Escape Under the Moon

Sylvie's POV

The cold stone pressed against my bruised spine. *Tonight. I have to leave tonight.* The mantra looped in my skull, a frantic rhythm matching my racing heart. I hugged my knees to my chest on the miserable slab that served as my bed in the damp, freezing basement. My muscles screamed in protest, battered from the relentless abuse of the day, but I ignored the pain. I had to focus. I sat there in the shadows, letting the harsh reality of my life wash over me.

I used to be loved. Before Mom and Dad, Alpha Arion and Luna Lyrielle, passed away in that tragic incident, this pack was my home. I was the favorite, the cherished daughter of the leaders. Then Aunt Solara and Uncle Magnus took over. Varek’s parents stepped into the power vacuum, and a dark flip switched inside them. They stripped me of my title, my dignity, and my existence. They erased me. To the rest of the broader wolf world, the true heir of the Silver-veil Pack was rotting in a grave. They kept my survival a dirty little secret, turning me into a punching bag to elevate their own twisted sense of power.

The memory of Varek’s vile promise echoed in the damp basement air, making my blood run cold. His threat paralyzed me earlier, but now it fueled a blazing fire in my chest. He told me he was going to shove his cock deep inside me. He planned to rape me, tear my innocence away by force, and toss my broken body to his savage friends to use however they pleased. Bile coated the back of my throat. I fiercely refused to let that bastard steal my innocence. I refused to let him humiliate me any further. I would slit my own wrists before I let that monster touch me. I would rather die running than submit to his twisted desires.

"Kallia, are you there?" I pushed into my mindlink, searching the dark corners of my consciousness.

A pathetic, trembling whimper answered me. My wolf was hiding, terrified of the mate bond that tied us to our abuser.

"I need you tonight, girl," I pleaded, injecting every ounce of my desperation into our connection. "I need you if I am ever going to make it out alive. I cannot let him do this to me. I will not let him rape us. We have to fight our way out of this bondage. We stayed all these years because we hoped we might find love in our mate, but that is over now, Kal. We need to run."

"I do not know if I can do it for us, Sylvie," Kallia’s voice shook with deep, crippling insecurity. "My fur. It is pure white. If they see us, they will kill us on sight. Rare wolves are hunted. What if he catches up to us? What if we do not make it out alive? I am so weak. I have only ever shifted once in my entire life. I do not want to fail you, Sylvie."

Fresh tears tracked through the grime on my cheeks. We did not deserve any of this torment.

"Kal, we have to try," I pushed back urgently. "Look at the sky. A full lunar moon is out tonight. The Goddess is giving us a chance. I heard we get stronger under the light of a full moon. Maybe that magical energy will give us the strength to propel forward. We cannot stay here tonight. If we stay, he will destroy us. We might find help in another pack. Anywhere but here, Kallia."

Silence stretched in my mind before a spark flared in the darkness.

"You are right," Kallia finally said. Her voice lost its tremble, replaced by a jagged edge of survival. "We have been taking this abuse for too long. It is time we break free and start over. We run tonight."

Her newfound determination breathed life back into my battered lungs. I pushed myself off the stone bed. My legs wobbled. If we were going to run, I desperately needed fuel. My stomach was a hollow, aching cavern. I crept out of the basement, keeping my back pressed against the chilling walls as I navigated the pack house corridors. The rich scent of roasted meats and sweet pastries hit my nose, making my mouth water painfully.

The pack kitchen was a madhouse. Slaves darted between massive stoves, cooking up a massive feast for Varek and Zaryth’s coronation. I hovered near the pantry, disappointed by the crowd. I was about to turn around and leave when a hand gently touched my arm. I flinched, bracing for a strike. But it was Berna.

The elderly former head cook was the only soul in this hellhole who still looked at me like a person. She saw me trying to retreat and pulled me into the shadows of a dark, narrow hallway away from the frantic kitchen slaves.

Tears immediately welled in her kind, wrinkled eyes. She pulled me into a tight hug. It was a gentle, motherly embrace, warm and safe, something I had not felt since my parents died. I hugged her back, clinging to her apron.

"...heard he rejected you," she whispered, her voice cracking as she pulled back to look at my face. "He chose Zaryth anyway. I am so sorry, Sylvie. No one deserves to be treated like that by their fated mate."

She wiped a tear from her cheek, her eyes scanning my frail, dirty frame. She broke down in fresh tears seeing my severe state. "You look malnourished, child. Do they ever feed you?" My stomach betrayed me, letting out a loud, hollow grumble. I dropped my gaze to the floor in deep embarrassment. "I am sorry I left without telling you. I had to go see my daughter in another pack. She gave birth to her first child. I did not know it got this bad."

