Stella remembered this very moment clearly like it was yesterday, as this was the first time that she witnessed Ophelia’s true nature. It happened in her 1st year of living with the Chevalier, and it was on Ophelia’s 17th birthday. This event marked the true beginning of her nightmare.
“You call this a gift? Do you think someone like me, the daughter of Marquis, even considered this thing wearable?”
The young alpha bought a simple, yet elegant bracelet made of lavender-colored crystals. It wasn’t cheap, but it was considered far less lavished compared to accessories the Chevalier aristocrats wore regularly. The reason Stella chose this as a gift was because its color reminded her of lavender which matched Ophelia’s scent. Also, its simplicity was classic which was suitable for ladies like her to wear on any occasion.
“…”
But the moment Ophelia threw it onto the ground, her good intentions were trampled followed by humiliation from other cousins standing nearby and the guests that were gossiping from afar. They could tell from Stella’s appearance that she was a daughter of Duke Cedric that passed away, but even so, she seemed to lack the knowledge to find suitable gifts for noblewomen.
“What is that cheap thing? I had never seen that kind of thing before in my life!”
“I know right? How could she present such a lowly thing to our Ophelia?”
“Isn’t that more of an insult to present a cheap toy as a gift, especially on her birthday?”
Ophelia ordered her servant to clean up and throw the hideous gift away since it was useless to her. Even at that moment, the young alpha remained as composed as possible since it was her fiancé’s birthday. Even though her genuine goodwill was brushed off like trash, she couldn’t show that she was hurt. She had no choice but to apologize for choosing an unworthy gift for her grandiose birthday before she took her leave. That was the first time she was disappointed in herself for thinking that she could trust Ophelia.
-
As an outsider one may think that she was Ophelia’s fiancé, but truthfully, she was Chevalier’s prisoner. The arranged marriage was a cover to the truth that Stella was a reward for Chevalier’s cooperation in assisting Anthony’s ascension to become Duke Albrecht of the Northland. Thus, the Chevalier had full control of her life and they could do whatever they pleased with her. Later, she learned that Ophelia had been infatuating with her since their first encounter when they were young, and so Marquis Chevalier gave Stella to her as a present. Thus, among the Chevaliers, everyone knew her as Ophelia’s alpha pet. If she resisted and challenged their authority, they would not hesitate to abuse her until she surrendered.
Every meal, Stella must join the Chevalier at the dining table and sit next to Ophelia. Initially, they were welcoming of her but that was all staged to ease up the young alpha before they began revealing their true nature.
“Stella, have you ever tried this drink before? This is an exquisite wine from the finest grape farm in Northland owned by us.”
The pink-haired alpha noble, Theo Chevalier, asked her with a smile as he took a sip of the fine wine. He was the eldest child of Marquis and was Ophelia’s older brother by three years. He knew that Stella was still underage to drink, yet he still asked anyway.
“Unfortunately, I am still underage to drink so I cannot make any comments on that matter.”
“That’s true…but taking a sip should be fine, right?”
He snapped his finger to order the servant to pour a glass of wine for her, but Stella politely declined the offer. In aristocratic society, it was considered ill-mannered and unacceptable to drink before reaching adulthood of 16 regardless of the reason. Theo should’ve known this etiquette very well, but he still insisted she do so.
“That’s rude of you to refuse my offer.”
“My apologies that it has offended you, Sir Theo, but I simply can't violate the basic etiquette.”
He stared at her before he got up from his seat and walked towards her with a glass of wine. At first, Stella expected him to try to force her to try it, but she didn’t expect he would pour a full glass of wine over her head.
“…Now, you can tell me what it tastes like.”
“—!?”
Stella was at a complete loss for words as she was completely drenched in red wine, and she abruptly got up from her seat before glaring at him.
“What is the meaning of this—”
Before she could finish her words, Theo punched her right in the stomach before she fell to her knees. She gasped for air as wasn’t prepared for an incoming punch into her diaphragm. Theo showed no mercy and stepped onto her shoulder to force her down onto the floor. Everyone continued having their meals like nothing happened even though Theo was being ruthless with her. The lady next to her, Ophelia, was the first to break the silence but her words were cold and just as heartless as her brother.
