Chapter 2 She knows my secret

I woke with a sharp, stabbing pain just below my breast, the kind that tore a gasp out of me even before I knew I was awake.

Initially, I thought it was the baby, maybe something had gone horribly wrong. My hand flew to my stomach, clutching the spot where the ache pulsed hot against my skin.

I got up to observe my stomach in front of the mirror and that was when I saw it.

A mark, faint but unmistakable, it looked like a crescent mark or more like a crown, it was hard to describe, but it shimmered on my stomach, light pulsing like it was alive. It looked different from the birthmark faintly carved on my collarbone since I was a child, only brighter and it felt stronger.

That wasn't there before.

The Goddess... She's still here.

The thought barely left me when I felt the air change, heavy and strange. The cottage felt crowded, as if someone had been standing in the corner a moment ago, watching.

I swallowed hard, the glow fading as quickly as it came, leaving my heart still beating fast.

******

When I finally dragged myself up from the bed, the light coming in through the window told me I was late. I fell asleep thinking of the mark and now I'm late.

I blinked to fully wake up though my body wanted something else, it begged me to sink deeper into the mattress, but the stiffness in my shoulders wouldn't let me. Sleep had been hard to come by since I woke up from the dream last night, it was filled with endless tossing, and yet I still managed to wake late.

It was not like anyone cared whether I slept or not, what mattered was the work. And all of it had fallen on my shoulders.

I rushed across the room trying to get myself ready for the day, the floor felt cold under my bare feet and I thought about the endless list of chores waiting at the Alpha's house.

I could still feel yesterday's ache in my back from lifting barrels and arranging crates of wine. My hands were raw, still stinging from scrubbing the kitchen tiles until they shined, only for muddy boots to undo my work within minutes.

The work was even part of the reason I fainted the day before and found out I was carrying a child, let me not think about that right now.

And then there is the preparation for the mating ceremony which had turned the whole Ranch into a very chaotic mess, not like it was peaceful to begin with.

Though the distance from the Lunaris hold the ranch house to my tiny cottage was far, I could still hear the noise outside, voices rising and falling, tables being dragged across stone, women arguing over fabrics, the sharp scent of wolfsbane mixed into garlands for protection.

I bent over the trunk that held my clothes, if one could even call it that. I picked out two dresses, both worn thin, one patched across the belly where the fabric had given up long ago, while the other one was patched so many times the threads looked like spiderwebs.

My hand fell to the plainest piece, a grey dress thin from years of wear. It had no shape, no color worth noticing, but it was dependable, and dependable was all I could afford to be.

I slipped it on, fingers fumbling with the ties in my haste and grabbing my apron.

The Alpha's mansion would already be a commotion, and the thought of showing up late sent a shiver down my spine. I snatched my cloak from the wooden hook and darted outside.

I stepped out into the crisp morning air then something hit me. The world didn't sound the same. The rush of wind carried every note, every shift of leaf against leaf, like the forest itself was whispering to me.

The air wasn't just air anymore. It carried every detail, crisp and distinct the sweet smell of pine, the sour smell of sweat from wolves training in the distance, the faint spice of roasted meat already smoking near the Alpha's yard. I heard laughter, too, not close but faint. A door creaked open at the far end of the Ranch, a child laughed, a hawk screamed overhead and I heard them all as if they were on my shoulder.

I froze on the step, clutching my gown, my pulse racing. I felt that something in me had shifted. I didn't know how or why, but I shrugged it off. What was on my mind right now was to get to the Lunaris hold and start my work for the day.

*******

Lunaris Hold was alive when I arrived, pulsing like the heart of the pack itself. Wolves moved to and fro, about barking orders over one another, carrying barrels of wine, shoulders brushing as they carried crates, ladders, trays. Everyone moved with purpose, every hand contributing to the preparation of the ceremony. Everyone but me.

The whole place smelled of wolfsbane, pine juice, and cooking meat. The decorations were finally coming together and it should have been beautiful, but all I felt was the pressure of my eyes.

I kept to the edges, head down, steps quick because I knew if they saw me, they'd whisper. The girl who fainted. Too weak to handle even her chores.

I prayed to the moon goddess not to allow me to bump into anyone because their questions would be:

Why did you faint? Can't you keep up? What good are you? And their scorn weighed more than the work ever did. So I tried to move silently and unseen.

But someone always did.

"Well, well. Look who crawled back."

Raven Cross's voice slid across the courtyard like oil. I stiffened. She walked towards me, sky blue silk hugging her body, her dark hair pulled tight to frame her perfect smirk.

She is the daughter of old Beta Darius, his precious jewel. Everyone said she was destined for our Alpha Kai, Luna-in-waiting and she carried herself like it was already true. But I saw her for what she truly was, a bone in my neck.

"Lila," she called again.

I didn't answer. I just walked faster.

Her laugh followed me, sharp and cruel. "Ignoring me again? How rude."

She walked faster to catch up to me and then her hand clamped around mine, the moment our skin met my vision tunneled, filled with light and smoke. A voice unfurled in my head, low, steady, ancient, soft yet commanding it slipped through the cracks of my mind:

She burns. She is fire-born. Her gift is flame.

The words weren't mine but they filled me, heavy and sure, and with them came the flash of knowledge: Raven's power. Heat, flame, destruction. It rippled against my skin like smoke.

I gasped, yanking my hand back, the smell of smoke still clinging to my senses though nothing burned around me.

Raven's smirk deepened, like she'd felt it too. She leaned in, her nails biting into my wrist.

"Careful, Lila. I know your little secret. And I wonder, what will the pack, especially the Alpha say when they all find out about it too?"