The Lunar Crest Academy: Marked by The Lycans Chapter 2: The Pack’s sacrifice

By the ti I finally made it inside, the rain had stopped pouring and the pack house was quiet. The morning had barely begun, and most of them were still asleep, warm in their beds, safe in their world.

I was not part of that world.

I forced my aching body up the stairs, every movent sending fresh waves of pain through . My ribs felt cracked, maybe broken. My skin was raw from the rain, my bruises dark and angry against my pale flesh

Step by step, I climbed to the attic. My prison.

The room was as empty and cold as ever, just four walls and a thin, tattered blanket on the wooden floor. No bed. No warmth. Just space to exist in. Barely.

I peeled off my torn, bloodied clothes, wincing as the fabric pulled at dried wounds.

I stood naked in the middle of the room looking at my own body.

It was a ss of bruises, gashes, and swollen flesh.

Slowly, I made my way to the small tal basin in the corner, filling it with water from the rusted pipe. It was ice cold, but I didn’t flinch. The cold was noothing compared to the pain beneath my skin.

I washed in silence, my hands moving chanically. Dirt and blood swirled into the water, staining it red.

By the ti I was done, my fingers were numb. I dried off with an old cloth and slipped into a fresh set of rags, if they could even be called that. The sa torn, shapeless thing I always wore.

And then, I stopped.

I won’t rush downstairs to start my morning chores like I always do. I will not force my broken body to scrub floors, to take their insults, to pretend that I am still trying to survive.

Because what is the point?

What was the point of working like a dog for people who wanted dead? What was the point of enduring another day of humiliation and disgrace?

Tonight, it would all be over.

Tonight, I was being handed over to the Lycans.

The thought settled heavy in my chest.

The Lycans.

The na alone carried a power that sent shivers through the strongest of wolves. Even the mighty Elite Packs, the ones who ruled over everyone else, feared them.

Because Lycans weren’t just werewolves.

They were the first. The original. The purest bloodline of them all. Their wolves were bigger, faster, stronger, monsters of fur and fangs, unmatched in battle, unrivaled in dominance.

The most ruthless predators in existence.

And I was being given to them.

In the na of so cursed scholarship.

I clenched my fists.

It wasn’t a scholarship. It was a sacrifice. A ritual slaughter disguised as an opportunity.

I had known this day would co.

Every year, the Feral Packs offered up one of their own to the Lycans, and none ever returned.

I was just the next in line.

I leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling, my mind numb.

There was no point in fighting it.

No point in hoping.

Tonight, I was going to die.

I don’t know how long I sat there, staring at nothing. My mind was empty, my body too broken to feel anything but a dull ache.

Then, without warning, my door burst open.

The rotten wood slamd against the wall with a sharp crack, and two towering figures stord in, Alpha Wyatt and his son, Stephen.

I didn’t move. Didn’t even blink.

I just sat there.

Wyatt’s face twisted in disgust as his gaze swept over my tiny, filthy attic room. "What the hell are you doing up here?" he snapped.

Stephen sneered beside him, arms crossed. "You’ve got work to do, rat. Get downstairs. Now."

I laughed.

It wasn’t forced. It wasn’t fake. It was raw, bitter, real. A genuine laugh from deep within , the kind that I hadn’t allowed myself in years.

I tilted my head, eyes locking onto theirs, amusent curling at my lips. "I didn’t know I was so important," I mused. "The self-proclaid Alpha and his precious little son ca all the way up to this disgusting little attic just to look for ?" I gave a mock gasp. "I’m touched."

For the first ti, I saw sothing flash in their expressions, shock, disbelief.

I had endured five years of tornt. Beatings, humiliation, slavery. I had kept my head down, swallowed my pride, because I was determined to survive.

But not anymore.

I was going to die tonight.

And that ant I had nothing to fear.

Wyatt recovered first, his face darkening with fury. "Watch your mouth, girl."

I smirked. "Or what? You’ll kill ?" I spread my arms wide. "Go ahead. Save the Lycans the trouble."

