1: LUNA MAGDA

Jessica huddled on the floor, which had been her bed since she was thirteen, trembling from the cold. The heavy winds outside kept blowing the cardboard cut out from the oval window, letting all the frostiness inside and the only things poor Jessica had to cover with were some empty potato sacks which weren't doing a great job of keeping the winter breeze off.

Sleeping on the hard, cold concrete floor only worsened her health, especially with all the dust and chemicals around. She had developed a severe case of pneumonia. If she were a regular girl, she would have died months ago. The strong scent of charcoal and kerosene filled the air, irritating her lungs and making her cough repeatedly as she twisted beneath her makeshift sheets.

Having just recovered from yet another coughing episode, her body calmed down but was soon jolted awake when someone kicked her in the stomach. Her amber eyes snapped open to reveal Luna Magda looming over her with a curling iron in one hand and a cane in the other. Jessica coughed to let air back in her lungs, but another kick forced the oxygen back out. The Luna didn't give her a chance to recover as she laid another hard kick to Jessica's gut.

"You lazy bag of fleas!" Luna Magda snarled as she struck Jessica with the cane. The omega raised her hands defensively to shield her face from the weapon. The Luna's eyes glared at Jessica with hatred and disgust. "I thought I told you I needed your help to get ready for the Luna's Ball. It's way past 8, and you're still sleeping," she filled her mouth with saliva and spat in Jessica's face. "Useless wolf." Magda's eyes were as cold as ice and her face began to collect wrinkles showing her old age of sixty. She hated being old and she hated any she-wolf that was younger than her.

"I—I'm sorry Luna. I overslept," Jessica apologized, struggling to get up but only to be struck by the Luna once more with the stick, sending her body back on the floor.

Jessica cursed herself in her head. She should have known better. The summer was over and with autumn came the long nights and short days. During summer, the sun would rise high in the sky by 5 am, and it would be easy for her to wake early. The sunlight would loom in and warm her face and melt the sleep from her body, but now the sun only began to show itself a few minutes after 8, so without a phone or an alarm clock, Jessica relied on her body to wake her up when it was hungry or needed to relieve itself.

She should have followed her instincts and not slept at all last night, knowing the risk of sleeping in.

"I don't want your apologies. I want your obedience and gratitude," the Luna hissed. "I took you in when that worthless father of yours got himself killed, along with your whore of a mother. And I've been good to you. Haven't I been good to you, Jessica?" The Luna asked, hissing and flashing her dark eyes, showing her dominance.

Jessica clenched her fists, scraping up dirt in her fingernails as her hands folded over the floor. She hated the Luna for always speaking ill of her parents. It wasn't their fault hunters killed them. They were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Answer me, you filthy mutt!" Luna Magda raised her hand with the stick and smacked it over Jessica's face. It hurt so much, the pain made the omega squeal. A satisfied smile appeared on the Luna's mouth when she saw the welt and blood on the young girl's face. "It doesn't matter whether you answer me or not. The Moon Goddess knows how good I've been to you, so that's why she blessed my three wonderful children with their wolves from an early age. You on the other hand, are sixteen and wolfless because the great Moon Goddess is punishing you for your ungratefulness and your constant disobedience," Luna Magda cackled. "Here," she shoved the curling iron in Jessica's hands. "Take the back entrance and meet me in my chambers in five minutes, and don't be late or else I'll whip you until my hands are tired."

"Luna –" Jessica protested, but the Luna cut her off with a slap to the face.

"I will not tolerate your mouth today. See you in five," the Luna said as she ran off in wolf speed.

The walk from the barn to the back entrance alone would take Jessica five minutes. But surely if she ran and never stops, then to make it to the Luna's chambers would be at least ten minutes.

"I'll never make it in time," she mumbled.

Not wanting to waste precious time, the little omega girl slipped her feet into her old, tattered leather shoes and ran like the wind.