3. A whisper

The other side of the lake was peaceful at dawn, but the peace never belonged to Riley, the wolfless alpha princess.

She had never shifted.

She had never heard her wolf.

She was twenty years old, the daughter of the Alpha, the future Luna of the pack, yet she carried a secret that ate at her every waking moment.

The courtyard behind the training grounds echoed with laughter that was anything but friendly. Riley slowed her steps the moment she heard it, but she was already too close.

The girls stood in a half circle, arms crossed, smirks sharp enough to cut. Their matching training uniforms made them look unified, but their eyes gleamed with something cruel and eager.

“There she is,” one of them said loudly, just as Riley tried to walk past. “Our wolfless princess.”

Another snorted. “Princess? She is nothing without a wolf. She should be grateful we even acknowledge her.”

Riley’s stomach tightened. She stopped walking and turned slowly to face them, trying to keep her voice steady. “You cannot talk to me like this. I am the Alpha’s daughter. Your Luna now. Show some respect.”

The tallest girl stepped forward until Riley could feel her breath. “Respect? For someone who cannot even shift? For someone who had to be carried like a child during the ceremony because she fainted the last time she tried linking? Please. A Luna should inspire strength, not pity.”

A ripple of laughter swept through the group.

Riley swallowed hard. She could feel her chest constricting with something sharp and familiar. Shame. Fear. The ache she constantly tried to hide.

“My wolf will come,” she said quietly. “She is just… delayed.”

“Delayed?” another girl mocked. “She is gone. No wolf would hide this long. Even rogues have wolves. You are weaker than an omega.”

Riley felt the sting of the words like they were knives.

Her father always told her to be patient, that her wolf would arrive when she was ready. He defended her at every gathering, held his head high even when others questioned how an alpha princess could still be wolfless at twenty. He believed in her.

He believed so strongly that she sometimes borrowed his confidence just to make it through the day.

But without him here, surrounded by eyes that saw her as prey, her courage crumbled too easily.

“Enough,” Riley said, forcing her chin up even though her hands trembled. “If you refuse to respect me as princess, then respect me as your Luna. Alpha Eric marked me today. He chose me.”

That finally made them quiet for a moment.

Then the tallest girl smiled, slow and vicious.

“He chose the title. Not you.”

Riley flinched. “That is not true.”

“Oh it is,” she said, leaning closer. “Everyone knows Eric wants to be Alpha which he can't normally without alpha blood inside him. Everyone knows the council would never allow it unless he mated the Alpha’s daughter. He needed you. That is all.”

Riley shook her head, her throat tightening. “He loves me.”

The girls exchanged looks before bursting into laughter again. “You truly are delusional,” one muttered as she brushed past Riley, bumping her shoulder purposely.

Riley stumbled but caught herself. Something inside her trembled, reaching instinctively for the bond she cherished more than anything. She closed her eyes and called for him, softly at first.

‘Eric.’

Then louder, full of quiet desperation.

‘Eric, please.’

Only silence returned.

It felt cold. Like knocking on a door that had been locked from the inside.

She tried again, reaching deeper, the way her father taught her. But there was a wall there now. Hard, cold, deliberate. She knew that sensation. A block. Her own mate had blocked the connection.

Her lips parted in disbelief. He had only marked her two hours ago. Two hours since their joining ceremony. Two hours since he had looked into her eyes before the entire pack and promised loyalty and devotion.

And now he had shut her out.

Riley pressed a hand to her chest, trying to ignore the way her heartbeat began to race, uneven and painful. Tears threatened to gather, but she refused to let them fall in front of these girls. She forced her breathing to steady and lifted her shoulders, trying to gather the dignity she had left.

“I will remember this,” she said, her voice thin but steady. “When I stand beside Eric as your Luna and future queen, I will remember how you treated me.”

The girls rolled their eyes.

“You will never be queen,” one said. “Not without a wolf. Not without strength. Even Eric knows that.”

Suddenly, Riley felt the earth shift beneath her feet. She did not reply. She could not. Her throat had closed up, her emotions tangled too deeply to untangle in front of them.

Then something sharp and violent pierced her chest.

Riley gasped, her knees giving out as a burning sensation spread across her ribcage like wildfire. She clutched her shirt desperately, her body folding over as pain shot through her in waves so intense she could barely breathe.

A whimper left her lips, followed by a cry she could not swallow. “S… stop… something is wrong…”

The girls backed up, not out of concern, but discomfort.

“She is so dramatic,” one muttered.

“Maybe this is her excuse to skip training again,” another said.

“No wonder Eric had to mark her. She would have been worthless otherwise.”

Their voices blurred into echoes as the pain grew sharper, hotter, unforgiving. Riley’s vision blurred. Her breath came in ragged gasps. It felt like her chest was being torn open from the inside. She had never felt anything like it.

“Please… someone… help me…”

But no one did.

They watched for a moment longer, then lost interest. One shrugged and turned away.

“She is weird. Let’s go.”

One by one, they walked off, leaving her curled on the ground, trembling, gasping, alone.

Riley stayed there until the worst of the pain eased, leaving a cold emptiness in its place. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, pushing herself up with shaking arms. The courtyard spun around her, but she forced herself to stand.

It took everything in her to walk.

Every step felt heavy, like she was pulling her body through thick mud. She told herself she just needed rest. Her first day as Luna had been overwhelming. Her body was adjusting. Her wolf must be trying to wake up.

That lie kept her standing long enough to reach the hallway leading to her room.

But as she got closer, she heard something.

Soft at first. A sound she did not want to identify.

She froze.

The muffled rhythm grew louder. Familiar. The low groans mixed with breathy moans that echoed through the wooden door like a cruel taunt.

No….

No, no, no.

She reached for the handle with trembling fingers and pushed the door open.

Her world shattered.

Eric was there.

Pressed against the bed. His hands gripping the waist of a girl whose name Riley did not even know. The girl’s head was thrown back, her moans thick with pleasure. Eric’s mouth was on her neck, right where he had marked Riley just hours ago.

Riley could not speak.

She could not breathe.

Her entire body went still, like her heart had forgotten how to beat.

Eric turned, his expression startled for only a second, then indifferent. He pulled away from the girl slowly, like he had all the time in the world. His eyes were calm. Cold.

“Riley,” he said, as if she had merely interrupted a conversation. “You should have knocked.”

Her hand covered her mouth as a sob tore out of her. Her knees buckled again, and this time, she had no strength left to stop the fall.

The world blurred.

The pain in her chest flared again, blinding and unbearable.

‘Why did my mate block me?’

And the answer burned as viciously as the betrayal.

‘Because he never wanted me.’