THE GAME OF WOLVES

The floor did nothing to ease her pain. The hard surface hurt her sore knees, but the Alpha’s house remained unforgiving, never stopping for anyone foolish enough to slow down. Stella pressed the brush harder against the floor, moving it in tight circles, back and forth. The rough surface scraped against her knuckles. Sweat ran down her face, and she let it. Around her, the hall echoed with the movements of the other Omegas. Their heads were bowed, their eyes fixed on the floor. They had learned to make themselves invisible. Invisibility was a skill here. Those who had not learned it yet carried the marks on their skin. Stella had learned early, and that skill had protected her. “Shut up and get back to work!” the Head Omega’s voice cut through the hall. Stella bent lower and continued scrubbing, her jaw tight, her hands moving on their own. This was her reality, not just today or this moment. Ever since she had been old enough to hold a brush, this had been her life. Even on the hardest days, she had almost grown used to it. Almost. A shadow stretched across the wet floor. Stella noticed the shoes first. Polished black. Expensive. Perfectly clean. She lifted her head, and her stomach sank when she recognized him. Caden. The Alpha’s son. He didn’t need to announce himself. The whole hall seemed to change around him. Backs straightened. Voices faded. He stood with the confidence of someone who had never needed to prove he was the most powerful person in the room. Stella immediately looked away. She had learned one rule before anything else. Don’t look at Caden. Don’t speak to Caden. She stared at the floor, waiting for his shadow to move away. It didn’t. Then she noticed a second presence. An expensive perfume filled the air. It was Keisha, Caden’s girlfriend and, in Stella’s words, the devil’s daughter. She moved with complete confidence, carrying the pride of someone born into wealth and power. As the daughter of a neighboring Alpha, she had every reason to. She never needed a reason to make Stella’s life difficult. Across the hall, Stella caught Lina’s eye. Her face was blank, but fear showed in her eyes. Their eyes met for only a moment before Lina looked away. They both knew that holding eye contact for too long could bring trouble. A sudden slap came from the side, hard enough to turn Stella’s head. Pain spread across her cheek as she reached out to steady herself, but her hand slipped, sending the brush clattering to the floor. For a moment, everything tilted. She blinked through the sting and raised her head. Keisha. Of course, it was Keisha. She stood there with her hands on her waist, her face perfectly calm. It was clear she had enjoyed every second of it. “Do you want another?” she asked with a scoff, smacking her lips. “I’m sorry,” Stella whispered, lowering her head again. “I wasn’t looking at him. I swear I wasn’t.” “You were staring,” Keisha shot back. “I wasn’t. I would never . . .” Stella began. “Are you calling me a liar?” Keisha cut in. Stella’s mouth closed immediately. There was no right answer with Keisha. There never had been. This wasn’t about the truth. It was about reminding Stella of her place, and it was working. Shame settled over her, heavy and hard to shake. Her face burned, and she kept her eyes down, refusing to let Keisha see how deeply her words had reached her. Keisha smiled. She turned toward Caden and slipped an arm around his waist, making it clear to everyone that he was hers. She looked over her shoulder at Stella. “Don’t mind her,” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Wolfless trash always forgets its place.” A few people chuckled. Caden gently removed Keisha’s arm and took a step back. Without saying a word, he turned and walked away. He never said anything. He never did. But just before he disappeared from view, Stella felt his eyes on her. It lasted only a second. There was no warmth in his gaze, but there was no cruelty either. Just an unreadable look. Stella couldn’t tell what he was thinking, and she hated that she cared enough to wonder. After that, he was gone. Keisha didn’t follow immediately. She paused and looked down at Stella. Her expression held no pity or hesitation. Stella knew exactly what was coming. Keisha turned to the Head Omega, who had appeared at the center of the hall, and spoke two words as if they meant nothing to her. “Twenty-five lashes.” That night, the Omega quarters were dark and cold. Stella lay face-down on the thin mat she shared with Lina. Her cheek rested against the rough fabric while pain spread across her back. She tried not to think about it. The twenty-five lashes had left a deep, lasting pain. Her back throbbed with every breath, and each small movement brought the pain back. She hadn’t forgotten what had happened. She couldn’t. Worst of all, she hadn’t eaten. Then again, that was nothing new. Lina sat beside her. She pressed an oil-soaked cloth against Stella’s back. Her