Fiona's POV

Over and over again, the sound of their wicked laughter echoes in my head. It was sharp and cruel. It never stops.

What have I done to deserve this?

Maybe it’s because I’m different. Because I was born wolfless.

In the Bluemoon Pack, being an Omega is already low, but being a wolfless Omega is the worst curse of all. To them, I’m a stain on the pack’s honor, a mistake the Moon Goddess forgot to correct. Everyone tramples over me until I can barely remember who I am. Sometimes I wonder if I ever mattered to anyone at all.

That afternoon, I wandered near the training grounds, where the young wolves were sparring in pairs. For a minute, I imagined I could join them, to fight, learn, and belong. But my fantasy shattered the moment I heard Barbara’s voice slice through the air.

“And what exactly do you think you’re doing here?” she barked, her sharp blue eyes narrowing at me.

I swallowed hard. “I… I wanted to train with my sisters.”

Her laughter was loud enough to draw attention. “Your sisters?” she repeated, feigning shock. “Oh no, darling. You’re not one of us. You’re not even fit to be here.”

The others joined her in laughter.

Barbara’s smirk widened. “You’re nothing but a forbidden fruit, Fiona. I’m surprised the Elders haven’t cast you out yet.”

Her words hit me hard, and I felt my throat tighten. I wanted to fight back, to scream, to ask what crime I had committed just by being born wrong but I had no wolf, no strength, no one to defend me.

Barbara stepped closer, her expression twisting into disgust. “Get back to the kitchen where you belong, wolfless.”

Then she spat at my feet.

They all laughed again as I turned and fled, my vision blurred with tears. I hated that I couldn’t even walk with pride. I hated that the one place I called home made me feel like an intruder.

By evening, I was scrubbing dishes in the kitchen, my fingers felt weak from the icy water. Behind me, Barbara’s voice rang out again.

“That serves you right!” she sneered, walking past. “Lazy thing. How long will it take you to finish the dishes?”

Before I could answer,I felt pain across my cheek. She had slapped me.

“Get out of here!” she ordered.

I help back a sob, clutching the edge of the sink to stay upright.

Then came the next command, the one that would change everything.

“Hey, you!” Barbara snapped. “Alpha Ryan needs his blood drink. Fetch it from the cool box and take it to him. Now!”

“Yes, ma’am,” I whispered.

I wiped my tears with the back of my hand and hurried to the storeroom. My heart raced as I poured the thick crimson liquid into the silver-floral jug, it was the one reserved for the Alpha alone. My fingers trembled as I carried it through the long corridor leading to his chambers.

Everyone said Alpha Ryan Bluemoon was ruthless but fair, commanding yet magnetic. I’d seen him from afar during ceremonies and the way his presence made warriors bow, the way his deep voice rolled like thunder. I’d never dared speak to him directly.

And yet… I’d always admired him. Maybe even loved him, in secret. A foolish dream for someone like me.

When I reached his door, I hesitated, then knocked softly.

“Come in,” came the deep, commanding voice from within.

I stepped inside. His chamber smelled of cedarwood and iron, the air thick with dominance. Ryan was seated behind a carved oak desk, his eyes scanning a scroll. Even in silence, his aura was enough to make my knees weak.

“My Lord,” I said quietly, setting the jug on the desk.

As I turned to leave, a strong hand caught my waist.

“Who are you?” he asked, his voice low but curious. I froze. His touch sent shivers up my spine.

“M-my Lord… My name is Fiona. I serve in the pack house.” I barely recognized my own voice; it trembled like a leaf in the wind.

He paused, studying me. His gaze swept from my head to my toes, lingering in a way that made heat crawl up my neck. “How have I not seen you before?” he murmured. “A beauty like you hiding among the servants…”

I lowered my eyes. “I try not to be seen, my Lord.”

He stood then, towering over me, his presence overwhelming. “Come here,” he said.

My breath hitched. I hesitated, but his tone left no room for refusal. I stepped closer, until his scent, strong, masculine, intoxicating it wrapped around me. His hand slid to my waist, pulling me against him. My heart pounded so loud I feared he could hear it.

