THE SHATTERED WHITE WOLF

AISHA

The heavy silver tray burned my raw fingers, but I didn't dare drop it. I wiped the sweat from my forehead with my sleeve and looked out the kitchen window. The sun was long gone, and the Blue Wing pack house was quiet.

I just needed to finish scrubbing the floors, and then I could go home. I needed tonight’s pay. My two younger brothers, Leo and Toby, were waiting for me. They needed food on the table, and Toby’s school fees were due next week. For them, I could swallow any insult. For them, I could pretend to be just a useless, weak Omega.

Nobody knew my real truth. They just saw a poor girl in oversized clothes. They didn't know that underneath the dirt and the drab dye I used to stain my hair, I was the last surviving White Wolf. “Hide it, Aisha,” my mother’s dying words always echoed in my mind. “If the Luna ever sees your white fur, she will kill you out of jealousy. Stay small. Stay hidden.”

So, I stayed small. Even when Luna Mabel treated me like dirt under her expensive shoes.

"Aisha! You missed a spot, you clumsy rat!"

Mabel’s sharp voice pierced the hallway. She stood at the top of the stairs, her arms crossed, looking down at me. We were the exact same age, twenty-three, but she wore silk gowns while I wore rags.

"I am sorry, Luna Mabel," I said, keeping my head low. "I will scrub it again."

"Make sure you do. You are less than a woman, honestly. I don't even know why my father-in-law keeps you around," she sneered, turning on her heel and walking away.

I squeezed my eyes shut, taking a deep breath. She hated me, and I knew exactly why. A year ago, Mabel had overheard her husband, Prince Samson, arguing with her. Samson was the fiercest warrior in our pack, always away winning battles. He was rarely home, but whenever he was, he was kind to me. He admired how hard I worked for my brothers, and he never looked down on me.

That night, Mabel had heard Samson tell her straight to her face: “I only married you because my father begged me to. It was just to seal an old alliance. Don't expect my love.”

Mabel had seen Samson looking at me with respect earlier that day, and in her twisted mind, she blamed me for her cold marriage. Since then, her cruelty had no bounds.

"Aisha? Is that you?"

I turned around. Alpha Brad, the old leader and Samson’s father, was walking slowly down the corridor. He looked tired, his gray hair silver in the dim light. Unlike his nasty daughter-in-law, Alpha Brad was a kind man.

"Yes, Alpha," I whispered, bowing.

He smiled softly, signaling for me to follow him into his private study. He closed the door and sighed heavily, sitting behind his large wooden desk.

"Sit down, child," he said gently.

"Oh, no, Alpha, I shouldn't—"

"I insist," he interrupted, gesturing to the chair. I sat on the very edge, nervous.

Alpha Brad looked at me with deep regret in his eyes. "Aisha, I have a confession to make. My heart breaks every day seeing how Mabel treats you. And I deeply regret forcing my son, Samson, to marry that nasty woman. It was a mistake. I did it just to honor an old relationship between our families, but she is ruining this pack from the inside."

"Alpha, it is okay. I just do my job," I said quietly, my heart pounding.

"No, it is not okay," he said firmly. He pulled out a piece of parchment with an official golden seal. "Samson will be back from the borders soon. He likes you, Aisha. He respects your strength, and honestly, so do I. I need you to promise me you won't leave the palace. Take care of my son when he returns. He will need someone real by his side."

"I don't know if I can, Alpha. Mabel makes it so hard."

"I am making it easier for you," Brad said, pushing the paper toward me. "This is an irrevocable power of attorney. I am appointing you as the Chief Maid of the entire Blue Wing Pack. No one, not even Mabel, can fire you or touch your salary. Your brothers will never go hungry again."

Tears sprang to my eyes. "Thank you, Alpha. Thank you so much."

I left his study with a lighter heart, unaware of the shadow lurking in the dark corridor. Mabel had been standing by the heavy drapes, her face twisted in pure, demonic rage. She had heard every single word.

The next morning, the pack house exploded into chaos.

I arrived early, ready to start my new position. But as soon as I walked through the heavy front doors, two large pack guards grabbed my arms, slamming me against the wall.

"What is happening? Let me go!" I screamed.

"Silence, murderer!"

Luna Mabel walked down the stairs, her face a mask of fake grief, tears streaming down her cheeks. Behind her followed the grey-haired Pack Elders, their faces grim.

"She did it!" Mabel shrieked, pointing a manicured finger at me. "She killed my father-in-law! She killed Alpha Brad in his sleep!"

My blood ran cold. "What? No! I would never!"

"Don't lie, you filthy Omega!" Mabel yelled, stepping closer. "You were the last person seen with him last night. I saw you leaving his study late. You sneaked into his room and poisoned him because he threatened to kick you out!"

"That is a lie!" I screamed, turning to the Elders. "Please, listen to me! He gave me a promotion last night! He wanted me to stay! Mabel is lying!"

The Head Elder stepped forward, his voice cold as ice. "Aisha, Alpha Brad was found dead this morning. There is no record of any promotion. Luna Mabel’s word holds weight. Pack law states that a royal murderer must be executed on the spot."

They didn't even want a trial. They believed her. I looked at Mabel, and for a split second, the fake sadness vanished from her face. She gave me a sick, victorious smile. She killed him, I realized with sudden, horrifying clarity. She killed the old Alpha to protect her secret and to get rid of me.

The guards drew their silver daggers, moving in to slit my throat.

In that moment, something inside me snapped. The weak Omega facade crumbled. My inner wolf, the fierce, pure white beast, roared to life in my mind. Survival instinct took over.

With strength I had never shown before, I kicked the first guard in the kneecap, hearing it crack. I threw my elbow back into the second guard's nose, sending him stumbling back, bleeding.

"Catch her! Kill her!" Mabel screamed, her voice cracking in panic as she saw my sudden burst of power.

I didn't look back. I dashed through the kitchen, threw open the back door, and sprinted into the dense woods surrounding the pack borders. The guards howled behind me, shifting into their wolves to hunt me down.

I ran faster than I ever had, the trees blurring past. I couldn't go back for my brothers—if I did, Mabel would kill them too. I had to stay alive. I had to survive, find Samson, and expose the truth.

As I leaped over the border river into the unknown rogue territory, I swore a silent oath. Mabel thought she had won. But she had just unleashed the one thing she feared the most.