Marked for the Alpha

2: Aftermath

Selene

The morning after the ceremony tasted like ashes.

The sun had barely risen, yet the Blackthorn grounds already hummed with life. Wolves hurried through the courtyards, guards rotated shifts at the gates, and the smell of baking bread drifted from the kitchen huts. Everything moved the way it always had.

Everything… except me.

I walked out of the servant quarters with my shoulders tight and my hands shaking inside my sleeves. The air felt colder. Or maybe that was just my imagination. Maybe everything felt different because I was different now.

Not special.

Not chosen.

Just broken.

The dirt path leading from the quarters to the main hall was lined with old pine trees. Their needles glistened with dew, and sunlight filtered through the branches in soft, dusty beams. I used to love this walk. It was quiet and peaceful but today it felt like a path leading to a cage.

As soon as I stepped onto the main grounds, the staring began.

Quiet eyes at first.

A few whispers.

Then the murmurs grew louder.

“That’s her.”

“The rejected girl.”

“The servant the Goddess picked by mistake.”

I kept my head down and walked faster, clutching the tray of laundry I had collected for the morning shift. My palms were damp. My chest felt tight. The cloth shook with my grip.

Just keep walking, Selene. Keep breathing. Keep moving. Pretend you don’t hear them.

But pretending didn’t make anything disappear.

Near the training yard, three young female warriors paused their sword drills when I passed. Their shadows stretched long behind them, the blades in their hands catching the morning sun. Their eyes followed me like wolves scenting weak prey.

One of them laughed, and the sound cut sharper than her weapon.

“Poor thing thought the Alpha would have anything to do with a wolf like her.”

Another smirked. “Imagine dreaming of being a Luna when you can’t even shift properly.”

My throat burned, but I didn’t respond. I lowered my gaze to the stone path, trying not to trip on the uneven ground. The stones were cracked with age, and tiny blue flowers grew between them. I stared at those flowers like they were the only solid things in the world.

Just get to the washing hut. Just do your work. Just survive today.

But even the small comfort of routine didn’t last.

When I entered the servant hall, Mistress Kaela stood waiting. She was a tall woman with a sharp jaw and a voice that could cut glass. Her gray hair was tied in a tight bun, and her apron was spotless—as if dirt itself feared her.

Her eyes narrowed the moment she saw me.

“So,” she said, folding her arms, “you finally show your face.”

“I—I was on time,” I murmured.

“Don’t speak unless spoken to.”

I swallowed hard. The wooden floor creaked under my feet. The hall was loud with clattering dishes, bubbling pots, and servants rushing back and forth, but somehow her voice carried above all of it.

“You embarrassed us last night,” she said loudly. “Do you know how many eyes looked at me when the Moon Goddess pointed at you? Do you know how much shame you brought into this hall by even attempting to go on stage? What were you expecting? The Alpha's son would accept you with open arms?”

“I didn’t choose—”

“Now because of you, the whole pack has their eyes on us here and the other girls can't even work properly.”

“I didn't mean to—”

“That is enough.”

Her voice cracked like a whip.

“Do you think the Goddess made a mistake?” another servant muttered behind me.

“Of course she did,” Kaela snapped. “Why would she ever pick someone like her?”

Heat crawled up my neck. My chest felt like it was being pressed between heavy stones. I gripped the laundry tighter to stop my hands from shaking.

Kaela flicked her fingers. “Double workload today. And keep your head down. Maybe the shame will settle that way. I can't have you ruining things for me here.”

A few servants snickered.

“Yes, Mistress,” I whispered.

I spent the next hours scrubbing stone floors worn smooth from years of footsteps. I dragged buckets across the hall until my arms trembled. I washed heavy sheets until my fingers wrinkled like old paper. Every surface I touched felt colder than the last.

Every hallway felt longer.

Every stare felt sharper.

Every whisper felt louder.

The Blackthorn estate had always been large, but today it felt endless. Every building—gray stone walls, towering oak doors, long narrow corridors—seemed to watch me. Even the wind carried the echo of last night’s humiliation.

By midday, the sun was high and hot, casting sharp shadows across the courtyard. I was carrying a fresh bucket of water toward the kitchen when a group of noble girls stepped into my path.

The ones who had dressed in expensive silk for the ceremony. The ones who had expected to be chosen.

They formed a neat line, blocking the walkway.

I froze.

Their eyes roamed over me the way one might observe a stain.

“So,” one girl said, stepping forward. Her blonde hair shone like polished gold. “The servant girl finally crawls out of whatever hole she’s been hiding in.”

I felt my grip tighten around the bucket handle.

Another girl laughed lightly. “Did you really think you were meant to be Luna?”

“No,” I whispered.

“Oh, but you smiled,” she said, tilting her head. “We all saw it. You were happy.”

Her lips curled. “You actually believed it.”

My heart twisted. “I didn’t—”

“Shut up.”

Her voice was sweet. The words were not.

Another girl leaned closer, her perfume thick and suffocating. “Darius looked disgusted. I’m surprised you didn’t faint.”

The group burst into soft laughter.

They stepped aside eventually, but their laughter followed me like a shadow. Even the horses tied near the stables seemed to look at me with more dignity than the girls had offered.

By evening, my body ached and my head throbbed. I stood behind the kitchens, leaning against the cold stone wall, trying to steady my breath. The air smelled of roasted meat and wood smoke. I closed my eyes, letting the wind cool the heat on my face.

I sighed. My life was already bad before last night and it somehow found a way to get worse. I was barely surviving before, I didn't know how it would be like from now on.

A door swung open, and a servant tossed a tray of scraps into the dirt near my feet.

“Eat,” she said mockingly. “It’s all you’re worth now.”

She went back inside before I could even raise my head.

That was it.

The final push.

The last little cruelty the universe needed to give me.

I wiped my hands on my dress and stepped away from the wall. My heart was strangely calm now—quiet in a way it had not been since the ceremony.

I walked to the stables.

The sky was turning orange, streaked with shades of gold and purple. Crickets were starting their evening songs. The wooden stable doors creaked as I pushed them open.

One mare stood closest to the door—dark brown with a white streak down her face. Her eyes were soft, curious.

I stroked her neck with trembling fingers. I knew it was time to do something I had planned to do for a long time but never got the courage to.

“Hey, girl,” I whispered into thr horse’s ear. “I know I shouldn’t be doing this but I have no choice. I have to leave blackthorn pack. If I'm lucky, I'll get to the territory of a pack that knows nothing about me and would at least treat me with the dignity of a slave, if I'm not and I get caught, I would most likely be executed.”

The mare huffed softly as if she understood.

“But as it is, both scenarios seem better than what I'm facing here.”

I lifted a saddle with shaking arms and fastened it over her back.

I took a look through the window. If any guard from blackthorn caught me, it was over for me but if I get cold feet today like I’ve always done everytime I attempted to escape, I'll have to keep living through this hell.

I opened the stable gate.

The mare stepped forward.

And with one last glance at the Blackthorn estate—the place that had been my prison, my home, my grave—I climbed onto the horse and we rode into the uncertainty of the world just beyond the territory of blackthorn pack.