Blood-Stained Moon

Beta watch out

Two angry eyes stalk me around the room as Roan circles round, like a predator ready to strike, canines barely contained. I have never seen him this angry before. The last time he was truly angry, his Beta Nathan bore the brunt of it and hid for several days in the forests surrounding Silver. I quiver like a child under his domineering glares, not wanting to speak in case he exploded. He pushes me from the back, and I stumble a few steps forward, turning around in shock.

"Where is she?" He asks, calmly, like a lion, still and slow before pouncing. My mouth gapes open and shut, unable to form words.

" I will ask one more time. Where is that b*tch Claire?".

" I-I don't know Alp-Beta Roan, I swear". I bow my head in submission to my superior, hiding the water welling in my eyes. He moves forward with speed and pushes me again, harder this time. I fall into the curtains, clutching them to support my body.

" You know where she is. The stupid b*tch was with you last night. The sl*t saved you last night, she attacked her Beta and ran off." He leans down towards my face. puffing his stale alcohol stained breath. " You're both Sl*tty b*tches who don't know their places. Low life scum who think they can get what they want, sleep their way to the top and have no consequences, huh? You both deserve what's coming for you. A dagger wasn't good enough for you was it? Well maybe watching your little sl*t friends' guts spilling on the floor might be better for you, huh?". He stops momentarily to wipe the spittle from his beard. Draws back and looks down at me. " You showed me up, let your entire clan down. You think you're so much better than us- think you can just get into the Alpha's pants. You think I had a good time last night, huh? Being interrogated like a piece of sh*t on Greene's shoe, two members of MY pack running amok going rogue? Over what, a fancy castle? Was Clan Silver not good enough for you HUH, are we too low for you? " He reaches for my hair and yanks my head back with it roughly. " What's to stop me from letting Greene have his fun with you." He chuckles dryly and traces a dirtied fingernail across my throat. I gulp hard and he chuckles again and throws my head forward, releasing my hair, before walking to the other side of the room and sitting on a chair, the weight of his body plopping down scattering clouds of dust. " Tell me where she is, and I'll get Peterson to call off his dogs. Heh, save you like I couldn't save her."

He exhales heavily again and chuckles. " Damn. it's like history repeating itself. You know, I never agreed with Nathan, like me maybe Peterson didn't know about his Beta's plans. That stupid sl*t came to me years ago, pawing at me over some pathetic bond. Like I'd ever let a filthy Omega become Luna. No, I couldn't stop Nathan then. I wouldn't have allowed it, well, maybe not her face. And now she has taken it upon herself to save you, because nobody saved her. She's going to pay for all of it." He rubs his beard absentmindedly looking off towards the walls. Betraying a hint of sadness before returning his steely gaze to me. " I have no say in this bond business. You've f*cked up, this reflects on ALL of us. This doesn't get out no matter what you hear me? Keep your mouth shut, or I'll cut your throat myself before anything does." He gets up and heads toward me again. I stay on my hands and knees, head bowed, hair dragging on the floor, weeping. Too scared to be any more than a statue. He squats down and grabs my chin roughly, pulling my face to his. " Where were you last night, Remilda Hawcroft?" His authoritative tone commands an answer.

" I ran off, I was scared, and I got lost. I just wanted to get away from Beta Greene and the knife. I didn't do an-anything I swear. I ran and ran and then I saw a lake and I swam, I swam until my lungs gave out. Then I woke up on the shore, and I was lost. I, I didn't know where to go. I didn't want my face... face ruined. I ran until I fell into a big hole and then I stayed there all night. I was too scared to move, even when I heard wolves go past. I slept in the mud and then when the sun started coming up, I-I tried to find my way back. And then I heard bangs and, and the patrols moving away. I th-thought if I just came back to work like noth-ing happened it would be okay." I sob, hardly able to get fully formed words out, his hand gripping so hard his nails cut into my cheeks. My salty tears stinging the torn skin and running down his hand. They splash onto the floor noisily. I gulp and stare back, just hoping that the speckles of truth will conceal the lies between. " I-I won't ss say anything I prom- ise. Nobody, nobody knows. Nobody will know. On-only Alpha knows. I don't want, I don't, no-one, nobody, nothing Alp-Beta Roan. I just want to live please. Please".

I bawl and beg to the man who has kept me safe and protected me all these years, the man I looked up to as Alpha. The man who buried my father and mourned his passing. His sudden coldness pierces my heart. I knew Omega's stayed at their station, never above, that we are the lowest of the pack, the ones who serve. Hearing the names he calls Claire, how he brutally rejected her, the woman just like me, the one before me who never asked for anything, stuck to herself, the one who felt the bond to an Alpha. Knowing she would die, whether she was caught or dying out there in the cold of starvation and exposure. Rogues fighting over her corpse. It makes me shudder, because she is me, just a few years ahead, she is my future, misery and death.

He tuts and pulls away from me again, spitting on the floor. " Too late for that now, you made your bed. Whether you saw her last night or not it no longer matters, your reputation is stained. Greene won't be dealing with you." He taps his temple and twists his mouth into a malicious grin. " He knows about last night, he's not happy. The Alpha wants to see you...".