Did he not discipline you?
The Beta’s words echo in my mind, as my eyes flicker to his empty spot on the meal table. Beside him sits the Alpha, whose golden eyes I meet as my gaze wanders to him. The fork freezes in my fingertips.
I’d been poking at the deliciously cooked portion of steak in front of me with no appetite, for the past thirty minutes. Only now do I feel the sharp glances coming from the other wolves around the table. Their glances alternate between me and the Alpha. I can feel the scorn, first. For not touching the food so generously provided for me. Curiosity, as to why the Alpha was not giving me the punishment I deserved.
Just like the Beta.
But then the Alpha suddenly lowers his fork. Then he looks at one of the warriors next to him, his voice completely different from the softer tone I’d heard yesterday in the bedroom. He’s noticed the murmurs as well. He’s probably noticed them from the start.
“Bring in the prisoner.”
And I should’ve realized, the moment I wondered how someone’s voice could change so drastically, even if it was in front of his pack.
The transparent glasses of champagne on the table rattle, as I hear the prisoner struggling from a mile away. If the voice hadn’t been enough warning, I should’ve realized from the sadistic smile tinging the Alpha’s lips. His gold eyes burn the color of a famished cobra in the desert.
The doors burst open. A ragged, trembling figure of a woman is thrown onto the cold marble before the lavishing dinner table. Her thin, bloody wrists are chained, with those much thicker than mine. The metal drags a mixture of grime and dust on the pristine floor.
But her eyes. Her eyes are still alive with the fury that can only be found within the mother who has lost everything that she holds dear.
Beta. My Beta.
Lane. My fork clatters to the plate as I stand. The Alpha had lied to me. He’d lied straight to my face last night, as my Beta lay tortured in the dungeons underneath my feet. The world seems to twist and fold.I had not been the only survivor.
I take one step, the start of many others to run to her. Rip the chains off of my Beta and help her escape, no matter how thick it seemed to be. Even if I had to give my own life for it. I—
But the look that she gives me, over the tens of others fixed on me, is what freezes me down to the ground. Her ocean-blue eyes lit with a fire that I had never seen before back at Senna. She had only held warmth for the pups and me whenever she’d visited the nursery. In the back of my mind, I still see her, careful to control her natural Dominance as she’d held a freshly-birthed pup in her hands.
“Traitor.”
The word is what grinds me to a complete stop. She roars. It fills the entire cavern of the dining hall, as she looks upon the Omega who’d once sang for her pack’s pups, now sitting at the table of an enemy pack who had annihilated them to ashes. It strips every single sound from my lips.Beta. No, Beta.
She screams the word, over and over again. The wolves of Shadow watch in amusement the way my Beta crumbles, as she tears herself trying to break the chains to get to me. Her claws only stretch in my direction.
We are their circus act of the day.
Then I see the Alpha tilt his head, in my peripheral vision. Two silhouettes approach the feral Beta from the back, and I don’t realize until they’ve drawn their silver claws. A silent scream leaves my lips. There is the sound of flesh giving way to metal.
Lane’s lifeless body hits the floor, the ending note of a cacophony.
I am truly now the last of my pack.
The moment she crashes into the pool of her own blood on the marble, I leap out of my chair. Then I transform midair, into the small, weak Omega wolf that I am. I feel the sound of the Alpha’s amused, breathy laughter from behind my back.
I run straight for the door.
For the couple of seconds that takes me to close the distance, I think that he’ll tilt his head a second time. I think that the same claws that had torn into the Beta’s throat will tear into mine. I think many things, all the ways that my attempt at vengeance will come to a pitiful end.
But no one touches me.
I realize why, just moments later I’m out the door. I hear the Alpha whisper, loud enough that it still reaches my ears.
“Let her run.”
Tears wet my cheeks, as he laughs.“I want to see how far she gets.”
____________________________________________________________
Traitor. Traitor.
The word repeats itself in my mind, over and over again in the voice of the dying Beta. Snow gives way underneath my paws, as I run. The scene of the forest around me blurs into one.
I run to the Edge. I run faster than I’ve ever run before.
I am not a traitor, Beta. I don’t know what I was doing there, sitting amongst them. I must’ve been out of my mind. I must’ve been hypnotized, by the Devil himself.
