Torn Apart Sample

Chapter 1 - Seraphine

"Sera!"

I ignore the call as best as I can.

"Seraphine, get down here now!"

With a groan, I scramble to my feet. Using my full name like that can only mean trouble, even at twenty-four. Leaving the warm bed of hay I secretly built in our barn, I make my way down the ladder that leads to my little hidey-hole near the rafters.

My feet thud against the ground when I jump the last few steps. I dart out of the barn, careful to dodge any meandering sheep and goats in the fenced lot. I grumble the whole way about the unfairness of our lives.

It's not my parents' fault we've isolated ourselves like this, after all. It's ours—the omegas. The curse of being born an omega is a horrible one in year 3981. It wasn't even that long ago when omegas were treasured, loved, and cared for by everyone in the village. We were considered a blessing.

Now we are nothing more than cattle to be sold to the highest bidder.

Just thinking about it makes me sick.

I shake off the chills skating down my spine and rush through the front door to the house. It's a small place, quaint, and quiet. From the outside, it looks like a simple single-story home with fading blue walls and rusty hinges. Even the inside looks like a stereotypical ancient ranch with wooden walls and faded countertops.

However, if anyone were to look hard enough, they would find a hidden door leading to the most expensive bit of the house. Steel-plating lines every inch of the basement. Soundproof padding covers the walls and floors. The solid metal door hides behind the secret space which is fitted with heavy locks on the inside and out.

The perfect den for an omega in heat.

But that doesn't mean I like it. It still feels like a prison down there.

I wiggle my finger through the slight hole in the wall and hear a faint click. The wood creaks open, the entrance dark and small. Once inside, I close the wall panel behind me before stripping bare. After piling the clothes in a secret cubby in the dark, I tinker with the already unlocked steel door. With a heavy push, it slides open and I descend the stairs, grabbing a thin slip on the way down.

I drag the small gown down my body as I go. The scent of past estrous is heady as I reach the final step and open the last door to the room. My lower belly clenches tight. The rush of heat burning through my body is expected.

I hate this. I grimace at the discomfort and for what I know is ahead.

My heat.

My mother rushes about, cleaning and prepping the small room as best she can. I watch as she stocks the small bathroom with towels and other necessary toiletries. The bathroom consists of a shower, sink, and toilet to the immediate left of the stairs as soon as you open the last door. It's intended for a quick wash to remove all scents of estrous from reaching upstairs.

As soon as we finish showering, we slip through the door, locking all the scents of omega away. It's why there are three doors to get through. My parents are firm believers that we can never be too careful. And knowing what I do about the omegas who have been taken, I'm glad to have the little extra security if it means I can keep myself out of an alpha's paws. All the repairs and upgrades go towards the secret room, leaving the rest of the house and barn neglected.

My brother and I have no personal belongings in plain view; we can't afford to. If we have guests, we are tucked away downstairs until they leave. All lingering scents of my brother and me around the house are disguised with incense. This is done to mask the guests' sense of smell.

I shake off my thoughts as I look around again. My mother had already set aside a whole basket of nesting materials. It sits next to the small, thin comforter laying in middle of the room. I'm glad Arden and I don't share the same heat cycle. I can't imagine two omegas lost to the haze. I'd be writhing on the floor, begging for alpha cock, while Arden grinds into the furs, pleading for alpha cunt to plow through.

Reaching out, I grab her hand. "Go. I've got this," I say with a quick kiss to her cheek. "Thank you, as always."

Her only response is a strained smile, pinched brows, and a kiss to my forehead.

I don't watch her leave. Instead, I focus on the nesting materials. The door clicks shut behind me, and I heave out a heavy breath.

It never ceases to amaze me how shitty our lives are. If only the king hadn't suddenly died twenty-five years ago, then perhaps none of this would be happening.

It was only a matter of days before Remus took over. He was the king's closest advisor and friend, though I suspect Remus had a hand in his friend's death. But I don't dare speak that out loud, even here where I know I'm alone, miles away from the nearest village.

To say such a thing would have you losing your head faster than you could cry, "I didn't mean it".

After King Remus took the throne, everything shifted for the worse. Betas became nothing more than hired help while alphas soared to the top, taking all that they could from those lower than them. Omegas became cattle, simply put. We lost our rights when we were deemed too weak for society. The alphas then declared us under their protection in order to preserve our omega genes.

In reality though, we were passed around like whores, sold to the richest bidder. Forced to become breeders, but unable to keep our young. Torn from families, or sometimes even given away freely. Brothels now enslave—or forcibly employ—omegas for a hefty price, and an even larger sum is paid for those in heat. Suppressants became a thing of the past. Instead, fertility drugs are passed out like candy in the hopes that any hiding omega bitch is exposed. Pumping an omega's body with these drugs increases the odds of them going into heat in public places. I'm determined to put my mind at ease for my coming heat. Though—judging from the state of my body—I still have a while to go before estrous. Thankfully, we keep spare books in a box down here, so Arden and I have something to kill time with. Sometimes I wish I could just dive into a story and forget all about omegas and alphas and what they mean for my family. But no amount of reading, or dreaming will change that.

This is our reality.

I ignore the nesting materials, knowing eventually the time will come when I can't help but rearrange them. Instead, I curl up on the mattress with Fractured Past by D.E. Chapman, ready to lose myself in the story about a girl named Alanna as she navigates a whole new world. A world filled with adventure and heartache.

A world vastly different from my own.