Lady Hazel's eyes widened in shock and whispers erupted around the kitchen.
"Did you see that?" One of the kitchen girls whispered excitedly.
"No wonder Ava is so tough... She got it from her mother!" Another added in awe.
"They are definitely different from us normal Omegas... We just take everything in good faith, but them... A third girl muttered.
"You would think they were born Betas, the way they act." Someone else chimed in.
"Well, in my opinion, they are just being foolishly brave. They know the consequences of defiance... disrespect. So why are they always acting up?" Another maintained, rolling her eyes dramatically.
Meanwhile, Sophia released Lady Hazel's hand and hers slowly, still maintaining eye contact with the stunned head cook.
"I don't want to be rude or I would have slapped you back just as you did to me." Sophia informed her firmly.
The kitchen fell silent then, all eyes fixed on the confrontation unfolding before them.
"You forget yourself, Sophia. An Omega raising her hand against her superior..."
Lady Hazel said after finally finding her voice, though it trembled slightly.
"Superior? Is that what you think this hierarchy makes you? Better than us?" Sophia asked then let out a bitter laugh.
"How dare you question the —" Lady Hazel began, but Sophia cut her off.
"I will stay in my lane, Lady Hazel. And you will gain more respect if you stay in yours and stop treating Omegas like we are worthless. We were all created by one Moon Goddess." Sophia continued, her voice sharp.
"The Moon Goddess created order. And you know what you are doing right now, you are disrupting it!" Lady Hazel spat out.
"No, the Moon Goddess created life. We created the chains." Sophia countered, shaking her head.
Some of the kitchen workers gasped at her boldness. Lady Hazel's face had morphed into something else. She looked more humiliated than angry.
"I would appreciate if you could understand that my daughter is currently sick. She needs time to rest, just like any other werewolf would." Sophia pressed further.
Lady Hazel glared at the woman for a moment before letting out an amused scoff.
"Your daughter..." Lady Hazel began, her lips curling into a sneer.
"That girl has been nothing but trouble since the day she started working here." She snapped.
"Because she refuses to be treated like dirt, right?" Sophia challenged.
"Because she doesn't know her place! Just like her mother! And you two are going to keep getting into trouble until you forcefully learn your lesson." Lady Hazel retorted.
"I will take it that you have excused Ava from work until she recovers. Thank you." Sophia said as if she hadn't heard what the woman had just said.
Then, without waiting for a response, she turned and walked away, her head held high. But the whispers that followed her slowed down her steps.
"What do you expect from the mother when the daughter is some sort of freak?" Someone hissed.
"Did you see her blood yesterday? They are different." Another voice added.
"I heard it wasn't even red. It was almost... silver." A third voice whispered.
"I saw it, it was as if it was glowing." Another voice said with a hint of exaggeration.
The words haunted Sophia as she walked home, her earlier courage gradually giving way to worry.
"Different... What do they mean by that?" She whispered to herself.
At that moment, a young pack member passed by, giving Sophia a suspicious look. And that reminded her of all the times people had looked at Ava the same way.
"There has always been something about that child. Something not quite... normal." Sophia remembered that an elderly Omega had once told her that.
The word triggered a memory Sophia had buried deep inside her mind.
*FLASHBACK*
That night, seventeen years ago; when she was giving birth alone in her tiny cottage at the edge of the pack lands.
"You can do this." Sophia had whispered to herself between contractions.
"You have to do this alone."
She remembered the excruciating pain, the fear of being discovered, and then... that moment.
That strange, inexplicable moment when she first held Ava.
The baby hadn't cried like normal newborns. Instead, Ava had opened her eyes immediately – eyes that seemed to glow with an inner light.
But what had truly frightened Sophia was the mark on the baby's chest. A crescent moon, silver against her skin, that had faded within minutes of her birth.
"Moon Goddess, What does this mean?" She had whispered then.
She had tried to ask the pack healer about it later, carefully.
"Have you ever heard of a baby born with a moon mark?" She had asked casually.
The old healer had gone pale but immediately recovered.
"Those are just legends, stories of special wolves... chosen ones. But they are just tales to frighten pups." She had said.
Sophia had convinced herself over the years that it had been her imagination, the result of exhaustion and fear.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
"The blood..." Sophia muttered, returning to the present.
"Silver blood... No, something isn't right, I can feel it in my bones." She mumbled under her breath.
Her pace quickened as she approached their house, her heart pounding with each step.
When she finally reached their small house, Sophia went straight to Ava's door.
"Ava?" She called out, knocking firmly.
"We need to talk." She announced but was met with deafening silence.
However, she continued talking believing her daughter was hearing her.
"What happened yesterday? The kitchen staff were talking about your blood. What aren't you telling me?"
Still no response.
"Please, sweetheart, Whatever it is, we can face it together. Just like we always have." Sophia pleaded.
She was about to knock again when a scent hit her nose and her eyes widened in horror at the realization.
It was blood. Fresh blood.
"Ava! Open this door right now!" Sophia screamed, her heart racing.
And again, nothing but silence answered her.
Without hesitation, Sophia stepped back and kicked the door with all her strength.
"Ava!"