Chapter 1
~Harlow~
My Omega test results have just been released, and over a hundred bidders have joined the online auction. As my sister, Zara, and I watch the screen, I feel sick to my stomach. How did my life become this? All because my gene test proved potent—the perfect match for an all-Alpha Pack.
We can’t see who the bidders are, but we recognize some of the pack names, and I pray they don’t win. My heart races, and I can’t watch anymore. I stare down at my pink cotton pajama shorts, picking at the lint to distract myself from my unraveling life. I can’t believe Mr. Black is selling me off to a future I never wanted.
Zara and I have been stuck in the Omega facility since our parents died. The facility owners groomed us to become the perfect Omegas, and now they’re auctioning me off to the highest bidder. This isn’t the life I imagined or wanted. Not one I would choose for myself.
My twin, Zara, loves being Omega: the attention, the never-ending praise, and the adoration. I wish I shared even half of her enthusiasm or confidence.
For twins, we couldn’t be more opposite. We look identical, except for the scar that runs across the bridge of Zara’s nose, under her eyes, and to her ear. Despite that, her beauty is undeniable. But a lot of her beauty comes from the way she carries herself. She’s confident, tough, yet sweet—the perfect Omega. These qualities all Alphas want in their Omega.
While I’m standoffish and quiet, Zara thrives in the spotlight.
As yesterday’s events come to mind, I’m once again plunged into that abyss of fear and helplessness. The auction is taking place, and I’m terrified of the outcome. What if the notorious Obsidian Pack—the so-called Omega Killers—wins the bid for me? How will I survive?
~THE DAY BEFORE, OMEGA TEST ANNOUNCEMENT~
Zara grips my fingers and gives them a squeeze as we wait for my Omega gene score to come back. I had hoped we would both bloom at the same time, but fate always has other plans for me. Fate really likes to test me, and testing is literally what the Omega Sanctuary does. Now, I am worried I will be separated from my sister, doomed to a fate I don’t want and doomed to it alone.
“They said we would stay together, Low. They won’t separate us. Omega twins are rare. You’ll see; everything will work out,” Zara whispers, nudging me with her elbow. I smile sadly at her and nod, praying she is right.
We sit in the lobby of the auction house, waiting before I’ll be put up for auction, depending on how high my gene tests come back. The door to a nearby office bursts open, revealing an overjoyed Mrs. Yates. I’ve never seen a woman so ecstatic as she squeals excitedly, waving the papers above her head.
Zara and I jump at the startling sound while the auctioneer, Mr. Black, looks up at her from where he sits in his expensive suit. “What’s made you so excited, Yates?” he asks.
Her eyes are wide as she stares at me. “She broke the record,” Mrs. Yates whispers, her eyes still glued to my shocked expression.
Zara glances at me, and I at her, both confused out of our minds.
“What? Impossible! No Omega’s pheromones sit above fifty-five. The score hasn’t changed for years,” he says as he gets up from his seat and snatches the paper from Mrs. Yates’s hands.
The awed look on her face doesn’t fade as Mr. Black looks over the results.
“Eighty-seven percent pure Omega,” Mrs. Yates beams. I gasp at her words.
“This can’t be real. Test her again,” Mr. Black huffs, forcing the papers back in her hands in disbelief. I agree with him. Test me again. I think. This is not something I want in my records.
“They tested four times,” she murmurs. The grin on her lips nearly splits her face in half. Her graying hair almost looks white under the bright fluorescent lights, and I feel the blood drain from my face.
Then, out of nowhere, Mr. Black howls and breaks out in laughter. “We just hit fucking bank, baby. Do you have any idea how much we can get for her?” He all but jumps with joy.
“Wait, you said we would be auctioned together,” Zara intervenes, glancing at me nervously. As always, Zara is ready to jump to my defense, while all I can do is stare at everyone in horror. This can’t be happening!
Eighty-seven percent is an Alpha Pack status level, meaning an all-Alpha Pack. Panic envelopes me, spreading through my body like wildfire, taking over every muscle and all my senses.
“Things change; she’s worth too much. She’ll be auctioned tomorrow. Fuck, she will bring in some money. Hopefully, enough to save this place,” Mr. Black announces.
I watch him flick his dark hair from his face. The paperwork miraculously appears in his hands again, and he stares down at the score. I can almost see the dollar signs cha-chinging in his eyes.
“Wait! Stop! We’re twins; you can’t separate us,” Zara fights back, still keeping her voice despite knowing it is pointless.
Mr. Black sneers as his eyes dart to her and narrow slightly. “You’re owned by the state. You live under my care, and raising Omegas costs a lot of money. She goes to auction tomorrow, without you. But you never know, once you bloom, maybe whoever buys her will want a spare.” He cackles, sounding as evil as ever, and wanders off while Mrs. Yates flashes us a smile full of pity.
