The Deaf Luna: Marked By My Destroyer

Iris struggled with a desperate, final burst of strength. But the fabric of her dress ripped away in an instant, offering no resistance.

The cold night air slid over her exposed skin, drawing a shiver from deep within her. Cane's rough hands gripped her thighs.

She knew what was coming.

She tried to brace herself, to steel her mind for the inevitable... but when faced with the reality, her body betrayed her, recoiling in a seizure of panic.

Then, suddenly... everything stopped.

The weight on her back vanished. The mattress shifted, lifting slightly. Cane had gotten to his feet.

Bewildered, Iris scrambled for a blanket and pulled it tight around herself. She curled into a ball beneath it, trembling.

His back was to her as he pulled his pants back on.

"What's on your back?"

She didn't understand.

"I'm asking you what's on your back," he repeated, his voice low and dangerous. "Who did that to you?"

Cane had a vague memory of her. The Alpha's daughter. A fragile, absent child he'd rarely ever seen. During his years of slavery, he had only glimpsed her twice, paying her no mind. Why would he have? She was just a pale, quiet girl, nearly invisible.

"Answer me."

He spun around, his irritation flaring at her silence.

Iris, wrapped in the blanket, looked tiny.

Too frail. Even a starving slave looked sturdier. How had she grown up like this? And more importantly... how could she bear marks like those?

He'd seen her back. It was crisscrossed with countless deep scars.

Impossible. A she-wolf healed without a trace... unless the wounds were made by silver. Like his own.

Then who had dared to inflict that on an Alpha's daughter?

"I'm asking you one last time: who did this to you?!"

His patience snapped. Being ignored by his own slave was a defiance he wouldn't tolerate. He crossed the room in two long strides, grabbed her, and forced her to face him.

His gaze locked on her chin.

The mark he'd left there earlier was still visible—red and slightly broken.

Why hadn't it healed?

Cane frowned, staring into her wide blue eyes. Her auburn hair tumbled in a messy wave over her face, falling across the blanket that was her only protection.

"Answer me," he commanded, his voice hard as stone.

Iris swallowed, her throat tight. Her fingers clutched the blanket as if it were a lifeline.

"What...?"

Her voice trembled.

"What... what question?"

She didn't understand. Her mind was a blank wall of fear.

Cane stood frozen for a moment, an unfamiliar flicker of unease running through him. A different emotion crossed his face—fleeting, indistinct.

Then he looked away.

"Get out."

His voice was even harsher now.

"Get out of here."

He knew Iris's brother, the Alpha heir. He had observed and studied him. But her... she had never mattered.

He released his grip.

Iris scrambled off the bed—naked, vulnerable, exposed. Her eyes fell on a shirt discarded on the floor.

"I... I'm taking this."

Without waiting for an answer, she pulled it on, the too-large fabric hanging around her small frame.

She glanced up at him, but Cane did nothing to stop her.

The simple T-shirt Iris wore as she left Cane's room hung to her mid-thighs. On her, it looked enormous, emphasizing the stark difference in their size and build.

The guard escorting her back was different from the one who had brought her. This one didn't handle her roughly or drag her along. He simply walked beside her, matching her slower pace.

"Your brother was lucky," the guard said, glancing at her. "Your father didn't put him through what he put you through."

Iris, her head lowered, gave no reaction. She hadn't heard a word. The guard sighed, annoyed.

"How could a man like your father have a daughter like you..."

He knew she couldn't hear him. It was no secret. Anyone who had gotten close to her in the past week had figured it out.

Meanwhile, Iris had lifted her gaze to the sky. The night was clear, and a thin crescent moon shone down on her.

The Moon Goddess.

If a deity truly watched over them, why had she allowed her to fall into such a nightmare?

Despite the bitterness flooding her, she felt a faint sense of relief. Being outside, feeling the air on her skin... it was already better than the suffocating darkness of her cell, where only the cold walls kept her company.

She closed her eyes for a moment, praying silently that this would all end one day.

And deep inside her, another thought forced its way through the fear. She hoped Cane wouldn't treat the members of the Blue Moon Pack the way her father had treated his people. Most of them were just subordinates. They only obeyed orders.

"Get in." The guard opened the cell door. "We'll bring you something to eat."

Iris entered without protest.

Instantly, the darkness swallowed her again. The cold bit into her skin, a chill so deep it felt as if nothing could ever warm her here.

She went to a corner and sat, pulling her legs to her chest. She curled in on herself, seeking what little warmth she could find. Yet, despite the shivers, her body seemed to burn from the inside.

She recognized the feeling.

The sickness was returning.

...

"She can't hear?"

Cane stood leaning against his desk, arms crossed, as Jace, his Beta, delivered his report.

"No, Alpha. She's always been fragile. On top of her poor health, she has hearing problems. She compensates by reading lips. It's how she communicates."

That explained it. She hadn't responded earlier because she couldn't see his face. Not until he had forced her to look at him.

"And her father? How did he treat her?"

Cane couldn't get the image of her back out of his mind. Those marks... there was no doubt. They were from a whip.

But who would have dared to do that to an Alpha's daughter?

Jace raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you ask? Could it be you... feel compassion for her?"

He stared at his Alpha, trying to read him. But Cane's gaze was impenetrable, deep and unsettling.

"Compassion?" Cane tilted his head, and his eyes darkened. "You don't feel compassion for an enemy, Jace."

The Beta fell silent for a moment, troubled.

"I managed to contact her personal servant. If you want, I can have her brought in for questioning."

Cane considered it briefly.

"Bring her."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"You're going to handle it yourself?"

"Yes."

Surprised, Jace didn't argue further.

A short time later, they brought Iris's servant into the room. As soon as she saw Cane, she lowered her head, visibly terrified.

"Her name is Hanna," Jace added, glancing at the trembling woman. "She's looked after Iris since she was seven."

The young woman looked to be in her twenties. She seemed physically unharmed, but her eyes were red-rimmed from hours of crying.

"Alpha... Cane... I'm Hanna," she murmured, nervously wringing her hands.

Cane gestured toward the door. Jace and the guard left without a word.

The door clicked shut, leaving them alone.

"Tell me everything you know about her."