touch was tender, much softer than anyone would expect. But her hands were shaking. Occasionally, Lina stopped, trying to hold herself together. A moment later, Stella heard the small, choked sound Lina was trying to hide. “Are you crying?” Stella whispered, her voice muffled against the mat. “No,” Lina answered quickly. “Lina.” “I’m not,” Lina insisted, but a weak sob escaped her, badly hidden as a cough. Stella shifted slightly and looked at her friend through the dim light coming from the window. Lina’s eyes were red. Her lower lip trembled as she tried to pretend everything was fine. Something softened inside Stella. “You’re crying more than I am,” she said softly. “I’m not,” Lina whispered, quickly wiping her face with her wrist. Stella raised an eyebrow. “It looks like you were the one who got beaten instead of me,” she teased. Lina let out an offended breath. “I’m not crying,” Lina said dismissively. “Then why are you soaking my back with tears?” “That’s the oil,” Lina mumbled. “Lina.” Her face crumpled. She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, her shoulders shaking. For a few seconds, she let herself cry before sitting upright again. She took a deep breath, sniffed, and lifted her chin, trying to be strong. “Fine,” she muttered, her voice still shaking. “Maybe I am crying a little.” Stella chuckled, then winced as the movement pulled at the wounds on her back. Still, the sound filled the small room and made things feel a little lighter after what had happened earlier. Lina stared at her. “You just laughed? Right now? I saw that.” “You make a funny face when you cry,” Stella said. Lina studied her for a long moment. Despite the darkness, the cold, and the soaked cloth still in her hand, a small smile appeared on her face. “Next time,” Lina said confidently, “I’ll cry so loudly that everyone hears it.” “Please don’t,” Stella begged. “I’d rather switch rooms and stay away from a crybaby.” A giggle escaped them both. It was soft enough not to carry through the walls, but warm enough to fill the little space between them. Outside, the Head Omega’s voice suddenly broke the silence. “Lights out!” Lina put the cloth away and lay down beside Stella, resting her head gently on Stella’s shoulder. Neither of them spoke again. The cold rose from the floor. Stella’s back still ached, and her stomach was empty. But Lina’s shoulder was warm beneath her head. That night, for the first time in longer than she could remember, Stella closed her eyes without dreading how she would survive the next day. Morning arrived at the Alpha’s house as it always did, harsh and unforgiving. The metal clang broke the silence before dawn. It echoed through the darkness of the Omega quarters. It was cruel in how suddenly it came. Stella was already half-awake. Over the years, she had learned not to sleep too deeply here. Deep sleep meant being slow to wake, and being slow to wake often meant punishment before the day had even begun. She slowly pushed herself upright. Pain followed her. A burning ache spread across her back, growing worse with every movement. She pressed her lips together and forced herself to keep going. Around her, the other Omegas were already on their feet, quietly pulling on their worn clothes, their faces blank with the knowledge that mornings were always the same. Stella dressed quickly, her fingers fumbling with the frayed ties of her dress in the darkness. Lina quickly came over and helped her with it, and Stella couldn’t have been more relieved. “Thank you,” Stella mumbled quietly, smiling. “I know I’m a darling,” Lina said with a smirk, then winked at Stella as she put her top on. Stella laughed. Lina always had a way of making her smile. By midday, Stella’s arms no longer felt like her own. The smell of food from the main house had followed her all morning: roast meat, fresh bread, and something warm and sweet she couldn’t quite name. In fact, everything always smelled sweet to her when it was food. Her stomach had stopped growling hours ago. Now it sat beneath her ribs, tight and heavy. No matter how hungry they were, Omegas never asked for food. Begging only ever brought one thing, and it wasn’t food. So she kept working. Head down. Hands moving. One task after another, until the afternoon light shifted, and her legs went from aching to numb. She was in the garden when she heard footsteps. The garden was one of the few places Stella didn’t mind working. It was calmer here. The air smelled of soil and greenery, and if she kept her eyes on the ground and her hands busy, she could almost forget where she was, at least for a few minutes. She was pulling weeds from the base of a low hedge when a shadow covered her. She lifted her head. One of Caden’s guards stood in front of her, watching her with the flat expression of someone who thought the task was beneath him. He glanced over his shoulder once before stepping closer. “The Alpha’s son wants to see you,” he said. “Now.”