The Blood Moon Last Lycan Daughter

I scrubbed the floor until my knees burned. The water turned brown from the dirt they tracked in on purpose. Celine walked past me in her clean white dress and kicked the bucket over. “Clean it again, Ember. You missed a spot.” I did not look up. Looking up only made them angrier. I dipped the cloth back into the dirty water and started over. My hands cracked and bled at the knuckles. No one cared. Sienna, the maid, stood in the doorway with her arms crossed. “She is slow again. Always slow. That is why the Alpha is weak. Bad blood in the house.” Mirelle laughed from the kitchen. “Bad blood and a weak spine. Look at her. She does not even fight back.” I kept scrubbing. The soap stung the open cuts on my fingers. I bit the inside of my cheek so I would not make a sound. Sound meant more work. Sound meant more words. Celine stopped in front of me. She crouched down so her face was close to mine. “Say thank you for the lesson, Ember.” “Thank you,” I whispered. “Louder.” “Thank you.” She smiled and stood. “Good girl. Now finish before father comes home or I will tell him you ruined my dress on purpose.” She had not even touched the dress. I still said nothing. I finished the floor on my hands and knees while they watched. When the last corner was clean I stood up. My legs shook. Sienna pointed at the stairs. “The Alpha’s boots need cleaning. And Celine’s room. And the guest rooms. Move.” I moved. Every step hurt. My back ached from bending all morning. In Celine’s room the bed was already made but she had thrown clothes on the floor again. I picked them up one by one. Silk and soft things I was never allowed to touch except to wash. I folded them carefully. If one crease was wrong she would make me start over. Selah came in while I worked. She was older and her voice was always soft when she wanted to cut deepest. “You should be grateful they keep you. Most packs would have thrown a useless daughter out. Or worse.” I nodded. Nodding was safer than words. “You know the truth, don’t you?” Selah continued. “You are the reason the pack loses fights. You are the reason the Alpha looks tired. Everyone says it. Even the pups say it.” My throat closed. I kept folding. My hands moved but my chest felt tight like someone was sitting on it. I wanted to scream that I trained harder than anyone, that I took every punishment, that I never complained. The words stayed locked behind my teeth. No one ever believed them. By the time the sun went down my arms were shaking. I had cleaned three rooms, the boots, the hallway, and the back steps. Dinner was served in the main hall. I waited outside the door with my head down until they finished. Leftovers were mine if any remained. Tonight there was a small plate of cold meat and dry bread. I ate standing in the kitchen corner. Sienna watched me the whole time. “Do not eat too fast. You will get fat and then who will want you?” I slowed down. The bread stuck in my throat. I forced it down because hunger made the nights longer. After the plate was empty I washed every dish. My fingers split open again under the hot water. Blood mixed with the soap. I rinsed it away before anyone saw. Blood made them talk more. Celine came into the kitchen with a sweet smile. “Father wants you in the study.” My stomach dropped. The study meant trouble. I dried my hands on my skirt and walked the long hallway. Every step felt heavy. Father sat behind the big desk. Mother stood beside him. Celine stood on the other side like she belonged there. Father did not look at me when he spoke. “The engagement papers are ready.” I knew those papers. They had my name on them since I was a child. Alpha Damon of the Blood Moon Pack. The strongest Alpha in the region. The papers were mine. Celine held them up. “They have my name now.” My heart stopped for a second. Then it started beating too fast. Father still did not look at me. “Celine will marry him. She is the better match. You will stay here and serve.” The words hit like a fist. I opened my mouth. Nothing came out at first. Then the plea spilled. “Please. Those papers were mine. I can be better. I will work harder. I will not make mistakes. Please do not give him to her.” Mother’s face stayed cold. “You make mistakes every day. You are slow. You are weak. Celine is the one who makes this pack proud.” Celine smiled and tilted her head. “You should thank me. I am taking the hard husband. Everyone knows Alpha Damon kills his wives. Seven already. They die on the full moon. Screaming. You would not last one night.” The room tilted. I had heard the rumors in the market when I was allowed to carry baskets. Seven wives. All dead. He lost control under the moon and tore them apart. I had pushed the stories away because the papers had my name. Now the papers had hers and the stories rushed back. I dropped to my knees. The floor was hard. “Please put my name back. Let her stay safe here. If I die no one will care. You said it yourself. I am nothing. Give me to him instead. I will go. I will not fight.” Father’s voice was flat. “Celine is the daughter we choose. You will stay and clean. That is your place.” Tears burned my eyes. I hated them. Tears made everything worse. “I will change. Tell me what to do and I will do it. I will listen better. I will not speak unless spoken to. Please. I am begging.” Mother stepped closer. “Get up. You look pathetic.” I stayed