The Red Daisy

Elara Moonfall woke before the bell rang. She always did. The servant quarters were still dark, the air cold enough to bite through the thin blanket pulled up to her chin. Around her, other omegas slept in uneven breaths, bodies curled tight against the chill. Elara lay still for a moment longer, staring at the wooden beam above her head, counting the cracks she knew by heart. Today would be long.

She swung her legs off the narrow bed and stood quietly, careful not to wake anyone. Her feet touched the stone floor and she hissed softly at the cold. There was no time to linger. If she was late, someone would notice. Someone always noticed when it was her.

She washed quickly at the basin, scrubbing her hands until the skin went pink and tender. The water smelled faintly of iron. She braided her hair tight against her scalp and pulled on the same worn dress she wore every day, the fabric thin from years of washing. It hung loose on her, sleeves a little too long, hem brushed by too many floors to count.

By the time the bell finally rang, she was already moving through the corridors with a bucket in one hand and a rag in the other. The Blackmere pack house was waking. Doors opened. Voices echoed. Boots struck stone. Elara kept to the edges, slipping past warriors and betas who barely glanced at her unless it was to frown. She started with the training hall.

Blood still stained the floor from the night before. Dried and dark, ground into the stone by careless boots. Elara knelt without hesitation and began to scrub. The rough surface bit into her knees through the thin fabric, but she did not slow. A group of young warriors passed behind her, laughing loudly. “Careful,” one said. “You will wear a hole through the floor if you keep scrubbing like that.”

Another snorted. “Maybe she is hoping it will swallow her.” Their laughter echoed off the walls. Elara did not look up. She focused on the rhythm. Dip the rag. Scrub. Rinse. Again. The ache in her shoulders settled into a dull, familiar burn. It was easier not to think when her body was busy. Someone kicked her bucket as they passed. Water sloshed across the stone, soaking the hem of her dress.

“Watch where you put your things,” a beta said sharply, not slowing his stride. “I am sorry,” Elara murmured automatically, even though she knew it was useless. He did not respond. By the time the hall was clean, her hands were raw and her back throbbed. She carried the bucket down the corridor toward the kitchens, head bowed as she passed a cluster of pack members gathered around the morning fire. She heard her name, spoken softly. “Elara.”

“She still has not shifted, has she.”

“She is past eighteen.”

“Useless, then.”

Elara’s steps did not falter. The kitchens were warmer, thick with the smell of bread and meat. She set to work wiping counters, sweeping ash, hauling sacks that strained her arms. A cook frowned at her. “You missed a spot yesterday,” the woman said, pointing at a patch of soot near the hearth. “I will clean it now,” Elara replied. “You should already know better.” Elara nodded and knelt again.

No one ever asked why she was slow. No one asked why her wrists sometimes trembled when she lifted heavy things. No one asked about the faint bruises that bloomed and faded along her arms and ribs. She was an omega. That was explanation enough. By midday, she had cleaned the council hall twice and carried water until her shoulders screamed. She slipped out to the courtyard only when she was told to scrub the stone steps leading up to the Alpha house.

Her stomach tightened as she approached. The Alpha house loomed above the rest of the pack, stone walls tall and unyielding. Elara rarely came this close. When she did, she kept her eyes down and her movements quick. She knelt on the steps and began to scrub. The door opened. Elara stiffened but did not look up. Rowen Blackmere stepped out into the sunlight.

She knew his presence instantly. Everyone did. It was like the air shifted when he was near, pressure settling heavy on her skin. She kept her gaze fixed on the stone beneath her hands, heart beating faster for reasons she did not understand. Rowen paused. Elara felt his eyes on her. Not the quick, dismissive glance she was used to from others. This was different. Lingering. Heavy. It made her shoulders tense.

“Leave her,” someone said behind him. “She will finish.” Rowen did not answer. Elara scrubbed harder, her hands stinging as the rough stone scraped against them. She could feel her pulse in her throat. The silence stretched, uncomfortable and thick. Then the door closed. Only after his footsteps faded did Elara allow herself to breathe properly. Her hands shook slightly as she finished the steps. She told herself it was exhaustion. Nothing more.

She did not think about the way his gaze had felt like a weight she could not shake. That evening, she ate alone, as she always did. A small portion, eaten quickly before anyone could take it from her. She drank water until the hollow ache in her stomach dulled. When night came, she returned to the servant quarters and curled on her bed, staring at the ceiling again. Tomorrow would be the Moon ritual. She tried not to think about it.

The Moon ritual was for those who still hoped. Those who waited for mates, for bonds, for futures that felt real. Elara had stopped hoping years ago, somewhere between her parents dying and the pack deciding she was nothing more than labor. Her wolf had never come. Eighteen had passed in silence. Nineteen too. The pack had whispered at first, then shrugged and moved on. Broken omegas were not rare. They were just inconvenient.

Elara turned onto her side and closed her eyes. Sleep came slowly. When it did, it brought heat. Not the fevered kind she remembered from childhood illnesses. This was deeper. Thicker. It coiled beneath her skin, spreading through her chest and down her spine. Her breath hitched. She shifted restlessly, sheets tangling around her legs. Her heart pounded. A strange ache bloomed low in her body, unfamiliar and frightening. She pressed her thighs together, confused and embarrassed even though she was alone.

“What is wrong with me,” she whispered into the dark. The heat surged, then faded, leaving her shaking. She lay there long after, staring into nothing, her thoughts scattered and uneasy. Somewhere outside, the Moon climbed higher. Elara did not know it yet, but the floor she had scrubbed clean that morning would soon be stained again. Not with blood. With something far worse. With her name spoken aloud under silver light.

With a bond that would shatter her world before she ever learned how to want it. When dawn finally crept through the cracks in the wall, Elara was already awake, heart heavy with a dread she could not explain. She rose quietly and reached for her bucket. The pack would need her. Even if the Moon no longer would.