The pack house buzzed with noise that morning. Everyone hurried from one place to another, preparing for Emily's eighteenth birthday celebration. Suri moved quickly towards the main building to answer Luna Amelia's summons. Every muscle in her body still ached from the endless chores she had done since the day before for Emily's special day. All she wanted was to escape to the river, swim in the cool water, and then sleep for a very long time.
When she reached the Alpha quarters, she knocked lightly on Emily's door before pushing it open. Luna Amelia stood in the middle of the room with both fists planted on her hips, glaring at Suri the moment she stepped inside. Suri's heart gave a sharp jump when she saw Emily's cheeks wet with tears and the beautiful dress, the same one Suri had collected from the laundry that morning, crumpled on the bed beside her.
"Luna, you sent for me," Suri said, keeping her voice calm and even.
Luna Amelia closed the distance between them in two angry strides and slapped her hard across the face without a single word. The sting exploded over Suri's cheek. Tears instantly gathered in her eyes. She pressed her palm to the burning skin and stared at Luna Amelia in confusion.
"You ruined Em's dress?" Luna Amelia hissed.
Suri's gaze flicked to the ruined dress on the bed, then to Emily, who was still crying. Confusion twisted inside her chest.
"No, I didn't," she answered, forcing her voice to stay steady so they would not see any sign of weakness.
Before she could blink, Luna Amelia slapped her again and again. The sharp sounds rang in the quiet room.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Luna Amelia shouted. "You're the one who brought her dress from the laundry!" She grabbed a thick handful of Suri's hair and yanked hard. "Admit it!" She shoved Suri's head down roughly. Suri could not hold back a small whimper of pain. "Admit that you're jealous of her! Admit that you did this because you never had a grand birthday like hers! Admit that you are worthless and weak!"
Anger rose hot in Suri's chest, but she knew better than to let it spill out. She had learned long ago to hold herself back. If she dared to strike Luna Amelia or even Emily, her father, the Alpha, would punish her severely. He would never believe her side.
"I didn't do it," she maintained.
"Shut up!" Emily screamed. "You're the only one who has entered my bedroom today." She leapt from the bed and charged at Suri, fists flying.
Suri refused to strike back. She lifted her arms and twisted away, dodging the blows as best she could. She knew that if she so much as raised a hand in defence, Emily and her mother would run straight to her father with lies that Suri had attacked them, and Daddy Dearest would believe every word. When the hits grew wilder and more frantic, Suri finally caught Emily's wrist to stop the rain of blows.
At that exact moment, the door burst open. Emily instantly crumpled to the floor, clutching her cheek and sobbing as though her heart would break. Luna Amelia rushed to her side and gathered her into her arms.
"What's going on here?" her father's deep voice demanded as he stepped into the room. His glare landed on Suri.
He always wanted her to be the one at fault, even when she was innocent. Suri blinked hard to clear the tears from her eyes, forcing herself to look strong. He hated any sign of weakness in her. Her father had despised her since the day she was born, blaming her for her mother's death in childbirth. When she failed to shift at eighteen and gain her wolf, his hatred had only deepened into bitter disappointment. He called her cursed, weak, pathetic. All her life she had worked twice as hard as anyone else at her studies, at every task, to prove she was none of those things.
Emily's wails grew louder. She scrambled to her feet and flung herself into their father's arms.
"Daddy, it's Suri! She ripped my dress, and when Mummy and I asked her why, she suddenly started to beat me."
"What? No!" Suri cried, turning to him. "That's not—"
His hand cut through the air and struck her face with a force that made her head spin and her ears ring. She bit her lower lip until she tasted blood, refusing to cry out, and met his furious glare with one of her own.
"How dare you?" he snarled.
They stood locked in that silent, burning stare. Even through his rage, Suri could see something else troubling him, worry flickering behind the anger, but she no longer cared.
"Now, get out," he said curtly.
She swallowed the sharp retort that rose to her tongue and turned to leave. It was safer to keep her head down than to provoke him further. Of all the hurts she carried, his treatment wounded her the deepest. He was supposed to be the one person who would always stand by her.
As she reached the doorway, his low voice drifted after her, speaking to Amelia.
"There is a problem, dear. King Ragnar sent word that he and his people are coming to our pack in two days," her father said, a thread of panic lacing his tone.
Suri froze in the corridor. King Ragnar, the formidable Lycan King, was feared across every pack. His visits to werewolf territory rarely ended well. For years he had terrorised their kind. What could he possibly want with Moonfang?
Leaving the main house, Suri walked slowly back to the remote corner of the pack grounds where her father had isolated her. He kept her hidden from his council and from the rest of the pack, claiming she was too wild and unruly to be trusted with pack matters. He had openly named Emily as his heir, the daughter he proudly showed to everyone, the one he trained to lead after him. Most pack members did not even know he had another daughter at all.
When she finally reached her small, cramped room, she closed the door behind her with a soft click. Only then did she let the tears come, hot and unstoppable, streaming down her cheeks in silent rivers.
That evening, while music and laughter spilled from the pack house for Emily's grand birthday celebration, Suri slipped away unnoticed. She made her way through the dark woods to the river that lay at the far edge of their territory. She could not understand how her father could throw such an elaborate party when the shadow of the Lycan King's visit hung over them all. Yet she knew it was pointless to worry. He would never listen to anything she had to say.
The moon hung high and full in the clear night sky, bathing the world in silver light as she reached the riverbank. This place had always been her secret refuge, a quiet spot far from the pack, where she could escape the noise and the pain of everything waiting for her back home.
She waded into the cool water and dived beneath the surface, staying under until her lungs burned and begged for air. When she broke through again, gasping, her heart nearly stopped. A man stood on one of the large rocks that edged the river, staring straight at her.
Fear gripped her like icy fingers around her throat. Her pulse hammered wildly against her ribs. He did not move to leave, nor did he make any threatening gesture, but his sharp and unblinking gaze pinned her in place. She had never seen him before, and he was clearly far larger and more dangerous than any man she had ever encountered.
Was he a rogue? An enemy Alpha?
Whatever he was, she had no intention of finding out. All she wanted was to reach the bank, snatch her dress and phone, and run.
"Please," she called out, her voice trembling despite her effort to sound steady. She guessed that since he had not moved, he might be waiting for her to climb out of the water before he made his move. "Do not harm me. I promise I won't tell anyone I saw you."
Silence.
Suri was not the sort to beg anyone, ever. But one look at the sheer size of him, his thick, powerful arms that could snap her neck in an instant, told her pride was worth less than her life. Better to appear weak for a moment than to die foolishly.
Without a single word, the stranger turned his broad back to her and walked a short distance away, giving her space.
Relief flooded through her as she swam quickly to the bank, grabbed her dress and phone, which were thankfully still dry and unharmed, pulled her clothes on in frantic haste, and bolted into the trees. She did not stop running until she was safely back in her cramped room, chest heaving, heart still racing.
That night, as she finally drifted into uneasy sleep, the mysterious stranger haunted her dreams.