Selene's Point of View.
Three years went by quicker than I expected.
I will be turning 18th tomorrow, but these three years have been the most horrible years of my life.
It's been three years since Elira death, since I ran from the name Selene Nightbane, from the title Alpha's daughter, and from the weight of blame that still lives in my bones.
Now, I am just Selene with no last name, no legacy, and I am nothing but an ordinary rogue in the mud and shadows.
"Hey!" a voice chimed behind me, bright and bubbly, as if we weren't crouched in a patch of damp weeds, scavenging half-rotten vegetables from an abandoned garden.
I turned, brushing dirt from my fingers.
Kaya grinned down at the crooked pile of roots and herbs in her basket.
"Can you believe it? We'll be eighteen tomorrow!" she said with a giggle. "Are you excited to find your mate?"
I gave her a flat look and went back to pulling wild onions from the earth, the strong scent clung to my fingers.
Kaya knelt beside me, her golden curls bouncing as she hummed.
"I keep wondering what he'll be like, maybe tall, strong or with a scar across his jaw, something dangerous." She sighed dreamily. "Mates are meant to balance us, right? Maybe mine will be sweet and quiet." She paused as her eyes glittered.
"Preharps he is a healer, I would love that."
I said nothing, my gaze fixed on the pale, stringy root in my palm.
Kaya and I have always been assigned roles ever since I became a rogue and joined this gathering. She considered me as her friend but I have never pictured her that way.
Kaya nudged my shoulder. "What about you, Selene? You haven't said a thing."
"I'm not interested," I replied, voice low, almost mechanical.
Her smile faltered. "Not even a little?"
"We're rogues, Kaya," I muttered, dropping another onion into my basket. "Slaves, we are owned, forgotten and we don't get happy endings. Instead what we get are collars and having mates shouldn't excite us."
She frowned, but not in anger, just disappointment. "Even if we're rogues, we're still werewolves, still people. Don't you think we deserve love too?"
Deserve.
That word scraped something inside me.
I looked away.
She tilted her head. "Selene, come to think of it. It's been three years since we have been friends but you've never told anyone where you came from, and what pack you were exiled from."
"I wasn't exiled," I said, sharper than I intended. "And it doesn't matter where I'm from, what matters is where I am."
Kaya didn't push, she just smiled softly, her eyes bright as stars.
"Well, wherever you're from," she said, rising with her basket, "tomorrow's still our birthday and I hope your mate makes you smile again someday."
I didn't answer because I couldn't remember the last time I truly smiled and I am not interested in anything called happiness.
The rogue village creaked with the sounds of suffering.
That night I fainted after I ran away from my pack. It was Kaya and some rogues who found me and rescued me. They brought me into the gathering and ever since then, I have become a slave, serving older and stronger rogues.
I returned to my corner of the shared hut, bones sore from the last time I had been kicked by one of the guards for moving too slow. Hunger gnawed at my belly, but I ignored it, I had learned not to beg or show signs of need.
Pain was familiar now.
My wolf had gone silent since the day Elira died, and it's been three long years without a whisper.
I had watched other rogues shape shift while I hid in the corner feeling hopeless.
I undressed, walked into the little washroom and had a fast bath with the little water stored in a tight lid bucket.
After that, I got dressed in a more simple cloth and laid on the pieces of straw I patched tighter to form a mat.
I was more than wretched and I knew that my parents would be pleased to see me suffer for my sins.
I lay on the straw mat that barely counted as a bed, eyes fixed on the holes in the ceiling where moonlight bled through.
Tomorrow, I will be eighteen, and I don't care.
*
It was morning, the day I clock eighteen.
Suddenly, I heard a loud knock on the door.
The wooden slab slammed against the wall, jarring me awake with a start as a storm of boots and anger rushed in behind it.
"Up, mutt!" a voice barked.
I shot upright, chest heaving, the thin blanket tangled around my legs. Dust danced in the air, catching in the sunlight that filtered through the cracks in the roof.
The guard's silhouette filled the doorway, his mouth twisted with disdain, as his arms crossed over his broad chest.
I opened the door and met hot angry eyes on me.
"Still sleeping in like you're something special?" he spat. "You think turning eighteen makes you a goddess? You're still a filthy rogue. Now get to the fields before I drag you there by your hair."
"I…I'm sorry," I mumbled, voice hoarse with sleep. "I'll be ready soon."
He stepped forward, close enough for me to smell the sour ale on his breath. "Be quick, I don't care what day it is. You're not yet a woman, you're a workhorse and your destiny is to die as a rogue."
I said nothing, just nodded.
My gaze dropped to the floor.
"Good," he snapped, turning on his heel. "Be out there in five, or I will come back."
