Chapter one - The bullied nobody

Third person's pov.

The hallway was already buzzing with excitement — graduation week, crowning ceremony, parties — all the things that meant nothing to Daphne Hathaway.

She kept her eyes low, hugging her worn-out books to her chest as she slipped past lockers and laughing cliques. Whispers followed her like shadows. They always did.

“Still ugly, Hathaway?”

“She smells like rogue blood.”

“Why does she even come to school?”

She ignored it. She always did.

Even now, even after her skin had cleared, after the strange, scaly patches that once covered her cheeks and arms vanished a year ago, they still saw her as the girl she used to be. Ugly. Unwanted. Untouched.

And it was mostly thanks to them.

The triplets.

Jaxon. Maddox. Kyren.

Graduating Alphas. Next in line to rule the Moonstone Pack.

They were everything she wasn’t — tall, lethal, unnaturally beautiful, and adored.

Jaxon, with his quiet, razor-sharp presence that made even teachers nervous.

Maddox, cocky and cruel, the one who could slice her soul open with just a word.

And Kyren… the only one who ever hesitated. The only one who sometimes looked at her like she wasn’t trash.

But he never said anything. Not when it mattered.

Daphne slipped into her last class and exhaled quietly, pressing herself into the back seat.

Just a few more days. She’d turn eighteen in two. And she’d be gone. No more school. No more taunts. No more triplets.

Her aunt, the woman who took her in after her parents went rogue and vanished, had already begun prepping a quiet exit. A small cabin far from the center of the pack. Enough space for Daphne to live unnoticed.

Still, something had been shifting lately. Her senses were sharper, hearing too clear, smells too intense. Her moods flipped unpredictably. The signs were all there — her wolf was waking up.

And that terrified her more than anything.

---

Later that night, the wind howled outside the tiny cabin she shared with her aunt. Daphne stirred a bowl of healing salve while her aunt groaned in bed, pale and sweating.

“The Alpha sent a request today,” her aunt rasped. “They need moonroot essence before the coronation ceremony tomorrow.”

Daphne blinked. “Can’t they get it from—?”

“They asked me. And I’m not in shape to go.” Her aunt sat up slowly. “You’ll have to take it. Tonight.”

“To the mansion? To their before party?” Daphne’s heart dropped.

“It’s not a request, girl. You’ll need to show respect.”

Daphne hesitated, until her aunt added with a smirk, “Dress properly. You’re not a servant.”

---

Two hours later, she stood in front of the cracked mirror in her room, barely recognizing herself.

The shimmering black dress had belonged to her mother — elegant, simple, and hugging her body like it had been waiting for this moment.

Her hands trembled as she applied makeup for the first time in her life, following a half-loaded YouTube tutorial on her ancient iPhone 7. Her eyeliner was shaky, her lip gloss uneven, but her eyes… they were fierce.

She didn’t look like Daphne Hathaway, the bullied nobody.

She looked like someone who belonged.

---

The Alpha Mansion was glowing with life when she arrived. Music pulsed. Laughter erupted from the ballroom.

She clutched the tiny glass vial tighter and stepped inside.

The room went silent.

Music faded. Conversations cut off mid-word.

Every eye turned to her. Then the whispers began.

She felt it before she saw it — the snap of awareness. Jaws clenched. Stares hardened.

And at the far end of the room, the triplets stood still, frozen.

Jaxon’s eyes locked on her. Kyren’s lips parted, stunned. And Maddox… he looked like someone just punched the air out of him.

But the bond didn’t snap.

Not yet.

Her eighteenth birthday was still two days away.