Selene
The deeper we walked into the forest, the more it swallowed us whole. The last sliver of moonlight disappeared behind thick, tangled branches, leaving us in a suffocating blanket of shadows. Every crack of a twig beneath our feet sounded too loud, too sharp. But I kept moving even when I did not know where I was going.
I didn't complain. Even when every bone in my body screamed for me to drop on the floor of the forest to rest. Not even when my feet bled inside my shoes.
Two days. Maybe more. Time blurred when your heart was numb and your body followed orders on autopilot.
Then… suddenly, the suffocating darkness parted.
I stumbled to a stop, breath catching in my throat as my eyes came to rest on something I should have seen from afar but didn't.
A castle rose from the heart of the forest like some ancient beast. Its crumbling stone walls were strangled by ivy, its towers scarred and weathered by time.
It was beautiful and like a forgotten ruin still standing, still breathing.
But what chilled me to my bones wasn't the castle itself. It was the figures moving behind the stained glass windows. Watching. Waiting.
People.
Wolves.
"Welcome to Hollow Ridge," Ryker's voice broke the heavy silence beside me, rough like gravel. During our two days journey, we hardly exchanged words except when necessary.
At first, it made me anxious but after a while, I grew accustomed to it when I realized that he did not speak much.
I nodded as I followed him across a narrow bridge, the wood creaking under our weight. The courtyard on the other side buzzed with hushed murmurs. Dozens of eyes landed on me like daggers, dissecting, judging. I kept my chin high even as my stomach twisted into knots.
They weren't like the wolves from my old Pack. No shiny uniforms. No polished boots. These wolves moved like shadows, dangerous and silent. Rogues. Outcasts. Warriors. Survivors. A hunger to become like them arose in my heart. I knew that it was only a matter of time before it happened.
They pressed their open palms to their chests and bowed as Ryker passed. I stumbled behind him, feeling like an intruder in their strange ritual.
Then one of them stepped forward, blocking our path.
A woman. Tall. Beautiful. Her skin was littered with scars that told stories of battles I couldn't even imagine. Her eyes pinned me like I was prey.
"Who's she, Alpha?" she asked, voice sharp as steel.
Ryker stole a glance at me. "Her name is Selene."
The woman's lip curled in what looked like disgust. "She's an omega."
My chest clenched. She already did not like me because I was an omega. Would his people welcome me? As an omega, I was weak and even though Ryker had assured me that with training I would be able to hold my own, I highly doubted it.
His people were all warriors. They might think I'd drag them down during battle.
I hated how small I felt at that moment.
Kael also rejected me too because I was an omega.
Being an omega was a curse.
"It doesn't matter," Ryker's tone dropped to something colder, more dangerous. "We do not discriminate here, Kayla."
Kayla immediately dipped her head, baring her neck in submission. "Forgive me, Alpha."
"You're forgiven. Take Selene to the guest room. She needs to bathe. She's tired from the journey."
Kayla shot him a quick glance, something like disbelief flickering in her eyes before she turned to me. "This way," she muttered, her tone clipped.
I moved to follow her, but before I did, I dared a glance back at Ryker. He was watching me.
There was no smirk, no cruelty, no mockery in his gaze. Only something I didn't know how to name. Something that made my throat tighten.
His head dipped in a silent and encouraging nod before he turned his back and walked away while I continued to stumble after Kayla.
**
Two days later.
I lay on my bed, staring at the cracked ceiling. The silence in the room was so heavy it pressed against my chest like a heavy weight. The only noise were the sounds of my breath, the occasional creak of the old castle walls and sounds of footsteps as people moved to and fro the hall outside my door.
I hated this room.
When the door of my room opened. I jumped into a sitting position, my heart in my throat. Was it Ryker? Has he finally come?
He wasn't the one. It was Kayla and try as I may, I could not hide my disappointment. She seemed to notice because she glared at me like I was her enemy.
"What's wrong? Were you expecting someone else? Maybe like Alpha Ryker to come to you?" She sneered, folding her hands across her chest.
I looked away, biting my bottom lip and saying nothing.
"Alpha Ryker sent me. He would start training you from tomorrow,"
My disappointment faded away and was quickly replaced by happiness. I would be starting training tomorrow so it means that I'd be able to get out of here.
I'd be able to breathe in fresh air and see the sun again.
In the two days since my arrival, I've been kept inside the room. My food was brought to me morning, afternoon and night. I've also been given a few clothes but I've not been allowed to step out. When I asked Kayla why, she snapped at me to close my mouth and sit in the room like a good girl.
I don't know why she hated me. At first I thought that it was because I was an omega but it felt like there was something else that I was unaware of. Either way, I did not like her too so the feeling was mutual.
I snapped out of my thoughts when Kayla left the door and began to advance towards me. Her eyes held a deadly storm like she was holding back from tearing me apart and her lips were tight.
She stopped right at the edge of the bed, looming over me.
"Who are you really, and what have you done to make Alpha Ryker want to train you himself?" she spat, her voice dripping with suspicion and hate.
"What?" I blinked at her, completely caught off guard. "I—I didn't do anything."
Her sneer deepened, twisting her face into something ugly. "You're a witch, aren't you?" she hissed, "You bewitched him, right? That's why he took in a stray like you and kept you in his guest room."
I stared at her, mouth open, heart pounding. Bewitched him? Me? I was not a witch for moon's sake.
"I'm not—" I started to defend myself, but she didn't even give me the chance.
"Don't bother lying. I'll find out the truth. And when I do, I'll make sure everyone knows what you are," she growled before spinning around and storming out, slamming the door behind her.
Why would she even think I bewitched him? Because he wanted to personally train me? Well, thinking about it, it really was odd for him—an alpha—to want to train me—an omega and a rogue—personally but it was his choice. I did not ask or force him to do it so what was her problem?
Still, I couldn't shake off the knot of fear tightening in my belly. Werewolves feared witches more than anything. If Kayla started spreading those lies, I'd be as good as dead. No one would care if a rogue omega was accused of witchcraft. They'd tear me apart just for the sport of it.
Oh, goddess, help me.