Four years later.
~~~
The Hollows' quarters in the Moonwillow Pack.
"Wake up, wake up it's time for work!"
Viola was already awake, sitting in the cold room given to the Hollows. When one of the Deltas assigned to wake them noticed her sitting there like a ghost, her legs crossed, her stone-cold blue eyes subtly fixed on him, her frizzy black hair framing her face like a madwoman, he scoffed.
"It's good that you've learned your lesson to wake up early and not glare at your superiors anymore. Get up! Luna Leni and Alpha Evan have asked for you in the house to serve them today," he ordered, opening the barred door for her and the other two Hollows.
The Moonwillow Pack was the third largest pack in the werewolf world, where the Moonwillow residents all lived within the same community, and the Hollow quarters were inside the Alpha's large estate. That was why he could request any Hollow to serve him at will, and currently, the unwanted, wolfless Beta's daughter was called out.
The moment the other two got up, they shoved Viola out of their way and stepped out of the room, glaring over their shoulders at her like she was beneath them, when in fact they were all the same. Hollows. The nobodies. The outcasts.
But Viola didn't blame them, because in the past she had done worse than that to the omegas of the pack. She had been the popular girlfriend of an Alpha heir, and because she didn't want to lose her position nor Evan's affection, she had done many despicable things to others.
Her only reaction to their rudeness was a subtle clenching of her jaw. Had it been her before she was reduced to this, they wouldn't have been able to walk away after shoving her. But being a Hollow didn't only strip one of their position and dignity, it stripped them of their speech as well.
Four years.
Four years she had been in this hellhole of quarters because of what Evan and her parents, who had the power to prevent it, had done. She didn't know why she never got her wolf, and if it weren't for her strong pheromones, Viola wouldn't have been any different from a human at all.
In the werewolf world, there was no place for the wolfless, because they were considered a dysfunction within the pack. Even the lowest omega had a better chance at life than the wolfless who were few and rare. An omega could still live among the pack and enjoy the luxury if they have a good family, but the wolfless…
They were thrown into what was known as the Hollows, a position where one's entire life would be spent serving the pack members. A position worse than that of even a servant, because as a Hollow, you no longer had a voice to talk or be heard. You were only there to work. And work.
The only way one could escape being a Hollow after being proven wolfless was if an Alpha or a Beta decided to mate with one or claim one. That bond would protect a Hollow from the hell of it. But Viola, who could have escaped being a Hollow, had been betrayed by her sworn mate and rejected before everyone.
Remembering how he had rejected her and hit her for Leni's sake always twisted something sharp inside her heart. She had loved him with everything in her.
Every night she lay down to sleep in the cold Hollow quarters, she was haunted by his betrayal. After everything she had done for him.
Now she had learned that he had been titled Alpha, something that wouldn't have been possible without her help, and Leni had been crowned his Luna. In their pack, when two brothers inherited the Alpha's blood, they both went through tests and assignments that determined who would be the heir.
Being the Beta's daughter, Viola had promised to make it possible for Evan to become the next Alpha despite being the younger brother. She had used her influence and done things quietly, giving him information that helped him pass the tests instead of his brother. And in the end, he had still tossed her away and humiliated her.
Leni, the innocent Leni who acted like she would never steal another woman's man. Leni was a distant cousin of the Lindens, who had lost her parents in a brutal accident and was taken in by the Beta, Viola's father.
Leni had a quiet tendency to remind anyone looking at her of a delicate, innocent flower that ought to be protected. She had everyone wrapped around her fingers except Evan in the pack back then, he had never shown signs that he liked her until the day of the awakening.
Viola wouldn't deny making the girl's life miserable in the pack, but everything she had done was because she was trying to protect Evan from ever noticing her the way others did.
She wouldn't deny being a cruel person four years ago, but she had never been cruel without reason, and it had all been because of her love for Evan.
The titles of Alpha and Luna had been given to them a few days ago, and to think they now wanted her to serve them was beyond enduring. But Viola had no voice to reject it.
