Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
The first thing Elena felt was the cold.
Not the gentle chill of an early morning, but the brutal kind that stole the breath from her lungs before she even opened her eyes.
"Splash!"
A bucket of icy water crashed over her, soaking the thin blanket, the worn mattress beneath her, and every inch of her body.
She gasped and bolted upright, shivering violently as freezing water streamed down her face. Her chest tightened while she struggled to catch her breath.
“Get up, you lazy ass.”
The maid stood in the doorway with an empty bucket hanging from one hand, her expression as cold as the water she had thrown.
“As I’m leaving, you better follow me,” she said over her shoulder. “Unless you’d rather get another beating.”
The old wooden door creaked shut behind her.
Elena remained still for a moment, gripping the soaked blanket around her legs.
I’ll get beaten either way.
The thought carried neither anger nor fear. It was simply the truth.
With a quiet sigh, she climbed off the bed. Water dripped from her oversized sweater onto the rough concrete floor as she stepped out of the tiny basement room she had lived in for as long as she could remember.
Calling it a bedroom felt generous.
It was little more than a damp concrete box with a narrow bed, a wooden crate that served as both table and wardrobe, and a flickering lightbulb.
It wasn’t a room.
It was a cage.
She quietly closed the door behind her and followed the maid upstairs.
As she climbed, silence gave way to life. Voices echoed through the halls. Someone laughed. Dishes clinked in the kitchen as breakfast was prepared.
The pack was waking.
Elena had lived in Brightmoon Pack her entire life, yet she had always felt like an outsider. People noticed her only when there was work to be done or someone to blame.
Being an omega already placed her near the bottom of the pack hierarchy.
Elena had somehow fallen even lower.
Unlike the other omegas, her wolf was weak. She could barely hold her shifted form before collapsing from exhaustion. The first time it happened, the younger wolves laughed. The second time, even the adults joined in.
Eventually, no one expected anything from her.
She became little more than another burden the pack tolerated.
Passing the omega quarters, Elena couldn’t help glancing toward the clean rooms with proper beds and bright windows. Small decorations hung on the walls, making each room feel like a home.
She quickly looked away.
Those homes had never been meant for her.
The scent of fresh bread greeted her as she entered the main kitchen.
Warm air wrapped around her, easing some of the cold that clung to her soaked clothes.
“Elena!”
She looked up, and despite everything, a small smile appeared.
“Camila.”
Camila Mendes crossed the kitchen carrying a basket of vegetables. Though she was the Head Warrior’s daughter, she often helped the staff, treating everyone with the same kindness.
“Good morning,” Camila said warmly. “How are you today?”
“I’m fine.”
Camila’s eyes lingered on Elena’s soaked clothes. She clearly didn’t believe her, but she didn’t press.
“Have you receive your salary yet? Mine came this morning.”
Elena shook her head.
“Not yet. Maybe later.”
Camila frowned.
“They’re always late paying you.”
Elena forced a smile.
She had asked why once.
The bruises she’d received afterward had been enough.
Before either of them could speak again, the head chef’s booming voice echoed through the kitchen.
“Camila! Less talking, more working!”
Camila sighed dramatically.
“We’ll finish this conversation later.”
“I’ll be here.”
As soon as Camila walked away, the warmth around Elena disappeared.
A sharp slap struck her across the face, knocking her to the floor. Buckets and brushes clattered beside her.
“You useless bitch.”
The maid glared down at her.
“Lady Agatha has been waiting for her room to be cleaned. Get up.”
Elena pressed a hand against her burning cheek; she didn’t argue, she simply gathered her cleaning supplies and stood. The elevator carried her toward the Beta family’s floor in silence. Alone at last, she looked at her reflection in the polished metal wall.
Dark curls clung to her face, framing soft features that hardship hadn’t managed to harden. Her large brown eyes looked tired beyond their years.
A small silver cross rested against her collarbone. She touched it absentmindedly; she couldn’t remember where it had come from, only that she had always worn it.
The elevator chimed.
The doors opened onto polished marble floors scented with expensive perfume.
Elena walked quietly to Agatha’s bedroom and knocked.
“Come in.”
She stepped inside.
The room looked as though a storm had swept through it.
Designer dresses covered the bed. Shoes and handbags were scattered across the floor, while jewelry boxes sat open on every surface.
“Miss... you asked for your room to be cleaned.”
Agatha barely looked at her. Standing before a large mirror, she held a pale blue dress against herself.
“This one is perfect.”
Then she noticed Elena’s reflection.
“What took you so long?” she snapped. “I asked for someone an hour ago.”
“I’m sorry, Miss. I was only just informed—”
“Excuses.”
Agatha turned to face her.
“I don’t pay servants to explain themselves.”
Elena lowered her head.
“I’m sorry.”
“Just clean the room. And spray something afterward. I don’t want your filthy scent lingering in here.”
Without another glance, Agatha swept out of the room.
Silence settled once more Elena stood motionless, staring at the closed door. The sting in her cheek slowly faded, replaced by a familiar ache in her chest, Tears burned behind her eyes. She squeezed them shut.
No.
She had promised herself long ago that she wouldn’t cry over people who had never seen her as human.
Taking a slow breath, she lifted her chin.
Not forever.
She had been saving every coin she earned.
Even when they delayed her wages.
Even when they paid her less than everyone else.
Even when she had to go hungry to keep adding to her small hidden savings.
One day, she would leave Brightmoon Pack.They could insult her.They could humiliate her they could make every day of her life unbearable but they couldn’t take away the dream she guarded so fiercely Hope still belonged to her and as long as it did, she hadn’t completely lost Elena bent to pick up the scattered dresses and began cleaning the room.
Just as she had done yesterday.
Just as she would do again tomorrow.
Until the day she finally walked away and never looked back.
