Alpha Markus Novel – “I didn’t say you could stand up, you worthless piece of trash!” Sandra screamed and punched me in the face. “We didn’t do anything wrong,” I pleaded. “I don’t need you to do anything wrong. If I want to beat you to death because I wish to, I can. You’re property. You’re not worth the food you eat.” She said as she rushed me. I am not sure I can keep healing you much longer, Celeste. I am exhausted. It may take a long time. Let me shift. – Kara, my wolf pleaded. No, we just have to hang in there -I said stubbornly. “This was supposed to be my night. I was supposed to find my mate. Instead everyone is just talking about how good the food is.” She screamed at me. She landed a kick in my chin and I felt my jaw crack. I wasn’t moving on the ground anymore as I felt kick after kick. Then suddenly, I smelled pistachios, figs, and wet earth before a storm. I sat up slightly, wincing from the pain. I looked left, to where I could see a crowd arriving back from the run, shifting. My bloody eyes glued onto a pair of grey eyes and I felt something snap inside, almost like a physical tether being put in place. “Mate,” Kara whispered, before the darkness took me. “Alpha Markus!” Wolves murmured in the crowd.
Celeste P.o.V. ~11 yrs ago~ I pushed through the chaos of the crowd. I could hear someone screaming my name, a new coverage for me to stop. I couldn’t. I needed to see for myself. I had felt the break of the connection through the mind link but I needed my eyes to confirm what my heart refused to accept. It couldn’t be him. He was invincible. I made it to the front of the crowd. As I pushed past the last of the crowd, my knees gave way at the scene in front of me. The tears running down my face. In front of me stood the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack looking at my mother, holding the head of my father. I felt sorrow and anger. I tried to get up and push forward but was grabbed and pushed behind my father’s gamma. ‘You can’t, Celeste. He can’t know it’s you.’ He mind-linked me. I swallowed a sob and held onto his leg with all of my might. I could still see my mother on her knees crying. Alpha Geoff was laughing, seeing my father’s back and do it like a good sack. “Your mighty Alpha didn’t stand a chance, Luna. Your pack now belongs to me. You belong to me.” He smirked and laughed again.
My mother looked over the crowd of our pack. My father had been challenged and by werewolf law, what he said was true. We now belonged to the Blood Moon Pack. Her eyes made contact with mine. I could see that her heart was warmed. Alpha Goeff pulled my mother up by the arm and squashed her to his side. ‘I have failed you my people. I’m sorry’ I heard her say over the pack mind link. As Luna, she could project to everyone in the pack at once. Still looking at my eyes, her breath reached. ‘I love you Celeste, my little piece of sky. I hope you can forgive me one day. Don’t let them know how special you are. Don’t look pequeña(little one).’ she said to only to me. My gift pulled me forward then and I saw a flash of future. But there wasn’t enough time to prevent it. I saw the same image of what my gift had shown me play out in front of my eyes.
A confusion burst forth in my head. I buried my head to the leg that was holding me up. I heard the Alpha’s roar “Smart both!” He noticed the useless books of my mother over my father’s. “Grab all the unkind females and baby males. Keep the rest” he screamed. I heard the snarls of his warriors and the screams of mine as his orders were carried out. I was lifted and carried through the crowd. He didn’t stop until we reached the cliffs behind the Packhouse. I could still hear the screams of my pack as they were ready to do. “Look at me.” My father’s Gamma, Lucian, said. He shook me a little when I didn’t obey. “Look at me little Celeste!” he said urgently. I looked at him. “I can’t take you with me little one. I don’t know if I’ll make it out of alive.
You have to lie. You have to lie about who you are. You understand?” He said. “I have to lie.” I said. “What’s your name?” he asked. “If they ask you, what is your name?” “I don’t know” I said, crying again. All I wanted to do was wake up from this nightmare. “Your name is Celeste Pierce. You are the daughter of deceased Gamma, Lucian Pierce. Say it.” “My name is Celeste Pierce. My daddy was Lucian Pierce. Daddy’s g- Gamma of Alpha Cory” I said. “Good” He said, giving me a book and a known work on my forehead. “I would be honored to be your dad in name.” he said. “I have to go little one. I will look for you. You hear me. I will find help and look for you. I will get you out. I want you to repeat what I said over and over until it feels natural ok? Until you no longer want to say your daddy’s last name. You can’t let them know who you are.
