The mop handle rubbed my palms raw.
By midnight, they already stung. By one in the morning, they felt like they were on fire.
The training grounds were huge. Bigger than the omega dorm. Bigger than my whole world, it felt like. Packed dirt. Deep claw marks. Old blood stains ground into the earth. The lights along the fence buzzed and flickered, throwing harsh yellow on everything.
It smelled like sweat and iron and wet soil.
"Every inch," Kade had said earlier. "Until sunrise."
His voice kept replaying in my head.
"You want to leave my pack? Fine. You work first. You get to remind everyone what failure looks like."
It was my fault. I shouldn't have tried to run. I made him angry again.
Now I was here. Alone.
Almost.
Crickets chirped in the grass. A cold wind slid through the open field and under my hoodie, making me shiver. The bucket sloshed as I dragged it along, dirty water splashing over my shoes. My socks were soaked. My toes were numb.
I bent, scrubbed another dark patch on the ground with the old brush. The bristles were stiff from use. My cut knees pressed into the dirt. Every time my jeans rubbed those scrapes from the ceremony, pain shot up my legs.
I bit it down.
"Work," I whispered to myself. "Just work. Don't think."
My wolf lay quiet in my chest. Tired. Hurt. She didn't even have the energy to whine anymore. I wasn't sure if that was better or worse.
Voices drifted over from the far side of the grounds.
Laughter. Deep and rough, echoing across the space. The sound made my shoulders tense automatically.
Warriors.
They should have been asleep. Or doing night patrol. But of course they wanted to use the field while I was here. Wolves loved a show.
I kept my head down.
Boots scuffed the dirt behind me. The scent of stronger wolves hit my nose—male sweat, leather, meat from late dinner. My hands started shaking again.
"Look at that," one of them said, amused. "Little omega on her hands and knees. Alpha really wasn't playing."
They laughed.
Heat crawled up my neck. I scrubbed harder. The stain wasn't even that bad. I'd already passed over it once. I just needed something to do with my hands.
"Hey." Another voice, closer. "You deaf? Our Alpha talking to you earlier didn't fix your ears?"
I swallowed and forced myself to speak. "I'm almost done with this section," I said, voice small. "I'll move soon. Sorry. I'll stay out of the way."
"Out of the way?" someone snorted. "You're right in the middle of the field."
I stayed bent over the stain. My back hunched. I stared at the ground so I didn't have to see their faces.
If I didn't look up, maybe they'd get bored.
A boot nudged my bucket.
Water sloshed over the rim, soaking the knees of my jeans and the edge of my sleeve. The sudden cold made me gasp.
"Oops," the warrior said. Fake sympathy dripped from his tone. "My bad."
The others laughed again.
"It's okay," I said fast. "It's fine. I'll clean it. I… I should've kept it further back. That's my fault."
I reached for the bucket with both hands. My fingers slipped on the wet handle. My bandaged palm screamed under the pressure. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop the sound that tried to escape.
Another boot came down on the mop lying by my side.
When the warrior twisted his foot, the handle jerked out of my reach. The end of it smacked into my shoulder and knocked me off balance.
I caught myself on my hands.
Dirt and gravel dug into my skin. Mud smeared my pants.
The packhouse lights glowed in the distance. From here, I could see the balcony outside the Alpha's office. A dark shape stood at the rail. Broad shoulders. Stillness that didn't belong to anyone except him.
He was watching.
Of course he was.
My stomach dropped.
"I said I was sorry," I whispered, though I wasn't even sure who I was talking to anymore. Them. Him. The Moon. "I'm trying."
"What was that?" The first warrior cupped a hand around his ear. "Speak up, omega."
"I…" My throat felt tight. "I said I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't clean the field faster," another one said. "Maybe if you moved like your life depended on it."
"That's because it does," the first one added, grinning. "Alpha said sunrise, right?"
The word Alpha sent a fresh rush of shame through me. My chest felt tight and hot. I didn't dare look toward the balcony again.
