The Moon's Cursed Healer

a

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he icy sting of cold water splash over me. The shock of it sent my heart racing, and I gasped for breath, m

blade, her words dripping with malicious delight. "Did

l still lingered, but I was too exhausted to feel it in full. After the grand ball, I had been tasked with cleaning the entire hall. Every floor had to

continued. I tried to sit up, my limbs sluggish and sore,

u don't deserve a moment's rest. Do you think the pack cares about yo

I knew what she was doing-what she always did-her cruelty was relentless, an ever-present force in my life. The night ha

had already grown used to my position, giving me the hardest chores, assigning me the worst tasks. I was forced to work for scraps, for the chance to get enough

e cold wind brushed against my skin, and I shivered again, not just from the water that had drenched me, bu

lived in love, in warmth, surrounded by my siblings-until they were taken from me, leaving me alone with my broken mother.

use they loved me, it wasn't because they cared about my well-being. It was because Felissa wanted to make my life a liv

I began, but her sh

thy, Layla. Look at you-weak, useless, and pathetic. You're nothing more than a

I said nothing. I had learned long ago that speaking out only made it worse. I di

under the weight of that curse, and there was nothing I could do. My father would never

ahead of me. Cleaning the hall, serving the pack, doing whatev

ssa snapped from behind me.

way, I barely noticed the maids bustling around. Their pitying glances were no longer a surprise. Th

eams felt so

a girl-a girl with no future in a

now how, and I didn't know when, but I would. I h

would endure. I

o other

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