“You’re trembling,” he whispered, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “Do I frighten you?”

“A little,” I confessed.

He smiled, it was a slow, dangerous smile that made my knees weaker. “You shouldn’t fear me, Fiona. You should trust me. I could give you everything you’ve ever wanted.”

My lips parted, but no words came.

He leaned in, his breath warm against my ear. “Tell me, do you desire me as much as I desire you?”

I swallowed. “I… I don’t know.”

He chuckled softly, tilting my chin up. “I see the truth in your eyes.”

Then his lips met mine.

It was like fire and lightning all at once. My heart stuttered, my thoughts scattered. His kiss deepened, confident and possessive, and my body responded in ways my mind couldn’t control. He tasted like power and like everything I’d ever wanted but never believed I could have.

When we broke apart, his eyes glowed faintly gold. “Lay with me, Fiona. I desire you.”

I stepped back slightly, confusion battling the warmth spreading through me. “My Lord, I… I don’t understand what you want from me.”

He pressed a finger gently to my lips. “Shhh. Don’t speak. Listen.”

His voice softened. “I see you as my mate. The one my soul longs for. Give yourself to me, and I will make you mine before the entire pack.”

My breath caught. His mate? The words were like honey poured over my heart. All my life, I’d been unwanted and unseen. And now, the Alpha himself was promising me everything I’d ever dreamed of.

“Are you truly going to make me your mate?” I whispered, trembling.

“Yes, Fiona,” he said, unzipping my maid’s dress with slow precision. “Your beauty calls to me. You are everything I’ve been searching for. Do you not trust your Alpha?”

I nodded faintly, lost in the spell of his words. “I do, my Lord.”

He smiled, his lips brushing my neck before trailing lower, claiming every inch of me with reverence and hunger. My body melted beneath his touch, the world spinning away as his promises wrapped around me like silk.

But just as I gave in, just as I believed, the door burst open.

“Alpha Ryan!” a voice shouted, urgent and breathless. “Alpha Ryan!”

We both froze.

FIONA

“Nooooo! Never!”

“Over my dead body!”

His voice tore through the air like thunder.

Alpha Ryan’s eyes burned into me, “Have you seen yourself, Fiona? Who gave you the audacity to believe that you, a wolfless Omega, could ever be mated to me, the Alpha of this pack?”

The words struck harder than any physical blow.

My heart froze, my breath catching in my throat.

“Why would he be so cruel?” I whispered to myself, my voice trembling.

Ryan took a step closer, his face twisted in disgust.

“Listen to me,” he said, voice low but sharp as a blade. “I, Alpha Ryan of the Blue Moon Pack, will never desire you as a mate. You are nothing of value to me.”

He spat on me.

Gasps rippled through the gathered pack. My legs gave way, and I fell to the ground as his words echoed mercilessly around me.

“Did she really think Ryan would choose her?” someone jeered.

“How foolish!” another voice sneered.

Their laughter stung worse than fire. Tears blurred my sight as I stared at the man I had once loved…the man who had whispered promises in the dark, who had touched me like I was precious.

And then…Sabrina.

She walked toward him with a proud sway of her hips, brushing against me deliberately and kicking my leg out of the way as if I were dirt beneath her shoes.

Ryan turned to her, his expression softening.

He placed his arm over her shoulder and pressed a kiss to her neck. “Here she is,” he declared, his tone full of pride. “My one true mate. The Luna of this pack, Sabrina James.”

A heavy silence followed, broken only by the thundering of my heart.

He used me. Lied to me. Rejected me.

Tears streamed freely down my face.

“Does she have to remain here, my love?” Sabrina said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. “She’s nothing but filth. She brings nothing good to the pack.”

Ryan didn’t even look at me. “You’re right,” he said coldly. “Take her away.”

Before I could speak, Beta Barbara stepped forward and slapped me so hard the sound cracked through the air. “How dare you speak to your Luna that way?” she snarled.