Bad things will happen if they know. Promise me Celeste, promise me you will say the right words?” He said. “My name is Celeste Pierce. My daddy was Lucian Pierce, Gamma to the Alpha” I said. He gave me another tight message “Good girl. I will find you. Flourish and live little one” he said and I saw in horror as he jumped off the cliff. He shifted half way through the jump and dropped into the river. I heard a yelp as he treat the water. I stared for what felt like hours waiting for him to resurface, but I saw nothing. I sobbed and fell to the ground. Curling into a ball. “My name is Celeste Pierce. My daddy was Lucian Pierce, Gamma to the Alpha” I said. “My name is Celeste Pierce. My daddy was Lucian Pierce, Gamma to the Alpha” I sobbed into the night. “My name is Celeste Pierce. My daddy was Lucian Pierce, Gamma to the Alpha” “My name is Celeste Pierce.
My daddy was Lucian Pierce, Gamma to the Alpha” “My name is Celeste Pierce. My daddy was Lucian Pierce, Gamma to the Alpha” After what felt like forever. I passed out on the edge of the cliff, not waking until I heard footsteps coming near me and feeling someone pick me up. Celeste P O V ~Present~ “Flourish and live” I hear the whisper in my head as I wake. I scoff, trying to clear the invisible cobwebs from my brain while I scrubbed my face. Well, 1 of 2 is the best I can do, Uncle Lucian. I look at my reflection carefully. I should be darker, but my coverage had been deprived of sun for so long, I now looked pale and my coverage looked washed out. I gather my unruly hair up into a bun and look at my pale reflection in the slab of metal I had used as a mirror for about 5 years after the Alpha’s daughter took mine. Alpha’s daughter, I thought.
Technically speaking, I was an Alpha’s daughter. The only daughter of the deceased Luna Bella and Alpha Cory. Once the rulers of the peaceful Sky Moon Pack. Alpha Geoff had been obsessed with my mother. He challenged my father for her. Although my father was a peaceful man, he’d fought valiantly to protect my pack and my mother. Despite his efforts, he was not strong enough to defeat the good and hopeless Alpha of Blood Moon Pack and so many of us were putted. I still remember being found by the edge of the river. Being asked my name. My father’s gamma was not technically my uncle, but over time I’ve come to call him so. He was what saved me, I thought, remembering the conversation between the Alpha’s Beta and warriors as they carried me, thinking I was still asleep. “This better be the good child. I can’t believe we still haven’t found her. How cool is it to spot the Alpha’s thing? It will be a spoiled brat with 0 knowledge of the world.” The Beta hissed. “I don’t know boss. This one doesn’t look like an Alpha pup. She’s small for a 10yr old.
This looks like an Omega or something.” When I went before the Blood Moon Alpha, I had to fight hard to control the anger as I stared at the modest that kept my parents. “What’s your name pup,” he asked. “Celeste Pierce” “What rank are your parents and how old are you?” he asked. I looked down hoping he wouldn’t notice my eyes. I had my father’s deep blue eyes. Something in my head screamed at me that me he would make the connection if he stared at them long enough. “I’m 7 yrs old. My daddy was Gamma Lucian Pierce,” I said quietly. “I didn’t know the Gamma was kind” he growled “My mommy passed at childbirth,” I said. I didn’t know where that idea came from. It was as if I had someone whispering me the answers he wanted to hear. “Take her to the Packhouse. She’ll be an Omega Servant. Maybe once she gets her tiny ones, we can get something for her or at least have some fun” He smirked at his men. One of them dragged me over to a group of other children that were crying and holding each other. All of us things now.
From here, I could still see my father and mother’s lifeless figures on the training arena. Hundreds of bodies littered everywhere around them. All men, male children and good women. At the same time, I could hear the singing of the unkind females all around me along with many flowers of the spring blooming around them. Claiming their prices. I heard one of the men saying in confusion and then a scream of a woman as the weather turning bad. “DON’T DAMAGE THE MERCHANDISE!!!” I heard the Beta scream. They’d sent all of us little ones to work at the Packhouse. In the 11 years since, I’d had basically become a man. Although legally speaking, they were no such thing as a man, we were not paid, we were cared, weathered, and treated. We had to cook and clean for the warriors and the Ranked families. But time was running out. Out of the 40 children that had been taken from the remains of my Pack and sent to the Packhouse, several had started to go missing as they reached 19. There were rumors of them being relaxed and treated, or banished. It was always after the next full moon. The ones that found mates left the Packhouse, the ones that didn’t were the ones that disappeared.
