The Blood Moon Last Lycan Daughter

I woke before the sun. My body already hurt. The cuts on my hands had dried and cracked open again in the night. I stood up and went straight to the kitchen to start the fires.

Sienna found me there. "You look like death. Good. Matches your place."

I did not answer. I pushed more wood into the stove. The heat burned my sore fingers. I kept going.

Celine's voice came from the hallway. "Ember. My bath water. Now."

I carried the buckets. My arms shook under the weight. I filled the tub. She stepped in and sighed like the water was perfect. I stood with my head down waiting for the next order.

"Wash my back," she said.

I did. The cloth moved over her skin while my own back ached from yesterday's work. She talked while I washed her.

"Alpha Damon sent a message. He will come in three days to see me. He wants to meet his bride before the wedding. Everyone is excited. Mother is preparing the best room. Father is proud."

My hands kept moving. The cloth felt heavy.

"You will stay out of sight," Celine continued. "I do not want him to see the slave daughter and think this pack is weak. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Say it properly."

"I understand. I will stay out of sight."

She turned her head. "You sound sad. Are you still crying about the papers? That is funny. You never had a chance."

I finished washing her and stepped back. She stood and held out her arms for the towel. I wrapped it around her. She smiled at her own reflection.

"Three days," she said again. "Then I leave this place and become Luna of the strongest pack. You will still be here scrubbing the same floors."

I picked up the empty buckets and left. In the hallway Selah stopped me.

"You should smile for your sister. She is making this family great. Your face brings shame."

I forced the corners of my mouth up. It hurt more than the cuts on my hands.

"Better," Selah said. "Now go clean the guest rooms. Alpha Damon might send men ahead. Everything must be perfect."

I cleaned. I scrubbed until my knees bled through my skirt. I changed the sheets. I dusted every surface. My shoulders burned. I did not stop.

At midday Mirelle brought me a piece of bread. She dropped it on the floor at my feet.

"Eat. You need strength to work. Do not think it is kindness. No one here is kind to you."

I picked up the bread and ate it standing. It was dry. I chewed and swallowed because my body needed something.

Mirelle watched. "The whole pack is talking. They say Celine is the true daughter in every way that matters. They say you should have been left in the woods as a pup. Do you know that?"

I nodded.

"Say it."

"I should have been left in the woods."

She smiled and walked away.

I finished the rooms and went to the back steps. Father's boots were muddy again. I cleaned them on my knees. The mud got under my broken nails and stung. I kept scrubbing.

Celine walked past with two of her friends from the pack. They stopped and looked down at me.

"There she is," one girl said. "The reason Silverfang loses every challenge."

The other laughed. "Look at her hands. Even the skin does not want to stay on her."

Celine tilted her head. "She is useful for dirty work. That is all. Do not mind her."

They walked on. Their words stayed in my ears.

I finished the boots and carried them inside. Mother stood in the main hall speaking to Sienna.

"Make sure Ember does not come near the front when Damon arrives. I will not have him see that."

Sienna bowed. "Yes, Luna."

Mother's eyes found me. "You heard. Stay in the back. If I see your face near him I will make you sleep with the dogs for a month."

"Yes, Mother."

She turned away like I was already gone.

The afternoon dragged. I washed clothes until my fingers turned white and wrinkled. Blood from the cuts mixed with the water. I rinsed it away so no one would complain about stains.

Near evening the pack gathered in the open ground behind the house. I was told to bring water for them. I carried the heavy jugs. Wolves took the cups without looking at me. Some spoke loud enough for me to hear.

"She is still here. I thought they would have sold her by now."

"Celine is the only real daughter. That one is a mistake."

"Remember when she tried to train with the pups? She fell on her face. Useless."

I poured water and kept my eyes down. My arms trembled from the weight of the jugs. No one offered to help. No one ever did.

One older wolf stopped in front of me. "You bring shame on this pack every day you breathe. Why do you not just run into the forest and let the rogues take you?"

I said nothing.

He leaned closer. "Answer."

"I do not know."

"You should. Everyone else knows."

He took his water and left. I stood there with the empty jug until Sienna shouted for me to return to the kitchen.

Dinner was served. I waited outside until they finished. The plate left for me had cold vegetables and a bone with almost no meat. I ate it in the corner. Sienna stood over me.

