3. Duty Calls

The pack was left in the hands of the Beta family.

Again.

And I was left to think about what to do from now on. 

There was a huge possibility that I would never be truly a werewolf. In fact, according to our history 18th was the last threshold. My parents' obsession with believing I had a wolf worried me deeply. Every time I waited to see the disappointment, the betrayal in their eyes. But they were so firm that even I was keeping a small flame of home alive deep in me. What will happen when returning empty-handed again. 

I had tried to come to terms with that. For the first time in my life, I felt that the path ahead of me was empty.

No wolf.

No destiny.

No place waiting for me in the pack.

Maybe the only thing left was to leave.

To travel for a while or longer.

To find some small purpose in a life that had lost its meaning.

And maybe let myself grieve. To give broken heart a chance to heal.

I had no idea that fate was already preparing something else.

---

Two weeks passed.

Then the news arrived like a blade to the ribs.

A crash in the Carpathian Mountains. There were no confirmed survivors.

I moved through those days as if trapped inside a fog. My parents were not dead, yet they were not alive either. They were simply… gone. 

For three weeks the search continued without pause. Patrols were sent across the mountains; contacts were called in from other packs, and every possible lead was chased. But in the end, there was still nothing.

So, the council met behind closed doors for three full days and nights.

On the fourth, I was summoned.

The first thing I noticed was the Beta. 

He stood beside the council, tall, calm, and immovable.

“A pack without an Alpha bleeds,” one elder said.

“And your brother is not ready,” another added gently.

I already knew where the conversation was leading. Why I was called.

“I will accept the responsibility,” he said evenly. Not eager, not reluctant. Simply certain.

“And Arria’s blood,” the elder continued, “will legitimize the transition.”

The words were clean. Logical. Necessary.

I knew what I had to do. I came here prepared to say “yes”. Still, I needed a moment to force the words out.

I looked at Aron. In truth, I barely knew him. We had completed tasks together during training, but he always kept his distance - present as a protector or an adviser, never as a friend. His lineage could be traced back to the very beginning of the pack, a bloodline forged by powerful wolves who followed their alphas without question. 

He would make a perfect Alpha, I thought.

He never looked back at me. And in this moment, I knew. I knew he did not see me as his equal and never would.

I was nothing more than the perfect tool. But for the safety of the pack, I would serve the only purpose I had left.

“I accept,” I heard myself say.

My father had always taught me that when duty calls, the Alpha answers. Now I had no right to betray him by refusing my duty.

—

Two days later we spoke our vows before the entire pack.

There was no celebration, yet the atmosphere changed almost instantly. The tension that had hung over everyone for weeks lifted, and people began to smile again after months of quietly asking the same question: what now?

And I?

I was staying in front of my “new home”. 

The house stood a short distance from the main pack compound, separated from the other buildings by a line of old trees.

It had been built as a vila for my parents but never used becouse they loved being part of the pack life. Now I would live here without being asked what I wanted.

I stepped into our new house beside my new mate only to realize we had nothing to say to each other.

An awkward silence stretched between us.

“I…” I finally tried to speak.

Aron stopped me.

“It was necessary,” he said calmly. “I will take the room on the east side. Yours is the second door on the left upstairs.”

For a moment I thought he might say something else.

Anything.

He didn’t.

Then he walked away, leaving me alone with the quiet walls of a house that was once built to be a home.

The first decision Aron made as Alpha concerned my brother Damian.

After a restless night, I decided to go to the training field and take out my frustration on a dummy. Opening the front door I was met with the view of my so-called mate giving instructions to two senior warriors. My brother stood beside them with a travel pack resting at his feet.

“What is going on?” 

“Alpha training,” Aron replied shortly.

“What? No. NO! He is not even sixteen yet.”

“His bloodline demands proper training. You have 5 minutes.”  and just like that he left 

My brother tried to look proud. But he was still just a boy.

“I’ll make you proud,” he whispered and then hugged me. His arms were tight around my shoulders.

 “Just like that? Are you serious? Wait here! I am going to talk with Aron properly.” I said angrily but my brother didn't let go. His embrace became even tighter.

“Don’t make things difficult from the first day, Sis. I promise I can take it. It is not as bad, just unexpected,” Damian said with a sad smile looking far older than he should.

“I will miss you, Sis,” he said and let me go to get into the car.

“I love you. Take care,” I said, keeping a smile on my face for him.

The gates closed behind the car.

And just like that, the pack felt larger.

Too large.

Only when he could no longer see my face did I let the new reality sink in.

Aron had taken away the last member of my family as the very first act of his new rule.