The moonborn Queen

Chapter 2

The morning sun barely pierced the thick walls of the Gamma quarters. I crouched in the corner, scrubbing the same stone floor I had polished a thousand times before, my hands raw and blistered. Kael leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, a smirk curling on his lips.

“Move faster, little sister,” he said, his voice dripping with amusement. “If the Alpha sees you slow again, I swear he’ll—”

“Don’t push me today,” I muttered, my voice tight with tension.

He laughed, sharp and cruel. “Oh, I love it when you try to sound brave. You’re still nothing, Isolde. Don’t forget it.”

I said nothing, swallowing my pride. It wasn’t bravery that kept me silent—it was survival. I had learned the hard way that defiance brought only bruises and ridicule. But as my hands moved over the cold, rough stone, a small fire flickered in my chest. My wolf stirred beneath my skin, coiled and restless.

The courtyard echoed with the harsh calls of the Alpha’s wolves. I flinched as one of the older Gammas yelped under Kael’s shove. The pack had a rhythm, a hierarchy, and we were all trapped in it.

I remembered the day I had first met Valen Blackwood. His golden gaze had swept over me, and though he had never treated me with kindness, there had been something… unsettling. A pull I didn’t understand, a warmth in the cold. I shook my head, trying to banish the thought. That pull had no place here, in the shadows where I belonged.

“Stop daydreaming,” Kael snapped, yanking my hair back slightly. “Do you want to earn another strike?”

I gritted my teeth. My wolf growled low in my throat, a dangerous rumble I quickly stifled. I couldn’t afford another punishment—not today. Not when the Alpha heir would be visiting the Gamma quarters to inspect our obedience.

Hours passed in a blur of chores, harsh orders, and whispered jeers from Kael. Even the other Gammas avoided my gaze, too afraid of drawing attention—or too tired to care. Still, small glimmers of hope flickered in my mind. Sometimes, in fleeting moments, a kind elder would hand me a scrap of bread or offer a soft word. Those scraps of compassion felt like sunlight on my bruised soul.

By the time the gates opened for Valen’s inspection, my hands were raw, and my knees ached. I lowered my gaze, as always, keeping my posture small. My wolf twitched beneath my skin, restless, ready to rise, but I forced it down. I was nothing. I had to be nothing.

Valen’s shadow fell across the floor. Even in casual movements, he radiated authority. He didn’t glance at the other Gammas much—his eyes sought me, and my stomach twisted painfully at the recognition. Kael noticed my reaction, his smirk widening.

“You tremble, little sister,” he whispered loud enough for me to hear. “He sees you, and you know it. Worthless, just like I said.”

Valen’s voice cut through the courtyard like steel. “Nightbane,” he said smoothly, “report.”

I forced a bow. “All chores completed, Alpha.”

He scanned the room, eyes sharp, calculating. I felt the wolf stir again, the instincts I had spent years suppressing clawing at my bones. I wanted to run, to strike, to be free. But my chains—both literal and figurative—kept me bound.

Valen’s lips curved slightly. “Hmm… efficient enough. But remember, Gamma, you are only as good as your obedience.”

Kael nudged me, just a whisper, “Not enough for him, little sister. Never enough.”

And yet, even in the shadow of humiliation and fear, I felt it—a spark. A tiny, defiant flame that whispered of escape, of vengeance, of something greater waiting for me.

When Valen left, the courtyard fell silent once more, broken only by the crack of Kael’s boots on the stone. I rose slowly, feeling my wolf pulse under my skin. One day, I told myself, that spark would grow. One day, I would no longer kneel.

Until then… I endured.