The Royal Rebirth: Return Of The White Wolf

The blood moon hung low in the sky, painting everything in shades of crimson and shadow. I pressed my back against the cold stone wall of the servants' quarters and tried to make myself smaller. Invisible. It was a skill I had perfected over nineteen years of living in the Silver Crest Pack mansion.

"Cassia!" My stepsister's voice cut through the silence like a blade. "Where are you hiding now, you useless creature?"

I closed my eyes and counted to three. Then I stepped out from the shadows.

"I'm here, Lydia."

She stood at the end of the corridor with two of her friends flanking her like loyal soldiers. Her golden hair caught the moonlight streaming through the windows. Her amber eyes glowed with that familiar cruelty I had grown to expect.

"The Luna wants fresh linens in the grand hall," she said. "The Alpha King is arriving tonight for the Summit. Everything must be perfect."

I nodded and moved toward the supply closet. "I'll handle it."

"You'll do more than handle it." Lydia grabbed my arm and squeezed hard enough to bruise. "If anything goes wrong tonight, I'll make sure Father finally throws you out. You don't belong here, Cassia. You never did."

Her friends giggled behind her.

I pulled my arm free and kept my face blank. "Is there anything else?"

Lydia's eyes narrowed. She hated when I didn't react. She wanted tears. She wanted begging. She wanted me to break.

I had stopped breaking years ago.

"Just don't embarrass us," she spat. "The three princes are coming with the Alpha King. I intend to catch their attention. Not have some wolfless servant girl ruining my chances."

She swept away with her friends trailing behind her, their laughter echoing off the stone walls.

I stood there for a moment, letting the ache in my arm fade. Then I walked to the supply closet and gathered the linens.

Wolfless.

The word followed me everywhere. In a world where every werewolf shifted by their sixteenth birthday, I was an anomaly. A mistake. Nineteen years old and not a single sign of the wolf that should live inside me.

My mother had been a powerful Alpha's daughter. Or so I was told. She died giving birth to me, and my father... he remarried within a year. Luna Helena became my stepmother, and Lydia became the sister who made my life a living nightmare.

As for my father, Alpha Aldric of Silver Crest, he looked through me like I was made of glass. Transparent. Invisible. Nothing.

I carried the linens through the winding corridors toward the grand hall. The mansion was alive with activity tonight. Servants rushed past me carrying platters and decorations. Guards stood at every entrance in their ceremonial armor.

The Summit happened once every decade. The Alpha King and his three sons would visit each of the twelve great packs to assess their strength and loyalty. It was an honor to host them. A chance to prove worth.

For me, it was just another night of being invisible.

I pushed open the doors to the grand hall and stopped breathing.

The hall had been transformed into something out of a dream. Crystal chandeliers cast rainbow light across white marble floors. Long tables draped in silver cloth held arrangements of moonflowers and night roses. The scent of pine and cedar filled the air.

"Don't just stand there, girl." The head housekeeper, Maren, grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. "The tables need fresh linens. Quickly now."

I moved through the hall, replacing cloth and straightening settings. My hands worked automatically while my mind wandered.

What would it feel like to attend a Summit as a guest? To wear a beautiful gown instead of this plain gray servant's dress? To have a wolf that responded when I called?

"Cassia."

I turned and found Elder Miriam watching me from a shadowed corner. She was ancient, her white hair hanging in a long braid down her back, her milky eyes seeing more than most people with perfect vision.

"Elder Miriam." I bowed my head respectfully. "Can I help you?"

"Come here, child."

I approached carefully. Elder Miriam made most people nervous. She was the pack's Oracle, able to see glimpses of the future in flames and smoke. Some said she was mad. Others said she was the wisest wolf who ever lived.

She reached out and grabbed my wrist with surprising strength.

"Tonight," she whispered. "Everything changes tonight."

I frowned. "I don't understand."

"The blood moon rises full. The three princes come. And you, child..." Her grip tightened painfully. "You are not what they made you believe."

"Elder Miriam, you're hurting me."

"Listen!" Her eyes suddenly cleared, becoming sharp and focused. "When the howl comes, do not run. When the fire starts, do not hide. And when they try to kill you..." She leaned closer, her breath hot against my ear. "Let the beast out."

She released me and stumbled backward, her eyes going cloudy again.

"What beast?" I demanded. "Elder Miriam, what are you talking about?"

But she was already shuffling away, muttering to herself about flames and crowns and blood.

I stood there with my heart pounding against my ribs. My wrist throbbed where she had grabbed me. Her words echoed in my skull like a warning bell.

Let the beast out.

What beast? I didn't have a wolf. Everyone knew that. Everyone reminded me of it constantly.

A horn sounded in the distance.

The Alpha King had arrived.

I shook off Elder Miriam's strange prophecy and hurried back to my duties. Whatever she thought she saw, it had nothing to do with me. I was just a servant. Just the wolfless daughter that nobody wanted.

The doors to the grand hall burst open.

Guards poured in first, their wolves barely contained beneath their skin. Then came the advisors in their dark robes. Then...

Three young men walked through the entrance, and the entire room seemed to hold its breath.

The first was tall with jet black hair and eyes like frozen silver. Cold radiated from him like winter itself.

The second had golden brown hair and a smile that could charm the moon from the sky. He winked at a serving girl who nearly dropped her tray.

The third moved like shadow, dark hair falling across eyes that seemed to see everything and nothing at once.

The three princes.

And then, just as I was about to look away and return to my invisibility...

All three of them turned their heads.

And looked directly at me.