away from the pe

hing I wanted was to sleep the sleep of death to join my parents in the world after. I

ng me refused to relent. “You have five minutes to eat before

g caked blood off my lips. “What time is it?” I d

f food to me again. “The Feast of the Moon continues today. You have a lot of wo

working today yet my stomach was a t

ed and revered event held once a year. It would be folly to ruin it by showin

re was no need to look into a mirror; I knew what she saw and I didn’t have a mirror

black shirt, the stiff material of the

st friend vowed. I turned

you d

ed her. She had pretty strawberry blonde hair and large, expressive hazel eyes. She was a beta, like her pa

that things could be better. She wanted to help m

You’re battered!” Her so

ant well but she had this disconnection from my real

to bed with a biting stomach and tearful eyes after a long day of rigorous work. I wouldn’t wish my worst enemy to experience the thin

y. The Beta hated me. Who else could I turn to? Who would listen to my cries if I cried to them?

ds in hers, her big eyes filling. “Let me help you.”

gh. I couldn’t ask her to keep trying. If she confronted her brother a

Get out here. No one keeps you aroun

I yelled back,

elling at?” Mo

este

old and damp corner I slept in. She was a good friend. I didn’t know how I would have survived all thes

he Moon, an annual celebration to give thanks and make merry amongst packs. For the next week, there would be a lot of food to

leep on. I had nothing of that comfort. My bed didn’t qualify as a bed anymore. My room didn’t have any lighting an

I put in all my effort, all my energy and strength so that when I finished, I went to th

clingy!” Skylar’s soprano called right outside the

the pans. My mouth went dry and my eyes flew all over the place, jumping from the window

uldn’t

wed down my cheeks with my

te of desperation, I darted into the op

side the dark cupboard, flinching when her footsteps got into the kitchen.

terrified me. They made me dizzy, made my hands tingle and my legs loc

pace the cupboard afforded me. My lips quivered, salty tears falling into my open mouth. I

her prance around the kitchen. At that time, she stopped before the cupboar

ocking rhythm. “Too good to answer?” She was talking to me but I couldn’t answer. I couldn’

” My hands wrenched out of

scaped my lips. Her response

r footsteps grew faint as I pushed at

’t do this to me.” Small spaces terrified me. Oh goddess, please. “Skylar, please, don’t leave me! Don’t lock me in.” I screa

more times, my

yla

l the strength in my tired body while screaming her name until the door broke. I dove out