The First Drop Of Blood
1548 Words
The collar didn't burn anymore.
It sang.
I walked back to the cellar with silver light still dancing under my skin, every step echoing in the silent pack house. Behind me, Killian's ragged breathing faded. Serena's screams had stopped. But the memory of their faces – horror, fear, confusion – followed me like a second shadow.
You are not Omega. You are not servant. You are the last true Lycan Princess.
I slammed the cellar door and collapsed against the cold stone wall.
My hands trembled. Not from weakness. From power.
For eighteen years, I'd scrubbed floors and taken lashes, believing I was nothing. But the rejection had cracked open a seal I didn't know existed. Memories flooded back – a woman with silver hair like mine, a throne carved from moonlight, the smell of fire and betrayal.
My mother.
"Run, Raya. Don't look back. They'll make you a servant, but you will rise. The silver never forgets its blood."
I pressed my palm against the dirt floor. Silver light pulsed outward, and the earth sang back.
The pack was built on Lycan ground. My ancestors' ground.
No wonder the curse was killing them. They'd stolen this land. And now the land wanted blood.
---
I didn't sleep.
At dawn, Serena's voice sliced through the cellar door.
"Omega! Get out here. Now."
I opened the door. She stood with two warriors behind her – both large, both armed with silver daggers. Her eyes were red from crying, but her smile was pure poison.
"You think last night changes anything?" She stepped closer, grabbing my collar. "The Alpha might be confused, but I'm not. You're a freak. A cursed witch. And I will make your life a living hell until you wish you'd never been born."
I said nothing.
"First task." She shoved me toward the kitchen. "The Alpha's bath. Hot water, exactly the right temperature. If it's too cold or too hot, I'll have you whipped."
I walked.
The kitchen was already busy with other servants. They parted when I entered – not in respect, but in fear. Word traveled fast.
The Omega glowed last night.
The Alpha's wolf whimpered at her touch.
She's not normal.
I filled the copper tub in Killian's private chamber. Steam rose. I tested the water with my elbow – a trick my mother had taught me before she died.
"Never test with your fingers, little one. Elbows feel truth."
The water was perfect.
I turned to leave.
Killian stood in the doorway.
---
He looked worse than last night. Dark circles under his eyes. His skin pale. The veins in his neck were faintly black – the curse advancing faster now.
"You're still here," he said. His voice was hoarse.
"I'm the servant, Alpha. I don't get to leave."
He stepped closer. "Last night, my wolf stopped whimpering when you touched me. For the first time in weeks, I slept without nightmares."
"I don't know why."
"Liar." He grabbed my wrist. His touch sent a jolt through the dying bond – not pain, but longing. "Your blood glowed silver. The children you healed are running around like nothing happened. And Marcus, the old gardener, told me to 'trust the silver-haired girl.' Who are you?"
I looked at his hand on my wrist. Then at his face.
"I'm the one you rejected," I said softly. "Nothing more."
"You're lying."
"Prove it."
His jaw tightened. He released me. "I've summoned the pack elders. They'll question you at noon. If you're hiding something, they'll find it."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
The elders had silver instruments. They could force a confession out of any wolf – by cutting, burning, or worse.
"If they hurt me," I said quietly, "the cure dies with me. And so do you."
Killian's face went white.
I walked out.
---
The noon sun was brutal.
The elders sat in a half-circle at the center of the pack courtyard. Fifty wolves gathered to watch. Serena stood beside Killian, her hand on his arm, her smile victorious.
The eldest elder – a wrinkled woman named Agatha – pointed a gnarled finger at me.
"Raya, Omega of Blackwood Pack. You are accused of witchcraft and dark magic. How do you plead?"
I knelt. "Not guilty."
"Then explain the silver light."
"I can't."
Agatha smiled. "Then we'll help you remember."
She nodded. Two warriors dragged me to a stone pillar and chained my wrists above my head. My feet barely touched the ground.
Serena stepped forward, holding a silver blade.
"This will hurt," she whispered. "A lot."
She sliced my arm.
Blood dripped – red at first, then silver.
The crowd gasped.
