THE BROKEN LUNA

Chapter 4 : NEW ALPHA OF NIGHTFALL : ASAEL NIGHTFALL

Mornings were a sign of new beginnings. The sign that a dark night had passed and what awaited was a whole day of opportunities.

Most of such sayings worked for people with normal lives. No such proverbs or saying applied on people like Stella. Those who survived one day at a time were not given opportunities.

Stella stumbled out of bed to start a new day just like any other. The fact that she got rejected yesterday was already at the back of her head.

Rejection hurts like hell, more than any round of beating or abuse ever inferred upon her. It was already a part of yesterday but the remaining half of her heart was still bleeding.

There was nothing to patch it up with. Stella left it in the bleeding state and hoped it would be fine sooner or later.

The commotion in the living room caught her attention as soon as she left her small bedroom. The morning news was already on and everyone was gathered to watch the current affairs.

Stella caught the passing headline on the screen.

[NEW ALPHA OF NIGHTFALL : ASAEL NIGHTFALL]

"The new Alpha of Nightfall pack has officially started cleaning house by replacing his second in command with a Beta of his choice. This change has created quite a disturbance within the upper circle of the pack. The decision has affected not just the Nightfall pack but also the packs in association with it through trade and other forms of business -"

The news anchor went on to describe the young Alpha of 26 years old to be a willful and a rather arrogant character. An unconventional Alpha that was bound to be thrown out of the upper circle of Alphas soon.

Stella turned on her heels and picked up the broom and mop in either hand. The problems of the upper echelon had little to do with her.

They had big problems and so did she.

While sweeping the floor, she happened to hear bits of conversation taking place between Nancy and Titus in the living room.

"Is the Alpha going to invite him as well?" Nancy asked once the volume of the TV was toned down.

"I think so. Nightfall is one of the biggest packs out there. Others may not agree with his way of working but at the end of the day he's an Alpha that no one wants to make enemies with. A rowdy bastard, is what he is."

"Mom! Where is my coffee?!"

The shout was followed by a booming of feet falling on stairs. Soon, Nora's morning face greeted her parents. She flopped on the couch next to Nancy while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Stella stiffened when Nora arrived. Suddenly the pain in her heart became unbearable.

The fact that they got caught into a triangle of doomed date with the same guy was unimaginable for Stella and yet that was exactly what happened.

Being rejected was one thing and being rejected by her long term bully that Nora had a crush on was on an entirely different level. A whole cosmic away.

To think Stella's heart hurt for someone like Austin was atrocious in itself. Not to mention the amount of torment she'll have to bear each day now that Nora had a legitimate grudge against her.

School was over and university was not in Stella's luck. There was no way to avoid what was about to come.

Nora spotted Stella mopping the floor once the sleep was swept out of her eyes. Her face scrunched up sourly at the sight of her. With one kick, the nearby flower vase fell off the corner table. It grazed the side of Stella's leg and shattered into pieces. Startled, she gave the three people a swift glance and quickly bent down to pick them up.

A sharp piece of ceramic pierced the tip of her finger. Blood coated the finger tip but Stella did not dare to stop and look at it.

Just when she went to pick up the last big piece, Nora got up from the couch and lightly stepped on her hand. The sharp edge of broken ceramic pierced the thin layer of skin on her palm. Stella yelped in pain.

"You've got the nerve to show your face after what happened yesterday." Nora grumbled. Her foot pressed harder on Stella's hand.

All ceramic pieces fell back from Stella's hold. They scattered in different directions.

Stella held her wrist with the other hand and squeezed it. Her teeth clashed tightly and lips stuck into a thin line to keep her whimpers at bay.

Nora lifted her foot after she was satisfied with the amount of blood gathered on the floor.

Stella sucked in a shaky breath. She told herself repeatedly that it was the price she agreed to pay for survival. This is what she signed up for when she entered the silver howl pack.

It didn't help with the pain. Nor did I make her feel better about the abuse. She quickly grabbed a piece of tissue and stuck it on her wounded palm.

The life she led didn't allow her to sit back and wait until it healed. Before gaining her wolf, it took days to get rid of such a wound and she didn't have the luxury to rest until then.

Stella held a bunch of tissue in her hand to soak up the blood and continued to work like she was supposed to. To keep the floor from getting dirty with drops of blood, she kept using some more tissue. Eventually, the tissues were switched to a clean piece of cloth she had torn for cleaning purposes and wrapped it around her palm.

Swollen eyes and a stumbling body, a bloody palm and hateful glances. It was a classic morning in Stella's life.

Life was a thorny path with Nora picking on her every opportunity, Nancy making sure she wasn't wating well and Nathan dangling her on the edge of life and death by the cuff of her neck. Titus contributed by being a silent spectator. The entire day passed in such a way.

Stella wasn't looking forward to any changes being made into this daily life. Hope of anything getting better was extinguished as soon as Austin turned out to be her mate. She couldn't afford it going down south anymore.

Nora definitely won't let her go now that she's got a personal grudge. The idea of becoming a soldier was scrapped out of her head.

Now it all seemed to be wishful thinking. A small idea which Stella held in her hand to save herself from drowning.

Who would take someone like her? A broken body and soul was of no worth. Stella was slowly coming to terms with the fact that this was going to be her life for a long time now.

It didn't hurt any less. But at least she didn't hurt more by keeping hopes up.

Stella was in the middle of unwrapping the blood soaked cloth from her palm when a pack wide announcement was made.

Loud speakers were placed at certain places for such announcements so that no one can miss it.

Silver Howl had quite a large number of people living in it and making sure everyone can get the information on time was a big task.

The mind link didn't work with omegas or the younger ones who haven't gained their wolf so the Alpha's around the wolf often resorted to such tricks to spread important messages.

The last time Stella heard those rusty speakers blast their creaky sound was four years ago when the old, retired Alpha died and his capable (?) son and the current Alpha Cole took over. It was a grand three day thing.

Remembering it wasn't pleasant because Stella went for those entire three days without food and she was locked in the small bedroom of hers while the rest of the family went on a trip to enjoy the three day holiday.

Stella had a thing for bad memories. They grabbed a corner in her mind and decided to stick there forever like a discarded piece of chewed up gum.

Naturally, the sound of those old and creamy speakers didn't make her happy. The blood soaked cloth fell with a plop. It reeked of the repulsive smell that haunted her in those nightmares.

Stella frowned with discomfort.

The speaker blasted a message in the background after several sound checks :

"ATTENTION PEOPLE OF SILVER HOWL: THE SILVER HOWL PACK HAS BEEN CHOSEN TO BE THE HOST FOR THIS YEAR'S ANNUAL PACKS SUMMIT. THE CITIZENS OF SILVER HOWL PACK ARE REQUESTED TO TAKE MEASURES TO KEEP UP THE PACK'S REPUTATION IN FRONT OF THE ATTENDING ALPHAS."

"THE PACKS SUMMIT WILL TAKE PLACE IN THREE DAYS. ALPHA'S FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE. THE REPUTATION OF SILVER HOWL PACK IS IN THE HANDS OF ALL OF IT'S MEMBERS."

"I REPEAT - "

The same message was repeated three to four times. Stella lost count on how many times it was said as she was busy disinfecting her wound with some alcohol wipes.

Those were some she found months ago in Nora's room. They were discarded and she threw the entire packet just because she didn't like the smell of it. Such a thing was a treasure for Stella so she quietly brought it back to apply on her wounds.

It was rarely used as it was something that she didn't have an endless supply of. The message went to the back of her head as it has nothing to do with her as an individual.