Under the Shadow of the Moon

Delaney

"Cursey," I hear Trevor Whittle say in a sing-song voice. "Come out, come out wherever you are!"

Laughter follows his words. I remain hidden behind the huge oak tree and desperately try to catch my breath without making a sound. I breathe shakily behind the hand I placed over my own mouth while my heart slams against my chest.

I'll never understand why these elites don't leave me alone. I've done nothing but try to stay out of their way, even at school. But regardless of how much effort I put into being invisible, I can never hide from them. Maybe it's the fact that I'm the only person in the werewolf world who was born under the infamous Black Moon and got to live, or maybe it's my red hair that makes me stand out wherever I go.

Nevertheless, these elites—the sons and daughters of the leaders of our pack—follow me and insist on reminding me about my pitiful existence every day, and today is yet another one of those days.

Only, there are two things that set today apart from the others.

Firstly, it's my eighteenth birthday, and this is a special time in the life of every werewolf because it's the day when they find their designated mates. My wolf finally matured, and I felt her stir inside of me from the moment I woke up. Everyone always told me that I would never find a mate because of the curse, so I grew up believing that, but the second remarkable thing that happened today proved that to be wrong.

I do have a mate.

And he's none other than Alec Castell, the son of the Alpha and the leader of the very group that's been chasing me through the forest since the moment that we left school for the day.

The worst part is that I know he recognized me as his mate the same way did him—I saw the way his eyes widened when it happened—and yet that didn't stop him from chasing after me with his group of friends, who like to refer to me as Cursey.

"Where are you hiding, hm?" Trevor, his best friend, asks. His voice is getting closer, and so I know that I can't hide here for long. I have to move and find a way to go home, where I won't be followed or disturbed.

Alec's voice breaks through the silence. "Let's just go. We have that thing, remember? Who cares about that filthy omega?"

Hearing him refer to me in this way wounds my wolf, but honestly, she should know better. What did she think would happen? Did she think that Alec would automatically change because I'm his mate? If anything, he'd be more furious, because what can be worse than being the fated mate of the girl who shouldn't even be alive?

"Hush," Trevor retorts. "Why are you trying to spoil the fun? The thing is in two hours. We have more than enough time."

Chances are that Alec wants to leave because he doesn't want anyone finding out the truth about us. I hope they leave, too. I just want to go home, eat the cake I baked myself last night, and forget this day ever happened.

But no, Trevor doesn't want to stop hunting me. He enjoys bullying me more than anyone else in his group. He feels so superior because his father is the Beta of our pack and he's next in line. I can't imagine what will happen to Omegas like me when he's in charge. He hates Omegas with his entire life force.

And he hates me more because I'm less than any other Omega in the pack. I'm cursed.

The air in the forest is humid and sweat is trickling down my face. My heart isn't beating as fast but nervousness is still coursing through me. I have to find a way to get out of here and escape their clutches.

I duck and start to move away from their voices. I cower behind the bushes at the foot of the tree and try to move slowly and carefully. Carla Rivera, Alec's girlfriend, groans and says, "It's stuffy here. Alec's right. We should go so we don't get late. I'm sick of this place!"

"We'll find her soon," Trevor responds automatically. I can't see him but his voice is closer than ever, and I predict that he's probably only a few feet away from me.

"We've been searching for an hour," Carla's best friend, Thelma, complains. "I think it's time to call it quits. Cursey probably left a long time ago, and we're here looking for her like idiots. We'll catch her tomorrow. Ugh, what are you doing? Why are you on the ground?"

Trevor clicks his tongue. He sounds so close that I start to move faster. Because of my crouched position, my thighs burn as I move away from the tree I was hiding behind. Behind me, I hear the bush rustle. I halt and goosebumps cover the entire surface of my skin. I turn my head to look over my shoulder, and that's when I see him. His head is peeking through the bushes but his whole body is concealed within it.

He smiles widely. "Gotcha!"

I stand up and start running, but Trevor is faster. He catches me from behind and squeezes me in his arms. "Here she is!" he announces to his group. "Didn't I tell you that she was nearby?"

I struggle against him but he's too strong. The others start approaching us, and of course, Alec is among them. His intense gaze lands on me, and it's like he's warning me not to say a word. He's visibly tense.

The sight of him makes my wolf howl. Her mate is within him and only a rejection will make her stop wanting him. His arm is around Carla, and jealousy burns through me. I shouldn't feel this way but I have no control over it. Meanwhile, Trevor still hasn't let go of me, and he's making a joke about my red hair, which is an uncommon feature in our world.

"It must be red because of all the lives she took with this curse of hers," Trevor says, his lips too close to my ear. "I don't know why they decided to let you live, Cursey. You're a danger to us all. How many more lives will you take? Your father was one, and your mother nearly died, too. She's the cripple who cleans the school hall, isn't she?"

His friends laugh at his comment while my eyes sting with unshed tears. My mother nearly became paralyzed after giving birth to me, that's true, and that ruined all her chances of getting a proper job.

I fight against him still, and my elbow hits his side. He hisses in pain and grips my hair in his fist. My eyes burn as he tugs my hair hard. "You're in a fighting spirit today, aren't you? What? Are you forgetting yourself?"

