Chapter 3: Shattered Hopes

Alison's Point of view

"What a day?" I exhaled as I stared at myself in the mirror, adjusting the rough bandage on my hand and brushing the dirt out from beneath my nails. It didn’t really matter, but I wanted it to. I wanted to look less worn down, less like a servant at least for tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I would be turning eighteen, and the thought sent my heart spinning with a strange, stubborn hope. Would this birthday mean something more? Would I finally find my mate? The man who would help me out of this enslavement

The very idea of a mate… it was everything I’d clung to during my years here. When I closed my eyes at night, I pictured a strong man, someone who would see me, value me, maybe even love me. A laugh bubbled out of me, bitter and absurd. What if, just by some miracle, that mate turned out to be Alpha Kendrick? The thought was ridiculous. I had a crush on him no doubt, he was powerful, commanding, and he now belonged to someone else. I shook my head, reminding myself of Priya and the engagement dinner tomorrow night. Priya was beautiful, poised, from a noble family and exactly the kind of woman worthy to become the packs Luna. I knew better than to get lost in my foolish fantasies. I had spent my entire life in Silver Moon Pack learning my place.

Still, I let myself imagine what it might be like to be with someone who cared. I knew it was a stupid thought, but my life was already filled with pointless dreams that kept me going. And after all, tomorrow would be the one day I could at least fulfill one of my long time dreams, Alpha Kendrick  had finally promised me time to myself. My first day off in seventeen years of working like a horse around these stone walls.

I ran my fingers over the smaller cuts on my hand, the skin sore and bruised from cleaning. Tomorrow, I would be free, if only for a day. I’d explore the pack grounds I’d only glimpsed from the castle’s windows or the brief market runs. Just for a day, I’d get to feel something other than scrubbing floors or dodging the sharp words of my superiors. Maybe I’d find a place to sit alone, a corner that felt a little less lonely, and just… breathe.

A sudden knock on my door jolted me back to the present. It was nearly midnight, and I couldn’t imagine who would come to my room at this hour. My heart raced with a sick blend of hope and fear, but when I opened the door, I was met with a familiar, unkind face.

“Silas?” I managed to ask, forcing a calmness into my voice that I didn’t feel. Kendrick’s beta rarely looked at me with anything but disdain, and tonight was no different. His smirk was cold, calculating, like he enjoyed knowing something I didn’t.

“You’re to serve at the engagement dinner tomorrow night,” he said, his voice devoid of sympathy. “There’s been a large number of RSVP's and we’ll need all the help we can get.”

A cold weight dropped in my stomach. “But Alpha Kendrick told me I’d have the day off,” I replied, trying to keep the irritation from my voice.

“Well, the orders came from him,” Silas said, with a mocking tone as if he relished watching my fragile hope shatter. “And you will be there, Alison. That’s an order from your Alpha.”

Before I could respond, he turned and disappeared down the corridor. I felt like screaming, the anger bubbling in my chest. How could Kendrick take back his promise so easily, without even a second thought?

I shut the door, fists clenched, trying to swallow down the fury. My voice came out in a broken whisper. “You couldn’t even keep one simple promise…”

I stumbled back onto my bed, feeling that familiar hopelessness seep into my bones. One day. Just one day to myself, and even that had been too much to ask. I sat there, hands gripping the blanket, feeling the weight of years pressing down on me. Tomorrow was supposed to be my escape, but now I’d be just another ghost, serving guests and pretending I didn’t exist.

But tomorrow was also my eighteenth birthday. I pressed my hands together, closing my eyes, praying to the Moon Goddess. "Please," I begged, my voice barely a murmur. "Grant me a strong wolf. If I’m not meant to find a mate who’ll free me, at least give me the strength to leave. I’d rather become a rogue than remain here, trapped in this misery."

My thoughts drifted back to Kendrick, but this time, it wasn’t in longing. No, I felt a bitter resentment gnawing at me. He’d promised me something so small, a day off. And yet, he’d broken even that, as if my well-being didn’t matter, as if I was nothing more than a tool he could wield and discard. I wanted to hate him, but the thought was exhausting. He would never see me as anything more than a mere servant, a nameless girl harboured by his pack, tasked only to serve and stay silent.

I crawled beneath my blanket, curling up tightly as if I could hide from the reality around me. But the pain lingered, sharp and unyielding. I whispered another prayer before sleep claimed me, clinging to the last sliver of hope. Maybe, just maybe, the Moon Goddess would hear me.