Chapter One – Maltreatment

Ella

The whip whistled through the air.

I knew that sound.

Thirteen years in Blood Moon had taught me every sound that came before pain.

The scrape of Luna Scarlett's boots.

The soft inhale before she swung.

The way servants suddenly became very interested in the floor.

I knew all of them.

The crack came a heartbeat later landing on my back, another hell.

I bit the inside of my cheek hard enough to taste blood.

Don't scream.

Never scream.

Screaming only made her smile.

"So," Luna Scarlett said, tilting her head, "you've finally learned to stay quiet." She looked beautiful even while holding a whip.

Long black curls framed a flawless face. Her silk dress probably cost more than every servant's belongings combined.

People said she was the most beautiful Luna in the northern territories.

They never saw the monster underneath.

Blood trickled down my back, soaking into the thin fabric of my dress. My whole body shook. I stared at the floor, counting each breath. One. Two. Three.

If I cried, she'd only enjoy it more. I repeated in my mind like a mantra.

"You kept me waiting," Scarlett said, walking around me. "Do you think that sick Omega matters more than your Luna?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"N-No, Luna."

"Then explain yourself."

I closed my eyes for a second.

"Freye collapsed while carrying water. She couldn't breathe. If I left her..."

The next strike landed before I finished

I gasped. My shoulders burning.

"You don't get to think," Scarlett snapped. "You obey."

"I... I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" She laughed. "Sorry doesn't clean my room. Sorry doesn't brush my hair. Sorry doesn't polish my boots."

The whip struck again burning.

The third split skin.

By the fifth, I stopped counting the pain and started counting the strikes.

Five meant Scarlett was annoyed.

She adjusted her perfect hair between strikes.

"Honestly, Ella, do you know how exhausting it is punishing you every week?"

Ten meant she was angry.

Anything above ten meant someone else had made her miserable, and I was paying for it.

My vision blurred.

Inside my head, Lea growled." Let me out."

"Not now."

"I can take her."

"No, you can't."

One day.

"One day," I answered silently.

That promise was all I had left.

Silence.

"I'm sorry I can't protect you." She whispered.

My chest tightened.

"You already do."

For thirteen years, you words had kept me alive.

For thirteen years, Blood Moon pack had stolen everything from me.

My parents.

My home.

My name.

They called me a servant.

A slave.

A worthless Omega.

Anything except Ella.

Blood Moon wasn't like other packs.

Other packs protected their Omegas.

Blood Moon broke them.

Even neighboring packs feared crossing Alpha River.

Scarlett grabbed a fistful of my hair and forced my head up.

"Look at me."

I did.

Her beautiful face twisted with disgust.

"I should have had River kill you with your parents."

The words hit harder than the whip.

"Sometimes I wonder why he keeps you alive."

I wondered the same thing every day.

River could have killed me years ago.

He killed Omegas for less.

Yet he kept me alive.

I wondered if that was the cruelest punishment of all.

I still saw that night every time I closed my eyes.

My mother's scream.

My father's blood.

The moon shining over the forest.

Alpha River standing above them like death itself.

At least then I would still remember my mother's face.

My mother used to sing while braiding my hair.

I couldn't remember the melody anymore.

Thirteen years had stolen pieces of them from me.

I hated that most of all.

I'd been seven years old.

But still woke from that nightmare.

Scarlett shoved me backward.

"You should thank us."

I stared at her.

She smiled.

"We fed you."

Fed me.

Like someone feeding scraps to a stray dog.

Heavy footsteps echoed outside the room.

Everything stopped.

Even Scarlett lowered the whip.

The servants dropped their eyes instantly.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody breathed.

Even the air changed

His boot hardly making any noise.

Slow.

Steady.

Confident.

Alpha River had arrived.

Scarlett's anger vanished behind a sweet smile.

"My Alpha."

River's cold eyes settled on me.

I wished they hadn't.

He looked at the blood on the floor.

At the whip.

At my shaking hands.

Then he smiled.

Not kindly.

Never kindly.

It was the smile of a man watching rain wash away dirt.

"What happened?"

Scarlett sighed dramatically.

"This useless girl ignored my orders. She chose to care for a sick Omega instead."

River looked at me.

"Is that true?"

"Yes, Alpha."

"You thought she was worth saving?"

I nodded before I could stop myself.

Silence.

Then River spoke.

"Leave us."

Scarlett blinked.

"My Alpha..."

"I said leave."

She bowed immediately.

"Yes, Alpha."

The doors closed behind her.

The room felt colder.

River walked toward me.

Each step tightened the knot in my stomach.

He stopped close enough that I could smell cedar, leather... and blood.

Always blood.

He crouched until we were eye level.

"You've grown."

His eyes searched my face like he was looking for something only he could see.

Sometimes he looked at me like that.

It frightened me more than his anger.

"You can defy your Luna's order over some b*itch"

"She was sick...if I lefther alone she'll die..."

A dangerous silence followed.

Then...

A chuckle.

"You're getting brave."

"No."

"No?"

"I'm getting tired."

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Lea whimpered.

Ella...

River's smile disappeared.

His hand shot out and wrapped around my jaw.

Not hard enough to break it.

Hard enough to remind me he could.

"Tired people die."

"I know."

His grip tightened.

"Do you know why you're still alive?"

I shook my head.

He smiled.

"Good."

I met his icy eyes.

I don't know why but one day...

I would leave this place.

One day...

I'd make him pay.

But I couldn't say any of that.

"I don't know."

He watched me for several long seconds.

Then he let go.

"You still have spirit."

He almost sounded disappointed.

"I wonder how much longer that will last."

He stood.

"If that Omega dies..."

He looked back over his shoulder.

"...I'll make sure you wish you had."

Then he walked away.

The doors slammed shut.

Only after his footsteps disappeared did I let myself breathe.

Every muscle ached.

Blood dripped onto the floor.

Lea was quiet.

Too quiet.

"You still there?"

Always.

I managed a weak smile.

"Help me up."

Together, we forced our battered body to stand.

I limped toward the tiny window near the ceiling.

Every movement hurt.

Good.

Pain meant I was still alive.

Alive meant I still had a chance.

I looked through the tiny window.

Beyond the walls was the forest.

Freedom...

It was so close.

And impossibly far away.

I pressed my trembling hand against the cold stone.

Somewhere out there was a life where I wasn't a slave.

"One day," I whispered.

"I'll escape."

One day I would find it.

One day I would leave Blood Moon behind.

Even if I had to crawl.

I didn't know it then.

But seven days later, I would finally be free.