This was all happening because I was stupid.
If I had stayed in my bed. If I had accepted the rejection without running. If I wasn't his mate at all. If I hadn't been born.
So many ways this could have been better if I just didn't exist.
"I'll go faster," I said. My voice shook so hard it barely came out. "I promise. I won't make him look bad again."
The warriors went quiet for a beat.
Then one of them laughed, surprised. "Make him look bad? You really think you matter that much?"
"Yeah," another chimed in. "Alpha's not worried about some useless little omega. He just needs something to mop the floor with."
"Literally," someone muttered.
They roared at their own joke.
Tears burned the back of my eyes. I blinked them away. If I cried, they'd only laugh harder. I needed to make myself smaller. Quieter. Maybe they'd forget I was here.
I grabbed the brush again with my good hand and started scrubbing the wet dirt like it had done something wrong.
The ground blurred.
My arms ached.
The night stretched on.
They stayed.
They decided to "train."
Not proper drills. Not real work. Just shoving each other around, wrestling, making a show of their strength right next to me. Their growls and shouts echoed off the empty bleachers. Every time they slammed someone into the dirt, dust puffed up into my face, making me cough.
Once, a body crashed just beside me.
A heavy weight thumped into the earth close enough that my brush flew out of my hand. I jerked back with a little cry.
"Careful," the warrior on top said, pinning his friend with a knee to the chest. He gave me a lazy smile over his shoulder. "Didn't mean to scare you, omega. You're jumpy as hell."
"I–I'm fine," I said. "I'm okay. I'll just… move over there. I'm in the way. I shouldn't have—"
"You're already in the way," he cut in. "Might as well stay."
They went back to crashing into each other.
I crawled to get my brush. My jeans were soaked and heavy now. Mud clung to the fabric. My fingers were stiff from cold and overuse. My lungs hurt from breathing in dust and damp air.
I kept going.
Scrub. Rinse. Drag the bucket. Repeat.
My thoughts blurred into one long apology.
I'm sorry. I ruined everything. It's my fault he's angry. If I do this right, maybe he'll calm down. Maybe he won't look at me like I'm trash the next time. Maybe…
I snorted at myself quietly.
There wouldn't be a next time.
I was staying here as punishment. That was it. To be a reminder.
"Fuck," one of the warriors hissed, rubbing his shoulder after a hit. The curse snapped me out of my spiral. "You didn't have to throw me like that, man."
"Then don't leave your side open," the other said. He sounded annoyed, but there was a laugh under it. Their rough breaths floated on the cold air, mixing with the faint smell of meat still on their clothes.
They were wolves. Strong. Loud. Alive.
I was just… here.
"Hey."
The word came from behind me. Deeper. Different.
The others fell quiet fast.
My heart dropped to my toes.
I didn't need to turn to know who it was.
Kade.
His scent hit a second later. Smoke and rain and male. It wrapped around my senses so tight my knees almost gave out.
I forced myself to keep scrubbing. My back bent lower. Maybe if I sank into the ground, he wouldn't see me.
Didn't matter. He always saw everything.
"Alpha," the warriors said as one, straightening up.
Bootsteps moved closer. Slower than theirs. Heavy. Steady.
He stopped a few feet away from me.
I could feel his stare burning into the back of my head.
"Still not done," he said.
His tone was calm. Too calm. It made my stomach twist.
"I'm sorry," I said right away. My voice came out hoarse. "I–I'm almost finished. I'm too slow. I can go faster. I just— I slipped. That's my fault, I—"
"Stand up."
Two words. Flat.
I froze.
I didn't want to stand. Not like this. Covered in mud. Hands shaking. Hair stuck to my sweaty forehead. I looked like what they said I was.
Trash.
But he had told me to stand.
So I did.
My legs wobbled when I pushed myself upright. My feet slid a little in the wet dirt. I kept my eyes glued to the ground. My shoulders curled in without me thinking.
"Look at me," he said.
My throat tightened.
I lifted my head.
Slow.
