Chapter 2
I crouched by the entrance to the Blue Moon Lounge, my body trembling with a strange sense of relief.
My face wasn’t scarred yet, not like the time Gregory’s mother had shoved it into a burning coal brazier, leaving me permanently disfigured. My nose wasn’t filled with the stench of rotting flesh and medicinal ointment that had clung to my right cheek for years. My knees weren’t ruined from the endless punishments of kneeling that Gregory’s family had inflicted on me, leaving me limping and labeled a “crippled wretch” by others. My stomach wasn’t constantly aching from the repeated miscarriages that had left me broken.
I dug my claws into my palms, the sharp pain grounding me. This wasn’t a dream.
When I heard footsteps approaching, I slapped my face hard, the sound echoing in the quiet hallway. My once-smooth skin swelled instantly, and blood trickled from the corner of my mouth. I barely felt the pain. After years of enduring slaps in Gregory’s household, this felt almost natural.
“Miss Fox! What are you still doing here?”
Miracle hurried over, followed by a group of high-ranking pack women. When she saw me still outside, she panicked.
I quickly pinched the soft skin of my thigh, forcing tears to well up in my eyes. My face was already swollen from the slaps, and the blood dripping from my mouth added to the effect. I stumbled forward, trembling as I blocked the doorway.
The light from the lanterns on the porch illuminated my face, making the red handprints starkly visible. The women gasped.
In the werewolf world, especially among high-ranking families, daughters were treated like precious jewels. Even a scratch was considered a serious matter. As the daughter of the Beta of the Blue Pack, I was no exception. How could I, someone of my status, be beaten so badly that my face was swollen and bleeding?
Avianna, the Luna of the Silver Pack, frowned. This was her territory, and such an incident during her event was an embarrassment. She stepped forward, her aura soft but commanding, ready to intervene.
I pressed myself against the door, my voice shaking. “Please, honored ladies, don’t go in there. Just… leave.”
Avianna’s expression darkened. “Miss Fox, this is the Silver Pack’s territory, not your Blue Pack’s. You have no right to block our way.”
She gestured, and two attendants moved to pull me away. I clung to the doorframe, my body trembling but refusing to budge.
“No! You can’t go in!” I pleaded, my voice cracking.
The attendants were rough, their hands grabbing at me. One of them, a burly woman, stomped on my hand. The sound of my bones cracking was drowned out by my scream.
“Ahh!!!”
My mother, who had been quietly observing, rushed forward, her face a mix of anger and worry. “Luna Fox, what are you doing? This is no way to behave in another pack’s territory! Step aside!”
Seeing my mother—healthy, her hair not yet gray from the stress of my ruined reputation—broke my heart. Tears streamed down my face.
“No, Mother, please don’t make me,” I sobbed. “I… I can’t let them go in. There’s something you shouldn’t see.”
My mother was furious. “What are you talking about? What could possibly be so important that you’d humiliate yourself like this?”
I dropped to my knees, bowing deeply to Avianna. “Please, Luna, I beg you. Don’t go in there.”
The other women whispered among themselves, their curiosity piqued.
“What’s going on?” one of them murmured. “Why is she so desperate to keep us out?”
I curled up on the ground, clutching my swollen, bruised hand. My whole body shook.
Avianna’s eyes blazed with anger. “Fine! If Miss Fox insists on making a scene in my territory, then I’ll let her father and the Alpha handle this. Go fetch them!”