CHAPTER ONE

Rain's POV

It was winter again this year. I watched the snowflakes fall beautifully on my windowpane; so unique yet so beautiful together. One after the other, they drifted down like feathers from the sky, dancing in the cold air. My thoughts, as always, drifted to one person—my mom. The snowflakes reminded me of her pale skin. She used to tell me how she named me after the gentle morning rain and how my wavy long hair reminded her of the gentle fall of snow—how it cascaded down my shoulders and ran along my back to my waist.

She loved those two seasons—rain and snow—so much that she named her only child after them, even though she couldn't experience much of either. But little did she know, the two things she adored most about me were no blessing—they were a curse.

I wish she had never named me.

"Rain! Where the hell is that darned girl when there's so much work to be done?" The Luna’s voice shrieked through the halls of the packhouse. It bounced off the stone walls, echoing down into the basement where I lay. No wonder we didn’t have mice; her voice alone could drive them to extinction. Even I, a supposed human girl, was petrified of her. Normally, I'd be shaking in my underwear at the mere sound of her click of her heels—but today, I couldn’t even bring myself to move.

It was snowing outside, but everything around me felt hot. The air was thick and heavy. I was naked under the thin covers, sweat clinging to my skin, with only my long hair draped over me like a fragile curtain. The window was wide open, letting the icy wind drift in, but still, it wasn’t enough. I could swear I saw steam rise from my skin, only to condense as it collided with the cold.

Why today of all days?

I groaned, burying my face deeper into the pillow, dreading the punishments that surely awaited me. Today was no ordinary day. The alphas from the most powerful pack known to the realm were visiting to sign a peace treaty with ours. After years of bloodshed, death, and betrayal—including the so-called loss of my parents—today marked the end of the war.

But how was I supposed to welcome them with a smile?

The same people whose hands—or perhaps claws—shredded my parents to unrecognizable pieces?

Fate had a twisted sense of humor.

"Pitiful," I muttered, laughing without mirth.

Oh, I forgot. I don’t even have a choice. I’m just a maid—a nameless servant stuck in the basement of the packhouse. What could I possibly do to alphas?

Especially *those* alphas.

The rumors about them were endless—cruel, powerful, merciless. Not the kind of men you’d ever want to cross. And if someone like me dared to, they’d have me buried six feet under before I could blink. I’d be lucky if they even remembered my name afterward.

Wasn’t that pitiful?

I shifted uncomfortably on my small bed, the burning sensation in my chest intensifying. My entire body was drenched in sweat. The pain, however, was something else. Something unnatural. It wasn’t the flu or a fever. It felt like something deep inside me—something ancient—was awakening. My skin burned. My veins sizzled with heat.

My heart—it felt like it was being scorched from within.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. But my body refused to move. My limbs were paralyzed. My throat was dry and tight. My vision swam.

And then—

"Don’t worry, darling. They are on their way."

A voice. A gentle, ethereal voice rang in my head. It wasn’t loud—it didn’t need to be. It echoed across my soul like a soft lullaby, both familiar and foreign. I wanted to ask who it was, what they meant—but before I could form a single thought, everything turned hazy.

My fingers went numb. The pain began to blur into numbness. My senses faded.

"What now? I can't even die without drama? Argh..."

Then everything went black.

Silent.

Did I die?

Maybe.

But something deep inside whispered no.

Because the real story was just beginning.

What no one knew—what even I didn't fully understand—was that I wasn’t just some forgotten orphan maid. I wasn’t just a girl named Rain.

I was the product of something forbidden.

Born of a witch with moon-blessed blood and a cursed alpha whose rage once tore through kingdoms.

There was a prophecy whispered at my birth, hidden in runes only the stars could read.

My blood was beginning to wake up—and with it, so was everything they thought they had buried.

The mighty alphas, the ancient bat sentinels that hid in the shadows of forgotten mountains, the whispers of the cursed blood—I was the storm that connected them all.

And soon, they'd remember.

Because the last witch of the pack had just begun to born.

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