~~ANIKA VALERION~~
The walk back home was humiliating. I kept my head down, focusing on the dust coating my sandals, wishing the ground would just open up and swallow me whole.
When I finally reached our cottage, Nana threw the door open before I could even knock.
“I know. Ani… I know...” She pulled me into an embrace, her familiar scent of dried herbs and old parchment washing over me.
But her words made me stiffen. I pulled back, searching her face. "You knew I wouldn’t turn?"
Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "I hoped... I hoped to spare you the heartbreak."
The shame hit me, almost sending me staggering backwards. “You didn’t believe in me either.”
Pain flashed her features. “You don’t understand, dear!”
“Then make me!” I shouted, the raw hurt bleeding into my voice.
“You should have listened when I told you to stay back! You had no idea what I’ve sacrificed to keep you—”
She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening as she realized what she was saying. She whirled around, refusing to look at me. "Just... go wash up."
"Sacrificed what? Nana, what are you talking about?"
Before she could answer, a knock at the door startled us both.
I froze. I recognized that scent.
Joanna.
My first instinct was to shove Nana behind me. I wouldn't let my bully hurt the only family I had left.
I opened the door a crack. Joana stood there, still in her shimmering silk gown, though now she looked... different.
"Why are you here?" I demanded, blocking the doorway.
"I have something of yours. And... I wanted to talk," she said softly, clutching her hands in front of her.
I felt a wave of annoyance. "About what? Haven't you done enough for one night?"
"Can I come in? Please?"
I hesitated. Behind me, Nana was watching us with wide, worried eyes.
"It's okay, Nana," I said over my shoulder. "Go back to bed. I'll handle this."
"I prefer to stay," Nana mumbled protectively, glaring at Joana.
I needed to get her out of the room. If Joana was going to spew more poison, I didn't want Nana to hear it.
"Please, Nana. I need to take my pills anyway. I think I left them on my bedside table. Could you go grab them for me?"
Nana hesitated, then nodded. "You can't miss a dose. It's important." With one last suspicious glance at Joana, she shuffled off toward the bedroom.
Once the bedroom door clicked shut, I stepped back, letting Joana in.
She stepped inside, looking around our small, humble living room with an expression I couldn't quite place.
"Make it quick," I said, crossing my arms.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, orange plastic vial. My breath hitched. It was identical to the one I carried everywhere.
"Here," she said, holding it out to me. "I saw this on the ground after you left the square. I guessed it was important, so... I brought it back."
I stared at her, skepticism warring with relief. I took the bottle and unscrewed the cap instantly, peering inside. The small white tablets rattled against the plastic—they looked exactly like the suppressants I took every day.
"You came all this way just to return my medicine?" I asked, my voice laced with disbelief.
Joana sighed, her face contorting with what looked like regret. "I was a monster tonight. Lord Xander... seeing him, hearing Conor's words... it made me realize how cruel I was. I want to make it up to you."
My brow furrowed. Joana apologizing? It was like seeing a shark apologize for biting.
"People can change," she said, stepping closer. "I know you hate me, but... can you give me the benefit of the doubt?"
I should have told her to leave. I should have kicked her out right then. But the bottle in my hand felt heavy—a tangible proof of her "kindness." And the thought of having a single friend in a pack that despised me... it was a seductive lie.
What if she meant it? What if the humiliation of the ceremony had humbled her too?
"How?" I asked warily.
"Let's take a walk. Just a short one. We can clear the air."
“Give me a second,” I said. “I need to take this first.”
“Here, let me,” Joana said, picking up the glass of water to hand it to me.
But her hand slipped.
She knocked into the table, sending the pill bottle skittering across the floor. The cap popped off, and the small white tablets scattered across the dusty floorboards.
“Oh no! I’m so sorry!” she gasped, immediately dropping to her knees to gather them.
“It’s fine,” I sighed, kneeling beside her.
