Chapter 1 – The Unwanted Daughter’s Three Mates

Aurora

I let out a weary sigh as my eyes met the enormous clock on the wall.

It was past 1 a.m.

Yesterday’s chores had been endless. Despite starting early, long before anyone else was awake, I had worked nonstop until the next day, with no breaks.

Nathalia, the Alpha’s daughter, had been pleased to see me buried in work. She rejected anyone’s attempt to assist me and punished them severely-just like she always did. Her cruelty kept people away from me, their fear of her harsh punishments outweighing any sympathy they might have had.

No one dared to cross her. Anyone who did lived to regret it.

She took pleasure in my misery, as if it were a source of entertainment. Seeing me alone, with no one to stand by my side, seemed to satisfy her.

Nathalia and I were born on the same day, but to different mothers. We shared the same father, yet our lives couldn’t have been more different. Her mother was the Luna, while mine was the Alpha’s mistress-or, as everyone preferred to call her, the Alpha’s whore.

For twenty years, Nathalia had hated me for no reason. Then again, maybe there was a reason-my mother had been her father’s mistress.

She never missed an opportunity to make my life miserable, constantly reminding me that I was a bastard who would never be accepted. A disgrace. The daughter of a filthy whore.

My mother, on the other hand, did nothing to make things better. If anything, she only added to the torment Nathalia inflicted on me.

I had always believed a mother was supposed to love, protect, and care for her child. Mine did the opposite.

She never hid the fact that she wished I had never been born. She reminded me of it every single day, turning it into a cruel melody that I had no choice but to grow used to-a song that never stopped playing.

Even though I acted brave and pretended her words didn’t hurt me, deep down, they shattered my heart into pieces.

I had never wronged her. I had always behaved, always tried to please her, even at my own expense. But nothing I did ever changed her feelings toward me.

Her love for me was as cold as ice.

Motherly love was something I had never tasted, something I longed for every day of my life, but I knew I would never get it.

Though my father never showed me affection, he didn’t make my life miserable or sad. He never stood up for me when my mother or Nathalia punished me, but he didn’t add to my problems either. On the rare occasions when he was in a good mood, he forbade Nathalia from punishing me. I was grateful for that.

Over the years, I had stopped wallowing in self-pity and had accepted it as my fate, even if it was a horrible one.

I jumped in fright when I heard footsteps approaching, quickly hiding behind a pillar, but relief washed over me when I saw a guard on patrol.

Great! The guards and I were the only ones still awake. Thanks to that she-devil for keeping me up this late while she snored away on her comfy bed.

My face twisted into a frown as I dragged my exhausted legs down the hallway, staggering toward my room.

I couldn’t wait to crash onto my bed… at least my bed didn’t hate me. Every muscle in my body screamed in protest as they were drained from the work overload. With a long shower and some much-needed sleep, I’d bounce back… except there was no room for quality sleep.

“Shit!” I cursed when I remembered the errand my mother had sent me on. Horror swept over me as vivid images of what she would do to me flashed in my mind.

The air in the hallway shifted, and suddenly it was unbearably hot.

The weakness I had felt earlier disappeared in an instant, replaced by fear. My heart pounded in my chest so loudly that I could hear it, and my hand began to tremble. That was it. I was dead.

I hoped she wouldn’t remember. I didn’t mind waking up very early before she did to clear the chores. I couldn’t imagine being beaten in my current state… I might pass out. Fuck. She hated not being responded to.

“Please, just this time,” I pleaded to the Moon Goddess, hoping she would hear me. “As early as possible, I’ll go to her room, and she won’t even notice.”

Hope slowly replaced my fear as I walked toward my room.

But then, horror rushed through me when I opened the door and saw the last person I had expected. My mother.

It felt like a bag of ice had been thrown over me. I stood frozen in place, unable to move, my eyes wide as though I had seen a ghost.

How could I forget that she hated being touched by me? I irritated her.

“You good-for-nothing bastard!” she screamed, her voice louder than before as she moved away from me, as if I were covered in vomit. Her hands raised, ready to throw me against the wall, but then she stopped and walked away.

“That’s it. You’re growing wild. Until you learn, I’ll put you in timeout,” she hissed, turning and walking out of my room. “You’ll spend the night there.”

“Mother, please. I’ll do the chores right now, if you permit me,” I cried out, but she motioned to a guard, who immediately entered my room, watching me like a hawk eyeing its prey.

“Too late!” Her merciless voice rang out. “Escort her out, or won’t you be able to do so?” She gave a brief smile to the guard.

“Piece of cake, ma’am,” he replied in a gruff voice, walking closer to me.

Shit!

I had to act fast.

“Please, mother… not the dungeon. Anything but the dungeon…” My voice trembled as I knelt, tugging at her expensive gown. She kicked me away, and the pain from my head slamming against the wall was excruciating, but I didn’t care. Anything but the dungeon.

“What are you waiting for?” she yelled at the guard in frustration. “Take her away!”

The guard sprang into action, dragging me out of my room and toward the place I dreaded the most – the dungeon.

Aurora

I drifted off to sleep not long after being thrown into the dungeon to rot throughout the night.

My stomach growled in hunger, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten all of yesterday.

I had been so engulfed in chores that eating had slipped my mind.

Nathalia made sure of that.

Despite being fast asleep, I couldn’t stop my teeth from chattering in fear as I hugged my battered body tighter.

The night was going to be a long and freezing one.

Panic shot through me as I felt a pair of tiny legs scurry across my body. It could only be one thing – rats.

The Moon Goddess knows how much I detested those creepy creatures.

A scream tore from my mouth as I sprang to my feet in a flash of movement, running to a rat-free corner. I muffled another scream as my head collided with the hard brick wall, sending me crashing to the cold floor.

For a few seconds, everything went blank as my head rang with a dull roar.

I massaged the throbbing spot on my head as I sat, resting my back against the wall, wincing in pain.

Peering into the darkness that surrounded me, fear clawed at my heart, and I quickly looked away. My heart pounded against my ribs, and my breath grew heavy. By the Moon Goddess, I hated dark places. They made me feel as though I were surrounded by gigantic monsters.

To make matters worse, I was the only one in this part of the dungeon.

Quietly, I crawled carefully until I found a safe corner. I curled into a ball and buried my face in my palms. Slowly, I fell into a deep slumber. That was the only way I could survive in the darkness.

The last thing I heard were the chattering of my teeth, my torn clothes barely covering my body, and the rapid beating of my heart as I remained petrified.

As soon as I shut my eyes, I was transported to another world.

Fear filled my heart as I walked amidst two women, both gawking at me – my mother and the Luna.

“Mother, help!” I called to her, stretching my hand out as the wind blew me away, but she remained unperturbed, watching me with disdain as I struggled to get back on my feet, tossed about by the wind.

“Please, mother, help me!” I screamed louder, desperately trying to reach out to her.

“Mother…”

“Don’t you dare call me that!” she yelled, growling at me like a wild beast.

The Luna, on the other hand, stared at me quietly, her eyes filled with compassion – unlike my mother, whose appearance was like that of a fire-breathing monster.

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