Chapter 2: Damian

After class ended, everyone drifted off to their elite circles, and I walked home alone through the woods.

The path leading back to the pack house was lined with tall pine trees, their shadows stretching long across the dirt trail as the sun dipped behind the hills. The air was thick with the scent of moss and autumn leaves.

For a moment, I let myself imagine living somewhere else—somewhere I wasn’t treated like trash, where I didn’t have to walk on eggshells, constantly holding my breath and bracing for the next insult or chore dumped on me like garbage.

But reality returned the second the pack house came into view.

I stepped inside quietly, hoping to slip down the hallway before anyone noticed.

No such luck.

Luna Denise stood in the foyer like she’d been waiting all afternoon just to catch me. Her arms were folded across her chest, her lips pressed into a sharp line. Not a single strand of her perfectly styled hair was out of place. A pearl necklace glinted at her throat as she stepped forward, blocking my path.

“You’re late,” she snapped before I could say a word. “Again.”

“I—” I started, but she cut me off with a flick of her manicured hand.

“I don’t want your excuses, you lazy shit. The laundry isn’t folded, the entrance hall is a mess, and tomorrow—” her voice pitched higher—“tomorrow is Damian’s coronation! And you dare to slack off?”

“I’m sorry,” I murmured, dropping my gaze. “My class—”

“Do you think I care about your pathetic little schedule?” she hissed. “Who do you think pays your tuition at that academy, you ungrateful little bitch? I’ll tell the Alpha about this.”

To the rest of the world, Luna Denise was magnanimous, saintly even. But behind that façade, she was ruthless. Savage. Especially when it came to her precious golden son.

“Do you know how humiliating it would be for visiting Alphas and Lunas to see this house covered in dust and grime?”

I swallowed hard. “I’ll clean it right away, Luna.”

She blinked once, then turned aside, waving her hand like I was nothing but a speck of dirt.

“Useless and ungrateful. We gave you a home when no one else would, and this is how you repay us?” she muttered loudly enough for me to hear as she walked away.

“You gave me chores,” I whispered under my breath, careful to keep my distance.

She whipped around so fast, I flinched. “What did you just say?”

“Nothing,” I said quickly, backing away.

“Clean the entrance now. If this house isn’t spotless by sundown, you’ll be scrubbing toilets during Damian’s coronation.”

She cared so much about Damian’s coronation. He was the golden boy, the future Alpha who could do no wrong. Meanwhile, I was just a stain she couldn’t scrub out.

“You always find a way to be a burden, don’t you?” she muttered before turning sharply. “Get to work before I find something worse for you to do.”

I didn’t move until I heard her footsteps fade. Only then did I let out a sigh of relief.

Why do I even have the same birthday as him?

It felt like a cruel joke from the Moon Goddess. Every year, while Damian was showered with gifts and praise, I was on my knees scrubbing floors. I never wanted to be part of his world. I just wanted out.

I grabbed the cleaning supplies from the closet, forcing myself not to dwell on Luna’s words. I was halfway to the entrance hall when I rounded a corner—and stopped dead.

Damian stood there. Tall. Imposing. That same blank mask on his face, as if I were an afterthought. As if I didn’t exist at all.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

“S-Sorry,” I whispered, dropping my gaze immediately, like I always did when he was near.

He scoffed. “Of course you are.”

He took a slow step forward, and instinct had me shrinking back. My spine hit the cold wall. Trapped.

“I wonder,” he said, folding his arms, “do you ever go five minutes without apologizing?”

The sting hit deep. I bit my lip hard, refusing to let the tears fall.

“You always walk around like a frightened rabbit,” he went on, tilting his head. “No wonder no one takes you seriously.”

“I—I didn’t mean to—” My voice cracked.

“You never mean to. But you always manage to make a mess of things.”

He took a step closer. The hallway suddenly felt smaller, like the walls were closing in. The heat radiating off him was suffocating, not comforting but intimidating. His scent was strong and sharp like cedarwood and cold steel, wrapping around me like a noose.

“You know what the problem is?” His voice was calm, deliberate. Worse than a shout. “You’re weak. And this pack doesn’t need weakness.”

Each word struck like a slap.

My breath hitched. Every instinct in me screamed to shrink back, to lower my gaze, to disappear.

He leaned in, his shadow swallowing mine. “When I become Alpha tomorrow, I’m going to cut the dead weight.” His lips curled into a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Starting with you, Skye.”

My name on his tongue felt like a blade wedged in my throat.

I staggered back, blinking hard. Tears burned, but I forced them down. Not in front of him. Not again.

“You don’t have to,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Because I’m leaving. The second I get my wolf, I’m gone. You won’t have to lift a finger—I’ll leave on my own. You’ll never see me again.”

His gaze didn’t waver. He didn’t move. But something flickered in his eyes. It was too fast for me to catch.

“Good,” he said flatly. “Then hurry up and shift. The sooner you’re out of here, the better.”

His voice was ice and indifferent. It made me shiver down my spine.

He brushed past me like I was nothing, but I saw it—the rigid jaw, the clipped stride, the fists clenched so tight his knuckles whitened. Power pulsed off him in waves, the kind of simmering energy an Alpha gives off when they’re on the edge of shifting.

Why was he angry? Isn’t this what he wanted? For me to vanish? So why did it feel like I’d said something I wasn’t supposed to? Like I'd just crossed some indivisible.

I didn’t understand him. I never had. He’d been this way since we were pups, and I never knew what I’d done to earn his hatred.

But I didn’t want to understand him. I just wanted out. Out of this suffocating house. Out of this cruel excuse of a pack that never treated me like I mattered.

I would never spend another day serving someone who looked at me like I was worthless.

Especially not Damian Wolfe.