“Please…” I managed to say, my cheek burning.

“Take her out of here!” Ryan ordered.

The guards dragged me away as laughter followed. My dignity was left behind on that stage.

**

Later that night, I sat behind the kitchen, staring blankly at the mountain of dishes before me. My hands trembled as I reached for a pot, my eyes swollen from tears.

“Fiona,” a soft voice came from behind. I turned to see Kush, the only one who ever spoke kindly to me.

“He slept with you, didn’t he?” he asked quietly.

I froze.

He sighed. “He took advantage of you. Didn’t he?”

I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t nod. The truth hung heavy between us.

“Fiona, you can trust me,” he whispered. “I won’t tell anyone, but you need to let this out.”

Before I could answer, Sabrina’s voice pierced the air.

“Hey, witch! Bring your sorry self out here!”

I was tense. Kush frowned. “Don’t go.”

But two guards stormed in before I could move. One shoved Kush to the floor, the other yanked me up by the hair.

“Aaahh!” I screamed in pain.

They threw me to the ground, kicking me in the ribs. Sabrina stood behind them, watching with a satisfied smile.

“You thought you could use your body to get my mate?” she sneered. “You think your witchcraft works on me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,please!” I cried, but another blow struck my face.

“Quiet, witch!” one of the guards shouted.

Through the haze of pain, I caught sight of Kush lying motionless nearby.

“Kush… help…” I whispered weakly.

The beating went on until a familiar, commanding voice cut through the chaos.

“What is happening here?”

It was Ryan.

Sabrina immediately ran toward him, tears already forming. “Oh, my love, you won’t believe what she did! She broke the Alpha’s finest dishes and tried to attack me. I barely escaped with my life!”

“What?” Ryan growled, his gaze snapping to me. “You did what?”

“I didn’t…” I tried to say, but his glare silenced me.

“You are nothing but a hypocrite!” he barked. “Take her to the dungeon! Let her rot there until I decide her fate!”

The guards seized me again.

“I… I didn’t do anything…” I stammered, but my voice was drowned out by laughter and contempt.

They dragged me through the pack house, through the darkness, through humiliation. Pain burned in every limb, and my tears blurred the path ahead.

By the time they threw me into the cold, damp dungeon, I could barely move.

Maybe death would be better than this.

And as my body grew weaker and the darkness swallowed me whole, the last thing I thought was…

Why did the moon goddess curse me to live this life?

FIONA

My name, my whole life, had been reduced to a box. The darkness smelled of damp and old iron. I didn’t know how long I lay there, drifting between black and a prickling half-consciousness, until a voice,soft and urgent,nudged me back from whatever thin place I’d almost fallen into.

“Fiona? Fiona? If you can hear me, try to blink,” it breathed close to my ear.

For a dizzy second I thought I’d gone to the Moon World, the place the old stories said the dead slept. Why would I imagine that? I’m only a wolfless Omega. The Moon Goddess wouldn’t spare someone like me.

“Fiona, you need to open those eyes. I need you to be strong,” the voice urged again, gentler this time.

My lids felt glued shut, the effort to lift them like trying to move mountains. Shapes swam into view: a wavering ceiling, the suggestion of a doorway, then a face framed by hair the color of ash,sharp features, eyes fixed on me with something like concern. The voice didn’t belong to a child or an elder. It belonged to a woman who had lived long enough to learn how to hold herself steady in crises.

“Hello, Fiona. Finally, you’re awake. I’ve been trying to get you back to us,” she said.

My mouth tasted of metal and fear. I tried to speak, but my throat was raw. The memory of being dragged, the slaps, the jeers and rose like bile. “How would you even think of attacking Luna?” the woman asked abruptly, as if the answer were obvious.

Confusion swam through my fog. Did they think I’d tried to kill Ryan? The very thought was absurd. I had loved him, stupidly, blindly, and then he had spat on me.

“Madam Barbara?” I said, because that was the name of the questioning ghost.

