Page 1 of Crystal Luna

Chapter One

Velora

Silent tears ran down her cheek as Velora kneeled on the cold tiles. Completely and utterly exhausted, she began to scrub the floors cleaning up Asher’s vomit—again. Only once the floor was spotless did she retreat to the cellar where she discarded the foul smelling rags and scrubbed her hands until they burned. The clock above her struck twelve, and Velora let out a sob, choking against the feeling in her gut that resembled being hit with a bat.

“Happy birthday to me,” she muttered to herself.

Somehow, she’d expected for her life to magically change once she turned eighteen. Yet there she was, scrubbing vomit off her skin in her alpha’s basement while a party raged upstairs. Asher and Isaiah were her worst nightmare. After her parents had died, she’d slowly become their personal servant, tending to their every need—no matter how ridiculous. Their parents, Luna Silvia and Alpha Theodore, weren’t any help. They only encouraged their destructive behaviour.

She’d never really noticed how much of an outcast she was until she’d lost her parents. She wasn’t their biological child, a simple human without the slightest touch of Isis, their moon goddess. Humans being part of werewolf packs weren’t unusual, but they always had her touch—a half breed or some kind of bond to a mate.

Velora, however, came without any of it. Her father, the last beta of the Crystal Wolves, had found her abandoned in a trash can during a visit to human territory. He’d brought her home andraised her like his own, and her mother had seen her as a personal blessing after struggling with infertility her whole life.

With the washer running, she retreated into her room. At least, that’s what she called the small closet she lived in. She barely had room to stuff it with a twin mattress and a run-down dresser. She changed her clothes, yet that didn’t take the smell of the vomit away. She didn’t dare to attempt a shower yet. Not while the party was still in motion upstairs. When either of the twins called for her, she had to be at their disposal right away, no matter what. So, she curled up in bed, waiting for them to pass out.

She slowly dozed off, only to be woken when Isaiah’s mind pushed against hers. They never actually talked to her—it was too far beneath their position to talk to a servant, even through the mind link. She jumped out of bed and quickly made her way upstairs to the main living area. Her heart dropped when she saw the disaster they’d left for her.

Alpha Theodore and Luna Silvia had left the pack territory for a trip to Swiftport—a six-hour drive. They’d left Beta Lian in charge and would expect the house to be spotless upon their return. Knowing this would take the rest of the night, Velora started by grabbing a trash bag and picking up all the beer cans, whisky bottles, and the snacks that they’d seemed to have used as confetti.

An hour later she was on her knees once again, scrubbing away at whatever sticky substance was staining the couch. She started planning her escape, trying to picture herself anywhere other than her alpha’s living room. She knew nothing would ever come from it, but she couldn’t help herself.

The Crystal Pack was settled the furthest north. Nothing but ice and wilderness surrounded them most of the year, and their summers were so short that the ice barely had time to thaw. There was nowhere for her to go. She wouldn’t make it past the territory borders if she tried. Even if she was able to leave, what was she meant to do? She had no money. Her clothes and sketchbook were the only things to her name.

A deep slur pulled her out of her daydreams. “Enjoying yourself?”

Her head shot up and she saw Ely—son of the pack’s beta and the twins’ best friend—stumble down the stairs. She didn’t say a word. There was no talking to him when he was drunk. She got up and walked to the kitchen to rinse out the rag and grab some clean water.

“What? Too posh to talk to me?”

Though her back was turned, she could feel him come closer. Besides the twins, he was the one she hated the most. He was just as entitled as they were. He stepped so close that she could feel the heat coming off his body. He wound her ponytail around his fist, yanking her head back and twisting her neck to force her eyes to him.

“You got lucky, you know?” he snarked down at her. “If it were up to me or the twins, you’d have been left for the rogues.”

Her throat tightened as the pain from his grip made her scalp burn. His breath reeked and his eyes were clouded from the alcohol. Every cell in her body wanted to fight him, but she knew that would only make it worse. Defending herself would only make him involve the twins and all their friends.

“You’ll be the first change that we’ll make. I don’t even know why Alpha Theodore lets you live here.”

His free hand wrapped around her throat, squeezing tight. She still didn’t move an inch, face void of all emotion.

“Maybe I can put you to good use while I already have you here. What do you think?”

A dark grin flickered over his face before he wrapped her ponytail around his fist, locking her head in place as he palmed down towards her breasts. Her body started to tremble, her hand shooting up to stop him.

“No…”

“What are you going to do?” He laughed, knocking her hand away.

“Don’t do this,” she pleaded.

“Why not? I thought you would want this. It’s not like any other man is ever going to want you anyway.”

His teeth scraped over her neck as he caught both her wrists and slammed them on the counter before her. Tears filled her eyes as pain shot up her arms, paralysing her already drained body.

“I’m doing you a favour, don’t you think?”

With her hands bound and burning, he had free reign over her. She froze like a deer in headlights as she slammed her eyes shut, feeling his fingers pushing behind the elastic of her pants. As soon as she was exposed, he loosened his belt and let his jeans drop to the floor.

“Hush, now. We don’t want anyone interrupting this special moment for you, do we?” he purred as he kicked her ankles apart. She pressed her lips together, tears running down her cheeks as he pushed between her thighs. She’d thought the pain of her wrists being slammed onto the cold stone was excruciating but him using her to please himself was worse than anything she’d ever felt. It was humiliating. It felt as if he were ripping her in half.