All Chapters of TASTE OF THE CURSED LUNA: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"Get up, you hollowed piece of trash!"The roar of Tyler Brooks’ voice bounced off the obsidian walls of the Lycan Academy’s lower training vaults. He didn’t wait for Emily Carter to find her feet. His heavy, fur-lined boot slammed into her ribs, the crack of bone sharp against the whistling mountain wind.Emily skidded across the frost-slicked floor, her breath hitching in a throat raw from screaming. The Silver-Run air was thin, tasting of iron and old pine, but she couldn’t get enough of it into her lungs."Please," she rasped, her fingers clawing at the jagged ice on the floor. "Tyler, stop. I didn't do anything.""You existed," Tyler spat. He was an Alpha-born, his Essence-Aura a suffocating weight of heat and aggression. He smelled of fermented honey-mead and the sharp, chemical tang of 'Moon-Dust.' He was wasted, his eyes glowing a fractured, jagged yellow. "A Carter who can’t even shift? You’re a stain on the Five Great Packs. Your own parents call you a mistake, Emily. Why sh

"Where the hell were you?"The voice hit Emily before she even cleared the heavy oak door of the Carter manor. Her mother, Lisa Carter, stood by the hearth, her silhouette jagged against the dying embers. The scent of sour wine and unspent shift-frenzy hung thick in the air."I was at the Academy, Mother. Studying for the—""Studying? You useless, scentless whelp." Lisa surged forward, her hand blurring as it connected with Emily’s cheek. The blow sent Emily staggering into a hall table. "Your brother is the pride of the Five Great Packs, and you? You can't even shift to hunt a rabbit, yet you have the nerve to disappear when the household needs tending? We had to eat cold leftovers because you weren't here to skin the elk."Emily didn't look up. She focused on the copper taste of blood in her mouth. "Dad said he'd handle the—""Don't you dare bring your father into this!" Lisa’s eyes flared a dull, sickly yellow. "Get to your hole. I can't stand the sight of your flat, human face."E

"Where the hell are you going, Emily?"Ryan’s voice bit through the thin, mountain air like a frost-tipped arrow. He didn't look at her; he was too busy leaning against the obsidian pillars of the Academy entrance, tossing a jagged piece of flint between his hands. The Locker Room Circle stood behind him, a wall of Alpha-scent and arrogance.Emily didn't answer. She couldn't. Her voice was a dry rattle in her throat. She focused on the library's heavy stone doors. If she reached them, she was safe—the library was neutral ground under the Moonlight Law. No shifts. No blood.She limped past them, her right knee buckling with every step. The bone-deep throb was a rhythmic reminder of the morning’s "lesson.""The professor's little lap-bitch is in a hurry today," Tyler Brooks sneered, loud enough for the passing Betas to hear. "Maybe Arnold needs his ink-wells refilled with something more... personal."The laughter followed her inside, heavy and mocking. Emily didn't stop until she reache

The dinner table was a battlefield where Emily had already lost.Ryan sat between their parents, basking in the glow of their undivided pride. He leaned back, his thumb dancing across his phone screen with a rhythmic tap-tap-tap. To Mr. and Mrs. Carter, this was "family time"—a mandatory ritual of unity that Emily only participated in as the furniture.She stepped toward the mahogany table to clear the wreckage. They hadn’t left a single scrap of elk-meat. Worse, they had overfilled their own gold-rimmed plates, leaving mangled leftovers swimming in grease. The message was loud: if the Hollowed wants to eat, she eats like a dog.Emily’s jaw tightened. She gripped the edge of a plate, her knuckles turning a bloodless white. Stay silent. Stay invisible.She hauled the stack to the stone basin. The lye soap stung the raw skin of her hands. A heavy ceramic platter, slick with fat, shot from her fingers. It hit the basin with a thunderous crack that echoed through the vaulted kitchen."Wha

"Yeah… I’m a complete fool. You’re likely deep in the dreamscape by now. Rest well, Princess. Hunt well."A slow smile curved Emily's lips as the blue light of the screen faded. How perfect would it be to wake to that every sunrise?"Morning. I was out cold. The healer’s draught is no joke. But honestly? No throbbing, no heat. I slept like a pup," she typed back, her fingers hovering over the send button before she tapped it.After charring some elk meat for the house, Emily retreated to her attic crawlspace, remaining a ghost for the duration of the light. Her mother had no inkling she had skipped the Academy, allowing her to heal in the shadows without the threat of a belt or a chore.The Watcher was a constant hum in her pocket. He checked her appetite, monitored the swelling of her knee, and asked about the pain levels. He was a tether to a world that actually cared if she breathed."I’m heading into the brush for a bit. Won't be able to reach you until seven," he messaged around