Chosen to be Betrayed

I’m born from a secret. A mistake. 

All my life, I’ve felt like I don’t belong. My pack mates look at me with burning disgust and speak insulting words at me, as if I’m a contagious disease they wish doesn’t exist. 

Alpha Heath, the leader of the Frostveil Pack, is my father. But he never truly looks at me like a daughter. Maybe he sees my face and remembers the sin he committed. My mother… I don’t even know her name. They say she’s an Omega, but other than that, they don’t speak anything of her.

When Luna Mireth, my father’s wife and the Luna of our pack, found out about the affair, she was furious. I was told she made my father watch as they dragged my mother away—right after she gave birth to me. He didn’t fight back. Maybe guilt tied his hands. Maybe fear of losing his Luna did. Whatever the reason, he let them take her.

Luna Mireth ordered her death, ordered the burning of all her belongings, including her photos. She even threatened the whole pack—anyone who speaks her name will be punished. So no one does. No one dares.

Luna Mireth also makes sure I will not get any rank. Not even Omega, making me a rankless and a powerless she-wolf.

**********

Today may just be another normal snowy day to most. But to me, it’s another day of survival. 

I hold the heavy tray of food with both hands and walk carefully across the snowy grass. The young highborn wolves sit in a circle, laughing and talking. They all have silver hair and silver eyes—just like me, which our pack is known for.

As I step forward, someone trips my foot. The tray flies from my hands, the soup splashes onto the grass, the meat scatters across the ground.

Laughter echoes around me.

“Oops,” someone says with sarcasm. “Guess she’s too fat to walk.”

“She hates serving us, coz she wants to eat all of our food for herself,” another jokes.

I look up, squaring my jaw. Yet, my heart teeters on whether I should defend myself or just shrug off their harsh words again.

Until,...

“Enough!” a sharp voice cuts through the laughter.

That’s Alpha Nympha, one of my step-sisters. Her long silver braid whips in the wind. “You’re so clumsy and careless. You just wasted what our hunters worked hard for.”

“But someone—”

“I don’t care!” Nympha crosses her arms. “You should be punished! No food or water for the whole day!”

She looks me up and down with a smug on her face, then adds, “You should thank me for it, actually. You could use the fasting to lose some of that fat you carry around.”

The highborns giggle again.

My cheeks burn from shame.

I drag myself back into the kitchen with my head down. The Omegas look up from their station, their eyes narrow when they see the messy tray in my hands.

“You dropped all of it?” one snaps, slamming her fists on the table. “Do you know how hard we worked for those foods?”

“I—I’m sorry,” I whisper. “Someone tripped me, I didn’t—”

“Useless!” another Omega shouts. “You shouldn’t be near our food again. Ever.”

“I promise I’ll be careful next time,” I say, my voice trembling.

“We don’t need your promises,” the first Omega barks. “Go. Clean the dishes. That’s all you’re good for.”

I bite my lip and nod as I move toward the pile of dirty plates, bowls, and utensils stacked high on a stainless table. My hands freeze as I dip them into the cold water and start scrubbing.

Behind me, two Omegas stand near the fireplace, whispering.

“Did you hear about the King’s Selection Ball?” one of them asks. “It’s happening soon.”

“Yes,” the other sighs. “I wish we could join. But only highborn she-wolves are allowed.”

“It’s so unfair,” the first Omega mutters. “Some of us can be better queens than those spoiled daughters.”

The King Selection Ball is a century old tradition where the newly crowned Lycan King will choose his queen-to-be from a pool of highborn she-wolves across the kingdom of Karyndor. 

To some, it’s their chance to gain power for themselves and solidify their packs’ influence over the kingdom. But to me, it’s my chance to be free from my pack, to be respected by everyone, and to be loved by someone.

I shake my head, regretting the thought. 

Not only that I’m not noble, but I’m also…

My eyes dart to the full-body mirror in the corner. 

My clothes are stitched from scraps, old pieces others had thrown away. My face looks tired. My hair is always tied in a messy ponytail. And my body is full, round in all the places others mocked.

The Lycan King will never choose, let alone notice me.

My thought snaps back to the two Omegas as they continue their chatters. 

“Our pack hasn’t even sent a name yet. Luna Mireth knows her daughters won’t get picked—they’re not even that pretty,” one says, looking around, hoping no one is paying attention to her, before bursting into laughter.

“But she won’t let any other highborns try. She’s too jealous. She’d rather our pack look weak than let someone else shine,” the other one chuckles too.

Suddenly,...

I scrub harder, my heart beating fast.

I’m not considered a highborn nor attractive, but something inside me sparks with quiet fire.

What if…?

I carefully lay the dishes on the sink and bolt out of the scullery without glancing back at the Omegas who are yelling and demanding for me to come back. 

My destination? The pack’s conference hall, where our officials and my father are currently having their weekly meetings.

Two Gammas stand outside the conference hall.. 

“You can’t enter,” one warns.

My shoulders slouch as I step back with a feign disappointment on my face.

But, when they drop their guards down, I quickly shift—silver fur bursting from my skin, bones snapping. In seconds, I’m a wolf, sprinting past them.

They shift too and chase after me. But it’s too late for them to stop me as I already manage to barge through the door. 

Everyone turns with a deadly glare that makes my blood curdle.

“Who gave you permission to come here unannounced?!” Alpha Heath roars.

I shift back into my human form, square my shoulders and set my jaw forward, then say, “Let me be one of our pack’s representatives in the upcoming King Selection Ball.”