03 - The Fallen Luna

Zara’s POV

I felt the water being emptied on my body, and that jolted me awake instantly. I sat up in fear and watched a grinning Karen stare down at me, holding an empty bucket. She looked satisfied with the reaction I gave her.

“Since your alarm didn’t wake you up when I needed you, that’s what you get fr sleeping like a damn pig. Get your ass up, and follow me,” She said smugly, and I got up without another word. The cold wind hit my wet skin as soon as we stepped out of the room, and I wrapped my hands around me instinctively. It was night already, and I wondered what they needed me for again. Perhaps another round of torture.

“The Alpha king is visiting our pack tomorrow for the regional pack visitation, and Jeremy wants you to prepare the meals ahead of time. Your special delicacies, and he said to mention that his mom would be in attendance too, so you better not embarrass this family.” She announced as she walked ahead of me, and I didn’t bother arguing. It would only cause more trouble for me. The Alpha king visiting means better dishes, and I will barely get any help from the maids since Jeremy already told them not to take orders from me. I am tired, sleep-deprived, and now my future hangs in the air.

I took the backyard corridor and headed to the kitchen, and I tried not to cry. Every wall I had up before Karen and Jeremy had been demolished, each time more painfully than the last. I have spent more time crying in my sleep, hoping the Moon Goddess would do something about it, or just take my life, but it's as though she has abandoned me. I just want to stop existing, or maybe run far away from this place, but where do I go?

I walked into the kitchen and snickers filled the air. I have learned to ignore them. Tune them out. The worst they can do is call me names and make a mockery of me; nobody dares touch me or try to hurt me. The last person who did that, Jeremy, had them exiled from the pack.

I grabbed my usual journal from behind one of the cabinets and started brainstorming what to make for dinner. If I marinate some of the ingredients right now, I could get enough time to squeeze in a couple hours of sleep on the kitchen floor before I start the actual cooking.

“Do you need anything, Luna?” a soft voice asked from behind me, and I turned to face Judith with a smile. She was the only one here who was friendly to me and always willing to help whenever Jeremy wanted me to do the cooking, which was most of the time.

“Don’t worry, Judith. Nothing I can’t handle,” I replied with a smile, but she didn’t budge. Instead, she started bringing out the ingredients they kept for the feast. We got into a low conversation, and for a moment, I started enjoying cooking again. We were making suggestions, and I was writing them down, deciding which should be the main course or dessert.

I finally sat on the kitchen floor from exhaustion after mixing and preparing most of the ingredients for tomorrow’s cooking with Judith, and I didn’t know when I drifted off to sleep. A light tug on my arm woke me, and I was startled, thinking it was Karen or Jeremy. It was Judith, holding a bowl of hot soup. The kitchen was mostly empty, as most of the maids had already returned to their chambers, and I was sure it was past midnight already.

“You’re shivering even in your sleep. Please drink this, it would help you get better,” she whispered as she pushed the bowl into my hands. The warmth of the bowl made me feel better, and I nodded appreciatively, unable to talk. I had not taken up to three spoons when the bowl was snatched out of my hands and smashed against the wall.

I looked up to find a scowling Karen, and I felt my heart start to beat erratically. I couldn’t even get a little bit of rest before they resumed torturing me again. She let out a shriek as she looked down at her hand; one of the glass pieces had nicked her. I started to mutter an apology, and I tried to get up to explain I didn’t mean for the bowl to hurt her, but she ran up the stairs instantly. Judith glanced at me pitifully.

Three pack warriors soon arrived to drag me out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the Alpha’s lounge, no doubt Jeremy’s orders. I stayed silent and let them do their thing. I knew Karen was looking for a way to punish me, and she just found one. They threw me roughly on the ground, and I saw a furious Jeremy pacing around the room, looking like he was about to combust from anger.

“You filthy whore, how dare you hurt the woman I love?” he screamed before kicking me hard in the head. I felt my vision blurring and a loud ringing in my ears. I only sobbed quietly on the ground. There was no way I was going to prove I had nothing to do with Karen getting hurt.

The first strike of the whip hit me unexpectedly, and I let out a loud cry. The pain rippled through my already sore back like a tornado, and before I could take in the first one, another crack came down hard on my back. I sobbed helplessly as my back burned, and my arms were too sore to reach it.

“Do you ever think a lowlife like you ever had a chance with me? I curse the Moon Goddess for pairing us up. I would rather not be with an evil woman like you.” He scoffed in disgust as he kicked me all over my body.

“Then reject me, break the damn bond and stop making my life hell. How many more tortures do you want to subject me to?” I screamed with whatever strength I had left while tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

“How dare you speak back at me?” Jeremy screamed in anger, and he kicked my head, harder this time. My vision started to blur as my face fell flat on the floor, and the voices in the background started to fade out. The room had stopped spinning now, and it was just a very bright light left. For one last time, I desperately begged the Moon Goddess to sever our bond or take me with her. The room went dark, and everything went silent.