Chapter 1: The Failure

The bonfire crackles in the center of the pack grounds, casting dancing shadows across hundreds of expectant faces. I stand in the ceremonial circle, my thin white dress clinging to my trembling body.

Tonight is supposed to be the best night of my life. My eighteenth birthday. The night every wolf in the Fang pack summons their inner beast for the first time.

Instead, it feels like standing on my own funeral pyre.

"Begin!" Alpha Dante's voice booms across the clearing. He sits on his carved wooden throne, his gray eyes is cold as winter steel. "Show us your wolf, girl."

I close my eyes and reach deep inside myself, searching for that primal presence every wolf possesses. I've felt it before, but after my parents death Cicilia refused to wake up.

"Fuck Cicilia, don't joke with me" I wispher-yell inside my mind trying to reach Cicilia, but she just snore louder in my mind. "Please. Please get the hell up."

But nothing that silly animal chooses to abandon me now.

I dig deeper, calling with everything I have. My fingernails bite into my palms. Sweat drips down my spine despite the cool night air.

Still nothing, Cicilia refuses to wake up.

"Well?" Dante leans forward, lips curling into something between a smile and a snarl. "Where is your wolf, Roselyn?"

"I, I just need more time, Alpha. She's there, I know she is-"

"More time?" Beta Marcus laughs from his position beside the Alpha. "It doesn't take time, you stupid bitch. Either you have a wolf or you don't."

Laughter ripples through the crowd. My cheeks burn, How am I supposed to tell them Cicilia is just sleeping.

"Perhaps she's defective," a woman calls out. That's Sarah, who's always hated my mother. "Bad blood will come out, won't it?"

"Silence!" Dante rises from his throne, descending the wooden steps with predatory grace. The crowd instantly quiets. He circles me like a wolf stalking wounded prey. "Tell me, girl. Do you feel her? Your wolf?"

My voice cracks. "Yes, Alpha. She's just... sleeping–"

"Sleeping?" Dante's hand shoots out, gripping my chin so hard I gasp. "Or non-existent?"

"She's there! I swear, I just need-"

"Need what? A miracle?" He shoves me backward. I stumble without falling.

"I've been the Alpha of this pack for twenty-three years. Never, have I seen an eighteen-year-old fail to shift on their birthday. Do you know what that means?"

My heart hammers against my ribs. "Alpha, please."

"It means you're not one of us." Dante's words fall like stones. "You're wolfless. A defect. A loser pretending to be something she's not."

"No!" I shake my head frantically. "I'm not wolfless, I swear on the Moon Goddess"

"Don't you dare speak her name!" Dante backhands me across the face.

Pain explodes across my cheek and I crash to the ground. Blood fills my mouth.

"You're not worthy to invoke her."

Through blurred vision, I see the pack closing in. Their faces twist with disgust and contempt. These are people I grew up with. People I called friends.

"Wolfless freak," someone spits.

"Waste of space."

"Should've drowned her at birth."

Dante grabs a handful of my hair, yanking my head back. "Since the Moon Goddess has seen fit to deny you a wolf, I hereby strip you of your position as pack member. From this moment forward, you are no longer Roselyn of the Fang pack."

"No, please–"

"You are now a general servant, available for whatever use any pack member sees fit. You will live in the servant quarters. You will eat scraps. You will serve your betters without question or complaint." He releases my hair, shoving my face into the dirt. "Do you understand?"

I taste earth, blood and tears. "Yes... Alpha."

"I can't hear you!"

"Yes, Alpha!" I sob.

"Good." Dante turns to address the pack. "Let this be a lesson. The weak have no place among us. Take her belongings to the servant quarters. Someone clean up this mess so we can continue celebrating."

Two large wolves, James and Rick, who used to joke with me at training, now their expressions are cold as they grab my arms. They drag me across the ground toward the small, dilapidated building at the edge of pack lands where the lowest servants live.

"Can't believe we wasted eighteen years on you," James mutters.

"Should've known you were trash," Rick adds. "You always were weak."

