The Beast and The Blessed

The Runt's Last Hope

I was instantly gripped by a profound sense of wrongness the moment I stepped over the threshold of the pack house. The concealed snickers and sidelong glances from my pack mates were a nauseatingly familiar greeting. I knew, with the cold certainty of a victim, that they were finalizing some vicious scheme. The welts and deep purple contusions from their last group assault had yet to fully disappear.

My entire body throbbed from the sustained abuse I had suffered just two days prior, yet I reassured myself that salvation was only a few hours away. I simply had to find Rhoan before their malice could be unleashed.

Rhoan was the singular light in my shadow-filled life—my devoted partner of four years and the only wolf in The Azure Crescent Pack I truly trusted. He was also next in line to become the Alpha. That title held little meaning for me, but it was everything to the other she-wolves, who despised me for being with him. They felt he deserved a strong Luna, not a weak, unshifted female like me—a runt, as they constantly reminded me.

My wolf should have appeared when I turned sixteen, three years ago, but it did not. Now, at nineteen, the age where we could usually recognize our mates, we had waited eight long months for his nineteenth birthday to finally confirm our bond. He never wavered in his conviction that we were fated, fiercely protecting me from the pack's scorn after I failed to shift with the others.

He lacked the authority of the Alpha Command to fully stop the harassment, but he constantly defended me and stood by me. Being with Rhoan was the only thing that made my miserable existence feel worthwhile. When he held me, all the pain seemed to vanish, and I knew I would survive.

Tonight was supposed to be the night that would alter the course of my life.

I frantically searched the crowd, hoping he was looking for me too. We had planned for this moment for years.

"Rhoan? Where are you?" I called out using the pack link, receiving nothing but silence in return.

Suddenly, the aggressive pulse of the party music ceased. The crowd parted, and Savannah, my sister's best friend and one of my most dedicated tormentors, strode forward.

"The poor little unshifted thing has quite a nerve showing up here right now," Savannah sneered, her lip curling with contempt. "The pack is celebrating the future Luna. You're only going to ruin it. This party is for wolves only."

The remaining partygoers stopped their conversations, eager to witness the spectacle. The colored strobe lights continued to flash in the suffocating silence.

I desperately searched for the man of the hour, hoping he would see the disruption and rush to my defense, but his face was nowhere among the grinning onlookers.

"Rhoan invited me. I am part of this pack and I belong here," I whispered, fighting back the sting of tears. A wave of collective laughter washed over me. Something truly dreadful was about to happen.

"He doesn't want you here," Savannah hissed, her smile widening into a triumphant leer. "I think he went upstairs to his room. You should go fetch him and see what he has to say."

I tightened my grip on the present I held to my chest. I knew she was setting a trap, but I was desperate to reach Rhoan and escape her malicious game.

As I took the first step, Savannah retreated to the side. I could feel the amusement of the entire pack watching me ascend the grand staircase. Rhoan's room was at the end of the hall, behind the double doors. I sprinted toward it, hearing the footsteps of the gawkers following close behind. I just needed to reach the room, close the door, and pretend the world outside didn't exist.

My mind surged with a deep, primal warning as my hand wrapped around the cold brass knob. It was an alarm screaming for me to run, but I ignored it. I turned the handle and pushed the door open.

The loud, raw cry of pleasure from the female underneath my boyfriend instantly froze me. I stared, wide-eyed, at the two bodies violently tangled on the bed. Rhoan was driving into her hard, his own grunts of pleasure filling the room.

My stomach seized, and my lungs refused to draw breath. The tiny, precious light that had sustained me for years was abruptly extinguished, plunging my mind into absolute darkness as I registered the horror.

He lifted his head, his eyes glazed with the wolf's frenzy, utterly failing to see my tear-streaked face. His canines extended, and with a vicious snap, he latched onto her neck, puncturing the skin and cementing her as his rightful mate.

Lyra. My own sister.

"No," I choked out, my hand flying to cover my mouth. Rhoan pulled back, his face contorted in a snarl at the unwelcome interruption.

"I told you he didn't want you," Savannah whispered into my ear from the doorway. My sister, Lyra, laughed triumphantly from beneath Rhoan, running her hand through his short, blonde hair.

"Would you mind shutting the door, Elara?" Lyra asked, her voice dripping with mock innocence. The malicious satisfaction in her narrowed eyes confirmed her victory. She hadn't just stolen the man I loved; she was now the Luna he would choose. "I'm trying to share a private moment with my mate."

Mate. The word was a hollow, empty shell now. Rhoan had always hated Lyra's cruelty toward me. Now, he was bearing his teeth at me, defending her.

"How could you?" I sobbed, a sharp, ragged wrenching through my chest. The small, wrapped present fell from my paralyzed hand, hitting the floor with a startling c***k. The sound seemed to break the spell. Rhoan's eyes snapped back to their usual brown, guilt immediately replacing the feral haze.

His jaw dropped as he glanced between me and my sister. He looked shocked that he had been caught cheating, but there was no sign of regret for the claiming itself. He was happy to have found his mate; he just hated the circumstances of the revelation.

"Elara, I..." he stammered, stepping toward me. I instinctively recoiled, stumbling backward, only to be stopped by the wall of gawkers at the door, who pushed me back toward him.

The constant flow of tears blurred my vision as my chest ached. "Elara... she's my mate," he finally confessed, his voice heavy.

The entire pack house below and behind me erupted in celebratory cheers for their claimed future Luna.

Hearing the words spoken aloud was a final, devastating blow. I watched, shuddering with revulsion, as Lyra placed her hand on his exposed back. Goosebumps erupted on his skin, and he released a low, involuntary growl of pleasure at her touch.

"You despise her!" I shrieked, pointing my finger at Lyra. "You told me countless times how dreadful she was! You said you pitied her fated mate for being stuck with such a horrid person! You could have rejected her!" I wiped the wetness from my face, blinking hard to clear my sight.

"She's my mate," he repeated, defensive now. "I never intended to hurt you, Elara, I swear this isn't how I planned the night to go. But you, of all people, know how critical it was for me to mark my mate before The Offering arrives. It could be any day! And it's not like I could mate with you if you weren't my mate. You're a h—"

He cut himself off, but the word hung heavy and exposed in the air. I took a deep, shuddering breath, fighting the despair. "Human," I spat, finishing his sentence for him.

He was the only person in the entire pack who had never held that over my head. He was my sanctuary. Now he was on their side. He had pretended my unshifted status didn't matter, but it turned out it mattered so much that he preferred to mate with my cruel sister than be with me, the human.

"Don't try to make me the villain for finding my soulmate, Elara! Finding our one is what we've dreamed of for years! I didn't know it wouldn't be you, but you should still be happy for me!" he insisted, his voice rising in self-defense, only intensifying my hatred.

He made no move to step away from Lyra as she brazenly rubbed his shoulder, hooking her manicured claw around his chest to ensure I saw her possessive hold. I watched with disgust as his body began to respond to her touch again. I shook my head in disbelief.

"I feel only pity for you, Rhoan," I whispered.

My sister responded with a low, predatory growl of anger, but quickly smiled, lifting a triumphant eyebrow at me. "Please close the door behind you on your way out, runt. We're not finished in here yet."