I had a feeling that once the Alpha was sure his warriors had a chance to get a mate, then he would cast them out to become some men. They were never seen again. I looked in the reflective surface. Thanks to the fact that they starved us, I was too thin and too small. It was easy for them to believe I was only 17. That I was yet to get my wolf. I had bought myself an extra year and half. I shifted in secret, letting Kara, my wolf, get strong. Do right we’re strong – Kara smirked in my head – We’re destined for greatness you know. I would settle to be destined to live past next year. – I scoffed. Soon Celeste, soon we will make them all bow down to us. I swear this to you. Sure, sure. Let’s just keep practicing for that back up plan. We need to get out of here before they discover you or realize I’m not kind to anyone here. We need to get far away from here in case they keep us instead of turn us into rogue. – I said, placating her. I wish you would have more faith in us and our gift.
Maybe then, we would be able to control it. – Kara said as she went to the corner of my mind and lightly blocked me. I sighed, I didn’t like it when she blocked me. She was my best friend. The only one that knew about my sight and how broken it was. I was never able to train it, so my premonitions would come only seconds before they came true and usually too late for me to stop them. It was frustrating, specially because they gave me splitting migraines after. Everyone thought I was weak and they weren’t really wrong. My “gift” could stop me, but thankfully, being basically a slave, no one gave a change and I was not allowed to go to the pack doctor to get it looked at, so my secret was safe. I sighed again and tried to wash myself as well as I could. My small room was basically a half bath that no one used. My bed was under the sink and the toilet was on the other end of the “room”. The few changes of clothes and a wash rag were neatly hung from the side of the metal slab that I used as a mirror. The sink was broken, the tap hadn’t worked in years. So I used a pot of water for washing. I fiddled with my raven black hair to make the bun secure and sighed, time to get to work.
Celeste P O V It was only 4am. The entire house was sleeping, but I preferred it this way. Blood Moon Pack wasn’t all bad, but the Packhouse was reserved for the ranked family and mostly unkind warriors. Almost everyone in this house was cruel and heartless. The days where I could avoid seeing any of them by finishing my tasks before they awoke, were the only good days I could remember having. The rest were filled with weathering, sharing, meeting. I could only thank the goddess that meeting a minor was punishable by the regulation even here and no one had tried yet. By werewolf law, a werewolf was only considered of age once they got their wolf. Another reason I was glad they thought I was younger than I am. My day starts the same as always, turn on all the ovens, start proofing the absurd amount of croissants, biscuits and other baking required for the day. Clean the common areas while the proofing was taking place.
One could confuse the warriors for well things as it was guaranteed to find bottles, plates, broken items and occasionally even book flavor from ones that managed to drink enough drink to get themselves drunk. Werewolf metabolism was so quick, that drinking enough to get drunk took talent and dedication. After cleaning, the baking went in the oven as I got the batches of breakfast ready. Three types of eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, cut fruit, waffles, pancakes, toasts, shakshuka, bagels, spreads. They all went into commercial style buffet bars on either side of the dining room area. Once breakfast and baking were completed, I would begin preparations for lunch and dinner. Today, that was marinating steak, sharing and cutting potatoes, slicing onions, slicing and prepping garlic bread. Starting and filling the giant rotisserie oven so that lunch would be ready in time. Cooking was always my favorite thing to do.
Creating something delicious from the ingredients and hearing the positive comments on the food. Most of the other girls could barely manage to put together sandwiches, so it was up to me to get them set up for the other shifts. We had found over the years that this reduced the bad moods of Alpha Geoff and we could avoid some weathering. Occasionally, I was even allowed to experiment with new recipes. I was always on shift for special dinners. Alpha Geoff demanded it and the girls were happy to help as long as they didn’t have to do it themselves. Once my prepping was done and the kitchen was cleaned up, I could do whatever I wished with the rest of my day, as long as I was not needing to help another Omega if they were sick. I started to hear movement upstairs as the first of the warriors woke up so I finished my cleaning quickly, pocketed a croissant and a couple slices of fruit and made it back to my “room” to clean up and nap.