“Brother, your wine got on my clothes. Do you know how expensive these clothes are?”
“My sincere apologies, dearest sister. How about I take you out after lunch for dress shopping? You can buy anything you want.”
Theo casually chatted with his little sister while one of his feet was crushing Stella onto the ground. As the pink-haired man realized that the younger alpha was resisting, he gave her a stomp which forced her back onto the ground again.
“U-Ugh…!”
“Ah yes, you’ve reminded me you haven’t answered me yet…so what does Chevalier wine taste like to you?”
He directed his attention to Stella as his pheromones were getting thicker. He had a strong whisky-scented pheromone which made her feel extremely uncomfortable. The scent of another alpha was not something she would consider pleasant, especially when the other person was exerting absolute dominance.
“Brother, your pheromones are disrupting our palettes. Can you stop?”
This time, another lady sibling spoke up and she was Eleanor Chevalier. She was a beta and was just a few months younger than Ophelia. Theo and Ophelia were Marquis’s children with his 1st wife, Marchioness Yvette. As for Eleanor, she was also his child with his 2nd wife. Marquis himself had three wives in total, which was normal to find alphas have multiple partners.
“Oh, my bad then…”
Theo’s pheromones slowly dissipated, but his foot was still on the younger alpha. He had a chance to glance down to look at how pathetic she was, but he was met with those blue icy eyes glaring straight at him. Even in such a state, she showed no signs of weakness, and it was as if she was ready to attack the moment she had the chance. Theo could only smirk with excitement and wondered what face she would have once he shredded every last bit of her dignity.
“You should train your dog properly, Ophelia. She’s so unruly and had the audacity to refuse my offer.”
“I’ll make sure to educate her properly. So, can we continue our meal or you’re going to continue stepping on my cute alpha?”
“Right, I forgot she is your favorite.”
He pushed her off with his feet before returning to his seat. The young alpha slowly glanced over to Ophelia’s direction who showed no emotions to Theo’s abuse and ordered her to clean herself up and get ready to head out to the city for dress shopping in 30 minutes. Obviously, Stella had no say in this and had no choice but to comply with her orders. What made it worse was that Theo the abuser was also coming with them too. After lunch hour, they got onto the carriage and she sat next to Ophelia. It was clear that Theo was displeased with the young alpha tagging along with them for shopping, and he bluntly express his thoughts in front of her.
“Do we need to bring this mutt with us? She can just stay back.”
“Mind your language, brother. Stella and I have an image to maintain if you care to pay attention to our past meetings. She is my dear fiancé, and we are on very good terms. So you better behave as a good ideal brother around her while we are out in public.”
“Hmph…Fine. I guess I’ll roleplay for a bit then.”
Stella remained silent as she didn’t wish to take part in this conversation and her shoulder was still aching from the abuse earlier. They followed Ophelia to every shop she wanted as she tried to find dresses that caught her attention. She picked a few of them from the racks and turned to her brother and fiancé to ask for their opinions.
“What do you two think I’ll look good in this dress?”
“You’re beautiful with anything, Ophie. What do you think, Stella?”
For Theo to act nice to her gave Stella the creeps. She wished that they would just ignore her rather than actively get her involved in these pretentious conversations. This time, Ophelia turned to her fiancé to force her to speak up.
“What do you think about this dress, Stella?”
“…I believe it will be gorgeous on you.”
She said for the sake of it, and she couldn’t care less what she chose to wear. Ophelia only smirked in silence before she continued to try out more dresses. Usually, the nobles would have their personal maids help them with wearing their clothes, but she intentionally left her maids behind and made Stella help her instead.
“Lady Chevalier, we have a selection of professional staff members that can assist you in the dressing room if so required.”
“That’s okay. I have my cute fiancé that will help me, right?”
