Chapter 1

I am the discarded Alpha heir, wandering outside the pack.

Because I’ve been away from the pack for so long, the scent of my bloodline has faded.

My application for return has been delayed again and again.

I clutch the repeatedly revised draft of my return application and hear the faint “creak” of the door hinge behind me.

“Ethan, this time… did the council permit?”

I rush to block Ethan’s path, my voice tight.

This is the hundredth time.

Seven years, a hundred applications, and yet I’m still waiting like a fool.

Ethan, however, avoids my gaze and shoves a stack of papers into my arms.

“It didn’t pass,” his voice is flat, void of emotion. “The Elders say your scent from Storm Ridge Pack is too weak after seven years, and you’ll have to wait a little longer.”

My heart sinks, and I mechanically flip through the stack of papers.

But then my fingers unexpectedly brush against a stiff corner—

It’s the edge of the green wax seal! Only the inner circle permission documents bear this seal!

“Ethan, this…” I snap my head up, about to demand an explanation, but I’m interrupted by a sweet yet sharp voice.

“Ethan!”

Zoe lovingly loops her arm through Ethan’s, her gaze sweeping over me with obvious disdain.

“I always said some people are just an empty shell of bloodline, without any real elite strength, yet you’re too soft-hearted and waste your effort on submitting applications for her.”

I clench the papers in my hand, my knuckles turning white. The words I was about to speak are suddenly lodged in my throat.

Ethan quickly intervenes, “Zoe, don’t say that. Lila will just have to wait a little longer.”

“Wait?” Zoe sneers, “Even if she waits ten more years, she won’t make it! Ethan, you’re just too kind. She’s only here because of her mother’s aura, she doesn’t belong in the inner circle.”

I stare at Ethan, hoping he will say something just.

But he merely frowns, his tone still unfeeling: “Zoe, stop. Lila, you should go back for now. I’ll talk to the Elders again.”

“Talk?” My fingers tremble as I grip the papers, “Ethan, what is this document in your hands? Has the Elder already approved it, and you’ve been hiding it from me?”

Ethan’s face changes suddenly, and he hastily hides the papers behind his back. “You’re mistaken! That’s not…”

Zoe immediately tightens her grip on his arm, her voice both urgent and sweet: “Ethan, look at her! She didn’t get her own application approved, so now she’s assuming you hide the truth!”

“I’m not mistaken!” I gasp, my chest tightening with pain, my voice rising.

Ethan, clearly agitated, raises his voice, “Lila! Stop making a scene! You still can’t officially return! Just wait a little longer…”

“Always longer!” I laugh bitterly, but my eyes sting with tears. “Ethan, how much longer do you want me to wait?”

His throat bobs as he swallows, but he remains silent.

I stare at the document hiding a secret, my fingertips cold.

Seven years of waiting, a hundred struggles, and it all feels like a joke.

There’s nothing left to ask.

I take a deep breath, suppressing the moisture in my eyes, and turn to leave.

“Lila!”

Ethan calls my name from behind.

I don’t look back.

The wind carries Zoe’s voice, laced with mockery: “Don’t call her, she’s just doing this on purpose, trying to get you to beg her.”