Blood in Her Name

The packhouse dining hall stank of entitlement and roasted meat.

Maelani moved through the noise, balancing two heavy trays of food with trained ease and zero thanks. The room was full of wolves — loud, hungry, and rowdy. Her clothes clung to her skin from the kitchen heat, her feet ached, and her back screamed from carrying more than her share. But she didn’t complain. She never did.

She couldn’t afford to.

The pack didn’t want her here. Not now. Not ever.

She wasn’t one of them. She didn’t shift. Didn’t have the mark. Didn’t come from a bloodline they respected.

She came from New Orleans. The human realm. The only reason she was even here was because, years ago, her mother ran for her life carrying a violently ill Maelani through the woods after escaping Maelani’s abusive father. Her mother had pumped magic into her feet to keep from collapsing.

And then he found them.

Ewen. A wolf with eyes like storms and a voice like steel. He didn’t hesitate to claim Sefina as his true mate once he had scented her, even when the pack protested. And though they accepted Sefina for her womb, they never accepted Maelani. To them, she was a leftover. A liability. A problem they tolerated because Ewen had too much status to ignore.

So here she was — fifteen years later at the age of eighteen— pouring gravy and handing out silverware like her existence depended on it. Because it did.

“Faster, freak,” one of the omegas snapped behind her. “Table five is still waiting.”

Maelani grit her teeth. She didn’t answer. Didn’t even glance over her shoulder. It wasn’t worth it. She placed the final bowl of seasoned vegetables on the Beta table and turned—

SPLOOSH.

Mop water. Filthy, greasy, and reeking like a wasteland. Poured over her head like a second skin. For a second, the room was silent. Then laughter exploded.

“Oh nooo,” someone mocked. “Guess the freak needed a bath!”

She stood perfectly still. Her breath slowed. Her hair clung to her face, soaking wet — the white strands near her crown now plastered against her dark brown skin, standing out even more against the creamy patches of vitiligo that framed her forehead and cheeks.

“Look, she’s dripping like the mess she is.”

“Is it contagious, you think?”

"Don’t get too close. That skin might peel."

Her fists clenched, but her face stayed blank. She refused to give them what they wanted — a reaction. A meltdown. Fear.

They called her a disease. A mutation. A curse.

But never ugly.

That was what really burned them. Her beauty was too loud to ignore, even if they tried to spit on it.

Across the room, Astro Chadwick Kross sat at the Alpha’s table, arms crossed, watching the scene unfold with a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Astro had been her personal nightmare since childhood. He also happens to be the Alpha's son. He was her number one tormentor. He used to pretend to trip into her lunch tray, knock her books off shelves, mutter cruel things every time they crossed paths. All because she wasn’t like them.

Because she wasn’t one of them. Because she dared to exist where she wasn’t wanted.

She wiped her face on a semi dry spot of her uniform, set down her last tray, and walked out in silence and went straight to the back to go shower.

The shower was hot enough to scald.

Maelani stood under the stream, letting it burn the filth away. Her skin stung from the chemicals in the mop water. The white patches always reacted worse — more sensitive, more raw and a bright red shade.

She stared at herself in the mirror afterward.

“Still breathing,” she whispered.

Her 3B curls — 24 inches long — hung heavy with water. The white streaks at the front and back of her head near her neck were stark against the rest of her brown hair. Her face, framed by dark and light patches that looked like a painting carved in contrast. Her emerald eyes speckled with brown and gray stared back, unreadable.

People hated what they couldn’t define.

She dried off, pulled on clean clothes — boxers and a long shirt — and walked into the kitchen.

Dinner was already plated. Caelis and Sorren had waited for her. Their father, Ewen, sat at the end of the table, eyes hard.

He didn’t need to ask what happened. The scent was still faint on her. His jaw ticked.

“You alright?” he asked, voice low.

Maelani gave a short nod and sat.

That was the thing about Ewen. He didn’t coddle. He protected in the ways he was allowed — and sometimes that wasn’t enough. Pack politics didn’t favor outsiders. Not even those fathered through love.

After dinner, she brought a bowl to her mother’s bedside. Sefina hadn’t stirred in months. Her body remained in a catalyzed state — between sleep and magic, caught somewhere no one could reach.

She had once been the strongest person Maelani knew. Bold. Smart. Kind. A healer and a quiet storm.

Now, she looked like a statue — fragile and distant, skin dulled from lack of sun.

Maelani sat beside her, brushing fingers along her mother’s arm.

“They tried to drown me in mop water today,” she said flatly.

No response.

“I didn’t cry.”

Still nothing.

“I don’t want to belong here anymore.”

She whispered it like a prayer.

And for the first time, Sefina’s fingers twitched.

➻❥𖤍➻❥

Later that night, Maelani, Caelis, and Sorren took a walk behind the woodshed. The twins were twelve — old enough to be curious, young enough to still be gentle. They talked about random things: books, music, new animals that had wandered too close to the wards.

Then Maelani stopped walking. The air shifted. Her heart thudded once — hard.

“Go back,” she said suddenly.

“Huh?” Sorren blinked.

“Now. Get Dad. Run.”

“But—”

“Run!”

The growl cut through the night like a blade. She shoved them backwards and without looking back she commanded them to run, so they ran.

Maelani turned and faced the forest where the moonlight hadn't glowed.

Five wolves emerged from the shadows — eyes glowing, teeth bared. She didn’t wait for them to lunge. She grabbed a fallen branch and swung at the closest one as soon as they began to attack.

