3

From where he stood on the stage, Darius didn’t even glance in my direction. He simply raised a hand and began giving orders, telling a few Betas to carry two large throne-like chairs onto the platform.

Watching him turn his back on me stirred up an old, bitter memory.

There had been a time, long ago, when I truly believed he was my friend. I had trusted him. Smiled with him. Followed him around like he actually cared.

Now I knew the truth.

He had only lifted me up so the fall would hurt more when his friends finally pushed me down. The day he chose to walk away from me had hurt far worse than any punch or kick.

Just like today.

They had stopped beating me… not because they were tired, but because he had told me to crawl away. And I had obeyed.

“Ronan! Selena!”

The familiar voice snapped me out of the dark thoughts. We both turned at the same time and saw Killian pushing through the crowd toward us.

In wolf packs, parents usually gave all pups from the same litter names that started with the same letter. Ronan and Killian were proof of that tradition   and proof that not every shifter in Bloodfang was cruel.

They were my only real friends. Even if days like this made it hard to believe kindness still existed.

A smile rose to my lips automatically when I saw him… but it faded just as quickly.

Killian never walked alone anymore.

He was pulling his mate, Maris, along behind him, clearly struggling to move through the thick crowd. The sight twisted something painful inside my chest.

Killian had been my first love.

My first kiss.

My first everything.

But when my wolf never showed itself   year after year   his parents had convinced him to find someone more suitable. Someone stronger. Someone fully wolf.

Someone who wasn’t half human like me.

“Hi, Killian,” I said quietly.

He and Maris had been together for three years now, yet the ache hadn’t faded. I couldn’t help noticing how she had lightened her long hair, trying to copy the pale color I had been born with. Still, no dye could match the strange, natural white of my own hair, which I usually kept tied back in a simple ponytail.

“Are you alright?” Killian asked, concern clear in his eyes.

I forced myself to breathe slowly, trying to stay calm.

Killian had seen everything   the punches, the kicks, the way I had fallen. Just like Ronan, he had stood there and watched.

I didn’t blame either of them. If they had stepped in, the bullies would have turned on them too. It had happened before. Wolves who could shift were expected to “handle it,” which only meant they got beaten harder.

“I’m… fine. As fine as I can be,” I said, lifting my eyes to meet his.

Even though Killian ranked slightly higher than an omega   and I didn’t even have a rank   he still lowered his gaze. Something about that gave me a small, guilty sense of victory. After everything I had gone through today, I would take whatever tiny wins I could get.

Beside him, Maris let out a quiet, mocking smile. Her eyes slowly scanned my body, clearly searching for signs of the fight I had just survived. Luckily, this time the damage wasn’t obvious. The bruises would probably appear later.

“They’ll exchange their vows first,” Killian explained. “After that, the dance will begin.”

Several times a year, during the full moon, the pack held a special dance for wolves without mates. It was meant to help unmated wolves meet each other… to talk, connect, maybe even find someone they could bond with.

“We truly hope you find a strong mate tonight, Ronan,” Maris said in a sugary voice that sounded anything but sincere.

Her eyes shifted toward me right after, making it clear she had left me out on purpose.

“You’ll come to the dance too, right?” Ronan asked, glancing at me hopefully.

The sun had already slipped behind the mountains, and thick clouds covered the sky. For a night that was supposed to be bright with a full moon, the darkness felt heavier than usual.

“I don’t see why I should,” I replied quietly. “No one would ever choose me anyway. I’m already past the age most wolves find their mates.”

Maris burst into laughter like I had just told the funniest joke in the world.

“Oh, please,” she said with a smirk. “We all know that’s not the real reason.”

Leave it to Maris to point out what everyone already knew. All three of them had shifted at the usual ages fifteen or sixteen. Even the unusual cases happened between thirteen and nineteen. Me? By the time I hit twenty-four, I’d given up on ever shifting. Everyone else in the pack had done it, adults and kids alike, but I was still stuck.

Ronan hadn’t found a mate either, but that was because she was the pack omega the lowest of the low. In most packs, that rank was basically slavery. Higher-ranking wolves constantly reminded us how lucky we were just to be tolerated, especially me, unmarked and… invisible.

Alpha Kael never stopped me from joining pack activities, but that didn’t change anything. I was still an outsider. His son, Darius, watched as other wolves humiliated me more times than I could count. He’d never touched me himself maybe the future alpha refused to soil his hands but he lingered, eyes sharp, just like he was doing today.

I could still hear his words echoing in my mind:

“You’re lucky to be alive,” he had sneered. “Your wolf might erupt one day, but a half-breed like you won’t survive it.”

A howl from the pack alpha pulled me back from my memories. Darius answered with a sharp, commanding howl. Then the rest of the pack joined in, starting with dominant alphas, followed by the less dominant, then betas, and finally, the subordinates. Ronan’s faint howl came last.

The sound rolled over me, rough and raw, and for a moment, something inside me ached to join them. To be a part of it.

I’d long accepted that it didn’t matter if I joined the howl or stayed silent either choice earned scorn from the higher-ranking pack members. As the last note faded, a few of them shot me sharp glances. If I had joined in, they’d have sneered just the same, judging me for daring to act like I belonged. I wasn’t one of them not yet. The pack alpha hadn’t marked me, and my place in the Bloodfang pack was still a rumor I hoped might come true someday.

Kael’s deep voice cut through the murmurs. “Thank you all for gathering tonight for a ceremony unlike any other. Tonight, my son, the future alpha of our pack, will pledge himself to Pack Alpha Elara of the Frost Fang pack. Elara, please join us.”