CHAPTER ONE: THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Elara's pov

I was born without a name.

At least, not one anyone cared to use. The beasts called me “girl,” “you there,” or worse“it.”

Names were for nobles. For guards. For wolves. Not for humans like me. Not for the filth.

Not for the forgotten.

A scream split the courtyard before the whip ever landed.

I didn’t flinch. Just kept my head down, knees grinding against stone as I scrubbed dried blood off the steps to the High Alpha’s quarters. That scream, whoever it belonged to, would be gone by morning. Dead or sold. Maybe both.

Moonhowl Pack didn’t tolerate disobedience.

Especially not from us.

I bit the inside of my cheek. I knew whose blood I was scrubbing. Some human boy—nameless, like me—had thrown a punch at a guard who touched his girlfriend. An act of defiance. It got his throat ripped out on the spot.

She was still screaming.

Humans had no rights. We served. We were used. Then we were discarded. That was the law.

And the law never bled.

When the steps were finally clean or clean enough, I stood, knees shaking. My stomach snarled in protest. I’d missed dinner last night scrubbing vomit from the Alpha’s chamber, and today he'd summoned me before sunrise to mop up this mess. No food. No rest. No complaints.

There was to be an announcement today.

When announcements involved humans, it never ended well.

I dumped my supplies into a closet and started down the endless stairway toward the grand hall, footsteps echoing against worn stone. My shoes—more holes than leather—slapped weakly with every step. But I wore them with pride. Most humans didn’t have any at all.

Once, we ruled the world.

We had towers that kissed the clouds and machines that flew like birds.

But that was before they came.

The vampires. The werewolves.

Myth became nightmare. In a matter of years, the world burned. Humanity fell.

Now, it was divided, Lunaris to the wolves. Nocturna to the vamps.

And humans? Slaves.

Lunaris was divided into six packs. Lunaris Dominion, moonhowl pack, grave tooth pack, strombane pack, iron claw pack and blackthorn pack.

Some say Moonhowl is merciful.

I say mercy’s a lie.

A hand waved in front of my face, ripping me from my thoughts.

The first thing I saw were the polished boots.

Then a lopsided grin.

Von.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he said.

“You look… clean,” I muttered.

He puffed his chest. “Rumor is, High Alpha Alaric made a deal with the Alpha King. Wants to send a few humans over as tribute.” He adjusted his ragged collar. “Thought if I looked half-decent, maybe I’d be overlooked.”

My blood iced.

Tribute.

That word only ever meant one thing.

Von kept talking, words blurring into background noise. I was drowning in dread.

Then the horn sounded.

Sharp. Final.

Von grabbed my wrist. “Come on. It’s starting.”

***

“Line up!” the guards barked, boots pounding the marble.

We scrambled into formation like our lives depended on it because they did.

Then silence.

He entered.

High Alpha Alaric Baldwin. His presence alone suffocated the air. My heart beat like a warning drum as his steps drew closer. I shifted slightly, the sound deafening in the quite hall. He paused right beside me but didn’t speak.

Just walked on.

Once he was at the center of the room, he faced us. His voice rang out, smooth and cold.

“This is no ordinary announcement.”

A chill swept through the hall. Ordinary was cruel. This would be worse.

“Our traditions, our faith in the lunar cycle, have guided us well. Now, the Dominion of Lupira has made us an offer, iron, weapons, sustenance. In exchange…” he paused, lips curling, “they ask for tribute.”

The word sounded like thunder.

“Twenty humans,” he continued. “Chosen to serve King Kaelen of Lupira. A great honor.”

Honor. I wanted to spit.

The guards unrolled a long scroll.

One by one, names were read

“Braylen Ford.”

“Marra Wills.”

“Tenrick Kade.”

Each name was a sentence. A soul vanishing into the unknown.

Von’s hand gripped mine tight.

“Von Osric.”

My heart stopped. I turned to him.

His eyes were wide, mouth parted. He tried a smile but it didn’t reach his eyes. Then he let go and stepped forward.

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to run.

But then—

“Elara Callum.”

Time froze.

The name rang louder than the rest. My name.

Someone near me whispered, “Lupira... That’s where humans go to die.”

So this was it.

After years of being nothing, my name had finally been remembered.

But it was only so they could erase me all over again.

And there was no escape.