I run faster.
Trees whip by. I feel the air take on a tinge of salt. The oceans are near. The Edge is near.
The weak, pitiful Omega that I am.
I knew that I couldn’t do anything. That just running at the Alpha, no matter how much bloodlust and rage I threw myself at him with, wouldn’t do shit. He would take me down with a swipe of his hand. Even when he was in his human form, I wouldn’t be able to leave a single scratch.
But right now, I was the only one who could give him peace from the demons that haunted him at night. Demons that he could not fight.
I see the Edge.
My pace just grows faster. The line of the cliff, amidst snow and ice, grows clearer as I see the frozen waves that lie a hundred feet underneath. The salt from the ocean. I can practically taste it on my tongue, and relish it.
Returning him to his own hell without my song. That was the only vengeance that I could take on him. He would never sleep in peace again.
I’m almost there. Every second brings me closer. The horizon spreads open in front of me, like the blank page of a book. The landscape of dull, gray rock gradually changes to blue, never-ending water. It’s crystal clear, pulling me in. All I’d have to do is just close my eyes, and I’d be with my pups again.
One more.
I touch ground, one last time. And a cold breeze hits me then, blowing away the weight that had been crushing my shoulders. I feel light. Free. My legs bend lower for the final time, as it prepares for the final jump.
I leap.
The moment shatters. Rough fangs bury into the scruff of my neck. There’s an earsplitting roar, as I’m hurled back at least fifty feet away from the Edge. The adrenaline dissipates, as I crash into the snow. The momentum takes me another twenty feet back. And I’m nothing but a sopping-wet, weak Omega once again. The Alpha is upon me within seconds. Gold flashes. “Are you out of your fucking mind?” I laugh, the moment I see the twisted expression marring his face. He pins me down to the snow, a massive dark figure swallowing up my tiny, white body. His rage is unmistakable. And I laugh, knowing that I’m the one who drove him to this point. “Why,” I say, laughing still. “Scared that you’re going to lose your only hope of sleeping well at night, Alpha?” I had nothing to be afraid of anymore. But then the sheer fury in his golden eyes fades, the longer he looks down at me. It turns into something like pity. And the moment I see it— myself, reflected in the pools of his eyes— I
Something’s happening in the Shadow packhouse. An Omega maid slams into me when I turn around the corner, murmuring out a quick apology before scurrying down the corridor with a basket full of freshly-picked cherries. This had already happened five times, and both my shoulders ache at this point. I’d seen things from cherries to baked loaves of bread and even a massive platter of the richest chocolate cake I’d ever seen. The cake had come pretty dangerously close— it had nearly landed straight on my face. I wrap the scarf that Noel had left me tighter around my cheeks as I head out into the frigid cold outside. I’d found it this morning next to me, neatly folded into a stack and with a note on top that read his kindness. It’s even more of a chaotic mess outdoors than indoors. Silver lanterns hang on the brittle branches of wintergreen trees, glowing faintly with the flame protected beneath silken, insulated covers. I hear the chirping of birds, in this cold. They fly close t
“So can you put some cushioning on these chains or what? They’re actually really hard to try and sleep with if you haven’t noticed.” The Alpha gives me a look. And even though I’m the one who hissed at him first, I still tense as he stops drying his hair. He lets the white towel fall around his neck, and I just stiffen even more when he comes closer. He leans over me. His shadow envelops mine and my eyes widen in surprise when he just undoes the entire thing. The chain drops to the floor with a heavy clang. Then the Alpha simply returns to drying his hair. I raise a brow. “Not worried anymore? Or am I getting fired?” “No one’s getting fired tonight,” He whispers, laughing softly. “I wouldn’t want my Singer all chained up in the first place, would I?” Yeah, right, I scoff. He probably just realized I was no actual threat to him at all. Alphas healed at a viciously fast rate— and they sensed danger from a mile away. And I was a puny Omega, after all. “Can you put a shirt on?”
