chapter One

Author’s Note / Disclaimer

This story is written using three different points of view which are: Aria’s point of view, Lyrian’s point of view, and a third-person perspective. Each shift in perspective is clearly indicated to guide the reader and maintain clarity throughout the story. These transitions are intentional and are included to provide deeper understanding of the characters and the unfolding events.

…

Chapter One

~~Aria’s POV~~

“Shift, Aria.”

My father’s voice cut through the clearing, sharp with tension and disappointment. All around me, the other twelve year olds were already shifting. Bones cracked. Fur burst through the skin. Proud parents cheered and clapped and celebrated their children.

It was supposed to be my moment too.

I closed my eyes and reached inside myself, searching for the spark that every wolf was meant to have. That warmth. That pull. That presence.

I found nothing. Only emptiness.

“Try again,” my father shouted.

So I did. Again. And again. Until my head throbbed and my chest ached. But the result was always the same.

Nothing

I prayed to everything divine being that could hear me. But still nothing changed

Nothing.

Then the whispers began.

“She cannot shift.”

“She is wolfless.”

And then came the laughter. Sharp. Cruel. Unforgettable.

I looked around all twelve years kids have already shifted and are in there wolf form looking cute but I, have become a thing of disappointment to my father and a shame to the pack.

That was the night my life changed forever.

---

Morning sunlight slipped through the blinds of my small room and lit the cracked ceiling above me. I stayed still for a moment, letting the quiet settle over me, before forcing myself to sit up. My room sat in the forgotten corner of the Silvercrest packhouse, a cold and dusty place where unwanted things were kept. The wallpaper hung in torn curls. The dresser by the window had broken handles and shook any time I touched it.

I folded my blanket gently. It was old now and rough, but it had belonged to my mother. The only thing she left behind before she disappeared when I was six. I could buy a new one, but I would not. This one reminded me of her.

I washed up quickly and stood in front of the cracked mirror leaning against the wall. My dark hair was tangled, falling past my shoulders in wild waves. I picked up my broken comb and worked through the knots, wincing whenever it snagged.

My gray eyes looked dull and tired. At twenty years old, I already looked older than I should. I touched my cheek and sighed. Nothing had changed since that night in the clearing. I was still wolfless. Still weak. Still the disappointment no one wanted.

---

I dressed in a faded gray sweater and worn jeans. There was no point wearing anything nicer. That only attracted attention I did not want.

The hallway outside my room belonged to a different world. Thick carpet. Warm lighting. The clean smell of pine and wolves who belonged.

I kept my head down, hoping to slip out before anyone noticed me.

I almost made it.

“Well well. Look what crawled out of its hole.”

My heart sank. Mark and two of his friends stood in the hall, blocking the way. Arms crossed. Smirks carved into their faces. Mark was a mid ranked warrior, built like he trained all day and full of ego he had never been told to swallow.

“ Good Morning” I murmured, trying to walk past.

Mark stepped in front of me. “Where do you think you are going, wolfless? Do you not have floors to scrub?”

“I am heading to work,” I said softly.

“Work?” the girl beside him, Tessa, repeated with a laugh. Her perfectly manicured nails tapped her phone screen. “You mean that pitiful job your daddy handed you? Please. You are useless and everyone knows it.”

“Do not let her touch anything,” Kyle added loudly. He jerked his arm away from me as if I carried a disease. “Weakness is probably contagious.”

They laughed again, the sound bouncing through the hallway like knives made of sound.

“What is wrong?” Mark leaned close. “Did your wolf steal your tongue? Oh wait. That is right. You do not have one.”

I counted in my head.

Four. Five. Six.

“Maybe if we throw her off the roof her wolf will appear to save her” Tessa said carelessly.

“Or maybe she will just hit the ground” Kyle added. “Either way it will be fun.”

Seven. Eight.

“Leave her alone.”

A firm voice came from behind them. The three wolves immediately shifted aside, revealing my older sister Clara standing at the top of the stairs.

Clara was everything I was not. Beautiful. Confident. Powerful. Her honey blonde hair fell down her back in shimmering waves. Her amber eyes glowed with strength. Her red dress hugged her perfect figure and her heels clicked sharply against the wood with every step.

Where I faded into the background, Clara commanded every room.

“Oh Clara,” Mark said quickly, straightening his stance. “We were just”

“Harassing my sister” Clara finished smoothly as she descended the stairs with the grace of royalty. “Again.”

“We did not mean”

“Go” Clara ordered.

They obeyed instantly, scattering like leaves.

For a moment, something warm flickered in my chest. Maybe today would be different. Maybe she would show even a small hint of the sister she used to be.

But then she turned to me.

“Do not mistake that for kindness,” she said coldly. Her amber eyes turned flat and hard. “You are an embarrassment to this family, Hana. The absolute bottom. Do you have any idea what it is like having a wolfless sister? Do you even understand the shame you bring to our bloodline”

The small warmth inside me died instantly.

I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood.

Nine. Ten.

“You are nothing,” Clara said softly. Somehow her soft voice hurt more than shouting. “A defect. A mistake. And the worst part is that you already know it. Look at you. A gray little mouse hiding in corners.”

She stepped closer. Her eyes glowed gold. Her fingernails extended into sharp claws that gleamed under the hallway lights. Her wolf scent filled the air, warm and powerful.

She held up one clawed hand.

“This is what real wolves have. This is power. Something you will never understand.”

The claws slid back in slow deliberate clicks.

“Clara, do you really take joy in reminding me that I am wolfless and useless” I asked quietly. “Can you not let me have peace for once. Even for one day”

She laughed. A cruel cold laugh that echoed around us.

“Peace” she repeated. “You want peace in your pathetic situation. If I were you I would have ended my life a long time ago to escape this shame.”

Her words hit like a punch.

“I enjoy reminding you because you need the reminder. You are wolfless. And you are the shame of our family. Stay out of my way. Stay far from my light.”

She flipped her hair back and smiled.

“Father is arranging my introduction to Alpha families next month. The important ones. Because unlike you I have value. I will be Luna one day. A real Luna. And when that day comes you will bow to me. Maybe I will give you a job in the kitchen. Or maybe I will throw you out of this pack.”

She shrugged lightly.

“Have a lovely day at your useless little job.”

She walked away, leaving her expensive floral perfume in the air and a stinging heaviness in my chest.

My hands trembled. I refused to cry. I would not give Clara the satisfaction.

I started counting again.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten.

My mother had taught me that trick. Her voice echoed faintly in my memories. Aria When the world hurts too much baby girl you count. You count until you can breathe.

So I always did.

And when I finally felt relieved I walked down the stairs, silent and small, a ghost moving through a house filled with wolves who could roar.