The Hybrid Luna birthright

Chapter 7

Rashi’s POV

The roar of the Great Hall followed us like a predator as Madam Lysca hauled me through the narrow servant’s door. Her fingers dug into my arm like iron claws, sinking into the skin that still throbbed from Luna Saira’s slap.

"Listen here, Rashi," she snapped, her voice cut through the ringing in my ears. "You danced with death tonight and lived. If not for the Prince stepping in like some moon-blessed hero, you’d be dangling from the gallows right now. Your blood would have soaked the courtyard stones. Executed for a spilled drink? That is the pack’s justice. That is how things rolled around there, merciless."

I nodded, staring at her, but the words felt stuck in my throat. How could I thank someone for reminding me that my life was worth less than a vintage of red wine?

The memory of the Hall crashed over me again, the Beta’s sneer, the council’s low, judgmental murmurs, and Luna Saira’s fury. She had looked at me and seen a disease to be eradicated. And then, there was the Prince. He had stripped his shirt in front of them all, baring his skin to the world as he declared my sin erased. A confusing sense of debt warred with a dark, oily suspicion in my gut. In a place this cruel, kindness felt like a trap I hadn't seen yet.

Lysca’s eyes softened for a fraction of a second. "I knew about last night," she whispered. "I heard you locked in that bathroom, sobbing like a pup torn from its dam. I left you be because I figured it was the ghosts of your past howling. We all carried scars, girl. But hear me, weakness was a scent that drew predators. You had to dry it up, or you are going to be the next meal."

A tear slipped free, and I hated it. It felt like a confession of how broken I really was.

"Enough!" Lysca bellowed, the kindness vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Around us, other servants off-duty peeked from their cots with eyes hungry for gossip. "Wipe your face! And Goddess help you, take a shower. You reeked of spilled wine and desperation. Scrub it off before it marks you permanent."

As I moved away, their whispers followed me like stinging insects.

"Did you see the Prince?"

"Stripped half-naked for a stray..."

"Luna's fuming, that girl has a target on her back now."

I ignored them, sinking onto my cot for just a moment to breathe. I reached for the amulet under my apron, my grip was desperate as I retreated into the shadows of the corridor leading toward the baths.

"Please," I whispered, the metal went cold and unyielding against my palm. "Take me back. Back to the human world. To buzzing phones and lights that chase the dark away. No packs, no Alphas, and no thrones soaked in blood. Just... normal, human life.”

I shook it, with a frantic hope that the portal would open and swallow me whole. But nothing happened. The world stayed cold and silent. Instead, a deep rumble stirred in my chest, a heavy, dark presence that felt like it was trying to hollow me out.

“Fool”, my wolf snarled. She wasn’t just a voice anymore, she was fire in my veins. “The throne called, Rashi. It is your birthright, you have to claim it and crush them.”

I paced the corridor, feeling a mounting sense of dread. I couldn't understand how this was happening. How was I supposed to figure out a plan when I was barely surviving the hour? How was I supposed to fight a "monster" who had just saved my life? Could I have poisoned Alpha Karan’s wine? I didn't have the stomach for it, let alone the allies. Could I have revealed the amulet? They would have torn me apart.

And then there was Brail. The thought of him made my skin feel too tight. The memory of his bare chest and the way he had lifted me felt like a brand I couldn't wash off. The wolf let out a possessive whine, and it made me feel sick with conflict.

I managed to get to the bathroom and took a shower, scrubbing the wine from my skin until it was raw. If I was going to make a plan, I needed more than just fear. I needed to know how this pack worked, the hierarchy, the politics, and the secrets they kept in the dark.

Later that night, I moved. Using an old cloak as a disguise, I sneaked toward the castle’s library, which was a graveyard of stories. I searched the shelves until I found a heavy, leather-bound volume. A cold sense of finality settled over me as I found a passage about those like me.

“The Hybrid,” the text read, the ink was as dark as dried blood. “A half-human, half-wolf child is a blight upon the moon. A threat to the purity of the werewolf world. They must be destroyed, for their bloodline carries the seeds of chaos.”

The words felt like a punch to the gut. I wasn't just a servant; I was an "abomination." My very existence was a declaration of war, and they would kill me just for drawing breath.

Suddenly, a voice shattered the silence. "Rashi! Rashi!"

A jolt of pure panic shot through me. Madam Lysca? I heard her voice echoing from the hall. "Has anyone seen Rashi?"

I couldn't be caught with that book. With a frantic, clumsy movement, I tore the page from the binding. The sound of the rip was deafening in the quiet library. I shoved the page into my tunic, pulled my veil over my head, and tried to disappear into the shadows.

I was almost back to the servant’s quarters when Madam Lysca stepped into my path, with and unreadable expression

"What have you been doing?"

I clutched my veil, trying to keep my face hidden. "I... I went to read. Ab…About etiquette”

“Etiquette?” Madam Lysca asked as my feets trembled.

“E…eti…”

Lysca stared at me, before she could push further, a guard marched into the courtyard, looking like an omen of bad news.

"Rashi? The Luna... she summons you. Immediately."

A sickening realization washed over me. Not again…the woman who hated the very air I breathed. Whatever she wanted, it wasn't going to be a conversation. It was going to be a reckoning…abuse.

The wolf snarled, her fur bristled under my skin, meeting the threat with a sudden, dark fury. I straightened my back, replacing the fear as I looked at the guard.

"I'll go with her," Madam Lysca ordered suddenly, as she stepped in behind me. She wasn't going to let me go alone, and for the first time, I felt like I had a shield.

As we stepped into the corridor, the shadows lengthened like reaching hands. I felt the weight of the stolen page and the amulet against my chest. Whatever waited for me in the dark, I wasn't going to face it as a submissive servant. Madam Lysca was behind me, and the wolf was within me.

The game had truly begun.