"Chew slower. You look hungry and it is disgusting."

I slowed down. The food tasted like nothing. I forced it down.

After the dishes were washed I went to my small room. I sat on the mattress and looked at my hands. The cuts were open again. I pressed them together until the pain made my eyes water.

The door opened. Celine stood there in a new dress.

"I came to tell you something," she said. "Father spoke to Alpha Damon's men today. The wedding is in ten days. Ten days and I am gone. You will never see me again except when I come back to visit and watch you clean."

I stared at the floor.

"Look at me when I speak."

I looked up.

She smiled. "You still want those papers, do you not? Even knowing he kills his wives. You are that desperate."

My voice came out small. "I only wanted something that was mine."

"Nothing is yours. Not the papers. Not this house. Not even your name. You are the extra daughter. The mistake. Accept it."

She stepped closer and looked at my face. "You cried again. Your eyes are red. Pathetic."

She left and closed the door.

I lay down. Sleep did not come. The words from the day turned over and over. Mistake. Shame. Useless. Should have been left in the woods.

I whispered into the dark. "I am trying. I clean everything. I do not speak back. I take every hit. Why is it never enough?"

No answer.

Morning came too fast. I started the fires again. My body moved on its own. The pain in my knees and hands had become normal.

Celine's bath. The guest rooms again. The boots. The floors.

At midday a group of pack women stood near the well when I went to draw water. They stopped talking when they saw me. Then they started again louder.

"There is the curse of Silverfang."

"She begged on her knees for the marriage. Can you believe it? She wants to die under the Blood Moon Alpha."

"Maybe we should help her. Push her toward the border and let the rogues finish it."

I filled the buckets. My arms shook. One woman stepped in front of me.

"Why do you stay? No one wants you. Even your own blood treats you like dirt. Have you no pride?"

I kept my eyes on the ground. "I have nowhere else."

"Then dig a hole and lie in it. At least then the pack can breathe without your shadow."

The other women laughed. I lifted the buckets and walked back. Water spilled on my skirt because my hands would not stay steady. Sienna saw the wet cloth and clicked her tongue.

"Clumsy. Change and wash that. Do not let Mother see."

I changed. I washed the skirt in cold water until my fingers went numb. Then I returned to work.

In the afternoon Father called for me. I stood in the study with my head down. He did not tell me to look up.

"Alpha Damon's men will arrive tomorrow to check the territory. You will stay in the cellar until they leave. No noise. No coming out. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Father."

"If you disobey I will chain you there for the full week."

"I understand."

He waved me out. I left. The cellar door was already open when I reached it. Sienna stood waiting with a blanket that smelled of dust.

"In," she said. "And stay quiet. If I hear you I will tell Father."

I walked down the steps. The door closed above me. The lock clicked. Darkness wrapped around me. I sat on the cold ground and pulled the thin blanket over my shoulders.

Hours passed. I heard footsteps above. Voices. Celine laughing. Mother giving orders. I stayed still. My body hurt from the hard floor. I did not move.

When the lock finally opened it was night. Sienna looked down at me.

"Out. Eat something and sleep. Tomorrow you work double because you rested today."

I climbed the steps. My legs barely held me. In the kitchen a plate waited with bread and water. I ate. The bread scratched my throat.

I went to my room. I sat on the mattress and stared at nothing. The words from the well women stayed in my head. Dig a hole and lie in it. No one wants you.

I pressed my palms against my eyes until I saw colors. "Please," I whispered. "Please take me before he comes. I cannot watch her leave with everything. I cannot stay here after. Just end it. I am so tired."

Tears ran down my face. I did not wipe them. There was no one to hide them from in this room.

I lay down. The mattress felt thinner than before. My body curled in on itself. Every part of me hurt. The cuts. The bruises on my knees. The place inside my chest that stayed full of every cruel word.

Sleep came in short broken pieces. Each time I woke the same thought was there.

Ten days until the wedding.

Ten days until Celine left as a bride.

Ten days until I was left alone with the pack that hated the sight of me.

I turned my face into the mattress and let the quiet sobs shake my shoulders. No one heard. No one ever did.

Morning would come.

The work would start again.

The words would start again.

And I would still be here, the daughter no one wanted, praying for a death that stayed just out of reach.