Ash had always been told she was nothing. Raised in the cold, austere halls of an Omega training camp, she knew only one thing—her purpose was to serve. As an Omega, her life was one of obedience, a quiet existence spent preparing to fulfill the needs of the powerful Alphas and Lunas.
She knew little of her true family or her heritage, and the whispers of her past were always just beyond her grasp, like a dream she could never quite catch. No one spoke of it. The trainers, cold and impassive, never shared anything that might hint at a different future. She was taught to serve and remain in the background, to become nothing more than a vessel for the Alphas' desires.
At 18, everything changed. Ash was chosen to leave the camp and serve the kingdom directly. She had no say, no choice in the matter. The day she left for the palace, her heart was heavy, filled with a sense of dread she couldn't quite explain. But she went, as she always did—obedient, quiet, and alone.
When Ash first arrived at the palace, she had no idea of the forces that had been set into motion. The moment she stepped into the presence of King Ronan, the Alpha King, something shifted in the air. It was as if the world itself held its breath. Ronan, used to commanding power, wealth, and loyalty, had never known a woman who affected him in this way.
At first, he didn't understand it. He had always been devoted to his Luna, Queen Lyrax. But something changed when Ash arrived. The affection he once held for Lyrax, a love once rooted in duty and tradition, began to wither. It was replaced by an insatiable pull toward the young Omega.
This shift, this loss of love, had consequences. Queen Lyrax, sensing the change, withdrew further into herself, unable to regain the love that had once bound her to Ronan. The kingdom watched as the once vibrant Queen grew pale, her health deteriorating under the strain of the emotional fracture. It was in the midst of this brokenness that Queen Lyrax met her untimely death, her heart giving out under the pressure of a love lost and the tensions within the palace.
As the palace mourned, Serene, Lyrax's cousin, saw an opportunity. She had always admired Ronan from afar, her heart set on becoming the Queen, a title she believed was her birthright. Serene had always been there for Ronan, offering him solace and companionship, but he had never seen her as more than a distant relative. Now, with Lyrax gone, Serene intended to seize her chance to claim the throne—and Ronan's heart.
But there was a deeper force at play.
Ash had been having strange, recurring dreams. They were vivid, filled with flashes of moonlight, the sound of howls in the night, and a pair of golden eyes that haunted her every moment. The dreams were always the same: Ronan in his wolf form, a creature of untamed power, searching for her in the shadows. The thirst, the hunger, the desperate need to find her.
Every time she awoke, Ash's heart would race, and an inexplicable longing filled her chest. She didn't know why, but she could feel the pull, even when she was far away from him. It was as though she were bound to him by some unseen force.
Yet, she always escaped.
No matter how close Ronan came in his dreams, she would always slip away, vanishing into the fog, into the night. But the thirst, the desperation in his eyes, was real. Every night, he hunted for her, and every night, she eluded him.
Then, the funeral came.
It was at Queen Lyrax's funeral that Ash and Ronan's paths finally crossed in the waking world. She stood there, quietly among the mourners, trying not to be noticed, just as she had always been trained to do. But Ronan saw her—his gaze locked on hers with an intensity that left her breathless. For the first time, the bond between them was undeniable.
Ronan had seen Ash many times before, but it was only now that he truly noticed her. The connection was instant, electric. Something shifted between them—a bond forged in the depths of their souls. Ash felt it too, though she didn't fully understand it. All she knew was that she had never felt so seen, so wanted in her life.
As the funeral procession ended and the mourners began to leave, Ronan found himself unable to look away from her. The attraction was magnetic, a force neither of them could deny. But Ash was a servant, an Omega, and she had no place in his world. He was bound to another, and the kingdom needed him. But still, the pull was undeniable.
Ronan's heart was torn—the Omega he had been forbidden from loving was now the only woman he could think about, the only one who could satisfy a hunger he had never known.
As Ash made her way back to the shadows, she couldn't help but wonder if this was the beginning of something that would change everything.