Chapter 2

Truth be told, I used to have my own spacious, private bedroom.

But then Wyatt stormed in one day, whining that his personal gym was ten square meters smaller than Jaxon's.

My parents were so drained by his constant complaining that they simply handed half of my room over to Wyatt.

From that day on, Wyatt's gym gear gradually bled into my space, taking up way more than those ten square meters.

And Jaxon, refusing to be outdone, also started dumping his stuff in my room.

It was as if they were using my personal sanctuary as their own petty battlefield.

I brought it up to Mom once, but she just rubbed her temples in pure exhaustion. "We've been handling pack duties all day, we're drained. We don't have the energy to micromanage these trivial things."

"Harper, can't you just be a little more mature?"

In the end, all I could do was swallow my pride and nod.

In the past, I always forced myself to be the mature one.

But now the truth hit me: no matter how mature I acted, my parents' adoring gazes would never land on me.

If it involved Jaxon and Wyatt, it didn't matter how exhausted they were; they would always find the energy to fix it.

Admitting that you are utterly unloved is agonizing.

But I knew I could survive it.

I turned around and gently clicked the door shut, locking out the warmth and joy that clearly didn't belong to me.

I barely slept that night. Fragments of my childhood kept replaying behind my eyelids.

When I was little, I spiked a 104-degree fever and stumbled out of bed to find Mom.

But because Jaxon had scraped his elbow playing basketball, she had summoned every single healer in the pack to fuss over him.

And Wyatt, determined to steal Jaxon's thunder, dumped a bucket of ice water on himself to artificially induce a fever.

My parents were in such a frenzy comforting and coddling the twins that they completely forgot I existed.

I wandered out of the estate in a daze and collapsed in the dirt.

A passing pack member had to rush me to the healer.

After that nightmare, Mom actually felt guilty.

For a brief, shining moment, I basked in her undivided care and affection.

But it wasn't long before the old routine snapped back into place.

When I finally woke up, my pillow was damp.

I roughly scrubbed the tears from my eyes.

Right on cue, my phone chimed with a text from the Bladewolf pack.

"Miss Harper, we are thrilled you accepted our offer. Just double-checking, you will be arriving in three days, correct? I'll dispatch an escort to pick you up."

Three days from now was my 25th birthday.

I figured I might as well endure my final birthday in this suffocating house.

I typed back, "Confirmed."

Later that afternoon, Dad gathered us to announce some major news.

"I've decided to hand over two vital pack enterprises for Jaxon and Wyatt to run, to sharpen your leadership skills. As for Harper..."

I looked up at him, a foolish sliver of hope still clinging to my chest.

I was the Alpha's daughter too, right? Maybe Dad still saw some value in me...

But Jaxon sprang up as if he'd been scalded. "That is such bull! The company you're giving me generates less revenue than Wyatt's! Why? You need to give me another subsidiary to balance it out!"

Wyatt immediately fired back, "No way! Then your portfolio would be bigger than mine!"

And just like that, another screaming match erupted.

Dad massaged his brow, looking like a migraine was forming. He hesitated for a long second, then turned his gaze to me. "Harper, let's do this. You don't need to stress over the business side. Just hand over the division you're currently managing to Jaxon and Wyatt. That way, everyone is happy."

Everyone is happy? I wanted to scream.

Maybe it was the sheer adrenaline of knowing I was leaving so soon, but for the very first time, I pushed back loudly. "I am perfectly capable of managing a company. Why should I surrender it? Didn't you always preach that fairness is absolute, Dad? Why do I get thrown under the bus?"

Dad's temper flared instantly.

"Harper! Can't you be a little more mature? Why must you constantly compete with your brothers!"

"And what 'thrown under the bus'? Nonsense! I made this call because your administrative skills simply don't match your brothers'!"

I dropped my gaze to mask the bitter sarcasm burning in my eyes.

The reality was, I scored top marks on every single pack assessment—miles ahead of Jaxon and Wyatt.

My parents were just completely oblivious.

And even if they knew, they wouldn't give a damn.

I shoved my emotions into a box and yanked a crisp document from my bag.

"Fine," I said, locking eyes with Dad. "In that case, I need your signature on this agreement. I promise I will permanently forfeit any claim to pack leadership."

Hearing those magic words, Dad snatched the paper from my hand with alarming speed and scribbled his name.

Then he immediately pivoted, his tone instantly warm again, to pacify the twins.

He hadn't even bothered to read the title of the document: Pack Secession Agreement.

With that ink dried, absolutely no one could stop me from walking away.

Jaxon and Wyatt looked smugly satisfied. They swaggered over, roughly bumped my shoulder, and scoffed, "Glad you finally know your place."

I kept my mouth shut and carefully tucked the signed agreement away.