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T he Alpha house was in the heart of the compound. It was a simple clay brick structure, slightly larger than the other adobe style homes around it. Two stories high, the Alpha family lived there. The Alpha’s council convened there. The surrounding homes were smaller versions, housing the pack betas and upper pack members. Mid and lower pack members shared communal housing a few streets over, near the school.

This was the house my mother grew up in. The house that was supposed to be where she got married and raised a family.

Now she was forced to ring the bell and wait for someone to answer to grant her access.

Long Mesa was a moderately sized compound and pack, and was surrounded by a ten foot high concrete fence. There was a single access road that was guarded at all times.

It was home to the two hundred and forty-three wolves of the pack and included the school, a grocery store, a doctor’s office, and a gas station. Mostly it was land. Acres upon acres of land that butted up against the Cerrowa Mesa. Plenty of space for a pack of wolves to roam and live.

According to local lore from the towns fringing the area, the compound was a cult.

I wasn’t entirely sure that they were wrong.

It was important that normals—humans—not know of us. Wolves kept to themselves, only interacting with the outside world when absolutely necessary. As an omega, I had never left the compound and probably never would.

The front door swung open, revealing a beautiful shifter with dark skin, soft brown eyes, and long dark hair gathered into a low ponytail. She wore a black dress and a large heirloom diamond ring on her left hand.

“Hello, Zara.” My mother greeted her former best friend quietly.

Zara smiled gently, first at my mother, then at me. “Hi, Addie,” she greeted gently, glancing over her shoulder to make sure her husband wasn’t within earshot before meeting my mother’s gaze. Her lips turned into a frown. “It’s not good.”

My mother frowned and took a sharp breath in, leaning forward a bit. “Is there any chance?”

Zara’s lips pressed together in a thin line. “I don’t know. Linden doesn’t say much to me. You know how—”

“Zara? Who’s at the door?” My uncle appeared behind her. His cold green eyes assessing us both as he settled his hands on his mate’s shoulders. Zara winced as his hold tightened, but she didn’t say a word of protest.

“Why didn’t you tell me my sister and her... offspring were here?” His tone sounded casual enough, but there was no mistaking the dark undercurrent of his words. Or the way his knuckles were turning white from the grip he had on his wife.

“We just arrived, Linden,” my mother said, her eyes downcast. A grimace flashed across her face for a second, the skin around her lips pulling taut.

“Come in,” he invited, stepping back and pulling Zara with him. She stumbled a bit, but he held her tightly and she didn’t fall.

My mother and I crossed the threshold, first her and then me. I had been inside this house one other time, right before my grandmother had passed away. My grandfather and uncle had been away at the annual pack Summit meeting in Utah, and grandmother requested my mother come and bring me.

I sat there, five years old, as she told my mother I never should have existed. That I was an abomination to the Long Mesa pack. And perhaps, if my mother ridded the pack of my existence, a daily reminder of Mom’s betrayal, my grandfather would remove her from the omega house.

My mom swept me up into her arms and stormed out the door. She shook the entire walk home, barely able to control her rage. She handed me off to another omega as soon as the house was in sight and immediately shifted, her wolf snarling as she changed. She tore away from the house at a dead run and didn’t return until the next day.

Three weeks later, my grandmother died of a sudden heart attack. Ironic that the woman my mom called heartless was killed by that very organ.

The main level of the house was mostly open, boasting a massive kitchen with dual built-in refrigerators and two sets of double ovens. The granite countertops gleamed under the recessed lights. Trays of food were laid out on the island in the center. Beyond that was a large seating area with roughly seven shifters, including Bella, Cassian, and Allan and Norma. I recognized Cassian’s father, Patrick, sitting in a leather recliner. A large stone fireplace loomed as the focal point—fairly useless in New Mexico, but it helped with the rustic opulence of the house. Several large leather couches and chairs were around the room, shifters lounging casually on them.

I knew all of the shifters in this room, and every fiber of my being wanted to run away. Most of them frequented the omega house on a regular basis. All of them were cruel and heartless. Cassian’s mother might have been sitting in this room if his father hadn’t killed her a few years earlier.

Apparently, his dinner wasn’t ready one night he came home early and he lost it. But she had already provided him with a child and couldn’t have another, so there were no real repercussions for her death.

He had been one of the males who made an offer for Maisie to be his mate when she arrived.

After quickly glancing around the room, I dropped my gaze, reminding myself to be the picture of a submissive wolf. The last thing my mother or I needed was to challenge a room full of dominant, sadistic shifters.

