LUNA BENEATH THE CURSE

STYGIAN HUNT PACK 

It all started when I turned eighteen. That was the age when every member of the Stygian Hunt Pack awakened their wolf. Every child grew up dreaming of the day they would finally hear their wolf's voice for the first time, feel the bond ignite, and experience the transformation that marked them as a true werewolf. Everyone... except me.

I never turned. I could feel something buried deep inside me, as though a presence was sleeping somewhere within my soul, but no matter how hard I tried, my wolf never answered me. Sometimes I convinced myself that I could sense her, while other times, I wondered if I was simply lying to myself because I desperately wanted to belong.

The whispers started soon after my eighteenth birthday. The mocking, the pity, and the judgment eventually became impossible to ignore. Everyone in the pack had only one name for me: the wolfless disappointment.

My parents gave me exactly two years. "If you don't awaken your wolf before your twentieth birthday," my father had said one evening, his cold eyes fixed on me, "then forget that we're your parents. You'll pack your pathetic little belongings and get the hell out of my house. I refuse to have a disappointment like you under my roof."

Those words shattered something inside me. I remembered standing there, frozen, while tears streamed silently down my face. I couldn't even defend myself. What could I possibly say? It wasn't as though I chose to be born this way.

My mother wasn't any better. There were moments when she treated me like her daughter. On rare occasions, we'd laugh together, cook together, and for a brief moment, I would believe she truly loved me. Then she'd remember that I was the only member of the Stygian Hunt Pack who hadn't awakened a wolf, and everything would change.

The warmth in her eyes would disappear, and her smile would fade. Suddenly, I wasn't her daughter anymore. I was simply another disappointment.

My twentieth birthday was only three weeks away. Three weeks. Twenty-one miserable days. To make matters worse, my birthday would fall in September—a sacred lunar month that every werewolf believed carried the strongest blessing of the Moon Goddess.

Everyone expected my wolf to awaken before then.

Everyone except me.

Deep down, I was beginning to lose hope. The only person who never made me feel like a burden was Azrael.

My Azrael.

My safe place.

In this entire pack filled with hatred and judgment, he was the only person who looked at me as though I mattered. He had promised me countless times, "I'll never leave you, Selena." Even if I never awakened my wolf, even if I remained human forever, and even if the entire pack turned against me, he swore he'd stay.

And I believed him.

Because I loved him with every broken piece of my heart, and I was certain he loved me too.

My name is Selena Thaleai. Everyone in the Stygian Hunt Pack knows exactly who I am, not because I'm talented, not because I'm powerful, and certainly not because I'm special. No. I'm famous for the opposite reason.

I'm the girl without a wolf. The girl everyone laughs at. The girl children are warned never to become. The pack's greatest disappointment.

Disappointment had become part of my identity. It followed me everywhere like a shadow, reminding me that I was never enough.

In just a few weeks, I would lose my home, my parents, and everything I had ever known unless a miracle happened. Unless my wolf finally chose to awaken. But even if she never did, I thought I would be okay. As long as Azrael stayed beside me, I could face whatever came next.

"Well... well... well."

A familiar voice cut through my thoughts. "Look who decided to show her pathetic face."

I froze. There was only one person whose voice carried that much hatred.

Lyanna.

She stood a few feet away with several of her friends behind her, all wearing cruel smiles. Lyanna was feared throughout the Stygian Hunt Pack. She was ruthless and merciless, and she killed without hesitation during training or exercises. She never apologized for hurting anyone. People respected her strength, and they feared her temper.

And she absolutely despised me.

Not because I had done anything to her, but because she loved Azrael. Unfortunately for her, Azrael loved me.

"Lyanna," I said quietly, trying to avoid another confrontation. "Please... I don't want any trouble right now."

The moment the words left my mouth, her hand shot across my face.

Smack!!!

The force of the slap sent my head snapping sideways. My cheek burned instantly, and I slowly looked back at her with watering eyes.

Her expression twisted with disgust. Her beautiful blue eyes suddenly darkened into an eerie brownish-black as her wolf pushed closer to the surface. She was losing control, or perhaps her wolf hated me just as much as she did.

"I... I'm sorry," I whispered.

She stepped closer until only inches separated us. "You disrespectful, wolfless bitch."

Her voice was dangerously calm. "Did you just say you don't want any trouble?" She laughed bitterly. "So, I'm the trouble?"

"N-No..."

"Answer me!"

Before I could speak, her fist slammed directly into my stomach.

Pain exploded through my body. "Ahhh!" A cry escaped my lips despite my efforts to suppress it. I doubled over, struggling to breathe as another punch landed against my ribs. Then another, and another. Each hit was harder than the last.

Around us, people began gathering. Of course they did. This was the Stygian Hunt Pack, and nothing entertained them more than watching someone get humiliated, especially if that someone was me.

No one stepped forward. No one told Lyanna to stop. Some laughed, others whispered among themselves, and a few simply watched with amusement. Not a single person cared.

Lyanna continued raining punches on me without mercy. Every blow felt like it was breaking another bone. I bit down hard on my lower lip, refusing to scream. I wouldn't give her that satisfaction, and I wouldn't let everyone here enjoy my suffering.

Blood filled my mouth, and my vision blurred. My knees trembled violently as another punch sent a sharp wave of pain through my body.

Moon Goddess...

I can't take this anymore.

Please... save me.

I slowly closed my eyes. Just as darkness threatened to consume me completely, a powerful male voice echoed across the clearing.

"Lyanna!"

The command was filled with authority.

"Stop!"

The entire crowd fell silent.

I forced my heavy eyelids open just enough to see a tall male figure pushing through the crowd toward us. His face was too blurry for me to recognize, but something about his voice felt strangely familiar.

The pain had become unbearable. My body finally gave up, and the world began spinning around me. Everything faded into darkness, and the last thing I remembered was the sound of hurried footsteps rushing toward me before unconsciousness claimed me.