"Let's rub dirt in her face and hair," Thelma suggests. She's excited now even though she sounded bored a few minutes ago. Her dark eyes glimmer with cruelty. "Oh, and we should tear her uniform again. Let's see how far she can keep on repairing it!"

Carla laughs wildly at this. "Look at her skirt! It's not even checkered anymore! Why doesn't she just get a new one instead of constantly sewing the pieces together?"

"No," Trevor says as he gives my head a tug, forcing me to look into his cold hazel eyes. His dimples sink further into his cheeks when he adds, "I have something better in mind for her today."

Although they constantly make my life more difficult than it already is, his words instill fear into me, making it claw at my throat. My mouth is as dry as the desert, and when he pushes me down so that I'm on my knees, my whole body starts to shake.

What does he plan on doing to me?

"We'll play a game," he begins. "Truth or dare. Only, this Omega here will be the star of the show. Here, I'll start. Thelma, truth or dare?"

"Dare," she replies right away.

"I dare you to slap her across the face."

Without warning, Thelma stomps toward me and slaps me. The others gasp before laughing, and my cheek burns both from the slap and the humiliation. Without meaning to, my eyes meet Alec's eyes again, and I find that he isn't looking at me.

"Carla, you next. Truth or dare?"

"Truth," she claims. She then asks me, "Is it true that you fucked Teacher Andy for the perfect grade in the Math test?"

I stay silent at her question, and Trevor grips my hair again. I yelp in pain. "Answer her question, bitch!"

"No!" I grit out before he releases me.

Carla scoffs. "She's a damn liar. Omegas are all dumb, everyone knows that. How is it possible that she keeps getting good grades, even better than all of us? What do we do when she lies? We have to do something."

"What do you think we should do?" Trevor asks.

Carla taps her chin, deep in thought. "I think...we should make her get undressed! That way, she'll be hesitant to lie."

I hear the smirk in Trevor's voice. "Good idea. Hey, strip. Take your shirt off."

When I don't react to his words, he gives me a kick in the calf, and the girls laugh hysterically. "Didn't you hear what I said?"

I don't know what it is that makes me so damn angry. Perhaps it's the fact that I've decided I'm fed up with the way they're treating me, or it could be the pain from all their kicks and slaps. It might even be the fact that my wolf is wounded by Alec's treatment. Either way, I look up at Trevor and yell, "Fuck you!"

They all grow eerily silent. Trevor asks me, "What did you say?"

"I said fuck you," I repeat in the same harsh and unwavering voice.

A small smile curls the corners of his lips before he slaps me. The force of it causes my head to hit the ground. He grabs me by the arms and pulls me to my feet aggressively. His eyes are ablaze with rage. "You stupid bitch! Do you know who I am? Do you? Do you have any idea—"

I spit right in his face, and his shock causes him to release me. I taken the opportunity and run away from them all as fast as my legs can carry me. My heart is slamming against my throat and my lungs are burning.

I hear his howl of anger, and it travels down my spine and feeds my fear. I keep running through the trees, getting as far away as I can. It's imperative that he doesn't catch me, because if he does, I'm done for. I've never challenged him like this before. I've aways taken everything quietly, afraid of getting myself into trouble. But enough is enough. There's only so much one could take before snapping, and today was that day for me.

"Omega!" he yells. I can hear his feet pounding against the ground. He's getting closer. "You can't outrun me!"

I keep going, my breath coming out in puffs. I jump over a bush and that's when Trevor crashes into me from behind. I fall to the ground with a heavy thud, and he's right on top of me. I feel his hands on my shoulder and he flips me around like a rag doll. Pain radiates all through me, and I feel blood trickling down my face.

The look on Trevor's face makes my heart skip a beat. His hands abruptly wrap around my neck, and he squeezes with a force that fills me with concern. It immediately cuts my oxygen, and he squeezes even harder.

"I'll fucking kill you for that!" he rages, squeezing harder. I claw at his hands to no avail. My lungs burn from the lack of oxygen, and my vision darkens around the edges. He spits at me while he chokes me to death, and then he laughs maniacally. "How do you like that, hm?"

He's killing me. The realization catches me off guard. He's killing me. I'm going to die here, in the middle of nowhere and by his hand. My hands fall to my sides and I start to lose consciousness. However, someone looms over us all of a sudden.

At first, I merely see a shadow, but then the person gets closer and I realize that it's Alec before I hear a sickening crack. Trevor's hands loosen around my neck and he falls to the side. I choke on the oxygen now filling my lungs, but my whole body stills when I see blood forming a small pool around Trevor's head.

I look up at Alec and see that in his right hand, he's holding a rock, which he quickly drops to the ground, where it lands next to me. There's a part of it that's covered in blood. Trevor's blood. His wide eyes shift from the body of his friend to me, and they remain on me until the others race toward us and scream at the sight of Trevor's dead body next to me.

"Murderer!" Thelma screeches, pointing a finger at me. "You're going to pay for this. You're going to pay!"

I wasn't the one who did it. Alec was. But the words don't leave my lips, and in any case, I doubt they'd make a difference even if they did.