Ashes of the Moon

"Monster." "Curse." "Useless omega." Those words had followed Lyra Nightbane for ten years. No one remembered that she had once been the beloved daughter of Alpha Orion Nightbane. No one cared that she had watched her entire family die in the flames that consumed the Nightbane Pack. To them, she was merely the girl who survived. And survival itself was considered a crime. "Move faster, mutt!" Beta Marcus barked as he kicked over the basket she had spent the entire morning carrying. Fresh vegetables rolled across the muddy ground. The pack members laughed. Lyra knelt without protest and quietly gathered everything back into the basket. Years ago, she would have cried. Years ago, she would have begged. Not anymore. Because tears had dried long ago. Inside her chest, where hope should have lived, there was only one thing left. Hatred. Pure and endless hatred. At seventeen, Lyra had become an expert at enduring pain. Bruises. Humiliation. Hunger. Loneliness. She endured them all. Not because she was weak. But because she had made a promise. A promise written in blood. She would destroy everyone responsible for the death of her family. Every last one. And when the time came— She would burn them all to ashes. No matter what the Moon Goddess thought. No matter what fate demanded. Even if the world itself stood against her. She would have her revenge. Because vengeance was the only thing keeping her alive. Little did Lyra know… The Moon Goddess had prepared a far crueler fate for her. One that would force her to choose between hatred and destiny. And the man waiting at the end of that path… Was the same monster who had destroyed everything she loved.