I clipped the moonstone to my ear, its glow pulsing faintly against my skin. Today was meant to be a day of joy, double celebration: Vincent's crowning and my daughter Lina's seventh birthday.
I slipped into the dress they had forbidden me to wear, the one embroidered with the symbol of the pack I came from. A final act of quiet defiance. I stood before the mirror and saw someone familiar... someone I might have become, had this forsaken place not swallowed me whole.
Beside me, Lina hummed softly, braiding bright ribbons into her doll's tangled hair. I smiled. She was the only light in this dark home, the reason I hadn't gone mad.
"Throw it now! Before she walks out!"
"Hey, catch it, fool!"
A vial shattered above me.
Liquid rained down, cold at first, then searing. I screamed as it scorched my skin. My eyes burned. I clawed at my face, but the pain only worsened. Fire crawled along my neck, sinking into every nerve.
"Mommy!" Lina's voice cracked through chaos.
I turned blindly, just in time to hear her cry out. Another vial had exploded at her feet, splashing her bare legs. She fell with a shriek, clutching her ankle as red blisters formed along her skin.
"She looks so ugly now," Haley sneered.
"Calling her a monster fits better," Vincent added.
It was them. I looked up through the blur of tears and smoke, glaring at the siblings who stared back without remorse, contorting their faces into mockery.
"She's glaring at us! Brother, she looks scary!"
"How dare you look at my sister like that!"
Something heavy struck my forehead. I stumbled, pain flashing white behind my eyes. Blood trickled into the burning poison on my face. Through the haze, I spotted the object that had struck me.
Wolfsbane.
"You—" My voice cracked with disbelief. "You splashed wolfsbane on us?! Are you insane?!"
I lunged at Vincent, grabbing his arm. He screamed, kicked, spat every filthy insult he could think of.
"Don't touch me, you stupid woman! Let go!"
Haley bit my hand, her teeth sinking deep. "He's the future Alpha! Don't touch him, you filthy woman!"
Reflex took over. I shoved them both away. Haley hit the ground with a dull thud, then wailed as blood pooled beneath her head. Vincent scrambled to her side, frantic.
"You evil witch! You hurt her!" he screamed. "I wish you had died instead of our mother!"
The words landed like knives, twisting in the wounds already bleeding inside me. But he wasn't wrong. They weren't mine, never were. I took them in when my stepsister, Hannah, died. I shouldn't have. But she had once saved my life. And in return, I vowed to the Moon Goddess that I would care for her children as if they were my own.
Behind me, Lina sobbed quietly, clutching her injured leg.
The door burst open. Flora arrived first, followed by the servants, her eyes darting to the blood on Vincent's arm before rushing to Haley's side. When she saw the wound, her face twisted in rage.
"Janice! What have you done?!"
"They threw wolfsbane on us!" I shouted, spinning toward her. "On me and on Lina!"
Wolfsbane. A forbidden poison to our kind. Anyone caught using it would be dealt appropriately and the punishments often end with death.
Vincent knew it. He sniffled and lowered his gaze, faking tears. "We didn't do it…"
I stared at him with cold disdain. "You think I did this to myself? To my daughter?"
Flora never looked away from Vincent. "He probably thought it was perfume or something. He knows you're attending his coming-of-age ceremony and just wanted you to be presentable. He's just a child."
"And Lina isn't?" I snapped. "He knew exactly what it was. And I will report him to the council. He deserves punishment."
"What punishment?"
A new presence filled the hallway. Alpha Jacob.
The children's father. My former fiancé. The man who had chosen my stepsister over me.
He stopped in the doorway, his gaze cutting straight through me before dropping to my dress. His jaw clenched.
"I told you to dress properly," he said coldly. "You're not wearing that to the ceremony."
"I prepared properly," I replied, my voice trembling with fury. "They ruined it."
Jacob's gaze flicked to Vincent, who whimpered again. "It was an accident…"
"You're still blaming the children?" Flora spat. "That rag is what you planned to wear? I would've thrown acid on you myself."
Jacob didn't blink. "Clean yourself up. The other alphas are arriving. I don't want them seeing you like this."
He looked at me as if I am a disgrace. Blood still dripped from my temple. My skin still burned. Lina whimpered softly from the corner, curled around her wounded leg. Forgotten.
I stepped forward.
"No," I said, my voice was clear.
Jacob froze. "What?"
"I'm fed up. I've always treated them with kindness. All they've done in return is torment me and now they've harmed my child. I'm done. I'm leaving."
Jacob frowned. "You're being dramatic. You still have to attend Vincent's ceremony. Stop making excuses."
"I'm not making excuses," I snapped. "I've given you and your children everything. This pack has taken everything from me. But not today."
My voice rose, resolute.
"Because I. Am. Leaving."