on my knees. “Please. I cannot watch her take everything and still smile. It hurts. It hurts every day. Just give me the marriage. Let me be the one who dies if that is what happens. At least then it will be over.” Celine laughed. The sound was bright and sharp. “Listen to her. She wants to die. How dramatic. Father, she is unstable. We should lock her in the cellar more often.” Father waved his hand. “Enough. The decision is final. Celine marries Alpha Damon in two weeks. Ember, go back to your work. If I hear you begged again you will sleep outside with the dogs.” I stood up slowly. My legs felt like they belonged to someone else. I walked out of the study without another word. The hallway was empty. I made it to the small room they gave me at the back of the house before my knees gave out. I sat on the thin mattress and pressed my face into my hands. The sobs came hard. I tried to keep them quiet so no one would hear and come punish me for noise. My chest hurt. My throat hurt. Everything hurt. I whispered the same words I whispered every night. “Please let me die. Please. I cannot do another day.” No answer came. The moon outside the small window stayed silent. I did not sleep. When the sky turned gray I got up and started the fires. Sienna found me in the kitchen and clicked her tongue. “You look worse than usual. Did you cry all night like a pup? Pathetic.” I did not answer. I moved the wood and lit the stove. My hands shook. She watched for a moment then left to wake Celine. The day started the same as every other day. Scrub. Carry. Clean. Listen to the words. “You are the reason the pack is soft.” “Even the Omega pups are stronger than you.” “Why do they keep you? Charity is a weakness.” I took every word and put it inside the same place I put the pain in my knees and the cuts on my hands. The place was full. It had been full for years. Still I kept putting more in because there was nowhere else for it to go. At midday Celine called me to her room. She sat in front of the mirror while I brushed her hair. The brush caught on a knot and she hissed. “Clumsy. Do it again. Softer.” I started over. My arms ached from the morning work. She watched me in the mirror. “You know what they say in the market now? They say Alpha Damon is coming to look at his bride. He will see me and be pleased. He will never know you existed. That is funny, is it not?” I kept brushing. “Yes.” “Say it properly.” “It is funny.” She smiled. “Good. When he takes me away you will still be here scrubbing floors. Maybe I will send you a letter describing the wedding night. Would you like that?” My hand tightened on the brush. I forced it to relax. “No.” “I did not ask if you wanted it. I will send it anyway.” She stood and turned. The brush was still in my hand. She took it and set it down. Then she slapped me across the face. The sound cracked through the room. My head turned with the force. Heat bloomed on my cheek. “That is for thinking you deserved those papers,” she said. “Never think it again.” I tasted blood where my teeth cut the inside of my mouth. I swallowed it. “I will not.” “Louder.” “I will not think it again.” She nodded, satisfied, and left me standing there with the stinging cheek and the brush in my hand. I finished her room. I finished the hallway. I finished the boots again because father had walked through mud. By evening my body felt like it was made of broken sticks. I ate the leftover bread in the kitchen corner. It was hard. I chewed until I could swallow. Sienna and Mirelle talked while they cleaned the pots. “She begged again today,” Sienna said. “On her knees like a dog.” Mirelle snorted. “Of course she did. She has no pride. That is why she is the slave daughter.” “I heard the Blood Moon Alpha kills them slowly. Rips them open under the moon. Maybe we should have sent her. At least then the floors would stay clean without her sad face.” They both laughed. I kept my eyes on the bread. The words went into the full place inside me. There was no more room but they went in anyway. When the house grew quiet I returned to my small room. I sat on the mattress and stared at the wall. The cheek still throbbed. The cuts on my hands had opened again and left red marks on my skirt. I pressed my palms together until the sting sharpened. “I am the problem,” I whispered to the empty room. “If I was better they would love me. If I listened more they would stop. It is my fault.” The words felt true because everyone said them. No one had ever said the opposite. Not once in my whole life. I lay down on the thin mattress and closed my eyes. Sleep did not come. The rumors about Alpha Damon circled in my head. Seven wives. All dead. Painful deaths. Full moon. Screaming. I whispered the same prayer again. “Please let me die before the wedding. Please. I do not want to watch her take him. I do not want to stay here either. Just end it.” The moon outside stayed quiet. The house stayed quiet. My chest stayed tight and full of every word they had thrown at me since I could walk. Morning would come. The scrubbing would start again. The words would start again. Celine would smile and the papers would stay in her name. I turned my face into the mattress so no one would hear the sound that finally broke out of my throat. It was small and raw and did not change anything. I was still here. Still the slave daughter. Still praying for a death that refused to come.