He really had gotten me a dress. I poke at the chiffon garment. It feels ten times more expensive than anything I’d ever had to wear before, the silver fabric silken to the touch. It’s simple but elegant, with a river of diamonds embedded among the lines where it’d fit my curves. I lift the necklace laid on top of the folded dress, sterling silver and studded with gold. This is too much. My eyes crinkle. And the last thing I really wanted to do was accept pretty things from the Alpha who’d ordered the destruction of my entire Pack. I wasn’t even going to dance with him, anyways. I was planning to find a nice, cozy spot and hide out until the entire event ended. Leaving the dress on top of the nightstand, I leave the Alpha’s chambers. It’s nearing noon now, and I shuffle down the corridors with my slippers, dodging any maids that are finishing up the final preparations before the official start of the Moon Festival tonight. I’m wondering if I should drop by the kitchen to s
BLAISE Twilight is descending over Shadow. I look outside the window, touching my gloved fingertips onto the frosted glass. The air is so cold that it bleeds through the walls and the floor. Tonight, the Blood Hour would take its place on the ice, when the Blood Moon rose to its fullest. But at least I’d be with my friend to get through it. “Blaise!” I turn. Noel pauses to a stop, his amber eyes wide as he looks at the dress that I’m wearing. “You look absolutely stunning, Blaise.” “Do I?” I say, my brows twisting a bit as I pull at the top part of the dress. It feels a little loose there, around my chest. It was the first time I’d ever revealed this much skin. I’d always just stuck to covering myself up as much as possible since I’d always been around young pups in Senna. Plus it kept me free from running up and down the mouths of male wolves, who shamelessly commented on my figure out of the blue. Multiple times, even when I was within hearing range. Did you see the Sing
“Hid in a good spot, hm?” My face is so hot that I almost can’t feel it. And I’m not dreaming up the gasps that echo all around me. The light of the lanterns flash before my eyes. “Almost missed you,” The Alpha whispers, the gold of his gaze bordering anger as he practically puppets me out to the center of the dance floor. The kohl staining the edges of his narrowed eyes make the shades even more vibrant. It twists and tears, underneath the unraveled locks of sable hair that come past his brow. “And you even made yourself look so damn gorgeous, Blaise.” The heat blazes hotter as he clasps a hand around my waist. I can hear the music playing in the background, but everything is more like a blur as the Alpha moves me. He leads through each step, both violent and tender. His lips are twisted up in that smile I’d seen him give at my Beta’s execution. “Good girl. Follow along.” Sweat beads on the side of my face. And I want to start complaining, about when this would come to an end
“Blaise?” I smile, putting a finger to my lips to hush him as he looks at me like I’m a dead person, coming back to life. In front of us, Omegas spill into the forests behind the Packhouse, desperate to find cover before the ten minutes of Preparation would tick out. It’s a flurry of paws and scattered snow. Noel recovers surprisingly quick. “Hurry,” He whispers, pulling at my wrist. “Transform to your wolf. We have to run.” “We don’t have a lot of time.” I nod. The bells continue to echo behind us as I shift midair, bare flesh changing to snow-white fur. Next to me, I see Noel shift into a wolf slightly larger than mine, the shade of warm chestnut. His amber eyes spark with intelligence. “Follow me.” I break into a run after him. The scarlet light of the Blood Moon above our heads is almost eerie, washing the snow crimson. And I’m so, so glad that I’m with him. I think anyone by themselves would be eaten by the terror first, even before the warrior wolves find them. We p
I scream. Noel is torn away from me within a second. Both of us are dragged out by the scruffs of our necks from the haven underground, where I’d thought we’d be so safe in. Now the cold is everywhere, and being unprepared, it hits even worse. The snow is still deeply blood-red. Two. They are both high-ranks, right underneath the status of Beta. “Blaise!” “Shut up,” A wolf growls, swatting a heavy paw. Noel’s jaw slams shut. And I feel my blood run cold as the silver wolf mercilessly sinks his fangs into his shoulders, dragging him away to the farther edge of the crimson clearing. Noel cries out. I see rivulets of scarlet between his chestnut fur. My eyes turn feral. I lunge, straight for the wolf at least thrice my size. Both my claws and fangs are bared. I want nothing more than to bury them into his throat and tear it out of his— “Where are you so set on going, girl?” A howl breaks from my jaw as something pulls me backward. My body is too weak to resist— metal wraps