One connected. Another dodged. A third tore into her shoulder.

She screamed but didn’t stop swinging.

Then she saw it.

A jagged scar over the left brow of one of the wolves — a scar she recognized. This wasn’t a rogue attack.

It was from the pack.

The others had marks too — a split ear, a missing paw claw.

Her stomach dropped.

These weren’t rogues. This was staged.

Before she could process it, more wolves arrived — including Ewen, the Alpha, the Beta... and Astro.

No one ran to help her. They watched as her blood rushed from the wound on her shoulder and mixed into the soil beneath her feet. Until someone finally spoke.

“She provoked them,” someone said.

“She’s reckless.”

“She’s not one of us.”

“She’s human,” Astro spat. “It was bound to happen.”

“She saved your packmates,” Ewen growled. “You should be thanking her.”

Alpha Morgan looked unimpressed. “We’ve lost two wolves. That’s more than she’s worth. She wouldn't even be here if it weren't for her being the daughter of your mate. Though since your mate is out of commission… I don't see why we still keep her here.”

Ewen’s fist tightened. He so badly wanted to do something, wanted to say something, but he couldn't. No one could go against the Alpha.

Maelani scoffed and mumbled, “As if you didn't set this up yourself,” under her breath knowing they would hear.

Alpha Morgan's eyes grew dark as he let out enough bloodlust to make Maelani cower, except she didn't.

“What you are insinuating is treason.”

“I know what I saw-”

“Enough! I say we kill her. She's useless anyway.” Astro spat coldly.

Ewen began to protest but one look from Alpha Morgan made him shut up.

➻❥𖤍➻❥

That night, they locked Maelani in the dungeons. Not even Ewen could stop them.

Maelani sat in the dungeon, unafraid and thinking of a plan while humming a song. A song that felt familiarly unfamiliar. The song echoed through the dungeon–unbeknownst to her, it was soothing the other prisoners. Ones who were on the brink of death listening to the song. It gave them warmth, peace, and comfort. What they needed to move on and not be stuck as a tormented soul.

Her humming stopped once she heard footsteps approaching. Astro came.

He didn’t say anything. Just looked at her like she was nothing. Like she was finally in the place he always wanted her to be.

“It’s a damn shame we didn't get to finish what we started in the woods, though I don't know if I'd be able to get it up for someone like you.” he sneered.

Maelani stayed silent and began humming again. A different tune. One that was eerily scary and depressing. The song ran shivers through Astro’s body, his skin pebbled in fear. Something he didn't think she'd ever make him feel.

Astro tried time and time again to get a rise out of her and provoke her, but nothing worked. That was until he tried to open the cell door. She just stared at him, and that was enough to make him hesitate.

“Hey, the Alpha called for you.” one of the other pack members called out to Astro. He stopped, turned, and walked away spitting obscenities.

The pack member let out a low growl in an attempt to intimidate her before he left and locked the door.

The moon was shining into Maelani’s cell. She looked at the moon, and even though she knew she wasn't the Moon Goddesses child she had hoped she'd at least listen to her.

Two pack guards walked in with menacing looks, “Hey freak. It's time.” one said.

Maelani got up and walked to the cell door without protest, but they still felt the need to assault her just for the fun of it.

With one guard behind her and the other holding her left arm, one would purposefully trip her while the other slung her into any wall nearby.

They kept walking until they reached the pack borders. Everyone was there. Watching. Waiting. Whispers broke out over the crowd.

“MAE MAE,” a voice cried out.

Caelis and Sorren stood by Ewen… well more like being held back by Ewen. She gives them a light smile, nod, and wave before she was thrown onto the ground.

The Alpha steppwd forward withthe verdict and read one word:

Exile.

Ewen fought it. The twins cried. But no one listened.

Astro dragged her out by the hair, but she didn’t scream. She didn’t make a sound. Her scalp burned, yet her eyes stayed dry.

They forced her to watch them burn her things — books, drawings, clothes, memories.

Then Astro threw her toward the forest. Where she nearly fell into a wolf trap, but missed it by inches.

Her body ached, screamed, and cried in pain. She had never gotten treatment from her injury and was still bleeding out, probably with an infection by now. Then she got up and ran. Never once slowing down to stop.

➻❥𖤍➻❥

Even with the moon lighting her way, Maelani never left the pack and didn't know which way to go. She only hoped she was heading north.

With the little knowledge she had of fae magik she learned from her mom, she did the only thing she knew how to do.

She focused her magik To the soles of her legs soothing the ache and protecting her from further harm.

Her body gave out just as she reached a clearing surrounded by tall willows and tangled roses.

A small cottage stood in the center, glowing soft with candlelight. Her body began to tingle. Everything in her was telling her she made it where she needed to go.

She shook the feeling but still followed it as she approached the cottage. She collapsed at the steps, barely able to breathe.

And here I thought I was gonna make it.

That was her final thought before the pain and darkness consumed her.

➻❥𖤍➻❥

When Maelani woke, the air smelled like sage and eucalyptus. Her wounds were dressed. A warm weight pressed against her side — a quilt, hand-stitched.

An old woman sat across the room, rocking slowly in a chair carved with runes.

“You’ve got death’s breath on you,” she said without looking up. “But your fire’s still lit.”

Maelani stared at her, unable to speak.

The woman turned. Her eyes were amber, lined with age and mystery.

“Name’s Stella.”

She smiled.

“And baby girl, you got witch blood screaming from your pores.”