The woman’s lips tightened. “Trust me, she is the last person you want to see. Did you try to kill the Alpha too?” She sounded disgusted

I swallowed. My memory was a jagged thing: the slap, the guards, Sabrina’s cruel laugh. “Ryan?” I whispered.

She stared at me as if I’d asked the strangest thing. “Are you asking me?” she repeated, incredulous. “Do you even know what’s been done? Do you know the situation?”

I didn’t. I couldn’t. My head felt thick and heavy. The woman’s face loomed closer, urgent now. “You need to find somewhere to go,” she hissed. “If you stay, you’ll be killed.”

A pounding came from the corridor, and a young messenger burst in, breathless and wild-eyed. “Luna Sabrina is on her way here!” he panted.

Sabrina. The name hit like a blow. I felt the old cold of dread coil around my ribs. That girl wanted me gone in a way that wasn’t merely social cruelty, she wanted me dead.

Barbara, if that was who this was, moved with sudden decisiveness. She helped me to my feet, her hands efficient and steady despite the murmur of indecision on her face. She led me through a low doorway into a narrow passage.

“There’s a back stair that leads into the woods,” she whispered as she pushed me down the steps. “Go. Don’t look back. Head east until you find the old birches, then keep walking. Don’t stop for anything. Find someplace to hide until you can make a plan.”

My lungs burned with the movement, but I nodded. I had no strength left for words anyway. She pressed a small bundle into my hand, some cheese, a scrap of bread, and a torn shawl. “I can’t stay seen with you,” she said, voice low. “But I couldn’t leave you to die. Now go.”

I stumbled into the night like something half-formed: a shadow fleeing from fire. The cold air bit through my rags and slapped the tears from my face. The pack house loomed behind me, its windows glowing like watchful eyes. I wanted to turn, to scream every accusation until the whole world knew the truth, but my feet refused to obey a body grown too small for hope.

I ran.

For days I drifted on the edge of the woods, sleeping in hollows and waking to the ache of hunger. The forest was both refuge and wilderness, comfort in its anonymity, danger in every crook and shadow. I clung to the rhythm of walking as if movement could erase the memory of the mating yard and Ryan’s spit.

On the third night, I heard the first snap: thin, like a twig under a boot. I froze, every muscle tight. “Who’s there?” I called, voice too small. No answer. A second snap, closer this time, and my pulse hammered.

I should have been able to run. I should have had someone to protect me. Instead, my feet betrayed me; I saw a dark shape surge and a heavy weight knocked me to the loam. The forest floor bit into my palms and I tasted iron again, fear, not blood, for now.

When I turned, the thing that landed atop me was not one wolf but many, black shadows with teeth like knives. One shifted to human form, spiky hair standing like a crown, tattoos crawling up his arms like black vines. His grin showed too many teeth; saliva glittered at the corners of his mouth.

“You’re far from home, meat,” he said, his voice rough, amusement curling in the last word.

The others closed in, eyes glinting like coals. My throat constricted. “I’m…” I started, but something cold and cruel laughed.

“You don’t smell right,” another said, running a hand along my arm as if testing the texture of prey. “Not wolf. Not human. Empty skin.” The words echoed from stories Kush had told me in the kitchen—stories of the rogue packs, the vampire wolves who had been cast out for their hunger and madness. Legend, I’d thought. A nightmare now standing over me.

My mouth opened and closed on air. They circled, a tightening ring. Fear pooled in the hollow of my belly, hot and sharp.

“We’ll see how sweet empty skin is,” the spiked-haired one said, and his command was a blade. “Finish her off.”

They lunged.

For a terrible, breathless second I felt utterly alone… no Alpha’s protection, no friend’s hand, nothing but the cold earth and the sound of my own ragged breaths. Then, as their shadows poured over me, a strange part of me, thin as a thread and older than my fear, stirred inside, a whisper of something awakened. It was small and sudden and older than any story: a voice that did not belong entirely to me.

Fight. Run. Survive.

My heart obeyed even when my legs trembled to move. The world narrowed to the taste of fear and the sharpness of coming teeth. The night held its breath.