The morning after punishment was always the same. Pain
The wounds would ache, the air would sting around broken skin. And the pack would pretend it hadn't happened, as if erasing it from memory made it acceptable.
I woke before the others, as I usually did. The barrack was still filled with the deep, even breaths of wolves. The smell of damp straw and stale sweat hung in th eair. I rose quietly, my movements slow so i didn't pull the fresh scabs across my back.
The first thing I did was slip outside to the well. the water was icy, making my fingers burn as i drew it up in the bucket. I washed quickly, teeth clenched against the burn, the water turning faintly pink before swirling away in the dirt.
A shadow fell across me.
"Cleaning up after your latest failure, Selene?"
The voice was smug, sweetened with false innocence. I didn't have to turn to know who it was, Liora, the Alpha's daughter. Golden hair, perfect posture, the faint smell of rose clinging to her. She was only a year older than me, but her position gave her power sharper than any blade.
I turned away because not looking would be taken as defiance. Her blue eyes glittered in the morning light. She lifted her head, lips curving into something not quite like a smile.
"You should be grateful", she said, "that father hasn't thrown you out yet. Most packs don't tolerate mistakes"
Mistake, Curse-born, Burden. They had so many words for me. None of them was true, but truth didn't matter in Silvermoon; only the stories they wanted to tell.
I didn't answer. I had learned that words could be twisted faster than claws could cut.
Her eyes narrowed at my silence. "What? no apology? no promise to do better?"
My fingers tightened around the rope of the bucket. "Better than saving your life?" I asked quietly.
Her nostrils flared. "You tripped," iI continued, keeping my voice flat, "and i caught you. I could have let you hit the ground. you'd be limping for weeks, maybe worse. But i didn't. So if that's what you call failure..." i let the words hang
For a moment, i thought she might slap me. Instead, her smile returned, slow, thin, and almost dangerous. "Careful, Selene. Wolves without loyalty don't last long here."
She tured and walked away, her bare feet making no sound on the earth.
I exhaled slowly and returned to my washing, letting the cold water burn awy the heat in my ches. Confrontations with Liora were like stepping into a trap, one wrong move and you were caught. but there were days when swallowing my words was harder than bleeding for the pack.
By midday, I was in the forest again, this time for training. The younger wolves were sent to track and bring back small prey, rebbits, squirells, the ocassional fox to hone our instincts. It was a task i excelled at, though no one ever admitted it and i'm glad thy didn't let me sit it out.
The forest was quiet exept for the crunch of leaves beneath my feet. I moved low, scanning for movement. A flicker of brown came across my vision, a hare, darting through the underbush.
I shifted mid-stride, my body melting into fur and muscle. The scent of prey filled my nose, sharp and wild. My paws hit the earth with barely a sound as i pursued.
The chase was short. The kill was clean. I carried the hare back to the clearing, shifting again as i crossed the pack's border.
Rowan took it from me without a word. His eyes slid past me as if i were no more than a shadow.
I had gown used to it, the way they acknowledged my work without acknowleding me. It was easier than giving them the satisfaction of seeing me want recognition.
That night, the elders gathered around the great fire. Stories were told, as they always were when the hunt had gone well. Most were old tales of battles won, of alphas who had crushed enemies under tooth and claw. But one story caught my ear, because i hadn't heard it before.
It was told by elder Calen, his voice low and gravelly.
"There was a time," he said, "when Silvermoon stood at the brink of war. The bloodfang Pack was at our border, teeth bared. But before blood could spill, an alpha from far to the west came to speak with our leader. He offered an alliance. Strength for strength. Moon for moon."
I leaned closer to the fire, the warmth reaching my face.
"That alpha," Calen continued, "was unlike any we'd seen. His wolf was as black as shadow, eyes like molten lava maybe gold. far more stronger than any alpha we've seen, They say his name is Damiem".
The name meant nothing to me then. But something in the way Calen said it made it stick, like a burr caught in fur.
"Where is he now?" one of the younger wolves asked.
"Far away," Calen said. "The alliance faded. But wolves like that... they leave marks on the world. You'll hear his name again."
I didn't know it yet but he was right.
When i returned to my mat that night, I lay awake, staring at the dark rafters overhead. The fire's warmth had faded from my skin, but the mane lingered in my mind.
Damien.
I didn't know who he was. I didn't know that one day he would be the only person who would ever look at me and see more than the labels they'd given me.
But the moon was listening.
It always was.
Drifting off to sleep, I found myself floating. Wait, that wasn't right.
This place was dark and scary, I was hearing voices, whispers.
Were they calling me? I wasn't sure. Before I could reach out to them, I woke up.
"What was that?" Selene said, speaking to herself.
Looking out the window where the moonlight streaked in, she sighed, "What a wierd dream," and went back to sleep.