Fighter Luna's Shifted Fate

Chapter 1: The Price of Blood and Birth (Eliza's POV) The biting cold of the winter night seeped through the cracks of the dilapidated shack by the Morgan Pack stables. I huddled in the corner, my thin dress offering little protection against the merciless chill. My teeth chattered uncontrollably as I wrapped my arms around myself. "Please," I whispered to the servants passing by. "May I have a blanket?" Their faces hardened at my request. The older maid, Ruby, stepped forward with a sneer. "The true daughter wants a blanket," she mocked, her voice dripping with contempt. "Blood doesn't replace sixteen years of love, girl." The younger servant beside her nodded vigorously. "Miss Katherine was our real young mistress. Everyone loved her." "And now she's dead," Ruby continued, eyes narrowing. "Burned herself alive because of you." I flinched at her words, the accusation cutting deeper than the cold. "I never meant—" "Shut up!" The male servant, Frost, stepped forward menacingly. "Don't you dare speak her name with your filthy mouth." His hands twitched at his sides, and I could see the struggle in his eyes—the desire to strike me warring with some remnant of restraint. Ruby placed a calming hand on his arm. "Not worth it. The Young Master would have our heads." "Not because he cares about her," Frost spat on the ground. "He just wants the pleasure of punishing her himself." Ruby's eyes gleamed with malice as she reached for a small pouch at her waist. She untied it slowly, deliberately. "We brought you a gift, Miss Eliza," she said, my name sounding like a curse on her lips. With a swift motion, she threw the contents of the pouch into the shack. The garbage and a cloud of gray powder scattered around me—dirt and ashes, with disgusting smell. They turned away, laughing as they disappeared into the darkness, leaving me alone with the snow falling through the broken roof. I brushed the dirt from my hair with trembling hands. Two days ago, I had accidentally broken one of Katherine's teacups while cleaning. The delicate porcelain had slipped from my fingers, shattering against the floor. The sound had brought William running. My brother's eyes had darkened with rage at the sight. "That was Katherine's favorite!" he had roared, his hand connecting with my cheek with enough force to send me sprawling. Now I sat in this frozen shack, my punishment for that transgression, as the first snow of winter fell relentlessly. The absurdity of my situation wasn't lost on me. Sixteen years ago, the midwife had switched me with her own granddaughter, Katherine. While the false daughter grew up in luxury and love, I was raised in squalor, little more than an animal in the midwife's home. Until I turned 16 and my wolf first shifted. I remembered the pain and confusion as my bones cracked and reformed. My wolf emerged—an alpha wolf with a white coat, unusual and striking despite our shared weakness from years of abuse. But it wasn't my wolf's appearance that revealed the truth; it was her scent. The unique, unmistakable scent of my ancient bloodline couldn't be concealed. Word reached the Morgan Pack in the Northern Territory. Tests confirmed what my wolf had already proven—I was the true daughter of James Morgan, the great Gamma of Alpha King and the Alpha of the Morgan pack. But my homecoming wasn't the joyous occasion I'd dreamed of during those cold nights in the midwife's hovel. Instead, I arrived to news that Katherine Morgan had committed suicide by self-immolation. William's words still echoed in my ears: "It's all your fault!! If you hadn't come back, Katherine wouldn't have taken her own life! Why weren't you the one who died!?" From that moment, I lived a life of atonement. The pack that should have embraced me instead punished me for a crime I didn't commit—the crime of existing, of reclaiming my birthright. My mother, Victoria Morgan, spent her days in mourning. Her eyes were perpetually red-rimmed, her cries for Katherine echoing through the estate. Whenever I tried to approach her, to offer comfort or seek affection, she would turn away. "Don't touch me," she'd hiss. "You're not my daughter. My daughter is dead." William's hatred was even more potent. One night, after I'd left a small flower by mother's door, he cornered me in the hallway. His features partially shifted, claws extending to wrap around my throat. "My only sister was Katherine Morgan," he growled, his eyes glowing with hatred. "Do you know what Mother and Father wish every day? That you had never returned." I struggled for breath against his grip. My wolf stirred inside me, wanting to fight back, but she was as damaged as I was—weakened by years of malnutrition and abuse, untrained and unaccustomed to combat. Even my attempts at self-sacrifice earned me nothing but scorn. When Victoria complained of mysterious pains during full moons, I offered my blood for a healing ritual, believing I might earn her love through sacrifice. The ritual left me bedridden for days, but I endured it willingly. Only later did I overhear William speaking to a packmate. "There's nothing wrong with Mother," he'd laughed. "But watching that imposter bleed herself weak for a lie—it was worth it." The next day, William ordered me confined to the pack's ancestral hall. Three days and nights without food or water, with beatings whenever I showed signs of weakness. My wolf and I tried to resist once. We managed to land a single blow before being overwhelmed. William's strength far exceeded ours—he had been trained since childhood, while we had barely survived. Our defiance only invited greater cruelty. After that futile attempt, I was thrown back into my shack, feverish and broken. I expected to die there, my wolf too weak to emerge and heal my wounds. Then, unexpectedly, the door of my shack opened. Zachary Wilson, third son of the honorable Wilson family and recently named future Beta after his victory in the Alpha King's Territory Trials, stood in the doorway. My betrothed by birthright—the man who should have been mine had Katherine not taken my place. My wolf stirred with recognition. Mate, she whispered weakly. Hope fluttered in my chest as Zachary knelt beside me, his hands gentle as he examined my injuries. He administered herbs that cooled my fever and eased my pain. But his eyes remained cold, distant. "Don't mistake this for affection," he said, voice hard as stone. "I refuse our mate bond. Even if I remain unmated for life, I will never accept you." My wolf whined in agony at his rejection, the pain of it slicing through us both. "Katherine loved me," he continued, "and I loved her. You took her from me." I tried to speak, to defend myself, but he placed a finger against my lips. "A quick death would be too merciful," he whispered. "I want you to live with what you've done. I want you to suffer as I suffer." He left then, closing the door behind him, leaving me in darkness once more. Now, as the snow fell heavier through the broken roof, I felt my limbs growing numb. The cold was seeping into my bones, and my wolf was too weak, too damaged by the rejection to help me fight it. I closed my eyes, darkness creeping in at the edges of my vision. Why am I considered a sinner, I wondered, simply because Katherine Morgan died? What was my crime, other than being born? As my consciousness began to fade, something strange happened. My wolf, who had been quiet and passive, suddenly erupted with energy I didn't know she possessed. I felt a surge of power, ancient and primal, flowing through our bond. My soul seemed to separate from my body, floating upward. To my astonishment, I found myself drawn toward the sounds of celebration coming from the Morgan Pack house. Through walls that should have been solid, I saw them—my family. And there, at the center of their gathering, alive and well, was Katherine Morgan. "Mother, I miss you so much!" Katherine exclaimed, embracing Victoria with a warmth I'd never known. She turned to the others, her smile radiant. "And Father, Brother!...By the way, where's my sister? I haven't met her yet. Where is she? Quickly bring her here so I can clear up this misunderstanding!"