Later that night, the pack gathered in the hall, still shaken from the attack. Warriors bore fresh scars, healers worked tirelessly, and the air buzzed with unease.
Alpha Turner's voice rumbled low as he addressed his wolves. "We held them off. But tonight shows we must be sharper. Stronger. Rogues won't stop pressing against our borders."
Everyone murmured their agreement. Everyone except Luna Maya.
She stood beside him, poised, her eyes never leaving me. When she finally spoke, her words slid like venom through the crowd.
"And some of us…" she said slowly, her gaze narrowing, "…seem to think rules don't apply to them. Running late. Refusing orders. Acting above their station. And now—swinging claws like a half-blood beast, drawing more attention to herself than the actual warriors."
A few heads turned toward me. My throat tightened.
"She only saved someone," Lance snapped before I could speak. His protective edge made my heart lurch, but Luna's smile only widened, cold and thin.
"Saved someone… or revealed something?" she mused, her voice silken with malice. "Our pack doesn't need wild cards. It needs loyalty. Discipline. Control. And I, for one, will not stand by while one stray girl endangers us all."
Her words hung heavy, poisoning the air. Alpha Turner didn't answer her, but his silence was worse. It meant he was listening.
And just like that, I felt the walls close tighter around me.
The meeting dispersed slowly, the hall buzzing with whispers. I kept my head down, hoping to slip out unnoticed. But Luna Maya's voice snapped like a whip across the room.
"Lyca. Stay."
Every muscle in my body tensed. The others glanced at me with pity—or suspicion—before filing out. Only Lance hesitated, glaring at his mother, but a single look from Alpha Turner made him follow Ace through the doors. I was alone.
Luna Maya approached with the grace of a queen and the malice of a snake. Her heels clicked against the stone floor, each step heavy with intent.
"You think you're clever, don't you?" she said softly, circling me like a predator. "Showing off. Pretending you belong here. Pretending you're one of us."
"I didn't—" I started, but she cut me off with a sharp slap across the face.
"Silence!" Her voice cracked through the hall, echoing off the stone walls. My cheek stung, but I refused to flinch. I wouldn't give her the satisfaction.
"You reek of disobedience," she sneered. "And disobedience spreads like rot if not cut away." Her eyes glittered with cruel delight. "So, here's what will happen. For the next three days, you'll eat nothing. You'll attend training, but you won't lift a finger. You'll stand in the sun, in the rain, in the dirt, while everyone else grows stronger. And you will learn your place."
My stomach twisted. Hunger—I could endure. Humiliation—I was used to it. But the way her words dripped with venom, like she wanted to grind me into nothing… that burned.
"Do you understand me?" she demanded, her voice sharp as glass.
I swallowed hard, forcing my voice steady.
"Yes, Luna."
Her smile stretched thin and cruel. She leaned closer, her breath hot against my ear. "One slip, little wolf. One more display like today, and I'll see to it that Alpha Turner has no choice but to cast you out—or bury you. Do you understand that too?"
I kept my head bowed, my fists trembling at my sides. "Yes, Luna."
She straightened, satisfied, and swept out of the hall without another word.
The doors shut behind her, leaving me in the cold silence of the empty hall.
My cheek burned, my chest ached, and every nerve in my body screamed at me to fight back.
But I didn't.
Not yet.