Adjourned

Pain was the first thing I felt.

Not the dull ache of a bruise or the sting of a cut.

This was deeper.

It pulsed through my chest like something alive, beating harder than my own heart, sending sharp waves of heat and cold through my veins.

I stirred with a weak groan.

The smell of antiseptic filled my nose. The sheets beneath me were too clean, too stiff.

The pack hospital.

My eyes fluttered open slowly.

For a moment everything was blurry.

Then a familiar face leaned forward suddenly.

“Liora!”

Tessa.

Her brown eyes filled instantly with tears as she rushed to my side, grabbing my hand tightly.

“Oh thank the Moon Goddess,” she breathed, her voice shaking. “You’re awake.”

Warm tears slid down her cheeks as she laughed softly in relief.

“I was so scared,” she whispered, squeezing my fingers. “You just collapsed and—”

My throat felt dry.

“Tessa…” I murmured weakly.

She leaned closer immediately.

“I’m here,” she said softly.

My eyes moved around the small hospital room.

White walls.

Quiet machines.

Soft moonlight filtering through the window.

Then I looked back at her.

“Where’s my mom?”

As if the question summoned her, the door opened.

My mother stepped inside.

“Liora…”

Her voice broke the moment she saw my eyes open.

She hurried across the room and stopped beside the bed, relief flooding her face.

“You’re awake.”

I frowned slightly.

“What happened to me?”

My mother and Tessa exchanged a quick glance.

Then my mother answered carefully.

“You fainted.”

I watched her.

“Why?”

She hesitated.

The word sat clearly in the air between us even before she said it.

“Because of the…” She paused.

My chest tightened.

“…the ceremony.”

She couldn’t say it.

The rejection.

Silence settled in the room.

I stared at the ceiling for a moment.

Then a small bitter smile pulled at my lips.

A single tear slipped from the corner of my eye, sliding down my temple.

Of course.

The entire pack saw it.

My humiliation wasn’t exactly private.

Tessa noticed the tear immediately.

“Hey,” she murmured softly.

She wiped it away with her thumb and gently cupped my cheek.

“It’s okay.”

Her voice was warm and protective.

But I just turned my head slowly toward my mother.

“Where’s dad?”

The room grew quiet again.

My mother froze slightly.

Her hesitation told me everything before she even spoke.

But it wasn’t new.

Not really.

My father had never looked at me the same way after the day the elders declared I had no wolf.

The Beta of the pack… with a wolfless daughter.

A disappointment.

An embarrassment.

The pack probably thought the same.

My brother barely acknowledged my existence unless he had to. To him, I was nothing but a burden that dragged down the Beta family’s reputation.

And my sister…

I could practically hear the pack whispering it every day.

*She should have been the Alpha’s mate.*

Brunette hair.

Blue eyes.

Slim.

Perfect.

Everything a future Luna should be.

Unlike me.

Dark hair.

Green eyes.

Tall and… awkwardly there.

A mistake standing where perfection should have been.

Only my mother had ever looked at me with love.

Even if most of the time it was quiet… hidden.

Suddenly a sharp pain shot through my chest.

I gasped.

My hand flew to my heart.

“Liora?” Tessa’s voice filled with panic.

“What’s wrong?” my mother asked quickly, leaning forward.

“It… hurts,” I whispered.

The throbbing spread again, deep and relentless.

Tessa gently brushed my hair away from my forehead.

“It’ll fade,” she said softly, though worry filled her voice. “You’re weak right now. And tired. Your body doesn’t have the extra support to deal with the—”

I cut her off quietly.

“Because I’m wolfless.”

The word tasted bitter.

“A measly wolfless girl.”

Neither of them spoke.

Then my mother’s phone suddenly rang.

The sound cut sharply through the room.

She frowned and stepped aside to answer it.

“Yes?”

Her expression changed as she listened.

The color slowly drained from her face.

“…Okay.”

She ended the call slowly.

For a moment she just stood there.

Then she walked back to my bed.

“What is it?” I asked weakly.

My mother looked at me carefully.

“The court adjourns tomorrow.”

My brows pulled together.

“Court?”

Her voice lowered.

“The pack council.”

A cold feeling crept through my chest.

Then she said the words that made the air in the room feel heavy.

“We have to face the Alpha.”