"Kegan, my office. Now."

Kegan whimpered as the pack Alpha's voice echoed in his head. He knew that the Alpha would only call him to his office in order to beat the Omega or to task him with labor intensive work that no malnourished Omega would ever be able to finish.

As he trekked to the office, he caught the pitiful looks of the other Omegas and Betas, and even from a few Alphas. Their pack, the Red Claw pack, was a powerful pack on the outside, but horrifying within.

All of the Alphas and Betas were forced to be warriors and murdered if they denied it, whereas the Omegas were only tools for breeding and labor.

The Alpha lead his pack by fear, supported by the top warriors whom he treated the best so they remained loyal to him. Anyone who stepped out of line or attempted to leave would be beaten and forced to watch their family murdered, and then they'd be killed themselves.

The pack was mostly Alphas and Betas, with the Omegas in the smallest number and mistreated the most. Since there were very few Omegas, they were seen as prizes and given to the top Alphas, whether they had a mate in the pack or not.

Kegan was among the most mistreated, but he was grateful that he didn't have to be mated right one of the Alpha's top soldiers. While he was always being picked on and beaten by the Alpha himself, Kegan had never been through a forced mating or rape like some of his fellow Omegas had.

Once Kegan arrived in front of his Alpha's office, he knocked on the door with a shaky hand.

"Come in," the Alpha said in a seemingly calm voice.

Kegan knew better than to believe the Alpha was in a good mood. Many of his severe beatings had come when the Alpha was in a calm mood.

"How can I serve you, Alpha?" Kegan asked as he entered the room, keeping his eyes lowered to the ground.

"Come sit," the Alpha said, nodding to the chair in front of his desk. "I need to speak with you."

Kegan was somewhat surprised; the Alpha never wanted to make small talk with him. It was always straight to the beating, the lecture usually coming as derogatory comments while Kegan was being beaten on the ground.

Warily, Kegan sat down, still not looking up. If he did, the Alpha would claim he was attempting to challenge him and prolong the abuse. He could feel his wolf whining and begging Kegan to run for it, but Kegan wasn't stupid enough to try.

Running means death.

"Look at me, Omega," the Alpha ordered.

Kegan shuddered, his wolf begging him not to, but Kegan couldn't disobey an Alpha's orders. He glanced up nervously, choosing to focus on the Alpha's left shoulder so he was looking up but not making direct eye contact.

"Do you know who our strongest ally is, Omega?"

"Yes, Alpha," Kegan answered softly, his voice just above a whisper.

"Who is it?" the Alpha prodded when Kegan made no attempt to speak again.

Kegan glanced at the windows, longing to run outside and away from the confusing and stressful situation. He pushed the urge away and glanced back to the Alpha's shoulder.

"The North River pack, Alpha."

The Alpha hummed in agreement. "I'll be making a visit there with my Beta and a few warriors in a few days. Did you know that?"

Kegan nodded. "Yes, Alpha."

"Do you know why?"

"The North River pack will he taking on a new Alpha this year," Kegan said, wondering why the Alpha was trying to extract known information from him.

The Alpha hummed once again, sounding curiously pleased by Kegan. "The future Alpha does not have a mate. She was killed by Rogues last year."

Kegan stole a glance at his Alpha's eyes.

He knew that the Alpha had lost his mate as well, so he was surprised when no pity hid in his eyes. Instead, there was anger and some form of resentment, the Alpha's angry scent filling the room.

The scent made Kegan whimper audibly, baring his neck to the Alpha to show his submission. He didn't know why the Alpha was so angry, but it wasn't his place to ask questions.

"Alphas do not need a Luna. You know that, don't you?"

Kegan nodded, not trusting himself to open his mouth without whimpering.

"But, they do need children. Strong Alpha children who will carry on their pack after their Alpha is done."

That caught Kegan's attention; the Alpha didn't have any children. He didn't know who would continue on the pack once the Alpha decided he was done.

"The Alpha of the North River pack has asked if we have any mateless Omegas in our pack, and you remain without a mate. So, you will be given to the Alpha of the North River pack. It will secure both packs and strengthen our alliance, and in turn we can be rid of you."

Kegan whimpered, his wolf howling in his mind at the rejection that his Alpha had just presented him with. It hurt knowing that his pack didn't want him, even with as horrible as his pack was.

"Stop whining," the Alpha ordered.

Kegan bit his tongue to silence himself, his heart pounding in fear. He hated when the Alpha ordered him to do things, since more often than not, Kegan accidentally messed up.

"I want you prepared to leave. You are to wear white and to be clean."

"What if he's not my mate?!" Kegan asked suddenly, unable to stop the words. "Alpha, I can't mate with someone who's-"

"Silence!" the Alpha roared, his dominating scent forcing Kegan to a terrified silence. "I don't care if he's not your mate. Your role is to carry and raise his heirs. If he chooses to mate with you, that is his choice. You are not to influence the decision!"

Kegan felt tears well up in his eyes. "But, Alpha, my mate is out there somewhere," he cried, not wanting to be forced into a shattered relationship with a random Alpha for the purpose of breeding.

"Have you ever seen an Omega here that gets to choose their mate?" the Alpha asked, growling lowly in the back of his throat.

"No, but-"

"Then why would you be any different?"

Kegan hung his head, the tears finally falling down his face. "Wh-what if my mate f-finds me? Th-they'll reject me if I'm c-c-carrying someone else's pups," he sobbed, trying to make his Alpha see his reasoning.

The Alpha ignored the tears and laughed cruelly. "You're a breeding tool, Omega. I don't care if your true mate rejects you. The only thing I care about right now is ensuring peace with my pack and the North River pack, and if that means giving you to the Alpha to have his pups, I'll do it. If you mess it up, I will kill you."

Kegan cried harder, falling off the chair and forcing himself into a tight ball, sobbing into his knees. "I don't want to!" he cried, not caring about being out of line.

All of those years of seeing broken Omegas forced into relationships with Alphas who weren't their mates... Kegan knew it was horrible, but he didn't think it would ever happen to him.

"Get up, Omega," the Alpha ordered, his footsteps growing closer to Kegan. "The only reason I don't beat you is because your future Alpha doesn't want you marked up."

Kegan stood up on shaky legs. "Please don't make me do this," he pleaded, only to whimper in fear when the Alpha growled at him.

"I'm not bargaining with you, Omega. Get out of my sight and go to your room or somewhere where you won't get injured. I don't want you working."

"May I go to the garden and shift?" Kegan asked, hoping he would be able to let his wolf run and cry deep in the woods.

The Alpha shook his head. "No. I don't want you or your wolf to be filthy. Now go."

Kegan had no choice but to obey. He left the Alpha's office, his heart aching in sadness, his wolf crying in his mind at the thought of never being with his true mate.

"I'm sorry," Kegan told his wolf, but his wolf didn't acknowledge it, continuing to howl helplessly in the back of his mind.

Kegan opened the door to the room that he shared with the other Omegas. It was a big room with beds that were side by side so they could fit more, though the room felt more like a prison.

At night, once all of the unmated Omegas were accounted for, they were locked inside the windowless room so they couldn't run off.

Kegan flopped on his bed that laid in the corner of the room. Right then, the room didn't feel like a prison.

Compared to the future ahead of him, the room seemed like paradise.