She glanced over to Stella with her signature smile. To outsiders, she may seem lovely and friendly, but to Stella, she was disgusted by it. In the changing room, Ophelia asked her to unzip her dress from behind and helped her with changing behind the curtains. She knew that the pink-haired noble was planning to use tempt her by exposing her scent gland right at the juncture of her, but she had no intention to fall into her little game. Her loathing for the older omega was stronger than the alluring scent of her pheromones.
“Which color do you think suits me?”
“You know I couldn’t care less about this.”
“You can at least pretend to say something. We’re still outside.”
Ophelia turned around and grabbed onto her injured shoulder and it was obvious that it was intentional. She leaned in closer to whisper right against her ears to offer a deal.
“If you give me a thoughtful answer, I will consider being nice to you a little bit more.”
“What makes you think I’ll trust the words of a Chevalier?”
“At the very least I keep my word. So, look at me…and tell me what color suits me in your eyes?”
She insisted on forcing an answer out of Stella and had no intention of leaving the changing room until Stella answered her question. Did she have much of a choice? At that moment, she couldn’t care less and just give what she wanted to hear.
“…Something white or baby blue. There, is that good enough yet?”
Ophelia wore a silent satisfactory smile before she continued with her shopping. She picked several dresses before they headed over to the next shop to buy accessories to fit with her new dresses. The shopping trip took the entire day and arrived at the manor before sunset.
“Stella, take all my dresses back to my room.”
“…”
Once they arrived, the noble lady was quick to give her a job to do. Stella exhaled loudly with a hint of annoyance in her expression before she reluctantly carried all the bags. When Theo saw the young alpha give an attitude to his beloved sister, he planned to discipline her again so she would know her place.
“Hey mutt, how dare you show my sister an attitude—”
“Theo! You’re going to ruin my dresses again. I told you I’ll be the one to discipline her. Don’t cross the lines.”
“Sorry, Ophie. I’m just concerned about her unruly attitude. No one disrespects my lovely little sister in front of me like that.”
Perhaps Stella should be thankful for the bags of dresses she was carrying that prevented Theo from being violent with her again. As they arrived back at Ophelia’s room, she placed all the bags down before she quickly return to her room. Being her prisoner, they gave her a room connected with Ophelia’s so she would always be monitored 24/7. However, she froze on the spot the moment she opened and saw the state of her room.
Everything in her room was destroyed. Anything that could be shredded was shredded into pieces and left on the floor. The culprit intentionally damage all the furniture as well since they were heavily damaged beyond repair. At that moment, Stella couldn’t even describe how she felt because she felt nothing at all. This place was already a hellhole enough, it wouldn’t make any difference to turn her room into another hellhole too.
“Hmm…it must be Theo. I had a feeling he’s up to something mischievous again.”
Ophelia came from behind and saw the state of her fiancé’s bedroom. She exhaled softly before she ordered her personal maid to take care of Stella’s room and make sure to replace everything that was destroyed by tomorrow night.
“Tell the servants that I need to see the room become spotless like new. Replace everything that was destroyed, use any much money if need be.”
“Yes ma’am. I’ll get started right away.”
“…”
Upon hearing those words, she couldn’t believe what she heard. She was more used to being oppressed by the older omega, but now she was helping her this time. Meanwhile, Ophelia could feel Stella staring in her direction with disbelief, which was as she expected.
“Is that how you treat someone that is helping you out?”
“I doubt you’ll do it out of goodwill. You won’t do it for free without getting something in return.”
Stella could never trust her, especially not a Chevalier. She stared at the pink-haired lady revealing her smirk before she reminded her that Stella belonged to her, so it was her responsibility to take care of her as well. At least, she should have a decent room and clothing to be worthy of her side, or else it would reflect on her image poorly.
“I didn’t expect Theo to be this childish. I’ll give him an earful lecture next time for making me spend money unnecessarily…”
“…”
“Since your room is in a complete mess, you have no choice but to sleep with me instead.”
The young alpha felt the chills run down her spine and she would rather sleep in the bin than share the same bed as her. What was Ophelia planning to do to her? Was this all her scheme to destroy Stella’s room so that she had no choice but to sleep in her room instead? There were many possibilities that she could think of.
