THE LYCAN'S SACRIFICE, Fated To The Beast.

Elvanya's POV---"I'm scared." Lily's voice barely rises above a whisper as she presses closer to me.I want to tell her it'll be okay. I want to lie and say we'll get through this. But the words stick in my throat because I'm terrified too, and we both know nothing about this is okay.The Selection Hall reeks of fear. Fifty girls packed together like cattle, waiting to find out which nightmare we've been sold into. Some cry quietly. Others stand frozen, eyes glazed over like they've already left their bodies behind. I don't blame them.My parents didn't even flinch when they told me."We're sorry, honey, but it's the only solution." My mother's voice had been soft, apologetic, useless. As always.My father didn't bother with apologies. "We need the money. Your younger siblings need to eat. You should be grateful the Moonstalkers even noticed you."Grateful.The word still burns in my chest.I raised myself. I took care of my siblings while they pretended parenthood was just about br

Elvanya's PovI stood still in the High Hall, frozen because King Kael was right in front of me, his eyes shining silver like metal. He was the only one there, and I didn’t move a muscle. Then he started walking slowly around me, moving like an animal stalking its prey. I tried to remember Cordelia’s rule, not to look him in the eyes so I kept my gaze on the floor tiles. I could feel his presence all around me with every quiet step he took.The air felt heavy, like something huge was pressing down on me. The silence was so loud I almost couldn’t breathe, but I forced myself to keep staring at the ground. Then he stopped right behind me. His heat was too close. I squeezed my fists tightly.He moved his head and breathed on the back of my neck as if he was smelling me. The breath was rough. Then his very quiet voice spoke, sounding dangerous. “You smell different from other humans.”My heart jumped, but I didn’t move or say a word. I tried to think of a rule for this, but there wasn’

Elvanya's PovWe worked all day, and Senna showed me every hall, every secret back stair, and all the rules I needed to know. We cleaned the east corridor and dusted the big stone statues, which were scary because they looked like wolves howling at the moon.Later, we went to the High Priest’s library. It was packed with old books, but Eldric wasn’t there, so we quickly left the water and walked away. Senna told me the High Priest always watches things carefully; she said he knew secrets and she didn’t like being near his rooms because he was quiet and quiet meant something bad.Senna didn’t talk much during the day. When she did, it was only about the rules, how to walk, how to stand, and where to hide if a beast happened to come by. She warned me that the King’s sister, Lira, was unpredictable; she might be kind one day but could hurt you the next. When the sun finally went down, Senna told me we were done for the day, and we went back to the laundry room. She gave me a small me

Elvanya's PovThe beast let Senna go and pushed her off his lap. She fell hard onto the cold stone floor, he laughed again. The others were still laughing too. The noise was horrible.Senna got up fast. She didn’t cry or look at the beast. She didn’t look at anyone, she just walked out of the hall quickly. The wine she spilled stayed red on the table, like blood. I stood frozen for a moment longer. The King still held his silver cup, his hand shaking a little now. His face was like stone, the laughter died down slowly. The King didn’t say a word. He just looked at the table.I hurried to clean the spilled wine with a rag. I worked fast and didn’t look at the beast who grabbed Senna. I didn’t look at the King either, i wiped until the red was gone.The feast ended late. I followed the other human servants out to the kitchen.Senna was there, sitting on a wooden bench. She was shaking and very pale. Her arm was bruised where the beast had grabbed her. It was already turning blue and p

Elvanya's PovI woke up when Senna unlocked the door. I had not slept well and was still sweating a little, the heat on my back was gone now, but I remembered the dream, the blood red moon and the glowing mark. The memory was very clear. I sat up slowly, careful that the other girls could not see. I moved to the corner of the room where it was darker and rubbed my back, the skin felt normal again. I needed to see the mark one more time. I needed proof that it was real. I waited until the girls left the sleeping room quickly, as Senna made us leave fast. When I was alone in the stairwell going to the kitchen, I looked around. There were no beasts, no other humans, just me and cold stone. I pulled down the collar of my dress and reached back, pulling the fabric away from my skin. I twisted my head to look. It was there, right in the middle of my back, between my shoulder blades. It was small, a symbol shaped like a crescent moon with tiny little dots around it, like star