Chapter 3

On the day of the Trials, the exam hall was packed.

This was the biggest test of the year for the entire wolf territory, and nobody wanted to be late.

I got there early, but there was no sign of Vivienne. She finally showed up ten minutes before the exam started, still wearing the strappy dress she'd had on at the bar.

She'd clearly had too much to drink the night before, swaying with every step.

Her mother was holding her up while her father trailed behind them.

Every pair of eyes in the room locked onto her with adoration, including those of my so-called mother, Martha Greer.

The moment I found out Martha wasn't actually my mother, I felt something I didn't expect: relief.

Because now I could hate her without guilt.

She'd abused me my entire childhood. Every time something went wrong in her life, she took it out on me, and my body was always covered in bruises.

She was barely home. Nobody cooked for me, so I collected bottles off the street and sold them for scrap just to eat. Hunger was the only constant in my childhood.

Six months before the Trials, she abandoned me completely. She moved into Vivienne's house full-time to wait on her hand and foot and never came back once.

She didn't leave me a single coin, and I worked part-time just to keep myself alive while studying.

Even when she was around, she made my life hell. Since Vivienne was her real daughter, she couldn't stand the thought of me outperforming her. Whenever she caught me studying, she'd find some way to sabotage me.

I used to wonder why my own mother hated me so much. Now I knew—I was never her daughter.

Even the comments started to feel sorry for me.

[Okay, I feel a little bad for the villain. She's actually the Alpha's real daughter, but she got swapped at birth and ended up in this nightmare. Martha doesn't love her, her real parents don't know she exists, and her future mate doesn't even care about her...]

[But look at her lately—she's been studying SO hard. That doesn't look like someone planning to cheat.]

I caught that last one and couldn't help but smile.

Vivienne stumbled over to me, her breath thick with alcohol. "Elara Whitmore. Looks like someone's feeling confident about the Trials."

I smiled and let her catch a flicker of fake hesitation. "This is my one shot at changing my life. I've been preparing for months."

Vivienne sneered. "Then give it your best shot. I spent a whole month at the Royal Academy, and the professors there wrote this year's exam. I've already won."

She was feeding me that information to bait me into swapping scores, and it was textbook manipulation.

I opened my mouth to respond, but one of Vivienne's bodyguards stepped between us. "Please don't bother Miss Vivienne."

Martha was right behind him. The second she saw me, her hand flew up to slap me, but I twisted sideways just in time to dodge it.

My defiance only made her angrier. She jabbed a finger in my face and screamed, "You little bitch! You're harassing Miss Vivienne before her exam so she'll do badly, aren't you?"

Her voice was loud enough for the whole crowd to hear, and everyone turned to stare with eyes full of contempt for me.

After all, Vivienne was the school's golden girl. If someone had a problem with her, the problem had to be them.

But Vivienne seemed to be in an unusually good mood today. She held Martha back and gave me that trademark smirk.

"Mrs. Greer, she might be trash, but she's still your daughter. Hitting her in public doesn't look great."

On the surface, she was defending me. Underneath, it was pure mockery.

Martha pulled her hand back immediately and bowed her head to Vivienne. "Of course, Miss. You're absolutely right."

Then she turned to me, her expression ice-cold. "Say thank you to Miss Vivienne. Or do I have to force you to your knees?"

She grabbed my shoulder and shoved me down. Before my knees could hit the ground, the bell rang for the exam hall.

Martha let go and shot me one last glare. "If you cause any trouble for Miss Vivienne during the exam, you'll answer to me."

My real parents walked right past me without a word, giving me nothing but a look of disgust.

"Vivienne, get inside. Don't let some lowlife distract you."

That was the first time I'd ever been face to face with my biological parents.

And in that moment, I understood that they didn't want me. Even if I was brought back into their family, nothing would change.

So I stopped hoping, picked up my pen, and walked into the exam hall.