It had taken time for her to adjust to the life of a Hollow after enjoying the benefits of being the Beta's daughter for nineteen years, having everyone at her beck and call. Being the girlfriend and sworn mate of the Alpha heir had made her family pamper her even more, because she had the strong potential to become their next Luna.
But everything had fallen and scrambled into dust at the awakening ceremony.
Everyone had turned their backs on her and abandoned her here. Her friends, family and her lover.
Viola had gone through beatings. She had been injected with countless doses of wolfsbane. She had been starved for days in the cold rooms before she finally accepted that there was no way out, and that this was the destiny the Moon Goddess had chosen for her.
"Take your pills!"
The Delta shoved a pill that helped conceal her pheromones into her palm and watched as she swallowed it without water. It tasted awful and Viola hated shoving it down her throat without water.
The Hollows were meant to be scentless and invisible, and having strong pheromones didn't make her life any easier.
Then he shoved her toward the dressing room.
Viola got into the maid's uniform. She did everything with automatic movements, without so much as an emotion on her face. This was her first time serving the new Alpha and his Luna, and though she hated it, Viola had no right to say she wouldn't.
Refusing and defying would mean death, for she was no longer considered an important member of their pack. No other pack would welcome her if she were thrown out, only the life of a rogue awaited her, and that was worse, especially with her strong pheromones, because she would be turned into a breeding mate for the packless.
Leaving the country was the only escape, but that could only happen if she had the means to travel, when she had nothing to her name anymore. No money, no cards and not even her phone.
Viola and the other Hollows were soon taken to the kitchen, and she was given a tray to serve the Alpha and his Luna in their room.
When Viola reached the door of the Alpha's room, the room she had believed, until four years ago, would be hers, she could already hear the sounds of moans and groans even before she entered.
Her insides churned. She knocked. Evan's annoyed voice came from within.
"Who the fuck is there?" he barked.
Leni's sweet voice came next. "It must be her, I can tell from the scentless presence. She must have brought our tea. Come in."
Viola's fingers tightened around the tray as she stepped inside the room, which still held the strong smell of sex that made her nauseous and sick.
"Good morning, Alpha and Luna," she greeted.
"Bring the tea forward, and lift your head when you serve it," Leni said, giving the useless Hollow permission to look at them. She wanted her to see how she had taken her place and watch the misery on her face.
Viola would have preferred not to lift her head, but it was the Luna's order. She served the tea and looked up, but her fingers trembled around the cup.
Evan's head was buried between Leni's breasts while Leni looked at Viola over his bent head, smiling as she reached out. "My tea."
Viola walked forward and handed the tea over, but because she was too devastated and heartbroken by the sight of the man she loved devouring another woman's body, a little tea spilled over the rim of the cup and touched Leni's finger. Leni cried out in pain, drawing Evan's attention immediately.
"What happened, my pet?" Evan asked worriedly as he looked at his mate. Tears had suddenly filled Leni's brown eyes as she looked at Viola in accusation.
"She burned me with the tea…"
Evan's gold eyes snapped to Viola, and for a moment she felt the urge to step back and run. His Alpha energy flared as his eyes glared daggers at her, as if he would cut her into pieces. The resentment in his gold eyes sent shivers down her spine.
"Bitch, do you have a death wish, daring to hurt my Luna?" he gritted through clenched teeth, anger coloring his face red.
Viola couldn't believe he thought a little tea could hurt a Luna, but of course she dared not speak. Hollows were not allowed to speak to the Alpha unless given permission.
"Let it go, my Alpha. She didn't do it intentionally," Leni said, her voice quivering as though the tea had sliced her fingers off. But despite her words, her tears only made Evan angrier.
"Go down on your knees and apologize to her."
Viola would have apologized if it were anyone else and if she didn't hate Leni with everything inside her. But instead of apologizing, she said, "It's just tea. She will survive."
She regretted those words the moment they left her mouth, but it was too late to take them back.
Evan angrily grabbed a decorative iron idol from his nightstand and hurled it at her. It struck her right eye with brutal force, and Viola saw a flash of red, then black, before the pain consumed her to the back of her head. Blood immediately began to ooze from her eye.
"On your knees, Hollow!" he ordered, using his Alpha authoritative aura to force her down.