The Moon The King was Missing

The impact sounded like something shattering from within, leaving the world hollow. First came the ringing in my ears, then the wall slammed in sideways, and then the cold of the floor. The smell of bleach and blood. My blood.

"You're not even good for washing dishes," he spat, and the boot landed once more, striking the forearm I'd instinctively raised.

I felt the thud. The pain was indescribable. I didn't scream. I learned long ago that screams only encouraged him. I held my breath. I counted. One, two, three. My heart raced.

My "father."

Ever since the Alpha took over the pack after the death of my true parents-the Alpha and the moon everyone claimed to worship-they decided I was useful as an example. A rag with a pulse. The daughter of the fallen, turned servant, lower than an Omega. They didn't even call me by my name. "Little girl."

I crawled with my good hand to the service door. Outside, there was a new moon. No one was guarding the back of the kitchen; they thought no one in their right mind would run barefoot through the woods with a broken arm. And maybe they were right. But I wasn't in my right mind anymore.

Crossing the threshold, the air smelled of damp pine and iron. Of myself. Of pain.

"Get out," something inside me whispered. It wasn't my wolf yet, just a drowsy murmur, an ember. I'd felt it since I was a child, but fear and humiliation had buried it under ashes.

I lowered my head and ran.

Branches scratched my calves, stones dug into the soles of my feet. The forest bent and straightened with every step, and I prayed to whatever wolf god still watched me. Just a little more, just a little, please. My arm hung limp as if it weren't mine; every trot jolted me, sending sharp pains through it that blurred my vision.

I heard voices in the distance, those of the guards who sometimes patrolled the boundaries. I didn't know if they were ours or if I'd unknowingly crossed the line. It didn't matter. If my men found me, I'd go back to the kitchen. If others found me... I'd die. Or so I thought. I chose to gamble with fate.

The forest changed. The smell of the ground was different, cleaner, as if the earth were better cared for. A breeze lifted the hem of my nightgown and chilled my sweat. I tripped over a root and, this time, yes, I screamed. The world turned upside down. I fell sideways. The pain in my arm made me see sparks.

I crawled another meter. Two. The edge of the stream shimmered. I drank water clumsily, feeling it wet my chin and its taste mingling with the blood on my split lip. The ringing in my ears returned. I curled up, trying to protect my arm, and looked up at the moonless sky.

Then I heard him.

"Enough."

A single word,