The Alpha's Cursed Mate novel Chapter 1

"Mummy, why can't I let everyone know I have a wolf now?" The little girl asked, her lashes twinkling with curiosity as she stared at her mother. Her mother smiled, reaching her hand out to ruffle the girl's short golden copper-brown hair. The girl ducked a little out of habit.

"Because the only way to keep you safe is to make sure no one ever knows you can shift. Now, what is the one rule you must never break, sunshine?"

"No matter what I do, regardless of what situation I find myself in, even if facing death, never let anyone know or see my wolf. I cannot shift, I have little strength, little speed and no wolf. Staying alive is my number one priority."

"Very good, darling, excellent. And remember…" she cupped her daughter's rosy cheeks with a teary smile, "Mummy will always be here to protect you."

______

She lied.

She left me, she left me to face the cruel world all on my own. And it pains me most to know that it was my fault. If only I took her regular wolf colour, if only I wasn't me, she would still be alive. She left to find any possible solution to my problem but never came back alive. She's dead, she's buried, and I'm alone.

"Sandy! Sandy!" I raised my head, lifting my gaze to the door. I knelt on the floor, trying to scrub a deliberate stain off. I don't know how they expect me to get permanent ink off the wooden floor. "San… oh, there you are!" I nodded, raising myself to sit on my legs properly. The female's face turned into a scowl, briefly eying my position and work. "You're still trying to clean this!" I nodded. "How do you expect to get permanent ink off? It's called permanent for a reason." I tilted my head, giving her a look. "Right, those sisters of mine. Stand up, forget about this. I'll handle them if they try to cause you trouble. Mother needs you in the kitchen, so hurry."

Nodding my head obediently, I slowly rose to my feet. "I'll get another omega to deal with this, you just hurry before you get in trouble." I bowed in appreciation and daintily walked around the slippery floor. I didn't speak, I didn't show any emotions. I'd never been one to speak, I was always more of a listener and observer, never a speaker. But over the years, especially after my mother died, I lost my voice.

I'd forgotten how my voice sounded, as I didn't speak to myself. I had no reason to and had no one to talk to. Even when I did speak, it only make my pain double. For almost six years, I'd spoken only in my mind that I forgot how to speak. I never actually attempted to speak, and I wasn't going to. The pack chalked it up to grief, but it was more than grief, more than the pain of losing the only person in the world who loved and cared for me. She was the only one who cared enough to know what I had to say, the only one who would listen, so why bother?

Ranked as an omega because to them, I had no wolf, I was treated like one but slightly worse. My inability to speak and show emotion irked most of them. Not only did I not have a wolf, but I was also disabled. And, as the females would put it, “a threat to their mates.” Physical abuse was levelled to a average; just slaps, punches and kicks, and a few hair pulling and ultimate starvation, but nothing worse. They, however, made up for that with the excessive work we are given, especially me.

Everyone was the same, treat the omegas badly, emotionally and physically abuse them because they are under your feet. The only kindness we received was from the kind children, Luna, and the Alpha's first daughter. They weren't exactly the nicest, but they were nice enough to barely starve, overwork or hit us. It was good enough for me.

I made my way downstairs, to the kitchen, to assist the Luna. She hummed as she moved around the kitchen like she always did, her blonde hair packed into a ponytail and dancing behind her. A male omega knelt on the floor, trying to cut the large meat given to him for the preparation of the food. Looking around the kitchen, I could see how much of a mess the omega and the Luna were making. Luna was a fabulous cook, but she was extremely terrible with tidiness. I hate it.

Moving first to the omega, I tapped his shoulder and then placed my hands on my hips. He raised his head from the meat. His eyes brightened when he saw me. The poor guy must have been struggling for hours. "Thank God!" He exclaimed, causing the Luna to turn around. She smiled when she saw me.

"Sally, nice of you to join us! Please, save me!" I smiled a little. She, after all, was the only one that can draw a half smile from me, only when she was in chef mode. If I could speak, I would have reminded them all that my name is Sapphire, not Sally, Sandy, Sadie or any other Sa name. They didn't remember my name, just knew it started with an 'S' and an 'A'. Typical.

"Hey, Maurice, get lost." The guy stood up gladly. I took over, starting by picking up the board and taking it to the kitchen island. I went ahead to change the knife to a larger one, before proceeding to butcher the meat. After that, I helped her with cutting the vegetables, handling the pastries—since she was not so good with that—and then cleaning up the kitchen. She left me to set the tables, which I would end up resetting anyway, while I washed the dishes.