She moved quickly—too quickly—scooping them up and shoving them back into the bottle before I could help. Then she handed it to me, looking genuinely mortified.
“Thanks.” I shook out my usual dose—two pills—tossed them into my mouth, and washed them down with the water.
“Now,” I said, wiping my mouth, “let’s take that walk.”
We walked in silence for a long time. She led me away from the cottages, her grip on my arm surprisingly tight.
"Where are we going?" I asked as the path grew darker.
She didn't answer. She just kept walking, pulling me along.
We reached the edge of the Omega quarters—the run-down barracks where the lowest of the pack lived. The air here smelled stale, thick with desperation and unwashed bodies.
She stopped abruptly, dropping my arm with a dissatisfied grunt.
"Joana?"
I scrutinized the surroundings. Shadows stretched long and menacing. "What are we doing here?"
I barely got the words out before a terrifying change seized my body.
It started in my stomach—a hot, twisting cramp that spread outward like wildfire. My vision fractured, the edges blurring into a hazy red. The walls of the barracks seemed to breathe, moving in and out.
My skin felt like it was on fire. An itchy, persistent heat bloomed beneath my flesh, making me want to tear my own skin off.
"Joana..." I gasped, my tongue feeling thick and heavy. "Something's... wrong."
Instead of helping, she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against a tree, watching me.
"Is it?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"What... what have you done?" I demanded, though my voice was shrinking to a whisper.
She looked at me with scorn, the mask of kindness shattering completely. "Stay right here, Anika. I’m sure someone will be along shortly to help a Null in heat."
"Heat?" I stumbled, grabbing the rough bark of a tree to keep from falling. "W-what do you m-mean?"
"Are you really that dumb? Did you actually believe I wanted to be friends?" She laughed, a cruel, high-pitched sound. "It’s a shame you are this vulnerable. And it's a shame I won't be here to see how the local drunks react to a helpless girl begging for it."
My heart hammered frantically against my ribs, echoing the pounding in my head. "The pills," I whispered, horror dawning on me. "You... you swapped them."
"Bingo," she sneered. "When I dropped the bottle? Slight of hand, darling. You swallowed a double dose of heavy-grade aphrodisiacs intended for breeding season. You trusted me so blindly."
"Why?" I choked out, my legs buckling. I slid down the tree trunk, hitting the dirt.
"Because I hate you, Anika!" she hissed, her face twisting with a flash of something that looked almost like jealousy, though I couldn't understand why. She had everything. I was nothing.
"Please," I begged, the heat becoming unbearable now, pooling between my legs in a way that terrified me. "Take me home. Nana..."
"I don't care about that old hag. Enjoy your night, Null."
She turned and vanished into the darkness, leaving me alone.
I tried to move, to crawl, but my limbs felt like lead. The heat doubled, then tripled. I was burning alive from the inside out. My mind was a haze of lust and panic, a chemical fire I couldn't control.
I need help. I can't let some pervert find me like this.
Through the haze, I heard it. Footsteps. Heavy. Stumbling.
A man emerged from the shadows. He reeked of cheap ale and stale sweat. He swayed as he looked down at me, his eyes glassy.
He laughed, a wet, gurgling sound. "Well, well. If it isn’t the unfortunate human the Moon Goddess rejected."
"Leave... me... alone," I managed to wheeze.
He chuckled loudly. "You are coming home with me tonight, little thing." He inhaled deeply, his nose flaring. "That scent. You smell... ripe."
He reached for me with a dirty hand.
Suddenly, a blur of motion shot from the darkness.
A body slammed into the drunk, sending him flying through the air. He hit the ground with a sickening thud ten feet away.
I couldn't focus. My vision was swimming.
The drunk scrambled backward in the dirt, looking at his attacker with pure terror. "P-please... Lord..."
The newcomer stepped into a patch of moonlight.
Tall. Lean. Dark hair falling in wild waves.
And eyes like cold, grey steel.
Xander.