RYLEE

With chains binding my wrists, a man with dark brown hair led me outside the building. He took me to the car and made me sit at the back. After a little while, Alpha Vincent joined us. The man with the brown hair drove while Alpha Vincent sat beside him. I couldn't say anything. I was still too shaken up to do anything but stare. The fact remained that he'd saved me from being executed by the council, but was becoming his slave better? From the looks of the iciness of his eyes and expression, it seemed like he wasn't a very nice person.

The car stopped in front of a large pack house and the two men stepped out.

"Take her to the dark room. I'll sort things out, later" Alpha Vincent said to the other man as he led me out of the car.

I've always had a fear of the dark. Panic stricken, I said, "Can I not stay in a dark room? I'm afraid of the dark. I'll stay anywhere but there" I said, my voice trembling with fear.

Alpha Vincent stared at me for a moment, the iciness of his eyes progressing. I lowered my gaze, chills traveling down my spine. My wolf whimpered, already submitting under his oppressive aura.

"Staying in the dark room is a luxury even for you. You should be thankful that I brought you here," he said with a hair-raising tone.

"I a-apologize" I stuttered, tears filling my eyes.

"Let's go" the man with the brown hair said to me and started to walk into the yard. I followed him without uttering a word.

He pushed the door open, revealing a cramped, windowless space. Turning to me, his gaze remained unreadable.

"You should count yourself lucky to be here" he said. I swallowed hard and stepped into the room. He didn't hesitate to shut the door and lock it up.

My breathing quickened as my panic grew. I sat down in the corner of the dark room, bringing my knees to my chest. My wrists were sore. They felt swollen, but I couldn't take the chains off.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to think about the fact that I was sitting in a cold, dark room. I had gone from being mateless to exiled and now, I had become a slave. How did my fate get so twisted?

My stomach twisted painfully. Nathan.

If he were still alive, none of this would have happened. He would have protected me. He would have fought for me. But he wasn't. And no matter how much I missed him, a small, ugly part of me resented him for dying.

The cold seeped into my bones, and my breaths turned shallow. My body shook uncontrollably. My chest tightened and my head spun.

I was having a panic attack.

It crashed into me like a tidal wave, pulling me under. My vision blurred, my thoughts spiraled, and then my world went black.

When I regained consciousness, I was still on the floor. My body ached from the cold, my limbs stiff and weak.

How long have I been here?

Time stretched endlessly. No one came. No food. No water. Nothing.

I gave up on hope. Maybe this was how I would die. Forgotten. Alone.

Then-

The door creaked open.

Blinding light flooded in and a shadow moved towards me, making me squint.

"Hello?"

It was a girl, she seemed to be around my age. She was carrying a tray in her hands.

"I'm so sorry. I just learned about you few minutes ago. My brother is such an idiot. He totally forgot about you. He said he brought you home three days ago" she said as she unchained me.

My eyes widened. Three days ago? Was it why my stomach felt like it was going to eat itself?

I dragged myself to a sitting position as she placed the food tray in front of me.

"Oh, gosh. You look terrible!"

I gave her a weak smile.

"Is your brother the Alpha?" I croaked and she nodded.

"He brought me here as a slave, you know. I'm..."

"An exiled Omega. I know"

"But.. the food... isn't it too much for a slave?" I asked and she smiled.

"Trust me, my brother doesn't keep slaves. If you're still alive, it means he doesn't plan to kill you. It also means he doesn't see any reason to kill you"

"Oh..."

I didn't know whether to feel relieved or sad. It didn't change the fact that I was a slave.

"My name is Ava, by the way" she said, giving me a smile. I noticed the clear resemblance between her and her brother. The only difference was that she was kind hearted and friendly, unlike him.

"Seriously, Ava. What are you doing?!" Another girl had just joined us. She looked exactly like Ava.

"That's my twin sister, Emma" Ava whispered.

"You shouldn't be anywhere near the filthy slave, Ava!" Emma said, a look of disdain on her face.

"Come on, Emma. Don't be so mean. She hasn't eaten anything for three days"

"I don't care. Vincent locked her up for a reason"

My heart sank. Emma clearly didn't like me. Was Ava the only person who wasn't cold and bitter?

"Vince is coming here, Ava. He's going to be mad" Emma said and Ava sighed, rising to her feet.

"Here's my cue to leave. I'll come visit you some other time. I'll like to hear your story. Don't eat too fast or you'll get sick" she said to me and I nodded, feeling grateful about the fact that there was one person who wasn't disgusted by me.

"What's your name?" She asked me.

"Rylee" I rasped and she grinned, tucking a lock of midnight black hair behind her ear.

"See you later, Rylee" she said and started to walk away. Unfortunately, Vincent had arrived and the look in his eyes when he saw Ava, brought chills to my bones.

"What are you doing here, Ava?" He questioned, his expression blank.

"Trying to be a decent person. You should try it sometime," she said with a cheerful smile.

His right eye twitched, a small action that I found scary.

"Go to your room. I don't want to see you around the slave again, do you understand?" He asked with a voice that could turn fire into ice.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever" Ava mumbled and walked away.

"I warned her, but she didn't listen" Emma said, her nose scrunched up.

"You should go" Vincent said and she nodded.

"I wasn't planning on staying. She disgusts me" Emma said and sauntered away.

Alpha Vincent's cold gaze rested on me and I lowered my gaze.

"Get cleaned up. You will be taken to the main pack house where you will take part in domestic chores. If you mess things up, you will be punished in more ways than one" he said and walked away.

Later, after a shower and a change into an oversized black dress, I was taken to the kitchen. I scrubbed, cleaned, and endured the mocking taunts of the pack. Some shoved me as they passed. Others sneered.

I didn't fight back. I was used to this.

Most of the pack members didn't like the fact that their Alpha had brought an exiled Omega to the pack, but they couldn't do anything about it, other than bully me.

Later in the evening, a woman approached me with a terrifying smile.

"Since you are our Alpha's personal slave, you should serve him his meal" she said and I paled.

What was I supposed to do now? If I dared to say that he wouldn't want me doing that, I was bound to get beaten up. So, I kept my mouth shut and followed her to the kitchen.

She gave me the fancy tray containing his food. Then, she handed me another tray, claiming it was his side dishes. They were both so heavy, I feared that I was going to spill them. She gave me the directions to the Alpha's quarters. Then, she left me alone. I was so anxious, I wanted to cry. But, I knew that crying wasn't going to solve anything.

So, I mustered some courage and started to make my way towards the Alpha's quarters, as carefully as I could. When I got there, I couldn't knock because my hands were occupied. So, I tapped the door with my feet. The door creaked open and I found myself staring at Alpha Vincent. His hair was tousled and damp. He had a towel in one hand. He was shirtless and his perfectly toned body was in full display.

"I was asked t-to bring these t-to you" I stammered. He stepped aside without saying a word. Then, I placed the trays on the table as gentle as I could. I let out a sigh of relief since my mission had been accomplished.

Meanwhile, Alpha Vincent continued to stare at me. I was worried that I'd done something terrible.

Without a word, he stepped closer. I instinctively backed away until the cold wall pressed against my spine.

Then, he leaned in-so close I could feel the heat radiating

off him-and inhaled deeply.

My pulse thundered in my ears. His expression shifted, darkening into something unreadable, something dangerous.