#5 When the New Moon Falls
Chapter 2

Austyn

“You are so pathetic, I don’t even know why my father kept you around in the first place.” The Alpha’s son, Kayden, shoved me to the ground again. I wiped the back of my hand across my lip and came away with blood,

“As if I would ever take someone like you as my mate. As a Luna! You’ve always been worthless and you’ll always be worthless.” Kayden spit in my face as I crouched on the floor.

“If you ever tell anyone about this, I will do more than just reject you, got it?” Kayden threatened me, giving my ribs one more good kick.

“Yes.” I groaned as my rips snapped under his weight.

“Get out of here.” Kayden ordered, waving his hand towards his office door. I scrambled to my feet and clutched my side, running out of his office and towards the servant quarters.

Today was my 18th birthday and I had just been rejected by my mate, the one person who was supposed to love and protect me unconditionally. That’s my life though, a cascading shit storm of unfornate events. It all started when my parents were killed in a rogue attack 12 years ago. My father was the Beta which earned me a home with the Alpha and Luna until I turned 13 and they sent me off to boarding school.

6 months ago I returned home and was immediately put to work as a servant for the packhouse. I wasn’t at all surprised. Alpha Victor and his Luna, Michelle, hated me. I was a stain on their family reputation and I couldn’t hold a candle to their precious son and daughter. Kayden was destined to be Alpha and his sister, Amber, was vying for the neighboring Alpha’s attention at this very moment.

I struggled down the long steps to the servant quarters, which were in the basement of the house, right next to the dungeon. Cozy, I know. The head housemaiden and the Alpha’s maid, Fern, was the first to see me. She rushed over and helped me the rest of the way down the steps.

“What happened?” She gasped.

“Kayden.” I answered plainly as I painfully sat down in a chair. One of the other maids brought over the first aid kit.

“You’ve got to watch that mouth of yours, Austyn.” Fern shook her head.

“It wasn’t my fault this time.” I cried out in pain as Fern wrapped my side in gauze.

“Oh wasn’t it?” Fern sighed.

“No, it was Ember’s.” I blamed my wolf.

“And how was it Ember’s fault?” Fern asked.

“She decided to mate with Kayden’s wolf.” I said. Fern looked up at me with a shocked expression,

“You’re mated to the Alpha’s son?” The room filled with gasps.

“Not anymore. He promptly rejected me. Hence the broken ribs and busted lip.” I grumbled.

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.” Fern frowned.

“My mate was my one chance out of here.” I resisted the urge to cry.

“Trust in the plan, Austyn.” Fern tried to smile.

“The Moon Goddess’ plan for me so far has sucked.” I argued.

I was four the first time I heard my wolf’s voice in my head. It was unheard of for someone to get their wolf before the age of 18. I couldn’t shift or anything, but Ember and I could talk. My parents kept it a secret, afraid of what it meant. Two years later, our pack was attacked by rogues. Everyone thought that it was just a random attack, but my parents knew better, they knew they had come for me.

The rogues came straight for our house, killing my parents in a coordinated attack. I was hidden in the basement, but they still found me. They injected me with something that made Ember’s voice disappear. Then, they left. Just like that. The pack’s doctors took blood samples and called on the Elders for help. It turned out the serum they injected me with was ancient and thought to have been eradicated by werewolves back in the dark times. They were wrong.

Today was the first time I had heard Ember’s voice since the day I was poisoned. But, what she had to say was heartbreaking. The serum removed her ability to come forward. I would never be able to shift, Ember would never be able to run free. She would exist only in my mind.

“You never know what your future may hold.” Fern said in her wise old owl voice. I just grumbled at her in response as she continued to patch me up.

As if today could get any worse.