“Don’t worry, I have no interest in mating with a child if that’s what you’re afraid of. I’m simply offering my room for you to rest for tonight.”
“Well, I’m glad you have some dignity left in you to not act shamefully.”
“I’m simply keeping my word. Have you forgotten about it already?”
Ophelia remembered their conversation in the dress shop and that she would treat her a little bit nicer if she were to answer her question. As Stella did as she was told, reluctantly, it was her part to keep her word and treat her nicely as promised. Thus, this explained why she was oddly helpful to Stella today. That night, Stella was against sharing the same bed as her even if they were just sleeping, but Ophelia had her ways to force her to comply anyway. She wasn’t given much of a choice, she could either sleep voluntarily or be sedated instead.
The younger alpha was overly cautious with Ophelia’s every moment in bed despite there being a pillow dividing between them. She was just so tired from what happened today and just needed a good sleep before having to face another drama tomorrow. The exhaustion kicked in and she didn’t expect she would have one of the best sleep ever since she came here. When she woke up in the morning, Ophelia was gone and left a small note on the bedside table.
[Your clothes for today are on the table. Go wash up, get changed, and come find me at the library.]
Stella preferred that Ophelia treated her like a prisoner than pretending to be generous with her. When she got up, she noticed that her shoulder wasn’t as inflamed as she expected. Perhaps the injury wasn’t as bad as she thought despite yesterday it aching badly. Today was another day that she continued living in this hellhole without knowing when it would end it…
-
Aside from receiving Theo’s abusive treatment, Stella had been picked on by other Chevalier cousins that lived within Chevalier’s land. These nobles found pleasure in making sneering comments at her whenever they found the chance to as they knew that Stella wouldn’t fight them back.
“Stella, do you think these earrings are pretty? Oh, wait! I doubt you would truly understand since you wouldn’t know to pick a decent accessory for a noble lady.”
“Oh gosh, you’re so mean, Mabel!”
“Don’t worry about it, Stella. It’s okay to not be educated about it since you’re an alpha. We’ll teach you what kind of things aristocrat ladies love to wear.”
One of Ophelia’s cousins, Mabel Chevalier, was the most annoying person to Stella because she attempted to find ways to mock her whenever she could. Other cousins would always join in to laugh at her, but she couldn’t care less. Comparing this to Theo’s violent attitude, she would prefer to listen to these ladies yapping since she just needed to pretend they don’t exist.
“Hey Stella, you’re free right now, aren’t you? Why don’t you go get more desserts for us?”
Ophelia and her cousins were enjoying afternoon tea in the garden and Stella was forced to come along as well. The pink-haired omega sipped her tea as she chose not to say anything to stop them too. As a prideful alpha herself, Stella despised being ordered around like a dog, especially by someone weaker than her. Ophelia noticed that Stella had no intention to comply with her cousin’s orders, so she must take action to discipline her alpha.
“Stella, I believe you understand that you don’t want to make your life even more challenging than this, correct?”
Those words reminded Stella of her status in the Chevalier household. She was their prisoner, and her life was in their hands. If they wanted to get rid of her, they could do so whenever they find her worthless to keep. It was like a ticking bomb that can go off at any time. At the very least, she was able to convince herself to follow Ophelia’s and Marquis’s orders.
“Fine. I’ll be right back.”
It was supposedly the servant’s job, but these aristocratic ladies loved to see an alpha at their feet. They were all sick and twisted from finding pleasure in humiliating her, especially being aware that Stella was the previous Duke’s daughter. Once she came back with a tray of desserts, the young alpha walked off to take a breath of fresh air. She leaned against one of the stone pillars to the side and was uninvolved with their tea party so could have her peace to herself.
While she was enjoying the view of the garden, the cool wind breeze carried the scent of her pleasant pheromones into the air. The ladies at the tea table slowly shifted their attention and peeked in her direction shyly. Stella had a unique scent of a burned pinewood which exuded a cozy feeling, unlike other alphas that have quite a thick musky scent. Even though they enjoyed harassing her, they couldn’t deny how charming and attractive Stella was for her age. Thus, Mabel decided to try her luck and ask Ophelia for her permission.
