Chapter 1 Glimmer Of Hope

CEDAR BLAKE

"Stop right there, you worthless Omega!"

Their voices were loud, vicious, and far too close. I could hear them breathing hard behind me, their footsteps pounding the forest floor in hot pursuit. The leaves under my feet crackled as I ran, the sharp twigs slicing into my bare soles, but I didn't stop.

I couldn't.

My heart thundered in my chest, beating wildly with desperation. Sweat trickled down my forehead, stinging my eyes. My lungs burned with each gasp, but I pushed forward. I couldn't afford to be caught.

I must escape.

I have to survive.

I have to live.

I repeated the words over and over like a sacred chant, trying to silence the sobs crawling up my throat. My mind screamed at me to focus. There was no room for weakness.

You've got to live, Cedar. Promise me, you will. Do it. Swear it, now.

My brother's final plea echoed in my skull, louder than the shouts behind me. I bit down hard on my cracked lower lip until I tasted blood, but I didn't slow down. I didn't look back to see how close they were. That would only waste precious seconds I didn't have.

I wasn't fast, never was. Even among the weakest Omegas, I couldn't compete in speed or strength. But none of that mattered right now. I ran because it was all I had left.

Behind me, the sounds of their pursuit grew louder, more aggressive. Their weapons... spears, claws, cruel intentions... slashed through the underbrush as they closed in. I didn't dare look. My only hope was reaching the edge of the Crystal Moon Pack's territory. Maybe another pack would find me, take me in. Maybe someone, anyone, would show mercy.

But my legs betrayed me.

My knees collided, clumsily knocking together. My body pitched forward and I slammed hard into the dry earth, face-first. Sand filled my mouth and pain exploded through my chin. Before I could crawl away, I felt a rough hand grab my ankle and yank me backward.

I screamed.

The Alpha twins, Adonis and Adonai, loomed over me, tall, strong, and filled with savage delight. Icarus, the pack's Zeta, joined them. I knew the Beta would be nearby too. They wouldn't miss this for anything. My humiliation was their entertainment.

I stared up at them, terrified, but refused to beg because that never got me anywhere near safety.

"I told you, brother. She's no good!" Alpha Adonai's voice thundered in my ears like he was whispering straight into my skull.

"A fucking slave," he spat.

"We should've gotten rid of this stinking cunt the moment her parents betrayed our father!" Adonis growled, his lip curled with hatred. "I don't know how we've let her live this long."

"Game over, Cedar! Give up already!" Icarus laughed as he raised his dagger. In his other hand, a chain glinted in the moonlight.

Their eyes burned with bloodlust. This wasn't punishment, it was a game to them. A hunt. A thrill. And I was the prey.

I didn't dare lift my head. I knew what they were capable of. I'd already survived being tied to a racehorse and dragged through the village square until I was nearly unrecognizable. Today's "fun" was just another cruel invention. A new way to break me.

According to the rules of their sick game, if I reached the border, I'd be spared. That was the only mercy they'd offered, to make it feel fair. But we all knew the truth.

I'd never make it.

Even if I did, they'd find a way to twist the rules. They always did.

Still, I ran. Because I promised.

I made a vow on my brother's deathbed to stay alive, long enough to gather proof. Long enough to clear our family's name. Long enough to avenge my parents' unjust execution and reclaim the honor they stripped from us.

"Please," I finally cried out, tears running freely down my face, "Let me go. Have mercy!"

Icarus tightened his grip on the chain, his grin widening with sick delight.

"Soon," Adonis growled, "you'll join the rest of your cursed family. Your name will be erased from this pack and every other. You're nothing but a disgrace!"

He grabbed a fistful of my tangled hair and slammed me into a nearby tree.

The impact knocked the breath from my lungs. I screamed, a guttural sound that tore from deep within me. My body crumpled to the ground, trembling. My ears rang, my skull pounded, and I couldn't feel my legs. My eyelids fluttered, heavy and swollen.

Still, I prayed.

Even though the moon goddess had never answered me, even though every offering, every whispered plea had gone unheard, I prayed.

"Please... spare me," I whispered. "Moon goddess..."

Adonai's voice was gleeful, drunk on cruelty. "Don't spoil the fun, brother. Let's take her back. Tear her apart piece by piece until there's nothing left."

"Take her," Adonis said, voice rough with amusement. "The game has just begun."

Icarus hoisted me over his shoulder like I was a rag doll. My head lolled back, blood dribbling from my mouth, my vision blurred beyond recognition. I hung there, limp, praying for a swift death.

And then-

"Stop!"

At first, I thought I had imagined it. My mind was foggy, my ears still ringing from the impact. But the voice came again, loud, clear and commanding.

"Give her to me."

My heart stuttered. That wasn't one of the twins. That voice... it was calm but filled with a power that made the air shift.

"Who are you?" Icarus demanded, his whole body tensing beneath me.

"Whoever he is, he's about to regret stepping into our land," Adonis growled.

"She belongs to us!" Adonai thundered. "We decide what happens to her!"

"You're right... and wrong at the same time," the voice replied, cold and unshaken.

Footsteps approached, slow, deliberate, heavy with dominance. The ground almost seemed to vibrate with each one.

I knew then. They were close. The twins were circling the stranger, challenging him. No one crossed them and lived. Whoever this man was... he should've run while he had the chance.

My fate had already been sealed the moment I failed to shift at eighteen. I was cursed. Marked for death just like my family. I had accepted it.

As I forced my swollen eyes open, I saw only shadows and light. A tall figure advanced on Icarus. He moved with the calm confidence of someone who feared no one.

Icarus stiffened. I heard a snap, bone cracking, and then a deep, agonizing groan.

Darkness swallowed me as my eyes rolled shut again.

And everything... went still.