chapter 1

I trudged through the forest, my eyes scanning the undergrowth for flowers to decorate the pack house. The air was cool and heavy with mist, carrying the damp scent of moss and old leaves. Each step I took squelched softly in the mud, the ground still wet from last night’s rain.

As an omega,the lowest rank in the pack,I was always given the tasks no one else wanted. Menial chores. Harsh punishments. Silence when I was wronged. That was the life someone like me had to live. A life where existing meant enduring.

Alpha Marcus had sent me to collect fresh blossoms for the ceremony. His words still echoed in my head: “Don’t come back with nothing, or you’ll regret it.” I knew better than to return empty-handed. The last time I failed him, I couldn’t sit properly for three days.

My stomach knotted at the memory.

I wandered deeper into the woods, keeping my senses sharp. The sun was only beginning to rise above the trees, casting golden fingers of light through the canopy. As I walked, my thoughts wandered,unwanted memories surfacing like bruises beneath the skin.

The way the pack sneered when I entered a room. The sting of Ryder’s voice when he called me “useless” in front of everyone. Not even Marcus, our Alpha, had said a word in my defense. Why would he? He was the one who allowed it all. He enjoyed watching me fall apart.

I spotted a patch of blue-white flowers nestled near a mossy rock. Their delicate petals looked like stars sprinkled on the ground. Beautiful. Maybe they would finally please him. Maybe they would make him forget how much he hated the sight of me.

I bent down, carefully reaching for them

Splat.

My foot slipped on wet mud, and I fell hard. My hands hit the earth with a dull thud, and the flowers tumbled from my grasp, crushed in the dirt. I stared at them, trembling. My fingers scrambled to gather the ruined blossoms, but it was no use.

They were ruined. Just like me. Useless,just like Ryder said.

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them away. I clenched my jaw. No crying. Not here. Not where the forest could echo my weakness.

But before I could rise, a voice called out from behind.

“Lila. The Alpha wants to see you.”

My stomach dropped. Of course he did.

By the time I arrived at the pack house, the sting in my cheek from the fall was nothing compared to the dread building in my chest. Marcus stood at the center of the room, arms crossed, eyes cold. His Beta, Ryder, smirked beside him, wearing that same cruel look he always had,as if my pain was entertainment.

“So,” Marcus said slowly, drawing out each syllable, “you couldn’t even handle this simple task?”

“I’m sorry, Alpha. I,I’ll try again.” I kept my eyes down, focusing on the floor. My voice trembled, but I forced it to stay steady.

He didn’t care for apologies.

Slap.

His hand struck my cheek with enough force to twist my head sideways. The sound echoed through the chamber. My skin burned.

Ryder’s grin widened.

“Do better than try,” Marcus growled, then turned away as if I were already dismissed.

I didn’t cry. I didn’t speak. I just stood there, waiting, silent and small.

Before another word could be said, the door swung open. A guard stepped inside and whispered something urgently into Marcus’s ear. His expression shifted, surprise flickering into cold curiosity.

“Thane of the Blood Moon Clan has arrived,” he announced grimly.

Ryder stiffened. “What does he want?”

“I don’t know,” Marcus said, “but we’ll find out.”

Without another word, both men left, their silence more telling than any spoken worry. Something had changed.

I turned to leave, my cheek still burning with the fresh slap. My feet carried me toward my small quarters when a figure stepped into my path.

Akele. The Alpha’s daughter.

I barely had time to brace myself before she spoke.

“I heard you failed again,” she sneered, her voice honeyed with cruelty.

I didn’t respond. There was no winning with her. No point in feeding her fire. I just wanted to get to my room, curl into my blanket, and pretend I didn’t exist.

“Still slaving away, little omega?” Her voice oozed poison. “You really think doing chores will make you matter?”

“I’m just doing my part, Akele,” I muttered, keeping my voice calm.

She stepped closer, towering over me even though we were nearly the same height. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Your part? You’re a burden, Lila. A mistake the Moon Goddess should’ve never made.”

I looked up and met her gaze. Something inside me burned, just a flicker.

“You should watch your tongue.”

That was all it took.

With a snarl, she lunged at me, slamming me into the stone wall. Pain exploded in my back. Her claws dug deep into my shoulders, drawing blood.

“You’re pathetic,” she hissed. “You think someone like you deserves protection? You’re nothing.”

Her claws pressed deeper. My vision swam. I couldn’t breathe.

I wanted to scream. Fight. Run. But I was frozen,trapped in pain, drowning in helplessness.

“Enough.”

A voice, low and commanding, sliced through the air.

Akele froze. Her claws didn’t release immediately, but her shoulders stiffened.

“Let. Her. Go.”

This time it was colder. Sharper. A threat hidden in each word.

She hesitated… then finally withdrew her claws. I collapsed against the wall, gasping for breath, blood soaking into my tunic.

I looked up, dazed. A figure stood in shadow, face obscured, but I could feel his presence,calm, powerful, dangerous. The kind of presence that made even Alpha Marcus seem tame.

Who… is he?

No one had ever stepped in for me before. Not once. My heart pounded,not from fear this time, but something else. Confusion. Curiosity. The tiniest spark of hope.

Before I could think further, darkness closed in.

And I fell.