Chapter 2: Secrets in the Dark

The Blood Moon Pack mansion is a fortress.

Three stories of black stone and tinted windows, surrounded by twenty-foot walls topped with silver spikes. Guard towers at each corner, armed wolves patrolling the grounds. It looks more like a prison than a home.

Which, I suppose, is exactly what it is for me.

"Welcome to your new life," Kane says as our car pulls through the main gates. "Try to run, and my wolves will hunt you down. Try to contact your old pack, and I'll kill them all. Try to hurt yourself to escape your duties, and I'll make sure you heal just enough to continue serving me. Are we clear?"

I nod, not trusting my voice. The two-hour drive here has been spent in tense silence, Kane working on his laptop while I stared out the window and tried not to panic.

"Good girl." The praise shouldn't make me feel warm, but it does, and I hate myself for it.

The car stops in front of massive double doors, and Kane gets out first. "Marcus!" he barks.

A huge man appears immediately easily as tall as Kane but broader, with sandy hair and kind eyes that don't match his intimidating size.

"Alpha," Marcus says, bowing his head respectfully.

"This is Zara. She's... our new addition. Take her to the omega quarters and explain the rules."

Marcus's eyes flick to me, and I catch a flash of sympathy before his expression goes neutral again. "Of course, Alpha. Should I tell her about "

"Not yet," Kane cuts him off sharply. "She needs to settle in first."

Tell me about what? Ice forms in my stomach as Kane turns to me one last time.

"Dinner is at seven. You'll serve it. Beth will show you what to wear." His gaze rakes over me once more. "Don't disappoint me, little omega."

Then he's gone, disappearing through the front doors and leaving me alone with Marcus.

"What was he talking about?" I demand immediately. "Tell me about what?"

Marcus's jaw tightens. "Come on. I'll show you around first."

He leads me through a side entrance into a sprawling kitchen where several other women are working. They all stop to stare when we enter, and I catch whispered fragments:

" another one "

" won't last a month "

" just like the others "

"Everyone, this is Zara," Marcus announces. "She'll be joining the household staff."

A motherly woman with graying hair steps forward, but her smile doesn't reach her eyes. "I'm Beth, head of household. You'll answer to me when the Alpha isn't around." Her gaze flicks nervously to Marcus. "How old are you, honey?"

"Twenty-two," I manage.

"Jesus," someone mutters. "Same age as "

"That's enough," Beth says sharply, shooting the woman a warning look. "Age doesn't matter here. What matters is following orders and staying alive."

My heart starts racing. "Same age as who? Who were you talking about?"

The kitchen falls silent. Marcus and Beth exchange a loaded look.

"Come on," Beth says finally. "I'll show you your room."

The omega quarters are in the basement a long hallway lined with small rooms barely bigger than closets. But as we walk past the doors, I notice something that makes my blood run cold.

One door has fresh scratches around the lock. Another has what looks like claw marks gouged deep into the wood.

"This is yours," Beth says, opening a door to reveal a narrow bed, a tiny dresser, and a single small window near the ceiling.

"What happened to the woman who had this room before me?" I ask quietly.

Beth's face goes pale. "What makes you think "

"The scratches on the doors. The way everyone's acting. The fact that Kane said I'm replacing someone." I cross my arms. "Tell me the truth."

Marcus steps forward. "Her name was Emma. She was twenty-two, blonde, bought at auction six months ago."

"Was?"

"She tried to run," Beth whispers. "Made it all the way to the border before Kane's wolves caught her. He brought her back and..." She shudders. "Let's just say she learned why no one escapes the Blood Moon Pack."

"Where is she now?"

Another loaded silence.

"Dead?" I breathe.

"Worse," Marcus says grimly. "Kane doesn't kill disobedient omegas. He breaks them. Emma's in the west wing now, completely docile. She doesn't speak, doesn't fight, doesn't even remember her own name anymore."

The room spins around me. Kane didn't just buy me for revenge he bought me to break me. To turn me into a mindless slave like Emma.

"Why are you telling me this?" I whisper.

"Because you seem smart," Marcus says. "Smarter than Emma was. Maybe smart enough to survive what's coming."

"What's coming?"

"Your heat cycle," Beth says quietly. "Kane's been waiting for it. Planning for it. When it hits..." She can't finish the sentence.

"When it hits, what?"

"He's going to claim you," Marcus says bluntly. "Mark you as his. And once that happens, you'll never be free again. The mate bond will make it impossible for you to leave him, even if you wanted to."

My knees nearly give out. "But I'm not his mate. Sarah was "

"Sarah's dead," Beth says harshly. "And Kane's decided you're her replacement. Whether you want to be or not."

The pieces fall into place with horrifying clarity. The expensive dress made specifically for me. The way he touched me, kissed me. The gentleness mixed with possession.

Kane Morrison doesn't want revenge. He wants a replacement for his dead mate, and he's planning to force the bond on me during my most vulnerable time.

"When?" I manage. "When is my heat due?"

Beth's expression turns pitying. "Honey, you've been around a powerful Alpha for hours. His pheromones are already triggering early onset. I'd say you have maybe a week before it hits."

A week. I have a week to figure out how to escape before Kane Morrison claims me as his mate against my will.

"I need to get out of here," I whisper.

"No one escapes Kane Morrison," Marcus says quietly. "But..."

"But what?"

He glances around, then leans closer. "There might be someone who can help you. Someone who has reasons to want Kane's plans to fail."

"Who?"

"His mother, Elena. She arrives tomorrow, and she's not happy about Kane's... obsession with replacing Sarah. Meet me in the gardens after dinner service. I'll tell you everything I know."

Before I can respond, footsteps echo in the hallway above us.

"He's back early," Beth hisses. "Get changed, now. And remember speak only when spoken to, keep your eyes down, and whatever you do, don't let him know what we've told you."

As I hurriedly change into the black dress, my mind races. Kane Morrison has been planning this from the moment he saw me at auction. The revenge story was just a cover what he really wants is to replace his dead mate with a woman who has no choice in the matter.

But now I know the truth. And somehow, I'm going to use it to escape before he can claim me.

The question is: will a week be enough time?