As soon as the car screeched to a halt at the castle entrance, Odessa shoved the door open before the engine fully died. The evening air was thick with the scent of smoke still clinging to her clothes, a bitter reminder of what she'd lost today. The castle loomed before her, its grand facade illuminated by artificial lights that did nothing to warm the cold stone.
From behind, Rowan followed at a measured pace, his boots crunching on gravel as he watched her storm toward the entrance. Her shoulders were rigid, her steps uneven - the only signs of the breakdown she'd barely contained during their silent ride back.
He hadn't expected his first day to go like this. The Luna wasn't supposed to shatter before his eyes, wasn't supposed to tremble with suppressed sobs in the backseat while her knuckles turned white from gripping the leather seats. Yet she'd held it together with that practiced composure of nobility - sweep the broken pieces under the rug, hide the wounds beneath silk gloves. Maybe she'd endured so much already that numbness was her default state.
The sound hit them before they even reached her chambers - Elizabeth's high-pitched laughter ringing through the corridor like shattered glass. Odessa's hand froze on the doorknob. That laugh. That fucking laugh. While animals screamed in burning cages, while innocent creatures turned to ash, these two had been here. Laughing. Fucking. Living.
"Thank you. You can leave now," Odessa said without turning, her voice scraped raw from smoke and unshed tears.
Rowan clicked his tongue, checking his watch with deliberate calm. "My shift isn't over."
"I just want to speak to my husband..." A pause. The slightest crack in her armor. "Just give me space."
He knew exactly what kind of "speaking" this would be. The public might believe Darius's pretty story about the shelter fire being an accident, but Rowan wasn't fooled. If the Alpha could cover up half-blood executions, a few dozen animals were nothing. Still, he nodded and stepped aside - for now.
The door swung open to reveal Elizabeth half-dressed, her smudged lipstick telling its own story. Darius stood by the bed, still buttoning his shirt.
"You can't knock?" Elizabeth taunted, rolling her eyes like they were discussing tea service rather than her latest conquest in Odessa's own bed.
Odessa felt something snap. "You should at least let yourself be drilled in your own room!" Her voice rose with each word, years of compressed rage finally finding its outlet. "Haven't you all done enough? I can't even have my own room to myself! I can't have anything that belongs to me! You just keep taking even the smallest things away - why can't you just leave me alone?"
Elizabeth blinked, actually speechless for once. The quiet Luna had finally found her voice.
"Get out, Elizabeth," Darius ordered sharply. "Our... session is done."
With a huff, Elizabeth flounced out, deliberately shoulder-checking Odessa on her way.
"And it just keeps getting worse," Darius chuckled bitterly, advancing on his wife.
"Why did you do it?" Odessa's tears cut clean tracks through the soot still dusting her face. "You know what that place meant to me! You took everything! You killed them all!"
"Someone had to clip your wings before you learned to fly," he sneered, grabbing her chin with bruising force. "You've been a bad girl, Odessa. A very naughty one."
She slapped his hand away - the first real defiance she'd shown in years. "I've been nothing but obedient! I've done everything you asked! And my reward? More pain!"
The backhand sent her stumbling. "You don't raise your voice at me!" he roared, hauling her up by the arms.
Odessa fought like a wild thing as he threw her onto the bed, but years of combat training made his pin effortless. "Let go of me!" she screamed as fabric tore, as cool air hit newly exposed skin.
"I hate you! You're a monster!" Her voice echoed through stone corridors where servants kept their heads down and pretended not to hear.
"Keep quiet!" Another slap. Another whimper. The belt buckle clinked ominously as he freed it with one hand while restraining her with the other. After years of her lifeless compliance, he'd finally broken through - and he meant to enjoy every reaction.
Down the hall, Rowan's head snapped up at the first scream. Elizabeth materialized before him, blocking his path with a giggle. "So you're the new—"
That second scream cut her off - raw, terrified, followed by the unmistakable crack of leather on flesh. Rowan didn't hesitate. He shoved past Elizabeth hard enough to send her stumbling.
The door burst open just as Darius positioned himself between Odessa's forcibly spread legs. Rowan moved like lightning - one brutal shove sent the Alpha sprawling.
"Have you lost your fucking mind?!" Rowan's yell filled the chamber.
Odessa scrambled upright, clutching torn sheets to her heaving chest. Sweat and tears and blood mingled on her battered skin. Rowan stood guard between them, a human shield of muscle and fury.
And when their eyes met - really met for the first time - something passed between them. In Rowan's gaze, Odessa saw it at last. Not pity. Not even justice.
Change.