Serena's eyes widened. "See? Witch!"
But Killian stepped forward, staring at the silver blood dripping onto the stones.
Where it fell, the cracks in the ground healed. Grass grew. Flowers bloomed.
Lycan blood gives life.
Agatha stood, her face pale. "That's not witchcraft," she whispered. "That's Lycan blood. The old blood. The blood of kings."
Serena's smile vanished. "What are you saying?"
Agatha looked at me with something like awe – and terror.
"This girl is no Omega. She's the heir to the Silver Throne. A Lycan Princess."
Silence.
Then chaos.
Warriors drew weapons. Serena screamed. Killian stood frozen, his face unreadable.
And I – chained to a pillar, bleeding silver, exposed to everyone – I did the only thing I could.
I laughed.
"Yes," I said, loud enough for all to hear. "I am Raya Volkov, daughter of Queen Seraphina, last of the Lycan line. Your pack is built on my family's grave. The curse killing your Alpha? My uncle placed it to destroy you all. And I am the only one who can break it."
I looked directly at Killian.
"You rejected me. Humiliated me. Made me sleep in a cellar while your w***e wore silk." My voice didn't shake. "Now your life is in my hands. Your pack's survival is in my hands. And I haven't decided yet if you're worth saving."
Killian's face twisted – anger, shame, desperation.
"Release her," he ordered.
"No!" Serena shrieked. "She's dangerous!"
"I said release her."
The warriors hesitated. Then they unlocked the chains.
I fell to my knees, my arm still bleeding silver onto the earth.
Killian knelt beside me. "Heal yourself," he whispered.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because every drop of my blood that falls on this ground weakens the curse. Let it fall." I looked at him. "Let your pack see what their Alpha threw away."
The silver blood spread across the courtyard. Where it touched, the dead grass turned green. The cracked stones mended. Even the air felt cleaner.
The pack watched in stunned silence.
Serena backed away, her face pale with fury and fear.
Agatha the elder stepped forward and knelt before me.
"Princess," she said. "Forgive us. We didn't know."
"None of you asked." I stood slowly, my arm still dripping. "And forgiveness is not freely given. It is earned."
I turned to Killian.
"You want me to save your pack? Then you will do exactly as I say. No more orders. No more commands. You will serve me until I decide you've suffered enough."
Killian swallowed. "And if I refuse?"
I smiled – cold, sharp, satisfied.
"Then I walk out of this pack forever. Your curse kills you in seven days. Serena becomes Luna of a corpse pile. And I watch from my throne as your memory rots."
The silence stretched like a blade.
Then Killian Blackwood – the great Alpha who had rejected me in front of everyone – lowered his head.
"Name your terms," he whispered.
I looked at Serena, who was crying now.
"First term," I said. "Serena Vance is no longer your chosen mate. She is my personal servant. She will scrub my floors and sleep in my cellar. For exactly seven years."
Serena screamed. "No! Killian, please—"
Killian didn't look at her.
"Done."
"Second term," I continued. "You will announce to the entire pack that I am your fated mate – rejected but not forgotten. And that you were wrong."
His jaw tightened. "Done."
"Third term." I stepped closer to him, close enough to feel his ragged breath. "When I save your life, you will owe me a blood debt. One favor. Anything I ask. No questions. No limits."
He stared into my eyes.
"Done."
I extended my bleeding arm. "Swear it on your wolf."
He took my wrist – and for the first time, he didn't flinch at the silver glow. He pressed his lips to my blood.
"I swear."
The moment his mouth touched my skin, the bond between us roared back to life.
Not the weak, dying bond from before.
Something new. Something hungry.
Killian's eyes went wide. "What did you just do?"
I pulled my wrist away.
"I just made sure you can never reject me again."
I turned to the gathered pack – fifty wolves staring at their bleeding, smiling princess.
"Your Alpha has submitted," I announced. "Now let's talk about saving your worthless lives."
The crowd erupted in shouts – some angry, some fearful, some cheering.
But I only watched one person.
Serena.
She was backing toward the gate, her hand sliding into her pocket.
And in her eyes, I saw murder.
---
- Writer