She patted my arm and told me to wait. I squeezed myself into the darkest corner, making myself as small and invisible as possible. I could not take another beating today. I needed my body intact to survive the escape.

Berna returned a minute later, clutching a brown paper bag. She pressed it into my chest. "Live well, child," she whispered, giving me one last, tight squeeze. She knew. She saw the dead-end desperation in my eyes and knew I was leaving.

I thanked her softly and rushed back to the basement. I tore the bag open. I took a bite of the food, but my shrunken stomach instantly cramped. My starved body was so used to running on empty that it violently rejected the sudden intake. I forced myself to chew slowly, taking tiny bites just to keep the calories down. I hid the remaining food under a loose stone. I sat on my bed, praying to the Lunar Goddess for the luck to escape this vile land.

Heavy boots stomped down the basement stairs. I scrambled to my feet. A heavily armored pack guard stopped at the iron bars.

"It is time for the coronation. Alpha Varek requires you to be near the ballroom," his deep voice boomed.

I jumped, clutching my hands to my chest. I gave a stiff nod. He turned, and I followed him up the stairs. I did not want to incur any wrath right now. I just needed to bide my time.

I followed him to the grand ballroom. The space was magnificent. Beautiful flowers were woven into massive arches in the doorways and scattered across the gleaming floors. Elite wolves stood in clusters, chatting and drinking. Men wore sharp, fitting suits. Women paraded in sweeping, elegant gowns.

And then there was me. I stood out like a rotting corpse in a field of roses. I wore my filthy, oversized rags. My hair was a tangled, unkempt mess. Varek orchestrated this. He brought me here specifically to humiliate me in front of the entire pack. He wanted to visually prove I was trash beneath his boots, unfit to ever be his Luna.

The blatant disgust in the room was a physical weight. Guests sneered at me. They gave me dirty glares, and some openly cursed me as I stood there. I stared at the polished floor, swallowing the bile of my humiliation. I stepped back, making myself as small as possible near a marble pillar.

The loud chatter suddenly quieted down. A hush fell over the crowd. I looked up to see Varek stepping onto the grand stage. He wore a tailored black suit that hugged his broad shoulders perfectly. Beside him stood Zaryth. She wore a blood-red gown with a thigh-high slit that accentuated every curve of her body. Her dark hair cascaded in perfect waves around her face. Her makeup was flawless. I could not deny it; she looked stunning.

Together, they looked like royalty. Kallia threw her head back in my mind and unleashed a blood-curdling howl of deep mental agony. Seeing our fated mate stand proudly with another she-wolf felt like pure acid pouring over our soul.

Varek turned his head. His cold eyes locked onto mine across the massive room. His lips curled into a slow, evil smirk. It was a chilling, silent reminder. He was reminding me of the rape waiting for me the second this party ended. My stomach pitched.

The crowd erupted into loud applause. Every single eye in the ballroom fixed on their future rulers as they took their positions on the stage. This was it. The total distraction I needed. Capitalizing on their focus, I took a slow step backward, melting seamlessly into the shadows of the thick velvet curtains. I slipped through the side doors, escaping the suffocating heat of the ballroom.

I dashed out of the back exit of the pack house. The massive, silver disk of the full moon hung high in the sky. Its bright lunar light illuminated my path, bathing the forest floor in a glowing silver hue. It felt like the Lunar Goddess was personally guiding my way. I kept to the tree line, my bare feet silent on the damp grass as I avoided the usual patrol paths.

The boundary was lightly guarded tonight. Most warriors were near the booze and the celebration. I reached the edge of the territory, feeling the invisible barrier humming in the cool night air. I stopped. I could not leave with this rotting bond anchoring me to the monster in the ballroom.

Right before my shift, I stood tall. I found the formal words they violently denied me earlier. I took a deep breath, letting the lunar energy soak into my skin.

Using my original title, I spoke loudly to the forest. "I, Sylvaine Vora, daughter of Alpha Arion and Luna Lyrielle of the Silver-veil Pack, accept the rejection of Varek Drax, son of Beta Magnus and Female Beta Solara, as his mate and chosen one."

The words snapped the invisible tether. Instantly, a massive, explosive surge of raw power crashed through my body, knocking the breath from my lungs. At the exact same second, a booming, agonizing howl echoed from the direction of the pack house. Varek. The physical pain of the severed bond crashing into him.

The magic of the full moon ignited my blood. Bones cracked and reformed. Kallia completely took over, bursting forth in her glorious, pure white wolf form. The weakness vanished. A tremendous, newfound energy coursed through our veins. I stood on four paws, my white fur glowing under the moonlight.

I felt a new burst of wild power. We ran with absolutely everything we had, and we never looked back.