The door slammed shut behind him, shaking the crooked frame and leaving behind the stench of rot and authority.
My shoulders sagged as the silence returned. I exhaled shakily, willing my hands to stop trembling.
"Happy birthday, Selene." I sighed to myself.
I didn't bother with a shower, there was no time, and no water that wasn't cold or already soiled.
I wiped down with a damp napkin, biting my lip as I rubbed at the dirt caked along my neck and arms.
My reflection in the broken shard of mirror above the basin stared back, hollow-eyed and pale, black hair slicked into a braid that felt too heavy for my head.
My stomach let out a violent growl echoing through the room.
"You are hungry Selene." I muttered to myself but chose to ignore it as I walked out of the room, heading to the field.
The sun had no mercy that morning.
It hovered high, already burning down with a dry, unrelenting heat that made the air shimmer over the cracked soil. Dust coated everything, the buildings, the fields, and the very skin on our backs.
I crossed the stretch of hard-packed ground to the far edge of the field, where rows of crude tools waited for the unlucky. My hands closed around the wooden handle of a rusted plough, the grain rough and splintered under my calloused fingers.
Kaya was absent which surprised me.
I scanned the field again.
"Strange." I muttered to myself.
Kaya was never late.
We were always assigned to the same plot as we worked side by side, even if I pretended it didn't matter.
"Have you seen Kaya?" A voice whispered behind me.
I turned around to see Eryx, a redhead and friend to Kaya.
"No, have you?"
He shook his head, "It's weird, I didn't see her come out of her room this morning. I wanted to wish her a happy birthday…" he paused as his eyes lit up, "It's your birthday too, Selene. Happy birthday."
"Thanks." I muttered without a smile.
"Please, when you see Kaya, do let me know." He said and I nodded as he walked away.
I set my jaw, planted my feet in the dirt, and began to plough.
The heat bit at the back of my neck as the muscles in my arms screamed, sweat dripped from my chin.
Suddenly, a flash of pain, sharp, and deep struck me from behind.
I froze in shock, my bones shattered.
Immediately, the plough dropped from my hands and landed with a dull thud in the dirt.
I staggered backwards as I tried to control the pain as the last thing I wanted was to draw attention but a second wave struck me deeper, like something ancient had been sleeping in my blood and just woke up roaring.
"Ah!" I screamed out loud in anguish.
The scream tore out of me before I could stop it.
My knees buckled and my hands clutched my abdomen as fire exploded in my core, spreading like molten iron up my spine, into my ribs, my throat, and my skull.
My entire body twitched, twisted, my bones snapped so loudly that even the crows overhead went silent.
Every rogue around me stopped as all eyes fell on me.
I fell to the ground, my heart racing nonstop.
"What's happening to her?" I heard someone whisper from behind.
"Is she shifting?"
"She's faking it."
"No, that scream, I guess she's burning up."
I was on all fours now, panting, and digging my fingers into the soil like it could anchor me.
"Help me!" I rasped, voice raw.
"Please, what's happening to me?" I let out but no one moved.
They just stared at me, terrified.
"Why are you all staring at me?" I screamed.
"Help me!"
"I am in pain!"
My body convulsed again, harder this time, my shoulders dislocating and snapping back with inhuman force. The scream that left my throat was more beast than girl.
Suddenly, a voice, deep, familiar and frenched in fury spoke.
"You've kept me buried long enough." the voice boomed inside me.
I gasped, as my eyes widened in shock.
"No…" I whispered with trembling lips. "No, it can't be."
"You silenced me." The voice continued, "You denied me and you forgot who we are."
At that moment, I realized that it was my wolf.
She is alive and awake.
How is this possible?" I sobbed.
"After three years …"
"You ran away from me, Selene. You ran from yourself and let the guilt of Elira's death lock us both in the dark."
I shook my head as my fingers began to tremble.
"No." I muttered, shaking my head.
The pain lanced down my spine like a whip. My body arched back as bones shifted again.
At once, I heard the voice of a rogue behind me.
"She's shifting, Oh gods!" She gasped as they all watched me like a freaking show.
"I haven't seen something like this before," someone whispered. "Rogues don't shift like that, something is definitely wrong."
"She's possessed." one said.
The whispers stung like lashes.
"Stop looking at me!" I screamed. "Help me, someone help me!"
But no one dared approach.
"Let them watch," my wolf snarled.
"We are not meant to be rogues, Selene, we are Alphas!"
"I don't want that life," I cried. "I want her back, I want Elira…"
"Elira is gone!" she roared. "And if we don't rise now, you will be too."
The pain tore through me again, my ribcage breaking wide open as my hands cracked at the knuckles.