They throw me through the doorway. I hit the floor hard, the wind knocked from my lungs. My few belongings come flying in after me: clothes, a hairbrush, a photo of my dead parents. The frame shatters when it hits the wall.

"Welcome home, wolfless," James sneers.

Then they're gone, the door slamming shut behind them.

I lie on the cold floor, my body aches. Outside, I can hear the celebration resuming. Music. Laughter. They've already forgotten me.

I don't know how long I lie there. Minutes? Hours? Time feels meaningless. I manage to crawl to the thin, stained mattress in the corner. It smells like mold and something worse. This is my bed now. This is my home.

Suddenly the door crashes open.

I jolt upright as five wolves stumble in, reeking of alcohol.

I recognize them, they are pack members around my age. Derek, who I had a crush on last year. Lisa and Morgan, girls I trained with. And two male wolves I know as Tyler and Josh.

"Well, well," Derek says, closing the door behind him with a deliberate click. The lock turns. "Look at the fallen princess."

My throat goes dry. "What do you want?"

"The Alpha said you're available for whatever use we see fit, right?" Derek's smile makes my stomach turn. His eyes are glazed, unfocused. "We thought we'd test that out."

"Get out." I try to sound strong, but my voice shakes.

"That's not how this works anymore, Roselyn." Lisa steps forward, swaying slightly. "You don't give orders. You take them."

"The Alpha didn't mean…he didn't mean that. Please, just leave me alone."

"Didn't mean what?" Tyler laughs cruelly. "He said 'available for whatever use.' That's pretty damn clear to me."

I scramble backward until my spine hits the wall. Nowhere left to go. "Please. Don't do this."

"Don't do what?" Derek moves closer, predatory. "We're just welcoming you to your new position. Being... friendly."

"This isn't friendly," I whisper.

"You'll learn." Morgan giggles. "You'll learn what you're good for now."

Derek lunges forward, grabbing my ankle. His fingers dig into my skin like claws. I kick wildly, accidentally my foot connects with his jaw. His head snaps back and he releases me, while stumbling back.

"You fucking bitch!" Blood drips from his split lip. His eyes flash with rage. "Hold her down!"

The others rush forward like a pack of wolves on wounded prey. I scream, fighting with everything I have. My fist connects with Tyler's nose. I hear the crunch of cartilage. He howls.

"Goddamn it!" Tyler clutches his face as blood pours between his fingers. "She broke my fucking nose!"

Josh grabs my hair, yanking my head back violently. I cry out, tears streaming my face. Lisa and Morgan each seize an arm, their nails digging into my skin. I thrash, but they're stronger. So much stronger without my wolf.

"Should've just laid there and taken it," Josh hisses in my ear, his breath hot and sour. "Now we're going to make this hurt."

Derek wipes blood from his mouth, advancing slowly. His eyes have gone cold. "You think you can fight us? You're nothing. You're fucking trash."

"Please," I sob. "Please don't–”

"Shut up." Derek's hand wraps around my throat. choking. "You know what? I used to think you were pretty. Used to wonder what you'd be like. Now I'm going to find out."

His free hand grabs the neckline of my dress. He pulls hard and the fabric tears with a horrible ripping sound, and I feel cold on my bare chest.

"No! Stop!" I buck and writhe, but they hold me firm. Three pairs of hands pinning me down. "Help! Someone help!"

"No one's coming, sweetheart." Lisa's voice is close to my ear, mocking. "No one cares about a wolfless freak."

"They're all celebrating," Morgan adds.

Derek's hand moves lower until he reaches my breast, “now this is a nice suckable tit”, his voice is husky as he squeezes roughly.”

Pain shoots through my body, I squeeze my eyes shut, I just wish this is just a dream.

"Look at me," Derek commands.

I keep my eyes shut.

His hand tightens on my throat, cutting off air. "I said look at me!"

My eyes fly open, meeting him. There's nothing human there anymore. Just animal cruelty.

"That's better. I want to see your face when i fuck you like a whore, that you are"

His hand left my breast, but he replaced them with his mouth and he bit hard on my nipple.

My scream reverberate in the room and I wish someone could just come and stop this.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Everyone freeze when they hear the voice.