His face was hard in the yellow field lights. No emotion. No warmth. Just that iron control he wore like a second skin. His dark eyes moved over me—my ruined clothes, my scraped knees, my stained hands.
Something flickered there. Too quick to catch.
Then it was gone.
Behind him, the warriors tried very hard to look like they weren't staring. Lena stood near the fence in a long coat, arms folded. I hadn't even seen her arrive. Her mouth curved up when she saw my state.
Of course she did.
My cheeks burned.
"I told you sunrise," Kade said.
"Yes," I whispered. "I know. I'm sorry. I'll finish. I promise. I'm just… I'm clumsy. That's my fault. I made it harder. I—"
"Stop talking."
I bit my tongue.
The wind picked up and whipped my hair into my face. I pushed it back with my bandaged hand. The gauze was brown at the edges from dirt.
"You tried to run last night," he said.
Every muscle in my body locked.
He probably knew the second I stepped toward the border. I was so stupid to think I could slip past an Alpha's senses.
"It was a mistake," I said. My voice shook so bad the words almost broke apart. "I wasn't thinking. I just— I panicked. I made things worse. I'm sorry."
"You keep saying that."
He took one slow step closer.
I forced myself not to back up. My legs still twitched with the urge to move.
"Sorry doesn't change what you are," he said. "Sorry doesn't change what the Moon did. You want to leave because you're weak."
My eyes burned again.
He wasn't wrong.
"And weak wolves die out there." His gaze stayed locked on mine. It felt like he was pinning me in place with his eyes alone. "I'm not letting you take my bond into another pack or the human world. I won't have my mistake walking around free."
Mistake.
The word sliced deeper than it should have.
"I understand," I said. My voice sounded tiny. "I–I won't try again. I'll stay where you put me. I promise. I'm sorry I disobeyed. I'm sorry I made you look—"
"You don't get to leave this pack," he cut in. "You stay. You work. You keep your head down. You do what you're told."
I swallowed hard and nodded. My wolf curled in tighter around my ribs.
"Yes, Alpha."
He watched my face for a long second. My skin crawled under the weight of it. My heart hammered like it was trying to get out.
"Everyone here," he said, raising his voice enough the warriors and Lena could hear, "gets to see what happens when the Moon makes a mistake." His eyes flicked over my shoulder at them, then back to me. "You're staying as a servant. As a reminder."
Laughter rippled behind him. Mean and satisfied.
I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me.
A reminder.
Of failure. Of wrongness. Of something the Moon tried and should never try again.
Of him choosing someone else.
My eyes blurred. Tears slipped out even though I tried to blink them away. They slid down my muddy cheeks, hot and useless.
"I'm sorry," I said again, because I didn't know what else to say. "I ruined everything."
"Yeah," one of the warriors muttered behind him. "You did."
Kade didn't argue.
He just stared at me with that cold, even look that made my chest hurt even more than yelling would have.
"Finish the field," he said. "Then report to the kitchens. You don't sleep until they say you can."
My body flinched.
He turned away without waiting for an answer.
The warriors stepped aside for him fast. Lena moved closer as he passed her. She leaned in, said something low that I couldn't catch.
He didn't look back.
I watched his broad shoulders fade into the dark beyond the fence, the packhouse lights catching the edge of his shirt.
My hands shook around the mop handle.
It was fine.
I deserved this.
I had tried to run. I had made him look bad. I had messed up the bond.
If working until my body broke was what it took to make up for that, then… okay.
I wiped my face with my sleeve. It just smeared the tears and dirt together, but whatever.
Then I dropped back to my knees.
The mud was cold and soft under my weight. The brush felt heavy in my hand.
I scrubbed.
The warriors went back to their games.
Someone "tripped" and bumped into me an hour later. I went face-first into the slime near the pits, the taste of dirt and old blood clogging my mouth.
They laughed.
I pushed myself up, wiped my lips, and kept working.
The sky above the yard stayed dark.
Sunrise felt a thousand miles away.