in black suits and horrifying face masks, resembling cult members, emerged from the hallway leading to the bedrooms. My heart sank from the aura they exuded, and my legs cracked against the wooden ground as I stepped back slowly.

"W ... who are they, dad?" I pointed, scared.

"Shut up, you little witch, and listen!" My mother barked at me as my eyes turned to her.

Her white and black eyes on her rough-aged face held so much hatred and bitterness towards me. I couldn't dare to speak but held my breath where I stood.

"The Alpha king of our pack is dead, Francesca. The Alpha king of the strongest pack in the world is dead! Do you know what that means?" She asked coldly, her eyes squeezing with focus on me.

"It is impossible," I mumbled.

"Exactly! The Alpha King Hector has lived for generations, since the fifteenth century to be precise. His shocking death has caused a world imbalance now."

Countless questions raced through my mind. Who are these men in black? Why does my father appear as though he's witnessed a ghost, silent and panting? And why does my mother harbor such intense hatred toward my presence?

"These men here." Her hands gestured toward the unfamiliar figures. "They are the warriors of the Alpha king. They are here to take you. In short, you have been selected as one of the Omegas to be buried alive with the Alpha king tonight."

What did I just hear? Buried alive with Alpha King Hector, whom I've never seen in person but only heard about as a terrible and cruel ruler during his reign?

My chest ached. I knew my mother hated me, but I couldn't fathom that she despised me enough to offer me up to be buried alive.

"Dad!" I snapped at him, seeking some understanding of what my mother was doing to me, tears threatening to cascade down my eyes. "Can't you see this? They are about to take me away. What wrong have I done?"

My dad wasn't as harsh to me as my mom. It seemed that each time she punished or maltreated me, he allowed it, because he was powerless in the situation, and I didn't know why.

"Just ... do as she says, please." His defeated voice crushed the little bit of hope I had left for surviving this horror.

"Dad..."

I glanced at my mom and witnessed a wicked smile escaping her lips. Anger consumed me, and before I could react further, I was approached, lifted off the ground, and flung over the shoulders of one of the Alpha warriors.

They carried me away while I screamed in agony for help. I didn't know why I was still fighting my fate when it had already been decided that I would die before my eighteenth birthday tomorrow.