“It’s alright, girls. You’ll fetch a high price, Harlow. That means your buyer will take good care of you,” Mrs. Yates tries to comfort us.
Tears burn my eyes as Zara’s grip on my hand tightens. Sure, as if I don’t know what she means by saying someone would take good care of me. As good as they can after buying me at auction to make a damn breeder out of me. And to top it off, they’ll separate me from my twin.
Zara’s gasp pulls me out of my thoughts, and I instantly look up at the computer screen. My heart sinks: five hundred thousand dollars.
I stare at my sister. Her mouth hangs open, just as shocked as I am. We keep waiting for the pack name to appear. We have to see who had offered the highest bid and won me.
Yet the moment the name pops up, dread pools in my stomach, a pit forming so deep I forget how to breathe.
Obsidian Pack.
It is a pack I’ve heard of, but not for good reasons. It is also an all-Alpha Pack, that much I know. I shake my head as tears brim and spill from my eyes, slipping down my cheeks and dripping off my chin. Zara’s lips quiver.
“No!” she gasps, horrified. That pack is notorious for losing Omegas, and I will likely be no different.
The Obsidian Pack bought six girls from the sanctuary while we lived here, and not one survived. None could take the Alpha’s knot. Not even with the serum. The other girls in the facility called that pack the Omega Killers!
I swallow the bile.
“Maybe we can tell them no,” Zara suggests in a whisper, but it offers no hope. We are the state’s property and have no choice in the government’s eyes. We owe the state for caring for us, so we have no say at all. Omegas are property because Omegas are the only ones who can provide an heir to continue Alpha’s bloodline. We are revered and special, and apparently, we fetch a high price.
All Omegas end up in packs eventually, but I didn’t think I would be sold off to one so cruel and feared. I never imagined I would end up with the Omega Killers.
Zara wraps her arms around me, her tears wetting my shoulder. “I won’t let them take you,” she promises me fiercely. “We’ll figure this out, I promise. I won’t let you become another victim of the Obsidian Pack.”
Later that afternoon, I receive the Obsidian Pack Alpha’s serum. It’s supposed to help Omegas acclimate to our Alpha. It also ensures the Alpha DNA is passed on to its potential heir because once an Alpha marks his other pack members, the DNA changes.
Mrs. Yates sits with me while I rub my ass, sore from where the doctor jabbed me with his needle. Mrs. Yates squeezes my fingers. “I’m sorry, Harlow, I tried to talk Mr. Black out of it.”
“That pack ... They killed six girls. Six, Mrs. Yates, six girls!” I whisper, aware that I will be the next to die at their hands.
Or claws.
Or teeth.
Or knots!
“You’re stronger than the others,” she offers, but I shake my head. “I’m sorry, but …” she sighs. Nothing she says would make me feel better.
“Promise once I die, you won’t send Zara to them. I know she will test just as high; we’re twins,” I beg her.
Mrs. Yates nods. “I’ll do my best. Promise.” She nudges me and escorts me back to my room.
A few days pass before the pack comes to collect me. Zara does my hair and make-up. She does hers, too, but I can’t figure out why. Despite her being the more girly of the two of us, she hates make-up just as much as I do.
Today, I’ll meet my pack. A pack I want no part of. Watching the clock only makes me more nervous, while Zara sniffles as she fixes my hair to look precisely like hers. We’re pulling on our matching dresses when I hear the buzz of the pager, telling me they have arrived.
My skin prickles as fear seeps into every cell of my body, but I feel cold when I get up to leave the room. The moment I reach for the door, I feel something sprayed on the side of my face. I swat at it and turn to see Zara holding a spray can in her hands. Tears fill her eyes, and my vision blurs when she sprays it again.
“Why are you spraying me with a de-scenter?” I ask, choking and coughing when some gets in my mouth. During my coughing fit, she jabs me in the arm with a needle. Before I realize what is happening, my legs turn wobbly, and I reach out for her.
Zara drags me back and tucks me into bed, but I fight to remain conscious.
“Zara!” I murmur in panic.
“I won’t let you die. Just know I love you,” she whispers, kissing my cheek.
What did she jab me with, and where did she get it? I can’t move as I watch her scoop up my bag and ID in horror.
This explains why she used make-up. She needs to cover the scar on her face. It is the only thing that sets us apart. Just before she walks out, she comes over to me.
“When you wake, pretend to be me; I won’t let the Obsidian Pack kill you. I know you hate this Omega stuff, and I can’t let you go through it. Escape and keep using the de-scenter until you do.” Her words become softer as my vision blurs. My surroundings slowly vanish as my sight is stolen by whatever she used to drug me.
“I love you, Low. Now be a good Omega,” are the last words I hear before the door shuts behind her.
She’s taking my place. Zara’s taking my place and sacrificing herself for me. I’m killing her, killing my own sister, my twin. A lone tear slips down my cheek at that thought as my paralyzed body gets sucked into the oblivion of darkness.