He Hated Me First

The wolfsbane-laced whip cracked across my back for the third time today, and I bit down on my tongue hard enough to taste copper. Blood was better than the scream that wanted to tear from my throat,screams only encouraged them.

"Nineteen years of breathing our air, Fenris," Beta Marcus snarled, his breath hot against my ear as I remained bent over the wooden post in the center of the pack's training ground. "Nineteen years of taking food that should go to loyal wolves."

The morning sun beat down mercilessly, but the heat was nothing compared to the fire spreading across my shredded back. Around us, pack members had gathered to watch, some with satisfaction, others with the casual indifference of those who'd grown bored of my daily punishments. No one intervened. No one ever did.

"Your parents' betrayal cost us everything," Marcus continued, raising the whip again. "Women, children, our Alpha,all dead because of Fenris treachery."

I kept my eyes fixed on the dirt beneath my knees, watching my blood drip into the dust. Today was different, though. Today was my nineteenth birthday, and something wild and desperate was clawing at my chest, demanding I lift my head and fight back.

But I'd learned long ago that fighting only made it worse.

The whip whistled through the air again, but this time a different sound cut through the morning,a low, rumbling growl that made every wolf in the vicinity freeze. The leather never touched my skin.

"Enough."

That single word carried the weight of absolute authority, spoken in a voice that could make mountains bow. I didn't need to look up to know who had arrived. Alpha Larry Talbot's presence was like a physical force, pressing down on everyone around him.

"Alpha," Marcus stammered, the whip falling slack in his grip. "I was just,"

"You were just forgetting your place." Larry's voice was arctic cold, each word precise and cutting. "Release her."

My restraints fell away, and I slowly straightened, my back screaming in protest. I finally raised my head to meet the gaze of the man who had orchestrated my torment for eight years.

Larry stood at the edge of the training ground like a dark angel of vengeance, his black hair catching the sunlight and his silver eyes promising death to anyone who dared challenge him. At twenty-nine, he was everything an Alpha should be,tall, powerful, and radiating the kind of dominance that made other wolves instinctively submit.

Everything except merciful.

"Go," he commanded the gathered wolves, and they scattered like leaves before a hurricane. Only Marcus hesitated.

"Alpha, the punishment isn't complete. Pack law states,"

"Pack law states that I decide when punishment is complete." Larry's eyes never left mine as he spoke. "And I decide that today, Lyra Fenris serves a different purpose."

My heart stopped. In eight years, he had never spoken my name aloud. I was always 'the traitor's daughter' or 'Fenris spawn' or simply 'it' when he was feeling particularly cruel.

Marcus bowed his head and retreated, leaving me alone with the man who held my life in his hands.

"Stand up straight," Larry ordered, his voice carrying that Alpha command that made my wolf whimper in submission.

I forced myself to my feet, ignoring the way my torn back protested. Blood soaked through my threadbare shirt, but I met his gaze without flinching. Whatever game he was playing, I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.

"Tonight is the full moon gathering," he said, circling me like a predator studying its prey. "You will attend."

The words hit me like a physical blow. "Alpha, I,"

"You will attend," he repeated, stopping directly in front of me. "And you will kneel before the pack as I name you what you truly are,a living reminder of treachery, a symbol of the price of betrayal."

My chest tightened, but I forced my voice to remain steady. "As you wish, Alpha."

Something flickered across his face,surprise, perhaps, or annoyance at my composure. He stepped closer, close enough that I could smell his scent: pine, leather, and something darker that made my wolf pace restlessly.

"You will not embarrass me tonight, Fenris. You will accept whatever judgment the pack deems fit, and you will do it with the dignity your parents never possessed."

The injustice of it burned in my throat, but I simply nodded. "I understand, Alpha."

He stared at me for a long moment, his silver eyes searching my face for something I didn't understand. Then, without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing alone in the center of the training ground.

As his footsteps faded, I allowed myself one moment of weakness. One moment to let my shoulders sag, to feel the full weight of nineteen years of punishment for crimes I'd never committed.

But only one moment.

Because tonight, under the full moon, something was going to change. I could feel it in my bones, in the way my wolf was pacing and whining, in the strange electricity that seemed to dance across my skin.

Tonight, the girl who had endured everything in silence was going to discover that some chains were meant to be broken.