Chapter 1 Ashes Beneath Her feet

Chapter 1 – Ashes Beneath Her Feet

Lily's POV

The coldness of the morning seeped through the cracks in the cabin's window, chilling Lily to her bones. She shivered, drawing her threadbare shawl tighter around her shoulders as she swept the dusty floor of the kitchen for the third time that morning. Her palms ached, blistered from scrubbing pots and floors, and her stomach growled in protest-she hadn't eaten since yesterday.

"Move faster, you worthless thing!" her stepmother, Maribelle, snapped from the doorway. Her voice, shrill and full of venom, sliced through the silence like a whip.

Lily didn't respond. She never did. Talking back only earned her a slap-or worse.

Maribelle crossed the room with her usual grace, dressed in silks that shimmered like moonlight. She looked every bit the matriarch of a proud pack, but her heart was as cold as ice. Her two daughters-Bianca and Celine-stood beside her, snickering as they watched Lily bow her head.

"She looks like a rat," Bianca said, laughter in her voice. "How could anyone believe she shares our blood?"

"She doesn't," Maribelle said sharply. "She's her father's mistake, nothing more. And soon, the Alpha will choose his Luna. It won't be a lowly servant like her."

Lily's hands trembled. Every year, the Alpha of the BloodHollow pack hosted the Luna Trials-a brutal, ceremonial selection of a Luna from among eligible females. It was both honor and death sentence. Women trained for years, learning submission, power, grace, and warfare. But Lily? She hadn't even seen the training yard.

"You're not going to the Trials," Maribelle hissed. "I won't have you humiliating this family in front of the pack."

A sharp sting spread across Lily's cheek as Maribelle's hand struck her. She stumbled back, clutching her face, her pride and hope bruised in the same blow.

"But she has to attend, doesn't she?" Celine said with mock sweetness. "By law, every unmated female of age must. Even the pathetic ones."

Lily looked up, startled. That was true. The Luna Trials weren't optional. The law bound the Alpha to ensure every unmated she-wolf had a chance.

"Fine," Maribelle muttered, her eyes narrowing. "Let the girl attend. It will only make her failure more humiliating."

Their laughter followed Lily as she fled to the backyard, tears blurring her vision. She fell to her knees near the woods, her breath catching in her throat.

Why do they hate me so much?

The answer was simple: she reminded them of her father. Alpha Gregor had once been a powerful warrior, fair and kind. But when he'd died on a rogue hunt, Maribelle had twisted into something cruel. With no blood relation to her stepmother or stepsisters, Lily had become a target. A stain they couldn't wash away.

She wiped her tears and looked at the horizon. The trials were in five days. She had no gowns. No training. No hope.

But something inside her stirred-a small voice, defiant and raw.

What if I tried anyway?

---

Later that night, Lily crept into the attic. It was cluttered and filled with dust, but it was the only place she could think. In the farthest corner, she found an old wooden trunk with her father's initials carved into the lid.

Her hands trembled as she opened it.

Inside, wrapped in faded cloth, lay a leather-bound journal, a pair of fingerless gloves, and a silver dagger. Her heart pounded. These had been her father's. The pages of the journal smelled like pine and age. They were filled with sketches, maps, and notes about the trials-his plans to train her before he died.

A sob escaped her lips. He had believed in her once.

She clutched the gloves and the dagger to her chest. "I'll do it, Papa," she whispered. "I'll try. For you."

---

Two days before the Trials

Lily trained in secret at night, venturing into the woods where no one could see her bruises or hear her gasps for breath. She practiced the moves from her father's journal-stances, strikes, the art of staying silent and swift. Her body burned with each movement, but she welcomed the pain. It reminded her she was still alive. Still fighting.

---

The morning of the Trials

Thunder rolled over the valley as the pack gathered at the ceremonial grounds. A hundred she-wolves stood in formation-daughters of warriors, nobles, and betas. All groomed, polished, radiant.

And then there was Lily.

She stood at the end of the line, wearing a simple black dress that hung loose over her thin frame. Her hair was tied back roughly, and her arms bore faint scars from kitchen work. The crowd whispered. Her stepsisters smirked. Even the guards looked at her with pity.

But she held her head high.

Because up on the stone platform, watching them with cold, unreadable eyes, stood Alpha Rudolf.

His presence was undeniable. Tall, broad, and commanding. Dark hair swept back from a sharp face, and eyes like molten silver that gleamed with lethal intent. The air shifted with his every breath.

He didn't smile. He didn't blink. He didn't even seem interested in the Trials.

Until his gaze landed on her.

The moment their eyes locked, the world tilted.

Lily's breath caught in her throat. Her wolf stirred within her, trembling at the raw power that radiated from him. Something passed between them-strange, electric, magnetic.

But then he looked away, his expression unreadable.

Her heart sank.

---

As the trials began, the she-wolves demonstrated their agility, strength, submission, and strategy in a series of challenges. One by one, the crowd roared for their favorites. Bianca performed a flawless combat routine. Celine charmed the elders with her grace and poise.

Lily was the last to be called.

As she stepped into the circle, silence fell.

Whispers grew like a rising tide.

"She's here?"

"She'll break like glass."

"This will be quick."

Lily ignored them all. She drew her dagger-the only thing of worth she owned-and began the routine she had practiced under moonlight and pain.

Every move was deliberate, like a dance woven from shadows and fire.

Her stance-sharp.

Her strikes-precise.

Her body-worn, but not weak.

When she ended her sequence, the air stood still. No one spoke.

Alpha Rudolf leaned forward slightly.

Maribelle's face twisted in rage.

Lily bowed and walked away, her heart thundering.

She didn't need their applause.

She had shown them. She had survived.

But it was only the beginning.

---

That night, in the Alpha's quarters...

Rudolf stood by the window, silent. His Beta, Darius, lingered behind him.

"You saw her?" Darius asked.

Rudolf said nothing.

"She's not what the others expected," Darius continued, pouring himself a drink.

"She's exactly what I expected," Rudolf said at last, his voice like steel.

Darius raised a brow. "You knew?"

Rudolf turned, his eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight. "The moment I saw her. She's not weak. She's caged. I want to know what happens when she breaks free."

---