Rejected by the Alpha, bound by the blood moon

Lina learned long ago that invisible people survived longer, so she kept her head down and was always quiet. She carried the heavy basket of wet sheets through the back halls of the Blackthorn estate while her arms shook hard enough to ache. The laundry room smelled like soap, sweat, and damp cloth. Steam covered the stone walls, making the room feel too hot to breathe in. Lina bent carefully as she dropped the basket beside the folding table, trying not to wince when pain spread through her ribs. The bruises there were still fresh from yesterday. "Move faster, traitor girl!." The voice came sharp behind her. Three females stood near the doorway, Lina froze when she saw them, Low-ranking wolves, just like her, but even they stood higher than Lina Hart, because their parents had not died in chains. One of them, Mara, crossed her arms and smirked. "What? Too weak to carry laundry now?" The others laughed, Lina lowered her eyes, "I'm working." "That thing spoke," another girl mocked. Mara stepped closer and shoved Lina's shoulder hard. Lina stumbled back into the table, pain shot through her spine. "You know," Mara said loudly, "my mother says the council should've killed the little traitor with her parents. Would've saved the pack food." The room filled with laughter again, Lina stayed silent, because this was how she survived the place. Silence. Mara grabbed a fistful of Lina's dark hair suddenly and yanked her head back. "Look at me when I'm talking to you." Lina's breathing turned uneven, she remembered blood on stone floors, her mother's scream and the sound of chains. Fear climbed into her throat like it always did. “She has those same creepy eyes,” another girl muttered. "Maybe her parents really were cursed." Mara shoved Lina again, this time Lina hit the floor hard, the basket tipped over beside her, wet cloth spilling across the ground. Then the kicking started, not enough to kill, never enough to kill, just enough to remind her what she was. Lina curled into herself quickly, arms over her head. A boot slammed into her side. Another struck her shoulder, and the kicking started. "Traitor!” "Pack scum!” "Worthless Omega!” Lina bit her lip hard enough to taste blood, she didn't fight back, fighting lback only made things worse. Her body healed slower than other wolves. Bruises stayed for days on her pale skin while others recovered overnight. Even as a child, the pack whispered there was something wrong with her. Weak and broken, finally , the kicks stopped. "You should thank the Blood Moon you're still breathing," Mara sneered. The girls walked away laughing. Lina stayed on the floor long after they left, the cold stone pressed against her cheek. She told herself to breathe slowly, pain was the price for staying alive here. A few minutes later, soft footsteps approached. "Lina?" Her eyes closed briefly at the sound of her name. Only one person still said it kindly. Mira hurried toward her, carrying a small cloth bundle. Her warm brown eyes widened in horror as she knelt beside Lina. "Oh no." "I'm fine," Lina whispered automatically. "You are bleeding." "It's nothing." Mira gave her a look, "You always say that." Carefully, Mira helped her sit up against the wall. Lina hissed quietly as pain moved through her ribs again. Mira opened the cloth bundle, revealing bandages, ointment, and a tiny bottle of alcohol. Lina blinked. "Where did you get those?" Mira looked almost guilty. "The healer's room." "You stole them?" "I borrowed them." Lina let out the smallest breath of laughter, it hurt her cracked lip. Mira dipped the cloth into water and gently cleaned the blood from Lina's face. Her touch was careful, unlike everything else in Blackthorn. "You need to stop letting them do this," Mira whispered. Lina stared down at her trembling hands. “And do what instead?” “Fight back." "They're wolves, Mira. Real wolves." Her voice lowered. "I can barely heal from a bruise." Mira's expression softened painfully. Lina hated that look most of all. "I just need to survive," Lina murmured. "You deserve more than survival." Lina almost smiled at that. Mira was the only person in this world who still believed she deserved anything at all. Suddenly, loud footsteps echoed through the lower halls, both girls stiffened. A high-ranking enforcer entered the room wearing Blackthorn colors across his dark uniform. Two guards followed behind him. "All unmated wolves over the age of twenty are ordered to attend tonight's Blood Moon Mating Rite," he announced coldly. "Attendance is mandatory by Alpha order." The room fell silent. Lina felt the blood drain from her face. No, No, no, no. The enforcer continued, "Any unmated wolf who refuses to attend the rite will be punished for direct disrespect against the pack." Then he turned and walked out, the moment he disappeared, Lina stood too quickly. Pain shot through her ribs again. "I'm not going." Mira blinked, "Lina” "I can hide in the cellar." Her breathing became uneven. "Or the woods outside the borders. I'll come back after it's over." "Lina!" "I can't do this." Panic rose higher now. "Do you remember the last gathering? They noticed me for five minutes and I didn't eat for a week after." She remembered every second of it. The laughter, the whispers, someone pouring dirty water over her head while everyone watched. Lina survived because people forgot she existed. The mating rite would force the entire pack to look at her. Mira stood and grabbed both her hands tightly. "Listen to me." Lina looked up slowly. "You've spent ten years being a shadow," Mira said firmly. "If the Alpha's guards come looking for the one girl who didn't show up, they will find you." Lina's stomach twisted. "And once they find you," Mira continued softly, "they will never stop looking." Silence filled the room. "Silence is your shield," Mira whispered. "But absence is a spotlight." Lina's chest tightened painfully. Because Mira was right. To stay invisible, she had to be seen one last time. Hours later, Lina stood before a cracked mirror inside the servant quarters. The glass was dirty and broken along one side. She washed dried blood from her mouth carefully, ignoring the sting. Dark bruises marked her arms and shoulder. She pulled her long brown hair forward, hiding as much of her face as possible. No one notices plain girls, no one notices weak girls, that was the rule she lived by. Outside, the Blood Moon was beginning to rise, red light spilled across the room. Lina stared at it silently. For one horrible second, it looked too much like blood, her parents' blood. A cold shiver suddenly ran down her spine, Lina froze. Something pulled sharply inside her chest. Not pain, not fear, something deeper. It was strange, cold and magnetic. It came from the direction of the Alpha's tower. Lina pressed a hand against her chest slowly. "What...?" The feeling disappeared almost instantly,but the unease stayed. She looked back at her reflection. "One night," she whispered quietly. "Just survive one night, and you can go back to being no one.” Then she stepped outside. The ritual clearing was already crowded when Lina arrived. Wolves gathered beneath the Blood Moon in dark ceremonial clothing, voices low with excitement. Lina kept her head down immediately. Just staying invisible, but then, she looked up accidentally and locked eyes with Alpha Kael Blackthorn, everything inside her stopped. He stood above the crowd near the ceremonial platform, tall and sharp in black clothing. Power seemed to follow him naturally, cold and heavy enough to silence the wolves around him. His grey eyes met hers across the clearing, the air suddenly felt too thin. Lina couldn't breathe, for a single terrifying second, Kael stared directly into her like he recognized something. His expression darkened instantly. Disgust, cold, and dangerous, but he didn't look away. And neither could she.