2

SKY

He’s broken my spine. I heard it snap....a horrible, dry crunch that echoed through my bones. I can barely breathe. The pain burns through me like fire, spreading down my back.

“Right blood?” Lamen sneers. I don’t even know what he means. He says it all the time, but never explains. Maybe it’s just his twisted way of reminding me I don’t belong.

I’m doomed. Completely and utterly doomed. The only thing that’s ever kept me sane is burying my head in my books. Now, I can’t even stand.

“And stay down, weakling, before I snap your arm next,” Aria growls. Her voice drips with cruel amusement. That’s her version of a compliment, I guess.

I stay where I am, face down in the mud, trying not to move. The pain is unbearable. My back feels like it’s been ripped apart, and I can’t stop the sobs that escape me. Why don’t they want me in the pack? Why do they hate me so much?

I’ve asked my father the same thing so many times. “Lamen bullies me, Father. He hurts me. Can’t you make him stop? Why do they keep calling me impure? I’m a Silver Moon wolf, just like the rest of them!”

But Lucien, my father, the alpha of the Silver Moon Pack and a cold, sharp businessman, would just look at me with that empty stare he’s worn since my mother died. His voice would always be distant, calm, and cruel.

“It’s a rite of passage,” he’d say. “You’re the heir, Sky. You need to start acting like it. Maybe once you shift, Lamen will respect you.” Then he would look away, drowning himself in paperwork like I wasn’t even there.

Since my mother’s death, he’s avoided me completely. Maybe it’s because I look too much like her, with her soft lips and delicate nose. But I’ve been hurting too, just as much as him. He just refuses to see it.

I press my face deeper into the wet earth, my tears mixing with the mud. Rage, fear, sorrow, everything crashes inside me at once.

The forest around me dims as dusk settles. The sky turns violet, and the shadows stretch long and heavy. I try to move my hips, terrified that my spine might be shattered. Pain spikes through me, sharp and relentless, but I can still move. Barely.

Holding my back, I spit out leaves and groan. I have to get up. I have to survive this.

The only thought that keeps me going is that I’ll soon be leaving for school in New York, far away from this cursed pack and their cruelty. Just a few more weeks, and I’ll be free.

I drag myself up, trembling as my bones crack and my tears fall again. My body burns where Lamen kicked me, a strange heat pulsing through that spot. It’s not normal, but somehow, it always helps me heal.

To stay strong, I think of my mother, my gentle, beautiful wolf. She was silver-gray and radiant, graceful as moonlight. She could run faster than the wind. I want to be like her someday. I want a wolf strong enough to fight back, to protect me from the endless torment.

By the time I limp back onto the Silver Moon grounds, the mist has rolled in, wrapping everything in ghostly silence. No one’s around to see me. No one ever is.

I make it to the showers and stand under the hot water until my skin stings. The warmth soothes the bruises on my back and legs. When I finally look in the mirror, my emerald eyes stare back at me—tired, sunken, and full of pain.

I examine the mark on my back, still aching. I know the drill. A soak in Epsom salts, then to bed in the small attic I’ve been forced to live in.

That night, I toss and turn, pain radiating through me. When I wake up, I move cautiously, then realize I can move freely. The pain is gone. Completely.

I turn to the mirror and bend forward, touching my toes. “It’s like it never happened,” I whisper. My eyes widen in disbelief. My body heals faster than it should. No one understands why, not even me.

Downstairs, Lucien is already in the kitchen, reading reports. “Morning,” he mutters without looking up.

“You came in late last night. Extra studying?”

My stomach tightens. Lamen often visits my father’s main quarters. He’s like Lucien’s favorite protege—a wolf he’s been grooming for leadership since childhood. Even back then, Lamen was a bully, picking on anyone weaker than him. My mother was the only one who ever stood up to him.

“Leave him, Lucien,” she used to say when my father praised Lamen. “That boy is cruel. That’s not strength, it’s savagery.”

But she’s gone now, and my father only sees the leader he wants Lamen to be.

When Lamen walks in, he freezes at the sight of me standing straight and unharmed. Shock flickers across his face. His jaw tightens, but when my father turns to him, Lamen forces a smile. It doesn’t reach his eyes.

It’s a small victory for me, to see even a hint of confusion in his expression. I might be healed, but the memory of his boot against my spine lingers. The fear doesn’t fade.

I keep my gaze down as I open the fridge, pretending not to notice him.

“Something like that,” I mutter, answering my father’s question.

“Hmph.” Lucien’s grunt is dismissive, already back in his work.

Lamen smirks, his voice mocking. “Morning, Sky.”

“Morning, Lamen,” I answer shortly, my voice tight. I can’t stand being in the same room with him. My pulse quickens. I grab a few snacks and rush for the door, praying he doesn’t follow.

“Be careful walking through those woods,” he calls after me, his tone playful and cruel. “You never know who’s out there.”

My heart pounds. I don’t look back.

If my mother were still alive, she would have protected me. She always did.

But now, I have only myself and the faint hope that one day, my wolf will be strong enough to fight back.