Haven Rise of Luna

Delphine

The room was dark, save for the faint, miserable glow of the lamp that barely touched the corners of Cassian’s study.

Every part of my body was cold and tense as I sat in a rigid chair opposite from him, waiting for whatever new punishment he had come up with.

The smell of sour whiskey and harsh cologne filled the air, and I couldn't take my eyes off his nasty expression.

“Are you even listening, Delphine?” I was startled out of my reverie by Cassian's piercing voice. "Why I waste time with you is beyond me. Do you know how many people would kill for the opportunity I've given you?

“Yes, Alpha,” I murmured, forcing myself to keep my gaze low. Looking him in the eyes only ever made things worse.

“‘Yes, Alpha,’” he mocked, leaning closer until I could feel his breath against my skin. “You think just because you have some little gift, you’re worth more than anyone else here?” He grabbed my wrist hard enough to make me wince. “You’re nothing without me. Nothing.”

Under my shirt sleeves, the bruises from his previous encounter were still healing. My arm hurt every time he tightened his hold, but I knew better than to resist. I simply nodded and tightened my jaw instead.

After what seemed like hours, he sighed in disgust and waved me away like I was a bothersome bug. “I expect you back here tomorrow to heal my men. No excuses.”

I nodded, murmured, “Yes, Alpha Cassian,” and stood up, my body aching as I walked out, my footsteps hollow and heavy.

Cassian was always demanding that I heal his so-called men, bruised and battered strangers who would show up with life-threatening wounds, and I wasn’t allowed to ask questions. But I’d been doing it for so long now that it was almost routine. Almost.

The healings had taken their toll. My strength was ebbing away day by day, and I had been feeling weaker lately. It felt like my energy was being drained out of me, leaving only a hollow aching in its stead, and my wolf hardly stirred within of me anymore.

But today was meant to be different. I had clung to a slender, tattered thread of hope for years, waiting for this day.

It was my twentieth birthday, and I had finally gotten my healer's license after all these years. In order to force me to obey him, Cassian had dangled it over me and used it as leverage.

But now it was mine, a sliver of freedom in my grasp. As if to remind myself that it was real, I gripped the license tightly and felt its edges dig into my fingertips.

A tiny smile appeared on my face as I pictured escaping this pack, escaping Cassian's domineering hold, and beginning anew in a distant place.

Maybe Crystal Lake, a sanctuary for rogues where Cassian wouldn’t dare follow me. My life had been reduced to survival, a day-by-day endurance of Cassian’s abuse, but this license could be the ticket to a real life, free from him.

A tiny smile appeared on my face as I pictured escaping this pack, escaping Cassian's domineering hold, and beginning anew in a distant place.

It was the only reason I hadn’t run already. I was imprisoned by the blood oath, which served as a brutal reminder that freedom was only a pipe dream.

I couldn't stop thinking about it, though, and my mind kept going down avenues of possibility and escape. Maybe I could find a way to break the oath. Maybe… maybe there was a chance.

That evening, after finishing the last healing session Cassian had forced me into, I returned to the pack house. Every bone in my body ached from exhaustion as I went up the stairs to my room.

As I did each year, all I wanted was to spend my birthday by the river, chatting with my mother and enjoying the little chocolate cake I had stashed away. It was just me, a memory, and what little tranquility I still had.

I froze when I reached the top of the stairs. From his office at the end of the hall came Cassian's dark, deep voice. When I heard him say my name, my heart stopped.

“...she’s weak, Emily. Barely has the strength left to keep up with the healings. One more push and she’ll be out of the way forever.”

I crept closer to the door while holding my breath, my heart thumping so loudly I thought they may hear. Emily’s voice replied, silky and filled with satisfaction. “It’s about time. She’s nothing but a burden, Cassian. I don’t understand why you kept her around this long.”