Chapter 3: Lily

I stood frozen on the stairs, Lola growling in the back of my mind as we watched Amelia, no, Amelia's wolf, disappear into the tree line. Her copper fur had gleamed like fire under the security lights before the darkness swallowed her. My best friend had a wolf. A massive, beautiful wolf that put most of the pack's to shame. And they had cast her out, humiliated her, whipped her bloody on her birthday… all while her wolf had been there, waiting, growing stronger in secret.

‘They were wrong about her. All of them.’

Lola paced restlessly in my mind, her rage feeding mine. She wanted to shift, to follow, to run alongside that copper wolf. I dug my fingernails into my palms, the pain grounding me. Shifting now would only get me fifteen lashes… or worse.

Commotion erupted behind me as pack members poured from the house, drawn by Amelia's scream and the unmistakable energy of a first shift. I didn't turn, keeping my eyes fixed on the spot where she'd vanished, as if I could somehow protect her retreat through sheer force of will.

"What happened?" Alpha Marcus's voice cut through the murmurs, carrying the weight of command that made my shoulders instinctively hunch. "Who shifted?"

I turned slowly, keeping my face carefully blank as he strode down the steps, Luna Elena gliding behind him with practiced grace. Their expressions were identical masks of concern that had been notably absent for the last two years of Amelia's suffering.

"It was Amelia, Alpha," one of the guards offered, his voice uncertain. "At least, I think it was."

Elena's perfect features arranged themselves into an expression of disbelief. "Impossible. The girl has no wolf."

I bit my tongue so hard I tasted blood. ‘The girl. Their daughter. The child they'd raised for fourteen years before discarding her like garbage.’

Heavy footsteps announced Alexander's arrival, Victoria clutching his arm like she'd just won a prize. Her smug expression faltered slightly when she saw the Alpha and Luna.

"What is the meaning of this?" Marcus demanded, his attention shifting to his Beta.

Before Alexander could respond, I spoke, the words escaping before I could stop them. "Amelia shifted, Alpha, Luna. She ran into the forest." My voice was steadier than I expected, though Lola's growl threaded beneath it.

Victoria's laugh was sharp and dismissive. "The mutt doesn't have a wolf. She never has."

I turned to her, emboldened by what I'd witnessed. "I just watched her shift. She…"

The slap came faster than I could track, Victoria's hand connecting with my cheek with enough force to snap my head to the side. Stars exploded across my vision as I staggered back, catching myself on the railing.

"Know your place, servant," she hissed, her perfect face twisted with rage. "No one asked for your opinion."

Marcus ignored our exchange completely, his focus entirely on Alexander. "Explain," he commanded.

Alexander's face remained impassive, but I caught the subtle tension in his jaw, the way his gaze flickered toward the forest where Amelia had disappeared.

"Amelia was in the kitchen when Victoria and I entered," he said, each word measured and precise. "I discovered she is my fated mate." A murmur rippled through the gathered pack members. "I rejected the bond. She accepted the rejection and ran outside. Then..." He hesitated, something unreadable crossing his face. "Then she shifted."

Elena gasped, her hand flying to her throat in a gesture that would have seemed genuine if I hadn't spent years watching her perform concern when it suited her. "Our Amelia shifted? After all this time?"

Our Amelia. The possessive pronoun made Lola snarl in my mind.

"This is absurd," Victoria interjected, her voice tight with barely controlled fury. "She's human. We all know it."

"Actually..." The quiet voice came from the shadows at the edge of the courtyard. Gamma Julian emerged, tablet in hand, his movement so silent that several pack members startled at his appearance. "I believe this will clarify matters."

He tapped the screen, then turned it toward the Alpha and Luna. The security footage played in silence, but from the widening eyes and sharp intakes of breath, I knew exactly what it showed: Amelia's transformation from the girl they'd all dismissed to the magnificent wolf she truly was.

Julian stepped forward, holding the tablet so the gathered crowd could see. "The cameras captured everything. Her shift was... unusual. Delayed, yes, but when it came..." He paused, his clinical tone giving way to something that almost sounded like respect. "Remarkable."

On the screen, Amelia fell to her knees, her body contorting in pain as the shift tore through her. I remembered my own first shift at sixteen; painful but quick, over in moments. Hers looked agonizing, her body fighting against a transformation too long denied. Then the copper wolf stood, magnificent and disoriented, staring at her reflection before bolting into the trees.

I kept my mouth shut, heart hammering against my ribs. The pack's attention was fixed on the tablet. No one was looking at the servant girl with the reddening cheek. I wouldn't end my day beneath Julian's whip, not when Amelia needed me.

"Why didn't she tell us?" Elena's voice broke the silence, her eyes swimming with tears that she carefully prevented from falling. "We're her parents."

The hypocrisy nearly choked me. Parents? They'd thrown her into a basement room with barely a backward glance. Made her scrub floors and wash dishes while they pretended she didn't exist. Now suddenly she was their daughter again?

Marcus's face had hardened into something dangerous. "We will find her," he declared. "She belongs with her pack. With her family."

I swallowed the bitter laugh that threatened to escape. Two years of neglect vanished in an instant, replaced by concern now that Amelia had proven valuable again. Wolves and their fucking hierarchy. Lola rumbled her agreement.

"Clearly, she's unstable," Victoria said, her voice saccharine with false concern. "Running off like that after a rejection… it's probably for the best she's gone. An untrained wolf is a danger to us all."

I watched Alexander from the corner of my eye. His expression remained neutral, but something flickered behind his eyes - doubt? Regret? The mate bond couldn't be unmade, no matter how formally he'd rejected it. He would feel her absence like a physical wound.

‘Good, let it hurt.’

"Organize search parties," Marcus ordered, his voice brooking no argument. "Four teams, each with experienced trackers. She can't have gone far on her first shift."

The pack jumped to obey, breaking into groups with the efficiency of those accustomed to following orders without question. Victoria lingered, her fingers digging possessively into Alexander's arm, her eyes darting between him and the forest with undisguised suspicion.

"I'm sure you'll find her quickly, Alpha," she said loudly, her voice carrying across the courtyard. "Though perhaps it's better to let her run out her aggression first. After all, she's been denied her true nature for so long. Who knows what she might be capable of?"

The warning in her words was clear. Amelia was unstable, dangerous, not to be trusted. Victoria's lips curved into a smile that didn't reach her eyes before she turned and stalked back toward the house, her mission accomplished. Seeds of doubt planted.

Alexander remained behind, his gaze fixed on the tree line where Amelia had disappeared. For a moment, his mask slipped, revealing something raw and confused beneath.

I slipped away quietly, keeping to the shadows as the search parties formed. Amelia had a head start, and her wolf was strong, stronger than any of them suspected. I just hoped it would be enough to keep her free until I could find a way to help her.

The wind shifted, carrying the scent of rain and pine from the forest. Somewhere out there, a copper wolf ran free for the first time. I closed my eyes and sent a silent prayer to whoever might be listening.

Run, Amelia. Run far and fast. I'll find you when I can.