“Celeste! Wake up! The Alpha has requested all the Omegas in the kitchen! Hurry!” I said. When the Alpha spoke with the Omegas, it was usually to let us know that something was not done how the Luna and her daughter wanted, and one of us would end up with a weathering. Occasionally, Sandra would cry to her father with lies about being disrespected for the fun of it and everyone got a weathering. I rushed to the kitchen while trying to smooth my bed hair. My curly hair was not easy to control. “Nice of you two to join us.” The Luna growled. “We are having guests next week,” Alpha Geoff growled. “As you all may know, Sandra received her wolf two months ago. All unkind Alphas, Betas and their unkind sons will be arriving for the full moon to see if they are kind to my daughter as they are the ones worthy of being her mate.” He puffed his front desk proudly. I suppressed a roll of the eyes. Werewolves could only find their mate during a full moon.
The full moon allowed the mate bond to snap into place under the moon goddess’s light. This was also when the she-wolves were most wonderful so previewing were usually planned around a full moon. This made it extremely difficult for unplanned pregnancies though not unheard of. Luna Luisa, the old Gamma’s daughter, had managed to get the Alpha drunk enough during a full moon and asked him. When it was found out that it was educated, his father’s Gamma had tried to make him take responsibility. It is said that he was the young soon-to-be Alpha Geoff’s first keep. Sandra was slightly younger than I was when Alpha Geoff took the throne and challenged my father for his pack and Luna. When my mother took her books out, Alpha Geoff came back and took Luna Luisa as his chosen mate. The rumor was that although she was Luna, the Alpha took men to the hall at any time he wished. It made me feel bad for the Luna as a mate can always tell when the other is having talking with another. It is said to be confusing and heartbreaking. I almost felt sorry for her…..almost.
Sandra was average looking but as rotten to the core as her parents. When she first shifted, people had been surprised at the below average wolf she had been paired with. It was a dirty sandy brown with no unusual qualities. It wasn’t fast, it wasn’t strong. Sandra had been training with one of the Alpha’s best warrior for almost 2 months and it was rumored that not much had improved. She would make a weak and terrible mate. I could almost bet my life that none of the ranked members coming to visit would be her destined mate. Selene, the moon goddess, did not reward cruel wolves. Alpha Geoff had never found his destined mate. I had a feeling the moon goddess would never grant him one. A destined mate was said to complete a soul, enhance their power and abilities and allow a pack to flourish and create a peaceful and loyal pack.
The Blood Moon Pack, having no destined Luna was treated through fearless heart and other requirements to anyone that dared stand against it. Its members were either as kind as the Alpha, or too weak to stand up and right the wrongs. “We will have a total of 25 unkind males” the Alpha interrupted my thoughts. “You are to ready all 30 guest suites to accommodate any added high ranking members that may accompany them. They arrive the night before the full moon. I want dinner to be ready. Breakfast, lunch and dinners while they remain in the Pack Territory will need to be perfect. There will be a Pack celebration dinner the night of the full moon to celebrate my daughter’s mate. Spare nothing. Celeste, you are in charge of all meals during the duration of their stay. Give a list of the supplies you need to the Gamma. Cook to impress, anything less and you will deal with me after the visitors are gone.” I bowed my head in submission at his Alpha tone.
It never really affected me the same as everyone due to having Alpha blood myself, but I had learned to recognize it and pretend, “Yes Alpha.” “Pick one other to help you. You will also need to stock the suites with snacks and drinks for our guests. Anyone else not picked, I still expect every single task to be done as usual. Any faults found during the visits will be dealt with harshly after the visitors are gone. Am I understood” “Yes Alpha.” Was heard from everyone. Without another word, the Alpha, Luna and good man left the kitchen. I picked another girl I liked that was somewhat capable of following cooking instructions to help me the week of the visit, and then everyone returned to their duties for the day. I returned to my so called room to finish my nap and begin planning the menu. I generally avoided the Packhouse during the day if I could help it. The servants in the house were only allowed leftovers and there were usually not a lot.
