SEREN POV
The bathroom door slams open, and I know I'm in trouble.
I'm washing my hands when Elowen walks in with four of her friends. The same girls who used to bully me at my old school before I transferred here.
They're all smiling. But it's not friendly.
"Well, well," Elowen says, blocking the exit. "If it isn't the Voss brothers' little charity project."
I grab my backpack. "Excuse me. I need to get to class."
"I don't think so." She steps closer. "We need to have a conversation about you and YOUR PLACE."
My heart is racing, but I keep my voice steady. "I'm not looking for trouble, Elowen."
"Too bad. Trouble found you anyway." She nods to her friends. They spread out, surrounding me. "You really think the Voss brothers CARE about you? They pity you. That's all."
The words hurt more than they should. Because part of me believes her.
"They don't pity me," I say, trying to sound confident. "They—"
"They WHAT?" Elowen laughs. "Marked you? Please. That was probably a mistake. Or maybe they were just curious what it's like to bond with a defective wolf."
"I'm not defective anymore." My wolf stirs inside me, angry. "I have a wolf now. A strong one."
"Do you?" Elowen's eyes flash with rage. "Then USE IT. Shift. Right now. Prove you're not the same pathetic wolfless freak you've always been."
I try. I really do. But my wolf is still new, still learning. I can feel her, but I can't shift yet.
Elowen sees my struggle and grins. "That's what I thought. You're still NOTHING."
She moves so fast I don't see it coming.
Her hand grabs my hair and SLAMS my head into the sink.
Pain explodes through my skull. Blood pours from my forehead into my eyes.
"No one cares about you!" Elowen screams, slamming my head again. "You're just a MISTAKE!"
Her friends join in. One kicks my ribs. Another pulls my hair so hard I feel strands ripping out. Someone tears my shirt.
"Know your PLACE, wolfless!" Elowen spits in my face.
I try to fight back, but there are too many of them. Every time I push one away, another hits me.
My wolf is SCREAMING inside, trying to break free. But I can't let her. Not here. Not with witnesses.
FIGHT BACK, she snarls. PROTECT US. KILL THEM.
I can't. If I shift and hurt them, I'll prove everyone right—that I'm dangerous. Unstable. A threat.
So I do what I've always done.
I take it.
Let them hit me. Kick me. Hurt me.
Because fighting back only makes things worse.
After what feels like forever, they stop.
I'm on the floor, bleeding, broken. Again.
"Pathetic," Elowen says, standing over me. "The Voss brothers will get bored of you soon. And when they do? You'll be right back where you belong. Alone. Worthless. Nothing."
They leave, laughing.
I lie on the cold bathroom tiles, tasting blood.
My wolf is crying. WHY DIDN'T WE FIGHT? WHY DID WE LET THEM HURT US?
"Because fighting makes it worse," I whisper. "It always makes it worse."
I don't know how long I stay there. Minutes? Hours? Time feels strange when everything hurts.
Finally, I drag myself up. Look in the mirror.
Blood everywhere. Bruises forming on my face. My shirt is torn. My ribs scream with every breath.
I can't go to class like this.
But I can't go to the nurse either. They'll ask questions. Call my parents. Make a big deal out of nothing.
Because this IS nothing. This is normal for me.
I clean the blood as best I can. Use paper towels to stop the bleeding from my forehead. Find my spare hoodie in my backpack and put it on, hiding the torn shirt and bruises.
The reflection staring back at me looks like a ghost.
But I'm good at being a ghost. I've had lots of practice.
I slip out of the bathroom and somehow make it through my afternoon classes. Teachers don't notice. Students don't care.
Vesper texts me: "Where are you? Missed you at lunch!"
I don't respond. Can't explain without crying.
When the final bell rings, I limp toward the parking lot. Every step hurts. My ribs might be cracked. My head is pounding.
But I survived. Like always.
I just need to get home. Get to my room. Lock the door. Pretend this didn't happen.
The brothers can't know. They'll ask questions. Want explanations. Maybe even blame me for causing trouble.
Or worse—they'll pity me. Look at me like I'm broken.
I AM broken. But I don't need them to see it.
I'm almost to the parking lot when I feel it.
The marks on my skin start burning. Hot. Urgent.
Something's wrong.
I look up just as a black car screeches to a stop in front of me.
The door opens. Someone grabs me, pulls me inside before I can scream.
The door slams shut. The car speeds away.
I try to fight, but my injuries make me weak. I can barely move.
"Stop struggling," a female voice says. Cold. Clinical. "I'm not going to hurt you. Much."
I force my eyes to focus.
The woman sitting across from me is maybe fifty, with gray-streaked hair and ice-blue eyes. She's wearing a doctor's coat.
"Who are you?" I gasp.
"Dr. Helena Vex." She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "I've been waiting a long time to meet you, Seren. Or should I say... Subject Zero?"
Subject Zero?
"I don't know what you're talking about," I say, trying the door handle. Locked.
"Oh, I think you do." Dr. Vex pulls out a tablet and shows me a photo. It's a baby—me, I think—lying in a hospital bed with wires attached to my tiny body. "Twenty years ago, I created you. Well, not created. Enhanced. Modified. Perfected."
My blood turns to ice. "What?"
"Your mother was a desperate Omega who needed money. I paid her handsomely to let me experiment on her unborn child." Dr. Vex swipes to another photo—my mom, younger, signing papers. "I injected you with genetic modifications in utero. Made you into the perfect Lunar Omega. Stronger. Faster. More powerful than any wolf in history."
I'm shaking my head. "You're crazy."
"Am I? Then explain the power inside you. The wolf that shouldn't exist. The five mate bonds that broke every natural law." Her eyes gleam with excitement. "You're my masterpiece, Seren. And I've come to collect my creation."
The car pulls into an underground garage. Stops.
"Where are you taking me?" I demand.
"To my laboratory. Where you belong." Dr. Vex stands. "Don't worry. Your precious mates won't find you. I've made sure of that."
The door opens. Men in black uniforms grab me, drag me out of the car.
I try to scream, but one of them covers my mouth.
Through the bond, I feel my mates' panic. They know something's wrong. They're looking for me.
But they won't find me in time.
Dr. Vex leans close and whispers, "Did you really think your awakening was an accident? I've been planning this for twenty years. Your wolf woke up exactly when I wanted it to. And now..." She touches my face almost tenderly. "Now I'm going to take everything that makes you special. Your power. Your bonds. Your wolf. And when I'm done? I'll be the most powerful being in the world."
She nods to the guards. "Take her to the extraction room. We begin immediately."
They drag me toward a metal door.
I'm bleeding. Broken. Terrified.
And no one knows where I am.
Through the bonds, I send one desperate message to my mates:
HELP ME. PLEASE. I'M SORRY. I LOVE—
Something stabs into my neck. Cold liquid floods my veins.
The world goes dark.
And the last thing I hear is Dr. Vex saying:
"Sleep well, Subject Zero. When you wake up, you won't remember them at all. You won't remember anything except serving me."
Then nothing.