Chapter 2 1: The scorn of the parkhouse

Three Hundred Years Later

-Crimson Moon Pack

Magdalena, a servant bound to the Crimson Moon Pack, had been tasked with delivering refreshments to the chamber where Kara Voss, daughter of Beta Lydia, received her guests. The women had gathered to assist her in selecting a wedding gown fit for the coming day of her wedding to their alpha.

She stood in silence before the carved double doors, the tray steady in her hands. Within, voices flitted like birds through the air.

"Do you favor this one?"

"No, the other pleases me more."

Lena swallowed, her throat dry. Kara's companions were known for their sharp tongues and sharper eyes, ever quick to cast scorn upon her.

Summoning what poise she could muster, she pressed open the doors and stepped into the chamber. The room fell quiet.

She moved with care, head bowed, bearing a tray of honeyed figs, almonds laced with spice, and goblets filled with dark, glistening wine.

The laughter ceased. All eyes turned upon her.

The ladies lounged upon plush cushions, their gowns of fine silk flowing like rivers of gold and rose. Their gazes followed Lena with veiled disdain and something else. Everyone could see the envy in their eyes.

"How absurd," murmured Lady Valeria, her finger idly circling the rim of her cup. "That such a face should belong to a servant."

Lena kept her eyes fixed on the ground, her grip tightening around the tray.

"Indeed," said Selena with a lazy smile. "One might take her for a noblewoman... if one were blind to her rags."

"What a waste," Valeria sighed, affecting a look of sorrow. "A face like that should be adorned with emeralds, not coarse linen."

Lena reached the table and began to pour the wine, her movements deliberate and precise, each gesture rehearsed through years of silent endurance.

She felt their gaze upon her-sharp, prying, like invisible hands creeping across her skin, searching for flaws to mock.

"Perhaps we ought to remedy the matter," Valeria murmured, her voice honeyed with malice.

Selena laughed, light and cruel. "And how would we manage that? Scar her pretty face? A pity, truly. Beauty is wasted on such creatures."

Lena placed the final goblet upon the table and turned, her heart quickening. One step. Then another. The threshold was near.

The great doors creaked open behind her.

The air shifted, like a held breath.

All voices fell into silence.

Kara Voss had entered.

Lena did not need to lift her head to feel the shift in power. The crisp strike of Kara's heels against the polished stone floor rang through the hushed chamber like a warning bell.

Kara's gaze swept the room, before settling upon Lena with quiet authority.

"What is going on here?"

Her voice was smooth, almost indulgent, but Lena knew well the edge beneath that silk. Kara's words, though soft, had weight.

Valeria and Selena exchanged glances, their smiles laced with mischief and malice.

Valeria rose with feigned concern. "Oh, nothing of import, Kara. Merely your servant, Lena. She has been most insolent toward us."

Lena's stomach coiled tighter.

Kara lifted a sculpted brow. "Is that so?" Her eyes lingered on Lena, sharp and unreadable. "Well then. Speak."

Lena opened her mouth, but her voice betrayed her. The words tangled with fear, choked back by the injustice she could not name.

"Answer me."

Selena leaned forward, her tone laced with syrup and venom. "She mocked you, Kara. Said you were nothing. That as long as she remained more beautiful, you would never be worthy of the Alpha's attention."

The lie struck like a lash.

Lena stiffened, her breath caught and shallow. Denial trembled on her lips, but she bit it back. She knew better. No amount of protest would sway Kara. She would not be believed.

Kara studied her in silence, her gaze suffocating, before exhaling a sharp, cutting breath.

"You believe yourself more beautiful than I?"

"I... I never-"

Kara raised a single hand. The chamber stilled as if held by a spell.

"Have you lain with the Alpha?"

Lena fell to her knees. The stone bit through her gown. "My lady, I would not dare."

"Would you speak the truth if you had?" Kara's voice turned ice-cold. "If I must delay this meeting, I will. Speak now or I shall carve the truth from your tongue."

Lena's heart thundered in her chest. She and Alpha Ethan had courted in secret, their moments halted when he announced his wedding. But she had never surrendered her virtue. She would not offer herself to a man who had not vowed himself to her in return.

But to say as much was folly. The truth would be her ruin. Kara would never believe it.

Kara's gaze hardened. "You've made your choice." She turned slightly, a gesture like a death knell. "Strip her."