Stephen’s eyes narrowed. "You think this is funny?"

"Oh, I think this is hilarious." I leaned forward, standing up, my voice dropping. "For five years, I let you beat . I let you kick , spit on , treat like dirt. And for what? So I could live long enough to be fed to the Lycans?" My smirk vanished, and sothing cold settled in my chest. "I wasted my ti."

Wyatt stepped closer. "Mind your tone."

"My tone?" I let out a sharp breath. "Oh, forgive , mighty Alpha Wyatt." I spat the title like it was poison. "Or should I say, thief?"

Wyatt’s expression flifkered. Just for a second.

But I saw it.

I smiled. "That’s right, isn’t it? You’re no real Alpha. You probably killed your own brother for the title. Then frad my father so no one would question it."

The room turned deadly silent.

Stephen’s lips pulled back in a snarl. "You filthy—"

Before I could blink.... Wyatt’s palm connected with my face so hard my head snapped to the side. The force of it sent sprawling onto the wooden floor.

Pain blood across my cheek. The tallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

I let out a slow breath.

And then, I smiled again.

I pushed myself up onto my elbows, looking up at them through strands of my tangled hair. "Seems like I struck a nerve" My voice was hoarse but steady. "Truth hurts, doesn’t it?"

Stephen’s fists clenched. He looked ready to pounce, but Wyatt lifted a hand, stopping him.

The so-called Alpha crouched down, gripping my jaw roughly, forcing to et his gaze. His fingers dug into my bruised skin. "Listen to , you little mongrel," he growled. "You’re nothing. You’ve always been nothing. And tonight, you die as nothing."

I yanked my face from his grip, glaring at him with all the hatred burning inside . "I’ve made my peace with that." My voice was cold, empty. "My only regret is that I won’t get to kill you first."

Wyatt’s eyes darkened.

Stephen kicked hard in the ribs, making gasp.

But I didn’t scream.

I just laughed again.

I wiped the blood from my lips, my ribs aching from Stephen’s last kick, but I didn’t care. The pain was nothing now. Nothing compared to the fire raging inside .

I lifted my head, locking eyes with Wyatt, and let the words drip from my lips like venom.

"The best decision you’ve ever made," I said, voice steady despite the pain, "is sending to the Lycans to die."

Wyatt’s gaze narrowed.

"Because if I lived" I let my lips curl into a bloodstained smirk. "If I survived, I would have killed each and every one of yuu. Your son, your mate, your warriors. I would have torn your pack apart with my bare hands, no matter how long it took."

Wyatt’s face twisted with fury.

Before I could react, his hand shot forward and clamped around my throat.

I choked as he lifted off the ground effortlessly, my legs kicking uselessly in the air. His grip was crushing, cutting off my air, the pressure unbearable. I could feel my heartbeat pounding in my skull, feel the way my lungs scread for air.

But I didn’t fight. I didn’t claw at his hand. I didn’t beg.

I just stared down at him, my vision blurring, and managed to rasp out, "Do it."

His grip tightened.

Black dots danced at the edges of my sight.

But then—

He dropped .

I hit the floor hard, gasping, coughing as air rushed back into my lungs. My throat throbbed, my head spun, but still, I laughed. A broken, breathless sound.

Wyatt towered over , his voice cold. "Killing you would be a rcy."

He leaned down slightly, his next words dripping with cruel amusent.

"You deserve no rcy."

He straightened, adjusting his sleeves as if I was nothing more than filth beneath his boot. "Dying a mysterious, painful death at Lunar Crest Academy will be much more fitting for you."

With that, he turned and strode toward the door.

Stephen lingered just long enough to sneer down at . Then he spat, the disgusting glob landing right beside my face.

I didn’t move.

Didn’t flinch.

I just laid there, watching their backs as they walked away.

And in that mont, I made a vow.

If the Lycans didn’t kill , If I sohow miraculously survived....

I would co back.

And I would burn this pack to the ground.