Chapter 1

My phone screen lit up while I was dealing with pack affairs.

The caller ID read "Mother."

It had been a full eight months since our last conversation.

I hit accept. No small talk. No greetings.

"Hester, you’re free right now, right?" Before I could answer, she kept going. "Felix has run into some trouble recently. He’s going to your pack tomorrow to seek an alliance. You need to hurry up and put in a good word with your Alpha."

My eyes fell on the freshly printed schedule on my desk.

Tomorrow, 10:00 AM.

Visitor: Alpha Felix.

"We'll see," I said, signing a document without even batting an eye.

"We'll see?" My mother's voice spiked. I could feel her anger through the screen. "This is your sister Mia's mate, and the Alpha of our pack. It's a matter of life and death for us! Can't you care a little bit as her older sister? You’re in your early thirties and don't even have a mate! What's the point of working yourself to the bone as a regular Beta out there? Look at Mia, she's a Luna now!"

"Mia visits us all the time. She cares about us way more than you do over these past six years!"

I countered, "I remember when you were sick a few years ago, Mom. It was the money I sent back that paid for your surgery, wasn't it?"

She froze for a second, then grew even more furious. "You’re still holding on to that little bit of money? You were just buying your peace and quiet, brushing us off. You think having a little bit of dirty money means you can look down on your family?"

My grip on the pen tightened, my knuckles turning white.

Buying my peace?

That was the bonus I earned by fighting my way up from the bottom, working through the night for half a month straight.

I ate stale bread for a month just to afford her surgery.

But to them, it was worthless.

"Felix is meeting the Alpha of your Crimson Pack tomorrow," my mother ordered, completely ignoring my silence. "Go find out what your Alpha likes and what his temper is like. This is about Mia’s future. You absolutely cannot mess this up!"

I just found it utterly laughable.

They would never, in a million years, guess that the Crimson Alpha who held the Crescent Pack's fate in her hands was the eldest daughter they looked down on so much.

"Fine, I'll look into it," I replied dismissively, and hung up.

Before the screen even went dark, a voice note popped up.

It was Mia.

"Sister..." her sickly-sweet voice played through the speaker, laced with her usual fake innocence. "Felix is going to your pack tomorrow to meet your Alpha. Can you pull some strings for us? You've worked there for so long, you must know an elder or someone who can put in a good word, right? Please, please, please. This is a huge deal for our pack."

She didn't even know what I actually did in the Crimson Pack.

She didn't know, and she didn't care.

In her mind, I was forever the ordinary Beta who only existed to be their stepping stone.

Immediately after, the family group chat started blowing up.

Mother: "Don't worry, baby Mia. I already talked to your sister. She's going to look into it."

Father: "Just do your best tomorrow, Felix. Our Crescent Pack will be just fine."

Mia: "Thank you, Mom and Dad! Felix has been under so much pressure lately, my heart breaks for him. As soon as we get through this crisis, I'm taking you guys on a vacation to celebrate."

A screen full of mutual encouragement and perfect family harmony.

Not a single person asked how I was doing, living all alone in a foreign place.

I stared coldly at the screen, my thoughts drifting back to three years ago.

That was the day I used an iron fist to conquer my first independent territory, officially breaking into the ranks of top-tier North American packs.

I had excitedly shared the news in the group chat—the only time I ever initiated contact after leaving.

And their response?

Mia replied: "Wow, you work so hard, sister. But Felix said I don't need to tire myself out like that; he'll protect me."

My parents immediately chimed in, praising Mia for being so blessed and telling me to stop messing around out there.

From that day on, I became completely invisible in that chat.

They had long forgotten what I had accomplished.

A knock sounded at the door.

My Beta and second-in-command, Marcus, pushed the door open.

"Alpha." Marcus bowed his head respectfully. "Tomorrow's schedule is confirmed. Felix from the Crescent Pack arrives at 10:00 AM. Do you need me to make any special preparations?"

He had been my right-hand man for years and knew a bit about my history with the Crescent Pack.

But to the me of today, the Crescent Pack was just a bankrupt mess, barely clinging to life by begging for alliances.

I shook my head. "Just treat it as a standard alliance meeting."