My nails turned black, and I collapsed into the dirt, eyes rolling back.
I could barely breathe.
"I am dying." I whispered.
I lay sprawled in the dirt, chest heaving, my skin soaked with sweat.
What's happening to me?
Suddenly, a loud voice cried out in the crowd.
"The Bloodmoon warriors are here!"
The entire field shifted as rogues began to panic, scattering like leaves in the wind, even the guards nearby stiffened in fear.
Bloodmoon?
My pulse quickened.
Footsteps approached, with heavy boots. and my head throbbed as I lifted it, just barely. The sun burned into my eyes, casting tall shadows across the field.
They stood before me, at least six of them.
They were dressed in dark, clean leathers, trimmed in silver, and marked with the sigil of the Bloodmoon Pack, a crescent wrapped in fangs.
Their presence darkened the assembly as all rogues were quiet and watched in fear.
One of the men stepped forward, he was tall and broad-shouldered with green cold eyes.
I was still on the floor, unable to move but my eyes didn't leave his face.
"Who among you here is Selene?" His voice roared as his eyes scanned through the crowd.
At once, all eyes pointed at me.
I watched as his eyes fell on me, a look of disgust was written all over his face.
"You?" He growled, not hiding his irritation.
He looked down at me as though I were a puzzle someone had left unfinished in the mud.
"Are you Selene?" he asked.
My lips parted.
At that moment, I couldn't find my voice at first.
"I…I am," I whispered.
"Good," he said, expression unreadable. "You're coming with us."
I blinked. "What?"
He didn't repeat himself.
I tried to push myself to my feet. My legs wobbled but held. "Why?" I asked, voice low, cautious.
Another warrior stepped forward, this one younger, leaner, but no less dangerous. His glare was sharp enough to cut.
"You don't get to ask questions, rogue," he snapped. "You obey. You come now."
Before I could protest, strong arms pulled me from the dirt and I felt a sharp pain like a bite on the curve of my shoulder.
"What are you doing to me?" I stammered.
My body went rigid and at once, I couldn't feel my feet.
I was paralyzed.
"Wha…what did you…" I slurred, the world spinning.
The warrior's eyes hardened.
"You were given the submission venom," he said with a shrug. "I know how wild you rogues are. Don't worry, it's temporary but you'll sleep like a baby."
"No…" I breathed, my vision darkening. "I'm not… going…"
My wolf snarled inside me, but her voice dimmed, slipping back into silence.
The last thing I saw before everything went black was the warrior's cold gaze, and the faint curve of a smirk on his face.
"You are coming with us to meet our Alpha."
*
The place felt cold as eyes.
Slowly, consciousness returned clawing at the edges of my mind.
My limbs felt heavy, foreign, like they didn't belong to me. My head throbbed with dull pain, and the air was thick with the scent of polished stone, and burning cedar.
"Where was I?" I muttered as my faint sight scanned around.
I blinked, forcing my eyes open.
Light spilled in golden sheets across the smooth marble floor beneath me, glinting off silver inlays and crimson banners that swayed in a phantom breeze.
I was on my knees but there were no ropes around my hands and feet.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps walking towards me.
My gaze lifted slowly, shakily, drawn to the figure that loomed ahead of me on a raised platform.
This time, my eyes fell on him.
A man and at a first glance, I knew that he wasn't just an ordinary man.
He stood like a weapon forged from night and fire.
He was tall, with shoulders broad enough to block the sun. His black tunic clung to every hard line of his body, trimmed in silver and blood-red accents that marked his status like a crown carved into fabric.
His hair was midnight-dark and swept back from his face, revealing angular cheekbones, a sharp jawline dusted with stubble, and lips pressed into a line of pure disdain.
And his eyes,
Gods.
They were sharp gold in color and as he looked at me, they blazed like molten metal, glowing faintly beneath the shadow of his brow, ancient and all-seeing.
They locked onto mine and my breath caught in my throat.
My wolf roared in excitement at the sight of him.
It wasn't gentle or beautiful, instead, the pain split me open.
A white-hot current surged through my chest, flooding my senses, igniting something deep inside me that I thought had died with Elira. My wolf lunged forward, howling in recognition, her voice rising with feral joy.
"Mate." she whispered.
No!
No, no, no!
This couldn't be happening.
My fingers trembled as our eyes didn't leave each other.
I didn't want this.
He wasn't looking at me with awe, instead, he stared at me like I was a disease.
His eyes narrowed, lips curling with something darker than anger, something close to hatred.
His voice cut through the silence like a blade drawn slowly.
"You?"
I flinched, the word felt like a slap.
He took a step back, muscles tensing like he had to restrain himself from ripping something apart.
"The Moon Goddess made you my mate?"