ELARA
I was almost done dusting the shelves when the door slammed open behind me. The sharp smell of alcohol hit me before the voice did.
"What the hell is the cursed one doing in my room?"
I spun around so fast the rag slipped from my fingers. Zane stood there, tall and broad-shouldered, his shirt unbuttoned halfway, his eyes bloodshot from the plenty of alcohol he had drank. I quickly bowed my head, not meeting his gaze.
"I— I was just cleaning, brother Zane. I didn't mean—"
"Sorry, I meant Alpha Zane."
I had been warned by them to never address them as brothers, since the day my mother had married their father.
He let out a bitter laugh. "Cleaning? Since when do walking disasters play housemaids?"
"I was ordered to, my lord," I murmured, still facing the ground. My heart pounded in my chest.
Zane took a few uneven steps toward me, his boots thudding against the wooden floor. "Next time, you should clean with your face out of sight. I can feel the misfortune dripping off you."
I stiffened, clutching my apron. "Yes, my lord. I'll leave now."
I turned to hurry out, but just as I opened the door, I collided with someone standing there. My breath caught and raised my head to see that it was Sasha.
"Well, well," she said, her painted lips curling into a cruel smile. "Running off so soon, cousin?"
"I'm sorry," I whispered quickly. "I didn't see you."
Sasha didn't move. She folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe, blocking my path.
"So tell me… Where are you running to like some startled rat?" she asked, her voice loud and painfully sweet.
"Elara was just leaving," Zane called lazily from behind me. I shut my eyes, hoping that she would just let me go.
"She should be useful before she goes," Sasha said with a tilt of her head. "Get food for me and Zane."
My eyes widened. "I… I'm not—" I started, then swallowed hard. "But I'm not the kitchen maid. I can call one—"
Sasha's expression turned instantly cold. Before I could even complete the sentence, her fingers tangled in my hair and yanked my head back. I cried out, stumbling onto my knees.
"How dare you question your future Luna?" she snapped, her nails digging into my scalp, burning.
"Sasha please," I gasped. "You're hurting me!"
"I should hurt you," she hissed, twisting harder. "An Omega who murdered her own mother doesn't get to refuse orders or be free from pain."
"I didn't!" I cried, but my voice was shaking. "I didn't kill my mother!"
"You were there, weren't you? Crying like a banshee while your mother bled out!" Her breath was hot against my face. "You cursed this entire family the moment you were born. First, it was your father, then she. Who is going to be next? You cursed mutt!"
Tears stung my eyes. I didn't fight back. There was no point.
"Sasha, we were family," I said softly. "We used to play in the garden, remember? We were so close. You said we'd be sisters forever…"
Sasha yanked harder. "Sisters? Don't flatter yourself. The last person who loved you ended up six feet under. It would be stupid of me to show you any love. Since death is the penalty for such."
I whimpered, eyes shut against the pain. "Please… stop."
"Do you hear yourself? Begging like the lowly creature you are," she sneered. "You're not even a real wolf. Just a breathing nobody waiting to die."
I gritted my teeth, trying not to sob.
"Enough."
The voice was calm, but firm. It belonged to Kael.
I hadn't heard him enter. Sasha immediately released my hair and turned toward him with a charming smile. "Kael," she purred. "You startled me."
Kael's eyes briefly scanned me, crouched and shaking on the floor.
"What's going on?" he quizzed, though his tone didn't suggest curiosity.
"Elara's being stubborn," Sasha answered him, adjusting her dress like nothing had happened. "She refused to fetch food for me and Zane."
I struggled to my feet, wiping my tears quickly before Kael could comment on them.
"She didn't refuse," Zane said lazily from the bed. "She just forgot who's in charge."
Kael's cold gaze settled on me. "You need to learn your place, Elara. Always do as Sasha asks, she'll become our Luna once we ascend the throne. You're lucky we even let you breathe the same air in this palace because our father still married your dead—."
Without letting him finish, I swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes, Alpha Kael."
"Good," he said flatly, turning away.
I didn't say another word. I fled.
-
The tray in my hands trembled as I carried it back up the stairs. My fingers were sore from gripping the plates too tightly, and the heat from the food burned my skin, but I didn't dare stop. If I spilled anything, I would be beaten.
When I reached Zane's room, the door was open. I stepped in quietly.
Sasha was lounging on the bed beside Zane, her legs draped over his lap. Kael stood by the window, arms crossed, and beside him was Cian, another of the quadruplets. The only one missing was Dren.
I placed the tray down on the small table, trying not to look at any of them.
"Here it is," I murmured, turning to leave.
"Not so fast," Sasha said. "We were just talking about the mating ceremony tomorrow."
My feet froze.
Sasha's smile widened. "Big day, isn't it? You'll finally turn eighteen."
I nodded slowly, unsure if she expected an answer.
Cian chuckled from the side. "She probably thinks she'll find her mate and escape this palace like a princess in a fairy tale."
Zane laughed too. "Our cursed stepsister? Mate? Only a suicidal wolf would want her."
Kael smirked but said nothing.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I didn't respond. What could I say?
Sasha rose from the bed and approached me. "Maybe you should stay hidden tomorrow," she said sweetly. "We wouldn't want you to be humiliated when your wolf doesn't show or worse, when the bond link fails entirely."
My lips parted, but no words came.
"You do know your kind rarely gets their mate," Sasha added. "No wolf. No aura. You're more of a leech than a shifter."
Zane grinned. "Maybe the Moon Goddess just forgot you."
Their laughter echoed in the room like knives.
I clenched my fists. "That's enough."
They all turned toward me in surprise.
"Are you not tired of mocking me?" I choked out, "what did I ever do to any of you?"
Kael raised a brow. "Your existence stinks. We hate you for invading our space, we hate that everyone knows you as our stepsister. We hate that our father married the mother of a cursed mutt!"
Sasha continued from where he stopped. "I have it worse. I am related to this fool by blood. We are cousins and sometimes I feel like her curse might rub off on me."
"No baby, her curse can't rub off on you. You have an active wolf, remember?" Cian chipped in. "And tomorrow, the bond will spark and you will be mated to all four of us, which makes you the future Luna."
Sasha smiled while tears dropped from my eyes. She had it all, the perfect face, the perfect figure, the perfect smile and the love of my stepbrothers.
"You can take your pathetic stupid self out of here, we are done with you," Sasha dismissed me.
I didn't reply. My voice cracked as I turned and ran out.
I collapsed against the hallway wall just past the corner, breath ragged, my shoulders shaking. The tears came fast and hard this time, and I didn't try to stop them.
"Please," I whispered, gripping my pendant. "Moon Goddess, please don't let me stay cursed tomorrow. Please let me have a wolf, let me find a mate, so I can finally leave this place."
I tilted my face toward the ceiling, trying to breathe through the pain. "I don't care who he is. Just let him be kind. Let me belong somewhere."
The walls around me felt colder than ever.
"I just want to be free."
I sat there for what felt like hours, until my legs went numb.
Footsteps broke the silence. I wiped my face quickly, rising unsteadily.
A guard appeared at the end of the hall.
"Elara Wren," he said formally. "The Alpha King has summoned you."
I blinked. "The King?"
The guard nodded. "He requests your presence now."