"A Wolfless Fatass"

POV: Briar

“Next in line, the wolfless daughter of the councilor!”

The diviner's voice echoed over the roaring fire, sharp enough to cut through the heavy beat of the pack drums. The whole pack had gathered in the palace garden that night, the flames rising high into the dark sky. Every wolf who turned nineteen that year stood in a line, waiting to be bound to the one the Moon Goddess chose. I stood among them, my heart slamming against my ribs so hard I thought the people beside me could hear it. I had prayed for this night since I was a child. I did not just want any mate. Deep down, I hoped and prayed the goddess would give me Kaius, the Alpha heir.

I loved him quietly for years. I watched him from a distance and remembered every sweet thing he ever said to me. I told myself that if fate wanted us together, maybe my size would not matter to him anymore.When my name left the diviner's lips, I stepped forward. My breath caught in my throat as Kaius stood up from his seat beside his father. For one brief heartbeat, I allowed myself to believe. I thought about the times he sat beside me, the times he leaned in close to tell me I was fine just as I was.Then he looked at me. The warmth I thought was always there was gone. He looked at me the way he always looked at me when others were around, like I was something he had to tolerate, not someone he wanted. The crowd began to whisper before he even opened his mouth.

"I reject you," Kaius said. His voice was flat and bored, like he was turning down a cold plate of food.

"Wolfless fatass."

The words hit me like a physical punch.A wave of loud laughter spread through the crowd.

"Did she really think she could fit beside our future king?" a girl behind me sneered.

"She looks like a wild buffalo," a teenage boy called out from the side, laughing with his friends.

"She will crush him before he even takes the throne!"

Before I could breathe, a sharp pain tore through the middle of my chest. The mate bond snapped. It was a burning, tearing feeling that made my knees give out right on the dirt. Because I had no wolf inside me to cushion the blow, the agony ripped through my veins like boiling oil. Tears blinded me, but through the haze, I watched Kaius turn away from me. He reached out and grabbed Calla's hand, pulling my own sister into the exact space that was supposed to be mine.

"Kaius, please," I gasped, holding my chest as I forced myself to look up at him.

"Why are you doing this to me? Why now?"Kaius looked down at me and laughed.

"You really thought I liked you, Briar? Look at you. If you were in my shoes, would you choose yourself? You look like you could swallow half the pack in one sitting.

"The teenagers around us burst into another round of loud giggles, enjoying the show.

"You made me believe you wanted me," I said, my voice shaking so badly I could barely form the words.

"You told me I looked perfect to you. You held my hand when no one was watching. You looked at me like I mattered!"

"I did all that because I needed a way to get to your sister," Kaius said calmly. He shrugged his shoulders like it was nothing.

"Calla was not easy to reach, so I used her family to get close. It worked better than I planned. You just took my kindness way further than I meant for you to."

"What?"

My whole world tilted on its axis.

"You used me?"

"I never once said the word love to you, Briar," he said coldly.

"I let you believe what you wanted to believe. That is your own fault, not mine."Calla stepped closer to him, wrapping her arm around his waist and smiling down at me.

"Why wouldn't she believe it, Kaius? It is not like she has the brain to tell the difference anyway. Her brain cells are probably blocked with fat."

"You... both of you..." I tried to speak, but the pain in my chest squeezed my lungs. I spat a mouthful of blood onto the green grass, unable to finish my sentence.

"This is not fair."

"Life is not fair, dear sister," Calla said, touching the silver crown on her head.

"The Alpha crown belongs to a queen, not a giant mistake."Nobody stepped out of the crowd to help me.

My own father stood near the council table, turning his face away like I was a disgrace he could no longer look at. Some pack members looked at me with pity in their eyes, but they kept their mouths shut. Others smiled, pleased to see that I had finally been put in my place for dreaming above my station.

"Look at her crying like a wounded pig!" someone shouted from the back, causing another round of cruel mocking laughter to erupt across the garden.

"She should be banished for embarrassing the council!" another voice called out.I pressed both hands against my ribs, struggling to stand up as the ground beneath me seemed to sway. My knees trembled violently, covered in dirt and blood, but I forced my weak legs to move. I wanted nothing more than to hide from the burning stares, the taunts, and the cruel laughter ringing endlessly in my ears.

As I turned my back on the fire and ran toward the dark line of trees at the edge of the garden, something caught my eye. High up in the shadow of the thick branches, a pair of cold grey eyes watched me from the dark.

My heart stumbled, but the pain in my chest squeezed so tight I could barely see. The agony blinding my vision made it impossible to confirm who was staring at me, leaving me frozen under that piercing, unknown gaze.