“Hey Ophelia, what will you say…if you’ll let us borrow her sometimes?
“Borrow her for what purpose?”
“You know what I mean…just a couple of days to have some fun. She’s your alpha, but there’s no harm in sharing a bit, right?”
“—!?”
Stella couldn’t describe how disgusted she was with these ladies asking Ophelia to lend Stella to them so that they could sleep with her. These aristocrats treated her like a prisoner and now they’re going to make her their slave mate? Just the sheer thought of it send chills and made her want to vomit.
“Ophelia, have you slept with her before? Is she good in bed?”
“Oh gosh, Mabel…that’s so unwomanly of you to ask…”
“Please, I know you’re also curious about it too.”
They all giggled and had fun with the topic of their conversation while Ophelia sipped her tea while putting on an unreadable expression. The young alpha had the feeling that the pink-haired noble would casually lend her body to her cousins and might as well just accept her fate as of right now. However, deep down she hoped that Ophelia would help her out like last time…
“What makes you think I like to share what’s mine with others?”
Her authoritative tone made everyone speechless in an instant. All eyes were on her and perhaps they realized that they asked a question that they shouldn’t have and crossed the line with her, they were quick to apologize.
“My apologies, Ophelia. I think we joked a little bit too much, r-right everyone?”
“I-Indeed! We’re sorry if that sounds like we’ve crossed the lines.”
Stella could tell that wasn’t a joke and they were serious when they asked that. The pink-haired noble only smiled in silence, but the moment she uttered, her words were so sharp that it sent chills down their spines.
“Let me be clear that Stella is mine alone to enjoy. I don’t mind my little alpha being useful with doing some trivial duties for us, but not prostitution service to satisfy your lust and thirst.”
Her words were cold, sharp, and authoritative and that instilled fear in them. As expected from the eldest daughter of Marquis, she was the embodiment of nobility with prideful standards and would not tolerate any ignoble behaviors. The moment she spoke up, everyone naturally sided with her and agreed that Mabel crossed the line and made such a shameful request earlier. She was humiliated so badly in front of her cousins that it would be hard to make a comeback from that.
“I just remembered I have matters to attend to, so please continue to enjoy the afternoon tea.”
Ophelia smiled casually like nothing happened before she excused herself first. Stella followed right behind her, and she silently exhaled with relief. For once, she was grateful for Ophelia’s nobility that saved her life from becoming one of those ladies’ slave mates. Once they arrived at her room, she ordered the younger alpha to sit down on the couch. Silently obeying her, she was wondering what Ophelia was thinking as she was standing in silence in front of her.
SLAP.
The next thing she realized was her face abruptly turned before being greeted with a sharp stinging pain spreading throughout the entire left side of her cheek. Stella was speechless and angry at her, since it wasn’t even a light slap, and she could feel the burn numb clearly.
“You…”
Stella glared with immense anger and hate, but Ophelia was completely unbothered by her reaction. The noble lady reprimanded her for unnecessarily attracting her omega cousins at the tea party with her pheromones. Even though it wasn’t Stella’s intention, she irrationally decided to punish her anyway.
“How feral. Should you be giving me that kind of look?”
“…”
“As your punishment, remove your vest and unbutton your shirt.”
“W-What—!?”
“Don’t let me repeat myself, Stella…or else you’ll make me angrier.”
The more Ophelia treated her like a dog, the more she brewed resentment in Stella’s heart. The young alpha vowed to herself that the moment she was free from Chevalier’s grip, she would make sure they would pay threefold for what they put her through. For now, she must focus on surviving at this horrendous place no matter what it takes…and so she began removing her outer vest.
“Very good.”