Even though I cooked most of the food, I was still fairly underweight. When I started treating puberty, my things didn’t seem to care and blossomed a little too enthusiastically. This made me a target to the cool but unkind warriors, and even some kind. I did my best to wear new clothes. There was a small garden I maintained for the Luna and tended to spend my afternoons there. It was beautiful and peaceful. It was generally used as the main location for all the parties and I would always weep when trying to fix the destruction made to the garden the morning after. The Luna truly didn’t care much for it, but would use it as a point of pride with visiting Lunas. I was not allowed to work on the garden during their visit as she took full credit for the garden, so I would have to water at nighttime. It was something I didn’t mind doing, in the rare instances when it coincided with a full moon, I could swear the garden was visited by the mood goddess herself. It was simply magical.
Celeste P O V The week leading up to the full moon was one going down in the books as one of the worst I’d had since arriving at this forsaken place. We all had double duties as we cleaned, prepared and planned for the nights before and after the full moon. I couldn’t spend too much time in the garden, though I was expected to keep it immaculate for the party. Talk about unreasonable expectations. I was only getting 3 hours of sleep a night and as I had to spend all my free time in the Packhouse cleaning, I was not always able to avoid the groping and innuendos. I’d had 3 premonitions during the cleaning of the suites and I was not allowed to rest after getting treat by the migraines that tended to follow them. We also had to pre-pack everything that Sandra would be taking with her to her mate’s pack. They were so sure that she would find her mate that night.
The worst part was I was too exhausted to let Kara run free. She was mad at me, but was also exhausted from healing my exhaustion and migraines. I was having trouble controlling her as well. The more exhausted, the grumpier we both were and the less control I had over her. We needed to be careful, I could not afford to be found out. They would realize my lie and likely keep me. I was planning on running away before I treat what they thought was my 19th birthday. I had 1 year, 8 months, and 4 days. In reality, my 20th birthday was in 5 months. The only part I enjoyed over the week was planning the menu. It was only 5 or 6 meals to be planned. Dinner the night before the full moon, the three meals the day of, and Breakfast and lunch for the stragglers the following day. Still, I enjoyed having no budget for the meals and letting my imagination run wild. Dinners would be different. The Packhouse would be ordering takeout for the warriors.
We had set up a temporary tent and moved the buffet tables there. The normal dining room had been rearranged to sit a dinner party of about 40 people. High Ranking members and visitors only. The visiting guards would eat outside with the other warriors. That allowed me to make a proper introduction course dinner on both nights. It would be an exhausting evening. I also had to plan canapes for the celebration to be held after the usual moon run/ celebration for Sandra’s mate. Maya and I had our work cut out for us as we would be the main ones cooking but we had a plan. Big meals, followed by simple meals that could be mostly prepped before hand, followed by complex meal. Everything would be OK. We just had to stick to our schedule and hope that people loved our food. Thankfully, the other Omegas would be in charge of serving so we could dedicate ourselves solely to cooking. We had even tested out parts of the menu through the week.
So far, I had heard no complaints. Aside from the seeking, no one told us for a full week. It was a change of pace as our way fully healed for the first time in a while. Every girl had at least one way that may could be passed for a birth mark at this point. Alpha Geoff and Luna Luisa didn’t want to have healing omegas walking around with so many high ranking werewolves about. I had heard Luna Luisa telling a warrior that she didn’t need some moral compass up in her skirts about how they treat their servants. The day before the arrival of all the Ranked visitors, the Luna surprised us all with two used sets of clothes for the duration of the visits. All the omegas that worked in the Packhouse usually wore throw away clothes we managed to fit in.
All were worn past the point of being able to call it decent clothing, all were either stained or ripped. I was not super happy about this, as the new clothes were not new enough for me to hide my food. I knew it would spell trouble after the visiting parties were gone. The day of the arrivals was here. I woke up early to get breakfast going. I looked into my blurry reflection in my makeshift mirror. Today’s the day. Are you ready Kara? – I asked my wolf Fact yes I am. We’ve got this. – she said. I felt my eyes turn black. A sign our wolves were front and center. Kara… Sorry, just excited . -She said sheepishly