No one knows much about Melinoë's past. She refuses to talk about it with anyone. Especially for the reason of her blindness, which is quite a touchy subject.
However, she grew up in a very religious pack that followed many strict laws and rituals. Being born into a great family, she was the seventh born out of eight. However, the last born didn't make it past a day. Many didn't believe Melinoë would make it either, but somehow she did. At birth, all the pups were given a name based on the order they were born. For the first year of her life, everyone called her Seven. Only when she earned her rank did she also earn her name. Specially selected for the rank of Overseer, the one who took control of rituals and was closest to the spirits that they worshipped.
But she didn't wish to be chosen for this. Becoming an overseer meant losing her sight. She was forced into it, having to have multiple wolves hold her done during the ceremony. After, she was never the same. That single incident changed her into the wolf that she is now known as, along with all of the training she went through afterward. She even got a slave to help her get around and take care of her, the only wolf she could be open with. The only one she truly trusted, aside from her sister who was also forced into a role she hated.
The slave that was in charge of taking care of Melinoë was facing many hardships outside of her service. The group she had come from was hunting her down, getting close to finding the pack they lived in. But she couldn't leave without Meli and would be used in a future ritual if she were to break the rules she was bound by. On a whim, Melinoë said she would run away with her. Neither had the skills to survive on their own, but it was the only thing they could think of. Somehow, she managed to convince her sister who was just as unhappy and had much better survival skills. And so the three took off into the night, getting as far away from their home as possible.
They had terrible luck, often finding themselves being flushed out by forest fires. They knew them well enough where they lived, making is easy for them to get out. But every time, it was harder to get Melinoë to come with them. During one particularly bad fire, Meli got trapped. She urged her family to leave, to save themselves. There was nothing anyone could do. The smoke was too much after a time, and she collapsed. But someone saved her, the name of the wolf she still doesn't know. But she remembered the voice. They helped her for a time, just enough for her to try and find her family. But she's been unsuccessful as she finds herself in a new land far from the place she grew up in.