The world tilted.

Rough hands seized Lena's arms.

"No...wait." Panic flared in her chest. She twisted, fought, but the guards held fast.

Kara stepped forward, her heels clicking softly against the stone. Her head tilted, a slow, cruel smile blooming. "Six strokes. One for each of your lies."

Lena's breath caught.

They forced her to her knees. Her strength crumbled as terror took hold. Fabric tore. Cold air lashed her back like a warning from the gods.

Then, a collective gasp broke through the chamber.

All eyes fixed on the back of Lena's neck, where a crystal-shaped mark shimmered faintly, half red and half silver.

"She bears a mark," someone whispered.

Kara's brows drew together in disbelief. "You're a she-wolf?"

Lena looked up, defiant despite her fear. "I am not. I'm human."

"She lies still," Valeria snapped. "That is the Mark of Restraint. Only wolves carry it. It seals their beast."

"No wonder," Selena added, her voice laced with contempt. "No wonder her skin is unblemished."

"Focus," Kara barked. The room fell silent.

"Even if she is one of us," she said coolly, "that mark binds her. She cannot shift. She is no more than a human. A pretty, dangerous human."

A murmur passed through the room as understanding dawned.

"Get on with it," Kara commanded. "She will confess her ties to the Alpha before the sun sets."

Lena had no idea what they were saying.

She was still in thought when the first stroke landed.

White-hot pain slashed across her back. Her hands curled into fists. Don't scream. Don't give them the satisfaction.

The second came sharper. The third, crueler. The fourth, relentless.

Her vision blurred. Copper flooded her mouth. She had bitten the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out.

The fifth stroke wrenched a strangled sound from her throat.

The sixth-

"Wait."

Kara's voice sliced through the air like a whip. The guards halted at once.

Slowly, she stepped forward and drew a knife from a guard's belt.

A smirk curled her lips. "I know exactly what to do with that face of yours."

"No, Kara. Don't." Lena's voice broke, raw with terror. "Please, not my face."

Laughter rippled through the room, soft, cruel, entertained.

Kara sighed and tilted her head. "I love to see you beg, Lena. You never have before. But now? To save your pretty little face?" She turned the knife in her grip, letting the blade catch the light. "That makes me want to ruin it even more."

She flicked her fingers. "Hold her down."

"No!"

The guards pressed Lena against the cold stone floor.

Kara took a deliberate step forward.

Then.

The doors slammed open.

"Enough."

A voice cut through the brutality, sharp.

The guards stilled.

Even Kara hesitated. Her smirk flickered into something less certain.

Lena's breath came in ragged gasps. She lifted her head just slightly, her vision swimming. A presence that commanded attention.

"It's the Beta," someone whispered.

Silk rustled as the girls bowed in unison.

Lena swallowed hard, keeping her gaze lowered.

The Beta's voice was warm, almost tender, as she approached her daughter. "My darling," she cooed, laying a delicate hand upon Kara's shoulder. "Your wedding to the Alpha is on the morrow. Shouldn't you be at the market, choosing your gown?"

At the mention of her union, Kara's lips curved faintly. Her stance softened for the briefest of moments.

But then her gaze returned to Lena.

The warmth vanished.

"She's ruined my day," Kara hissed, venom lacing every word. "How dare a common, stupid human displease me so thoroughly?"

Lena closed her eyes, bracing for whatever came next.

The Beta laughed, "Leave her to me," she purred, a cruel glint in her eyes. "By nightfall, she will be a memory. You'll never have to suffer the sight of her again."

Lena's stomach dropped. Her fingers curled into the fabric of her dress, gripping tight as the weight of those words settled deep in her bones.

She knew exactly what it meant.

Kara huffed, tossing the knife aside with a flick of her wrist. "See that you do." She turned on her heel, striding away without a backward glance. Her friends followed, obedient as ever, their laughter echoing like a cruel melody.

Then, silence.

Footsteps. Slow. Measured. Drawing closer.

Lena kept her gaze down, breath shallow.

A shadow loomed before her. The Beta crouched, one finger tilting Lena's chin upward.

Her gaze flickered with something unreadable.

"Hmm." A soft hum, almost thoughtful. "Good thing your face is still untouched, slave. Such a pretty thing... for now."

A slow, cruel smile curved her lips as she straightened.

"Prepare her to meet Alpha Ethan."