The New Bride

"She needs to go."

"But where will she go?" an agitated voice asked.

"She doesn't belong here. We can use her to take my daughter's place and marry that man."

"Isn't that a bit too dangerous? She could die!"

From inside a room, two men were arguing. One of them was the beta of the Red Forest Pack, a small pack village in Dracaenae Empire while the other one was the alpha of the pack.

But they were known in the Red Forest Pack as the fraternal twins.

Back and forth, the two of them argued. Then, finally they reached a consensus...

The beta's adopted daughter must go.

...

Inside her room, Isabelle combed her younger brother's golden hair. Her eyes crinkled in laughter as Romeo told her a story of what he had seen from outside. Being an Omega from the beta's family, Isabelle was ont only shunned by the rest of the pack members in their small village, she was also treated like dirty laundry that the family was doing their best to hide.

It wasn't like this in the past. The classification of ranks in the Wolven community will only appear once a child was at the age of twelve; Alpha, Beta, Omega. These three classifications of ranks were established for thousands of years.

However, when Isabelle turned twelve, her class did not appear.

At first, everyone in her pack didn't think any wrong of it. She could wait until her class appeared. However, what she didn't expect was that at the age of sixteen, Isabelle turned out to be an Omega, not a beta or Alpha that everyone wanted her to be.

And thus, her miserable life started.

"You should come out and see the forest sometime, sister! It's the best!" Romeo was only seven this year. He had no idea that his words became a thorn that pierced through Isabelle's chest.

"Hm. I know." Isabelle didn't say anything to correct her younger brother. She didn't think it was time for him to know that an omega like her was not allowed to go out.

After putting her brother to sleep, Isabelle stepped out of his room when she almost bumped into her adopted father.

"Father." Isabelle was stunned for a bit at his sudden arrival before she forced out a smile upon seeing the suitcase next to his feet. "I'll carry that for you, father."

Beta Charles, Isabelle's adopted father, didn't let her carry the suitcase. He steeled his heart and coldly said, "I can carry it until we reach outside. There's already a carriage waiting for you. So, we must hurry."

"Can't I at least say my last goodbye to mother?" asked Isabelle.

But once Isabelle saw the cold frown on her adopted father's face, she knew that he wouldn't allow her to see her adopted mother for the last time. Still, she smiled and calmly accepted his refusal.

Not saying goodbye to her sweet and caring adopted mother was her first time, but being rejected by everyone was not her first.

Isabelle was so used to being shunned and rejected that her heart didn't even quiver when she saw the cold gaze that her adopted father was sending her way as they reached the entrance to their small house.

Outside the door, a carriage of unknown origin was parked arrogantly with only the coachman in the front waiting for her.

Isabelle silently stared at the carriage. It was time for her to leave to meet her husband. She used to think that even if she was a lowly omega, the village would still be able to find her a good husband with good genes, who might treat her better.

She had seen other omegas in the village, who married a beta or an alpha yet, like a mocking truth slapped in her face, Isabelle instead became the village alpha's daughter's replacement for a wedding that might as well as end her life.

That's right. In order for the alpha's daughter to live a longer life, she turned into a sacrificial chess piece that both sides wanted to use to get what they wanted.

"Are you ready, miss?" The coachman's voice let her senses come back.

"Yes." Isabelle softly answered, and entered the carriage without looking at her adopted father's face. Who knows if he was showing a pleased expression on his face for letting an outsider go to be sacrificed.

As for the alpha and his daughter, they never showed their faces.

...

It took a few hours before the carriage stopped in front of a four-story manor. It looked cold from the outside; the walls were deprived of any color as it was painted with black. The manor was sprawled into a rolling green land where a round fountain with a statue of a beautiful goddess was located at the center of it.

"We've arrived, miss."

Isabelle heard the coachman's voice from outside the carriage.

'Don't be nervous.' Isabelle chanted within herself as she took her luggage with her.

But just as she turned to the door and put her hand on top of the knob when it was yanked open from outside.

"Ah!"

Pulled along the carriage door, Isabelle was scared for life as gravity started to pull her down.

Isabelle closed her eyes hurriedly and grabbed whatever she could grab around her to save herself from falling face-first on the ground.

However, she didn't expect that an arm would wrap itself around her waist, catching her mid-air and saving her from an embarrassing fall.

Slowly, Isabelle recovered from her shock. She raised her head to see her savior and allowed herself to thank the person for catching her.

Standing in front of her and holding her waist, a man with an overwhelming stature and the scent of an Alpha male drifted around her with a deadliness of a snake.

Isabelle froze.

The man's hair was silver in color like the star twinkling above them. His eyes, however, were not as kind and adorable-looking like the stars as the light around them made his blood red eyes look cruel and imposing.

It almost felt like a devil was looking down on her.