My lost luna

ustled with unseen movements. She was only six years old, but her heart pounded with fear as though it already understood the wei

me," her mother whispere

himpered, her big amber

from her face. His eyes were full of love, but beneath it, th

t Amanda could feel the tremble in his

. Wolves, savage and relentless. Her parents picked up th

aint lights of a village beyond. But before they could re

rippled across his skin. In moments he stood in his wolf form, tall and strong, his gold

screamed, shovin

e her father clash with dark figures, his growls meeting theirs in a violent storm. Her

back, Amanda!

ast time and saw her father fall beneath the weight

ast. Amanda heard a cry of pain, and then her mother stumbled. Th

her surrounded, fighting with all her str

t the ground, but before she could rise, a heav

the forest. She was inside a grand hous

though the smile did not reach her eyes. "Ah, you are awake.

ody trembling. "Where is my

ild. But you are fortunate. My husband and I wi

lling down her cheeks. "No. They

with cold fingers. "Listen carefully. Your parents are

ing, but she could not fight t

tress thin, and the blanket smelled of dust. Amanda curled up, whispering to

orb in the sky, and when she found it, she held onto

what life with the S

Sebastian was sharp and cruel, her tongue like a whip and her hand not far behind. And

d demanded. "She is dirty. I

g," Mrs. Sebastian replied sweet

her eyes gleamed. Amanda qui

y for a child her age. She scrubbed floors until her knees bled, carried trays until her

d, she was mocked. And when she begged for rest,

uld steal Amanda's food, trip her in the h

d once as Amanda scrubbed the floor. "If they

but she bit her lip. "They did

is coming for you. You

t, but still she clung to her m

ds laughing in her parents' arms. She had grown into a quiet young woman, her spirit bent but not broken. S

burst in without knocking. She was dressed in silk, h

again?" Angela mocked. "Do

er. Silence had lon

ather are meeting with a man who wants to marry you. He i

er heart hammer

should be grateful. No one

she had ever felt, clawed at her chest. She turned

the night, her eyes glistenin

r the same moonlig