I Was Never Their First Choice

The door opened.

Ethan, Thomas, Daniel, and Paul stood frozen in place, Chloe huddled in the middle of them.

On the table beside them lay five gold-foiled acceptance letters.

Westbrook University.

It felt like ice water had been poured straight through my chest.

So all five of them had applied to Westbrook University together.

Only me. Kept in the dark.

Ethan was the first to recover.

As the Alpha heir of the Westbrook Pack, he was used to making decisions for everyone.

"I don't want to lie to you anymore. We all applied to Westbrook University."

He opened each letter one by one, and the names on them seemed to mock me in silence.

"Chloe's too fragile. She can't handle the Northern cold. She needs us to take care of her."

Ethan looked at me. "You're different. You've always been independent, strong. I know you'll be fine in the North."

"So," I looked around at all of them, "you lied about going to the North just so I'd go?"

Ethan's throat bobbed. "Yes."

Chloe dropped her head, shrinking back half a step.

Thomas, the Beta heir, stepped in front of her.

"This was our idea. It has nothing to do with Chloe."

I let out a cold laugh and turned back to Ethan.

"What about the mate bond? Was that a lie too?"

Ethan answered without thinking. "No. That part's real."

He looked at me, his voice softening. "After you come back from the North in four years, we'll complete the bond right away."

I almost laughed out loud.

He was offering me poison wrapped in sugar and calling it a gift.

Four years.

After I finished the trial in the North, he'd hand me the mark as payment.

And he'd made that decision while conspiring with everyone to deceive me.

Chloe peeked out from behind Thomas's shoulder, tears welling in her eyes.

"Sienna, do you not want to go to the North? Maybe I should go instead."

Daniel, the Delta heir, cut her off immediately.

"The Westbrook acceptance letters are already out. It's too late to change anything."

Paul, the Gamma heir, nodded in agreement.

"Chloe, you can't shift. The North's too cold. Let Sienna go."

Then he suddenly looked at me. "By the way, you should've gotten your acceptance letter too, right?"

Everyone's eyes followed.

My fingers slowly curled tight.

The Northern Court's messenger had just come to inform me I'd been accepted. There was no paper letter.

If I joined the Prodigy Program, I'd be removed from the family registry, all public records wiped.

After four years, if I passed the final trial, I'd become a personal guard to the Alpha King.

A position higher than any pack Alpha.

The messenger would wait forty-eight hours for my final answer.

The Prodigy Warrior Program was classified. Leaking it to outsiders was strictly forbidden.

So I couldn't tell them.

I just said calmly, "I got it."

Chloe let out a breath, tears still clinging to her lashes.

Ethan smiled too.

"Good. The Northern Military Academy's always been your dream."

It was my dream.

I'd dreamed countless times of the Northern snowfields, of carving out legendary honors at the border.

It was just that before, I couldn't bear to leave them.

I'd even turned down a Military Academy invitation once, just to stay in Westbrook with them.

Now I realized what a joke that was.

Ethan walked up and reached out to ruffle my hair.

"We stay here and take care of Chloe, and you finally commit to the Academy. Everyone wins."

I stepped back. His hand hung in the air.

After a moment, he forced a smile and held his hand out to me.

"Let me see what the Military Academy's acceptance letter looks like."

I looked down at that hand, the one that used to make my heart race, and suddenly it felt like a stranger's.

I slowly unclasped the moonstone bracelet from my wrist.

Five little wolves running side by side were carved into it.

We'd had them made together at twelve. One for each of us.

The bracelet carried the weight of old memories, heavy in my palm.

I placed it in Ethan's hand and turned to leave.

My steps felt lighter somehow.

Forty-seven hours until I left Westbrook.