Linden whispered something in Zara’s ear and she stiffened, her breath catching. Her eyes flashed up to meet Bella.

“Come with me, Bella,” she commanded in a shaky voice. Her husband’s hands dropped from her shoulders. She couldn’t help but roll her shoulders slightly, trying to ease the ache from his hold.

Bella frowned, setting down the coffee cup she was drinking from. She had changed from her clothes at school earlier, now wearing a black dress with a bell skirt. Her dark hair was curled around her slim shoulders. “I thought we were discussing pack matters.” Her gaze slid to her father.

He smiled indulgently. “Go with your mother, Bella.”

Her jaw dropped. “But, Daddy—”

“Now.” The word came out final and firm. An Alpha command. Every wolf in the room shifted, deferring to the Alpha.

With a sigh, Bella got to her feet and stalked past us, following her mother out of the room without sparing a glance at us.

Linden waited until Bella and Zara had left the room before walking past my mother and I to claim the wingback armchair in front of the fireplace. We weren’t offered a seat, and he seemed content to watch us, a darkly amused smile pulling at his lips.

It was a waiting game. He knew my mother couldn’t speak unless spoken to. The longer we stood there, the more anxious we both became. This was a power play, plain and simple. I could feel my wolf stirring in my chest, anxious and angry. She didn’t like this any more than I did.

“How are you, sister?” Linden asked nonchalantly, as if asking about the weather.

My mother’s head lifted, but she kept her eyes down in deference. “I’m well.”

Smiling, Linden leaned forward. “You seemed to be walking with a limp. Are you injured? Should I call the doctor?”

Allan laughed behind him, which set off a series of giggles and snorts amongst the shifters in the room. Cassian grinned broadly, his gaze never leaving me.

“I’m fine,” she whispered. I could feel the humiliation rolling off of her in waves. Of the shifters now facing us, I knew at least six of them had been to see her personally at the house.

“Very well,” Linden agreed. “I asked you here because we are considering making some changes to the omega house.”

My mother looked at me before dropping her gaze again. “May my daughter be excused? She is not yet an omega and doesn’t need to be concerned with the details of such things.”

He chuckled darkly in response and I already knew what he was going to say before he spoke. “No. This directly involves her.” He got to his feet, pacing to the window. “My council and I have been talking about removing the rule regarding the age of majority for omegas.”

“No!” The word flew out of my mother’s mouth, sharp and desperate.

And completely out of turn.

It only took seconds for Linden to cross the room, grabbing her by the throat and forcing her to her knees. “No?” he mocked, enraged. “I am the Alpha. You do not tell me, no, whore.”

She gasped for air and something in me started to fracture. She was only protecting me. Now all I wanted—and my wolf wanted—was to protect her.

Hurt. Kill. Hurt. Kill. Hurt. Kill.

The words chanted in my head so loud I almost missed what my uncle said next.

“We’re not removing the age law,” he hissed, finally releasing her with a shove. She fell down to her hands, gasping for air and coughing loudly, gagging as she tried to suck in air. I caught the damp spots of wood beneath her as tears fell.

“Thank you,” she whispered, broken but relieved. Her shoulders trembled as Linden circled her, his boots thumping against the hardwood and coming dangerously close to crushing her fingers.

“As you know,” he continued easily, as if he hadn’t just almost killed her, “we seem to be having an issue with the younger wolves. Seems the teens can’t quite seem to get a grasp on their emotions. Adolescence is a volatile time. Hormones running wild. Young wolves make stupid, foolish choices. You of all people know this, Adalynne.”

Linden crossed to the other side of the room. “I’ve spoken at length with Cassian and several other teens and, with my council, I believe we have worked out a solution to help channel their baser impulses.” He went back to his chair, crossing his ankle over a knee, looking every bit the king on the throne.

“Instead of removing the age of majority, we’re lowering it to sixteen. This also means that wolves can begin utilizing the omega house at the age of sixteen.” His gaze landed firmly on me. “And omegas will now be defined as such any time after their sixteenth birthday.”

A sob tore from my mother’s throat and she physically collapsed against the floor, pressing her forehead to the gleaming wood. Everything stopped and sped up at the same time for me, the floor falling from beneath me as Cassian grinned at me, his eyes glittering with awful promises of what the future held.

Linden steepled his fingers, blinking once before settling his cold gaze on me. “Starting tomorrow, Skye is officially an omega and will fulfill her obligations as such to the pack.”