Ophelia stared down at her in silence as Stella threw her grey vest to the side before she proceeded to unbutton her shirt. At least the only thing that prevented her from drowning in humiliation was her desire for revenge. Once she unbuttoned the 3rd one, Ophelia ordered her to stop before she moved in closer to sit on her lap. This level of intimacy made Stella uncomfortable and backed away, but then Ophelia grabbed onto her face so she can’t avoid their eye contact. Their faces were just an inch apart and her attention went straight to those piercing green eyes.
“Remember, you’re mine. My sweet cute alpha…so entertain me.”
“You—!”
Tiling her head to the side, she exposed Stella’s bare neck before brushing her lips against her smooth skin. The young alpha instinctively resisted and tried to push her away, but then Ophelia pushed back as she used her weight to lock her down on the couch. Even worse, she intentionally released her sweet pheromones to make it harder for her to fight back.
“Wait! Don’t you dare!"
The moment she felt the teeth brushed against the juncture of her neck where her scent gland was, Stella knew what was about to happen. She instinctively pushed Ophelia back and that made her quite unsatisfied. She sighed and didn’t hesitate to discipline her unruly alpha with another slap across her face. That made Stella stunned for a moment once again before she realized that she shouldn’t have done that. The more she angered Ophelia, the more she put herself at risk.
“Do you know what you are doing? Try pushing me away again, and I may reconsider Mabel’s request.”
“…!!”
“Apologize to me, and I’ll consider forgiving you.”
Her icy blue eyes were filled with immense resentment as she tightened her fist. She took a short moment to exhale before she apologized for pushing her earlier and she won’t do it again. Ophelia was certainly satisfied with the alpha’s bitter apology before she leaned in closer and forced their fingers to interlock so her hand was occupied. Never in her life wanted to hold her hand, but it wasn’t a choice. If she accidentally pushed Ophelia again then she would face a life worse than death.
“Very good…make sure to put on your best act and please me.”
Ophelia buried her face in her neck and took a deep breath of Stella’s pheromones with great satisfaction. Her scent smelled more like heavily burned wood as it reflected her emotional state, but it was good enough to make her body heat up. Her lavender pheromone was getting thicker and stronger, and it was so intoxicating. Stella just hated how she find her scent even pleasant and how her body was responding to her. It was truly an excruciating experience. The more Ophelia kissed her skin, the more her entire body burned and her pheromones oozed uncontrollably.
“G-Guh…Nngh…!”
The moment Ophelia buried her teeth in her neck, she felt all her strength leave her body in an instant. Her hands trembled as she gripped her hand back. The stimulation from being marked made her heart race and the controlling omega loved what she was seeing.
“How does it feel to be marked for the first time? It feels good…doesn’t it?”
“Shut…up…! You are a…disgusting lunatic…!”
“You could be a little bit more honest like your body. Your pheromone smells even more pleasant than earlier and it is mixing with my scent so well.”
She smirked with satisfaction before she kissed the bite mark that she left on her neck and indulged in Stella’s soothing pheromones. The fact her scent was gradually becoming pleasant meant that she didn’t dislike what Ophelia did. Despite her voice lost its strength, Ophelia could still sense the great hostility she harbored. She pulled back slightly to take a good look at her cute rebellious alpha. Even though her body and instinct may have given in to Ophelia’s intoxicating pheromones, passion, and anger were still burning in her icy blue eyes.
“I don’t dislike how you are so stubborn. It makes me excited to see how long could you last before you surrender everything to me?”
As the poor young alpha thought it was over, Ophelia proved her wrong the moment she swiftly locked her lips against hers. Stella’s eyes widened and didn’t have time to respond before it quickly escalated into a deep kiss. The older omega took the lead and Stella experienced utter helplessness underneath her. She was drowned in her overflowing sweet lavender taste. She did everything she could to resist, but the more she did the longer that lips stayed connected.
The seed of resentment was constantly nurtured through Chevalier’s harassment.
She could never forget how helpless she felt that day as she went through humiliation and abuse. She hated every one of these filthy Chevaliers that treated her worse than an animal. This was another moment in her life to remember as that was the first time she was marked and kissed by the woman she genuinely despised.
ouu la la