Under The Blood Moon

Chapter 1: The Wolf Within

The dining hall was too quiet for a house full of wolves. Silverware scraped against plates, every clink echoing like thunder. My father sat at the head of the long oak table, shoulders square, his sharp eyes scanning the room as though every bite needed his approval.

I picked at the roasted venison on my plate. My mother sat gracefully at his right, smiling politely but glancing at me more often than she should have. She knew. She always knew when the weight pressing down on me became too much.

“Isla.” My father’s voice cut through the silence, low and commanding. “Training reports. I’ve seen nothing with your name attached.”

I froze. My fork slipped. All eyes shifted to me, the air tightening.

“I’ve been focusing on patrols,” I said, hating the waver in my voice. “Strengthening my senses.”

“Senses?” His lip curled. “Without a wolf, what senses do you claim to have?” The words struck like a blade, deliberate and cruel.

My chest burned. I swallowed, forcing myself not to shrink.

Liam shifted beside me, leaning forward. “Father, she works harder than most warriors. Just because she doesn’t shift doesn’t mean—”

“Enough,” Father snapped. “You defend her too much. She must learn her place.”

“My sister’s place is in this pack,” Liam shot back. “You’d see it too if you weren’t so blinded by what you think she lacks.”

The room bristled. No one challenged the Alpha, not even his son. But Liam never cared about lines he wasn’t supposed to cross.

Father’s gaze hardened on me. “You shame this family with your weakness, Isla. A daughter of Alphas who cannot even shift. Tell me—what worth are you to this pack?”

The words hollowed me out. My mother flinched but said nothing.

“I…” My throat constricted. What worth did I have?

Liam slammed his palm on the table. Plates rattled. “She’s worth more than you give her credit for. You’ll regret underestimating her.”

Father leaned back, unimpressed. “You confuse loyalty with blindness. Do not let her drag you down with her.”

Silence. My heart pounded, my face hot with shame. Every whisper I’d overheard from the pack, every sideways glance—it all felt carved into my skin now.

I couldn’t stay another second. The walls pressed in. I pushed my chair back. “Excuse me,” I muttered and left, feet carrying me out of the hall, past stone arches and flickering torches.

The cool night air hit me, and I breathed again. The forest beyond the pack’s lands loomed, dark and endless. For the first time, I thought: maybe I didn’t belong here at all.

I didn’t head for my room. My feet carried me past the training grounds and toward the border, where the forest thickened and the sky opened wider. The moon hung heavy, a pale fire burning holes through the clouds. Every wolf in the pack would feel its pull tonight—every wolf but me.

I clenched my fists. No fur brushed my skin. No bones shifted. No wolf clawed forward. Just emptiness.

“I knew I’d find you here.”

I spun, heart leaping, then sagged when I saw Liam. He stood a few paces back, outlined in silver light, hair catching the glow like a halo.

“You shouldn’t have followed me.”

“You storm out of dinner, run toward the border, and expect me to sit inside? Not happening.”

“I don’t need a guard,” I snapped.

“You’re not a guard,” he said, stepping closer. “You’re my sister. And you’re walking into danger without thinking.”

“That’s the thing, Liam. You’re always protecting. Always reminding me of what I can’t do.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.” His hand caught my arm, firm but not harsh. “You know why I worry.”

I met his eyes. “Because I’m broken.”

His jaw tightened. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s true.” The words tumbled out. “Everyone knows it. You heard him tonight. I’m nothing without a wolf. I’ll never be enough.”

“You’re more than he’ll ever admit. You’re smart. Brave. You’ve got instincts no one else has. That matters.”

I laughed bitterly. “Instincts? That’s just failure dressed up nice.”

“I can’t breathe here, Liam. Every day I’m reminded I’m not like them. Every look, every whisper. I don’t belong.”

“You belong with us,” he said fiercely. “With me.”

“I’m suffocating,” I whispered.

The moon glared down, demanding something I couldn’t give. My legs carried me farther toward the trees.

“Isla, don’t.” His voice sharpened. “Don’t go any further. You don’t know what’s out there.”

I looked back at him, at the worry etched into his face. My chest ached with love for him, but it wasn’t enough.

“I can’t stay in this cage,” I said.

And I tore my arm free, storming into the shadows.

The trees closed in, whispering secrets. My pulse pounded with something wild, something dangerous, something that pulled me farther still.

The river shimmered under the moonlight, its current whispering against the rocks. I crouched near the bank, letting the spray hit my face.

Voices drifted from behind the trees.

“She’s hopeless,” one of the warriors muttered. “An Alpha’s daughter who can’t even shift. How long before she becomes a burden we all have to carry?”

“Already is,” another snorted. “Everyone knows Liam protects her too much. If she were mine, I’d send her off before she drags the pack down.”

“She should’ve been born human,” a third added, laughing. “Would’ve saved us the trouble.”

My nails dug into the dirt. I wanted to burst from the trees, to scream, to prove them wrong—but I had nothing to fight with. No claws. No wolf. Just silence.

Their voices faded as they moved deeper into the woods. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold the pieces together.

They were right. Every single word stabbed because they were right. I didn’t belong. I never had.

Tears came hot, blurring the moon’s reflection in the river. My father’s voice echoed in my mind: What worth are you to this pack?

None. That was the answer. None at all.

But as the sobs wracked me, something shifted inside. Anger threaded through the despair. I lifted my head, wiping my face. The river glistened, relentless and untamed.

Maybe that’s what I needed to be. Untamed.

“I won’t stay here,” I whispered to the night. “Not another day.”

The wind stirred the branches above me, carrying the promise of freedom. For the first time, it felt like resolve.

I stood, brushing dirt from my hands, and stared toward the lands that weren’t ours. Toward the unknown. My pulse quickened, not from dread but from anticipation.

The river roared, as though it agreed.

And somewhere deep inside, a pull stronger than doubt tugged me forward.

The forest thinned near the border, the air colder, the silence heavier. Every step crunched on dry leaves.

The line between our land and theirs wasn’t marked by walls, only by the weight of what lay beyond. The Lycan King’s territory. Forbidden. Dangerous.

I stood at the edge, staring into the shadows. The trees on the other side seemed taller, darker, guarding secrets the moonlight couldn’t touch. And yet—something pulled at me, a thread winding itself around my chest.

It wasn’t fear. It was… a summons.

Behind me, twigs snapped.

“Isla!” Liam’s voice, rough with panic. He burst through the brush, chest heaving. “What are you doing? You can’t be here.”

“I can’t stay,” I said, my voice quiet but steady.

“You’re not thinking straight,” he said, coming closer. “Whatever you heard, whatever Father said—it doesn’t matter. You’re still one of us.”

“One of us?” I let out a bitter laugh. “You heard them, Liam. They’ll never see me as one of them. And neither will he.”

His hand closed around my wrist. “Then fight harder. Prove them wrong.”

“I’ve been fighting my whole life, and I’m still the mistake everyone whispers about. I won’t waste another year choking on their doubt.”

“If you cross that line, you won’t be able to come back. You’ll lose everything.”

The wind stirred, carrying the scent of pine and something else—wild and unfamiliar, drifting from beyond the border. It coiled around me, sharp and intoxicating. My skin prickled, my breath caught.

“I already lost everything,” I whispered.

Before he could stop me, I stepped past the line. One step. Then another.

The moment my foot touched foreign soil, the pull tightened, wrapping around me like a vow. My heart raced, as if the very earth beneath me recognized something I didn’t yet understand.

“Isla!” Liam’s shout rang behind me.

I didn’t look back.

The shadows swallowed me whole, and the border was gone.