Chapter 1 The Unwanted Daughter

Aurora.

“Stand properly, Aurora.”

I straightened, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. My father stood near the fireplace with my mother beside him. Across from them sat Alpha Victor, the leader of the Redstone Pack and the man they had apparently decided would become my husband.

I had never met him before today. He was old and looked like he could suffer a heart attack at any moment. I guess that was why nobody had bothered to ask how I felt about marrying him.

“You said she was eighteen,” Victor remarked, looking me over. “She looks younger.”

“She turned eighteen last month,” my father replied. “She is still a little immature, but she will learn.”

I pressed my lips together. Immature. That was what he called me whenever I disagreed with him.

Victor leaned back in his chair. “Her appearance is a little different from what I expected.”

My cheeks warmed. I knew exactly what he meant.

“She has always had a healthy appetite,” my mother said, giving me a disapproving look. “We have tried to get her to be more disciplined.”

I looked down at my shoes, wishing I could disappear. It wasn't the first time someone had commented on my weight, but hearing my parents discuss my body as though I wasn't standing in the room made it worse.

Victor waved a hand. “It doesn't matter. I am not marrying her for her beauty. I need an heir. My previous Luna failed to give me a son. I will try again with Aurora. If she gives me a daughter first, we will keep trying until I have a male child.”

I stared at him in disbelief. Was that all I was to him? A woman who would be expected to keep giving birth until she produced the child he wanted?

“Father, I don't want to marry him,” I said before I could stop myself.

The room suddenly went quiet, as though I had said something forbidden.

My father's expression hardened. “Nobody asked what you wanted.”

“But I don't even know him.”

“You will get to know him after the wedding.”

“That's not how marriage is supposed to work.”

My mother sighed as though I were embarrassing her. “Aurora, don't start this nonsense. Alpha Victor is offering you a comfortable life. You should be grateful.”

Grateful.

I looked at the man who was supposed to become my husband. He hadn't asked me a single question and had barely spoken to me directly. Yet everyone seemed satisfied with the arrangement.

“When is the wedding?” I asked quietly, already dreading the answer.

“In three weeks,” my father replied.

I felt the air leave my lungs.

Victor smiled faintly. “Your father and I have already reached an agreement. I will settle the outstanding debts of your pack and provide the protection your people need. In return, Aurora, you will become my wife.”

I turned towards my father. “You're selling me?”

“Watch your mouth!”

“That's exactly what you're doing. You're accepting money and protection in exchange for me.”

My father rose from his chair. “I am securing the future of this pack. Something you would understand if you weren't so selfish.”

I swallowed the words I wanted to say. I had spent most of my life trying to make him proud, but somehow, I always fell short. He had wanted a son, someone strong enough to inherit his position and carry his name forward. Instead, he had gotten me.

A plus-size omega who loved hockey.

Apparently, that was the greatest disappointment of his life.

“You should be thankful that Alpha Victor is willing to take you,” my mother added. “Not every Alpha would accept an omega with your limitations.”

I looked at her, hoping to find even a little sympathy, but there was none. I had learned a long time ago not to expect it.

“Can I at least finish school?” I asked.

My father frowned. “What for?”

“I want to attend Blackthorn Academy.”

My mother laughed. “Blackthorn?”

“Yes. Their hockey programme is one of the best in the country. I can try out for the team, and if I get accepted…”

“Enough,” my father interrupted. “You are not going to Blackthorn.”

“But I haven't even tried.”

“Blackthorn Academy is for powerful wolves. Alphas, future pack leaders, and wolves with something valuable to offer. It is not a place for a plus-size omega from a small pack.”

I felt the familiar sting behind my eyes. “You don't know what I can do.”

“I know exactly what you can do. And hockey is not going to give you a future.”

I wanted to tell him that hockey was the only thing that had ever made me feel like I belonged somewhere. I had spent years studying the game and practising until my arms ached, but I knew he wouldn't listen.

Nobody in my family knew how much time I spent on the ice. They thought I was usually hiding somewhere whenever I disappeared from the house.

The truth was that I had been playing hockey since I was twelve. The boys in our pack had a small practice group that met at an abandoned rink outside the main territory. Girls weren't allowed to join them, and when I first asked, they laughed at me. So I stopped asking and found another way.

I started showing up as a boy.

I tied my hair beneath a cap, wore oversized clothes and used a scent-neutralizing spray I had secretly bought from the market. It helped cover my omega scent, although I knew it wasn't perfect. I had to be careful not to sweat too much or let anyone get close enough to question why I always smelled faintly of herbs and chemicals.

They knew me as Ari, the quiet boy who was surprisingly good with a hockey stick.

Some of them had even become my friends. None of them suspected I was a girl.

Over the years, I had practised alongside them, learning their techniques and improving my game. On the ice, nobody cared that I was an omega or that I was bigger than most of the girls in our pack. I was simply another player, and I loved every minute of it.

Blackthorn was where I wanted to take that dream. I wanted to play against the best, prove that I was good enough and finally have a chance at something that belonged to me.

But my father had already decided my future. I was going to marry Alpha Victor, give him a son and spend the rest of my life doing exactly what I was told.

“Go to your room,” my father ordered. “The wedding preparations will begin soon, and I don't want another argument.”

I didn't answer. I simply turned and walked out.

By the time I reached my bedroom, my hands were trembling. I shut the door, leaned against it and tried to breathe normally.

Three weeks.

I had three weeks before my life stopped belonging to me.

I crossed the room and sat on the edge of my bed. My laptop was still open, displaying the Blackthorn Academy website. I had been looking at it before my father called me downstairs.

The academy's hockey team was featured on the homepage. Three familiar faces stood at the centre of the photograph.

Adrian, Asher and Axel Blackwood.

The notorious triplet Alpha heirs.

They were the stars of Blackthorn's hockey team, and everyone knew their names. Adrian was the captain, serious and intimidating. Asher was the charming one who seemed to have a smile for every girl, while Axel was quieter, but people said he was the most observant of the three.

I had watched countless videos of them playing. They were good. Really good.

I stared at their picture for a moment before closing the laptop. I couldn't keep wishing for a life I wasn't willing to fight for.

My decision was made.

I was leaving.

I didn't know how I would get to Blackthorn or whether the academy would accept me, but I knew I couldn't stay here and allow my parents to hand me over to a man who saw me as nothing more than a means to produce an heir.

For the first time in my life, I was going to choose myself, and I had to do it before anyone could stop me.