Nyx
I tore through the Bloodcrest forest like a hunted animal, branches slashing at my arms and face, drawing thin lines of blood. My lungs burned with every desperate gasp, my legs screamed in fiery protest, but I didn't slow. Not for a single second.
I had to get out.
I would rather die a rogue... starving, packless, exposed to every predator and rival, than stay trapped here with them. With my parents. With this cursed pack that had branded me a monster.
I'd taken nothing. No bag, no food, no clothes. The emptiness of my hands proved how finished I was. How utterly done with everything Bloodcrest represented.
But escape was only a cruel illusion.
No matter how hard I pushed, how wildly I wove between the ancient trees, I could feel them closing in. Their heavy footfalls thundered closer. Their scents, sharp, aggressive, drenched in royal authority, thickened the air behind me.
"My father's gammas are nothing but bitches... A pain in the ass ," I rasped under my breath, panic squeezing my chest like a vice.
"Princess Nyx! Stop right there!" a voice roared through the woods.
I didn't stop.
I wouldn't even I can.
I dug deep for the last scraps of strength and ran harder, faster, pain lancing through my thighs, until my foot slammed into a jagged stone.
The world lurched.
I stumbled.
Fell hard.
The ground smashed into me, driving every ounce of air from my lungs. Dirt filled my mouth as I skidded across the forest floor.
"AC'mon Nyx" I said
Before I could push myself up, they were on me.
Surrounding me in a tight, merciless circle.
Closing in like wolves on wounded prey.
By the time I dragged myself to my knees, gasping, they gave me no chance to speak.
A heavy fist cracked across my face.
The blow snapped my head sideways. My vision exploded with white stars as I nearly collapsed again. The head gamma loomed over me, his face carved from cold stone.
Two others seized my arms, yanking them behind my back in bruising grips.
Slowly, I lifted my head. My cheek throbbed viciously. Blood flooded my mouth, hot and metallic. I locked eyes with the one who had struck me.
With my hands pinned, I did the only thing I could.
I spat blood across his boots.
Silence froze the air for a split second.
Then rage erupted.
Another blow, harsher, more vicious. His fist slammed into my face with brutal force. Pain detonated across my jaw. My lip split open, fresh blood pouring down my chin. The inside of my mouth felt shredded.
"How dare you, you cursed wolfless murderer," he snarled, voice thick with disgust. "Acting arrogant before me?"
Before I could react, a crushing strike landed at the base of my neck.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
---
Consciousness returned in fractured waves as they dragged me back to the pack.
My body felt leaden, numb, every jolt sending fresh agony rippling through me.
Then, without warning, I was hurled to the ground.
I slammed into the cold stone floor of the punishment room, pain exploding through my ribs and spine. I barely had the strength to twitch as the gammas marched out in silence. The door slammed shut with a final, echoing boom.
I didn't need to look around.
I knew exactly where I was.
My punishment room.
A bitter, broken sound almost escaped my throat.
Of course.
With trembling effort, I pushed myself onto my elbows. The air hung thick and stale, heavy with the ghosts of old screams and dried blood, memories I wished I could forget.
Footsteps approached.
Slow. Heavy. Unmistakable.
The door creaked open.
Alpha Rhygar…
My father.
"Fath..."
His hand cracked across my face before I could finish, striking the same already-bruised cheek. The impact echoed sharply off the stone walls.
I clutched my throbbing face, swallowing the fresh wave of pain, forcing myself into silence.
Speaking would only make it worse.
It always did.
"I warned you," he said, voice ice-cold. "The next time you run, make sure you're never found."
His tone dropped, dangerous and low.
"Because if you are… i will make sure you live in hell... Do you think I was bluffing?"
"I will give you one more chancr... The next time you run," he continued, each word measured and lethal, "I will marry you off like livestock… or send you to Altheris to rot."
His eyes darkened with barely contained fury.
"Because no child of mine will become a rogue."
He paused, then added with terrifying calm:
"Or I will kill you myself. If that's what you want?"
I met his gaze, something deep inside me finally fracturing.
"There's no one else here," I whispered hoarsely. "Why don't you just kill me now and end it… father?"
His expression twisted into pure rage.
"Oh, ....goddess knows how much I want to," he growled. "For taking Eira away from me.... You Nyx should have died instead of her"
My chest tightened painfully, but I refused to look away.
"Nothing is stopping you now," I replied.
Not because I wanted death.
I didn't.
But I was so tired. Soul-crushingly tired.
"Don't provoke me, Nyx," he warned. "I am nothing like you."
A hollow smile tugged at my bloodied lips.
"I think we're exactly the same, father... I have your eyes.... "
I never finished.
His boot slammed into my stomach with savage force.
The impact lifted me slightly before smashing me back to the floor. Pain ripped through my gut as all the air exploded from my lungs.
"I am nothing like you...," he snarled, towering over me. "Because I would never murder my own twin out of jealousy."
The words cut deeper than any blow.
Every last shred of strength drained from my body.
I didn't move.
Didn't speak.
I simply lay there, staring at nothing as silent tears burned down my face.
"Stay in this room," he ordered coldly, turning toward the door, "until you understand exactly what you've done.... Useless"
The door slammed shut behind him.
Silence crashed down.
Heavy. Suffocating. Final.
And this?
This was nothing, compare to what I am used to....
This had been my life for the past nine years.