Her Reckoning: Love is the deadliest game of all

Starlight’s POV

I’d always dreamed of finding my mate. Not because I thought I deserved love, but because, for once, I wanted to feel like I belonged. That there was someone, just one person in this whole world, who would see me as more than the Moonlit Pack’s worthless runt. I should have known better.

The moment I stepped into the grand hall for the Alpha’s coming-of-age ceremony, my heart clenched. A strange pull wrapped around me, tightening like an invisible chain, dragging me toward the one person I never wanted to be near.

Helios. The son of the former Alpha. The strongest warrior in the pack. My tormentor. And now, my mate.

I had no time to process the shock before his icy golden eyes locked onto mine. I shivered under the weight of his gaze, my breath hitching as his expression twisted into something ugly, disgust.

“You?” His voice cut through the chatter in the room, laced with disbelief and simmering rage. The room fell silent. I felt every gaze turn toward me, felt the sneers and whispered insults before they even came.

Helios took a step forward, towering over me. I wanted to shrink away, to disappear, but the mate bond held me captive, forcing me to stay rooted to the spot.

For a second, just a fleeting second, I thought he might accept me. That fate, cruel as it was, wouldn’t make this my worst nightmare. Then he laughed. A cold, heartless sound that sent ice down my spine.

“The Moon Goddess must have been drunk when she paired me with you.” He sneered, his voice through the mindlink dripping with venom. “An omega runt? Weak, useless, unworthy. You’re not even worth the effort it takes to reject you.” My breath hitched. The words stung, but I forced myself not to cry. I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.

He leaned in, his scent of burning cedarwood and steel overwhelming me. “Instead, I’ll just take another she-wolf. I’ll mark her, mate her, and let you break on your own.” His lips curled into a smirk. “That way, you’ll die quietly from the pain, and I won’t even have to lift a finger.”

I gasped, my vision blurring. The bond between us trembled, screaming in protest at his words. My wolf whimpered, curling into herself, wounded beyond repair. Then to dispel the watching crowd he said out loud, "someone take this runt out of hear. She might suffocate from everyone's strong aura."

The crowd burst into cruel laughter. I was nothing to them. Nothing to him. As Helios turned his back on me, walking toward a group of she-wolves already vying for his attention, something inside me shattered.

Eighteen years of suffering. Eighteen years of being bullied, beaten, ridiculed. Eighteen years of Helios leading the charge in making my life a living hell. I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms until I bled.

If the Moon Goddess had made him my mate, then she had made the biggest mistake of her immortal life. Because if I had to suffer… Then so would he.

I couldn't remember a time in this pack when I wasn't suffering. Maybe once, a long time ago, I was too young to understand hatred. Maybe when my mother still held me close and whispered that I was her little star, meant to shine no matter how dark the night. But that warmth was gone and all that remained was the cold, unrelenting cruelty of the Moonlit Pack.

Flashback....

Eight Years Old

I was running, my tiny legs ached, my lungs burned, but I knew that if I stopped, they would catch me. And they always caught me, anyway. I tripped over a tree root, landing hard on the dirt. Before I could scramble up, a hard fisted in my hair and yanked me up.

"Where do you think you're going, runt?" A familiar voice sneered. Helios. The alpha's ten years old son. Even as a child, he was feared, strong, fast. He was the future alpha and he hated me more than anyone else. "Let me go, Helios!" I screamed whilst clawing at his hands.

Laughter surrounded me. His friends, the future warriors of the pack, stood around us grinning. Helios shoved me down, pinning me under his weight. "You know the rules, Starlight. Omega's bow when they see their leaders and anyone stronger than them."

I refused. Even back then, I still had some pride in me. So, he pressed my face into the mud. "If you won't bow, then you'll eat dirt!" I choked as soil filled my mouth, the bitter test burning my tongue. When he finally left me, I stumbled home, covered in bruises and humiliation. Yet no one helped me. No one ever did.

~~~~

Twelve Years Old

I was in the kitchen scrubbing dishes and my hands were raw, my fingers were stiff from the icy water. "Faster omega!" The head cook snapped, dumping another pile of dishes into the sink. I bit my inner cheek and kept working. Complaining would earn me nothing but a brutal beating.

The now fourteen years old Helios strolled in, flanked by his ever present group of followers. He leaned against the counter, watching me struggle with an amused smirk.

"Still think you're too good to bow, runt?" He asked and I ignored him. Wrong move. Without warning, he grabbed the boiling pot of stew and tipped it over my hands. I screamed as an excruciating pain seared through my skin but no one moved to help me. Like always, they just laughed gleefully. "Clumsy runt." Helios sneered, shaking his head as if deeply disappointed. The scars never fully healed.

~~~~~

Sixteen Years Old

My very first shift was approaching and I dared to hope. My parents were warriors who died protecting the alpha family. Maybe I wasn't weak. Maybe I wasn't useless. Maybe when I finally shifted, I would prove them wrong. But I was wrong , once again.

The night I transformed for the first time, my wolf was small. Too small. An omega runt. Weak and pathetic. And Helios? He stood before the pack, laughing. "She's even more pathetic than we thought!" The other wolves howled in cruel amusement, jeering at me as I stood trembling in my new form.

That was the night I realized something. It didn't matter how much I suffered. No one in this pack would ever see me as anything more than just a joke. I was nothing. And now? I was their alpha's mate. Fate is cruel but I was done being its victim!