Chapter 4

  The pack house felt different that night.

Louder.

Lighter.

Alive in a way it hadn’t been that morning.

Voices carried through the halls, overlapping with laughter and conversation, doors opening and closing as people moved freely between rooms. The air buzzed with something close to celebration, contained, but present.

Warrior selections always did that.

Winners meant strength.

Strength meant security.

Security meant pride.

Elara moved through it all unseen.

She kept to the edges of the corridor, a tray balanced carefully in her hands as she carried drinks from the kitchen to one of the upper gathering rooms. The weight wasn’t heavy, but her arms still ached slightly, muscles slow to recover.

They always were.

“Careful with that.”

The voice came without warning.

Elara shifted quickly to avoid the group stepping into her path, lowering her gaze.

“I will.”

One of them snorted softly. “Wouldn’t want you dropping something important.”

Laughter followed.

She stepped aside fully this time, pressing herself closer to the wall as they passed.

No one thanked her.

No one ever did.

The door to the gathering room stood open ahead of her. Light spilled out into the hall, warm and bright, carrying the scent of richer food, fresh meat, spiced wine, something sweet she couldn’t name.

Elara paused just outside.

Inside, the selected candidates stood among higher-ranking wolves, already being welcomed, acknowledged, and folded into something she had never touched.

Lyria stood near the center.

Of course she did.

People moved around her easily, speaking, congratulating, offering quiet praise. She accepted it all with calm composure, her expression soft but controlled.

Perfect.

Elara stepped inside just long enough to set the tray down on a side table.

No one acknowledged her.

Not when she entered.

Not when she left.

Her brother stood near the far wall, speaking with two other warriors. His posture was relaxed, confident, his voice carrying easily over the others.

He didn’t look at her.

Not once.

Her mother stood closer to the center of the room, speaking with another high-ranking woman. Her expression was composed, her movements precise, every detail of her appearance immaculate.

Elara lingered just long enough to see if nothing.

No glance.

No pause.

No recognition.

She turned and left.

The door closed softly behind her.

---

The corridors felt colder after that.

Quieter.

Elara returned the empty tray to the kitchen and slipped out before anyone could hand her another task. No one stopped her.

There was always more work.

But there was always someone else to give it to.

Especially when it came to her.

She took the back stairs this time, the ones rarely used except by staff and lower-ranked wolves. The lights flickered faintly overhead as she climbed, each step slower than the last.

Her body ached more tonight.

The cold had settled deeper.

Or maybe it was something else.

She didn’t think about it.

Thinking didn’t change anything.

At the top of the stairs, she hesitated.

The corridor to her room stretched ahead, empty, dim, familiar.

Instead of turning toward it, she moved in the opposite direction.

The library door was unlocked.

It usually was.

No one bothered securing a room no one cared to use.

Elara stepped inside quietly, closing the door behind her.

The space was still.

Shelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling, filled with books that few people in the pack had time for anymore. Most preferred faster access, screens, summaries, updates.

Efficient.

Useful.

The library was neither.

That was why she liked it.

Elara moved between the shelves slowly, her fingers brushing lightly over the spines as she passed. Some were worn, pages softened from age. Others were newer, untouched.

She stopped near the back and pulled one free.

History.

Not the kind taught in training.

Older.

Detailed.

Unnecessary.

She sat near the window, tucking her legs beneath her as she opened the book.

For a while, everything else faded.

The noise.

The weight in her chest.

The memory of being unseen in a room full of people who should have known her.

Words filled the space instead.

Steady.

Predictable.

Safe.

Time passed without her noticing.

Until—

The door opened.

Elara froze.

No one came here.

Not at this hour.

Slowly, she lifted her gaze.

A figure stepped inside.

Older.

One of the pack administrators, if she remembered correctly. Mid-rank. Not important enough to be feared. Not low enough to be ignored.

He stopped when he saw her.

His expression shifted, surprise first.

Then mild irritation.

“Elara.”

Her name sounded like an inconvenience.

She closed the book carefully. “I didn’t think anyone needed the room.”

“They don’t,” he replied. “But that doesn’t mean you can sit here all night doing nothing.”

“I finished my work.”

“For now.” His gaze flicked to the book in her hands. “Reading that won’t change your situation.”

Elara said nothing.

“Still,” he added after a moment, his tone flattening, “there’s a gathering tomorrow night. You’ll be needed early.”

Her grip tightened slightly on the book.

“Moon Goddess ceremony?”

He nodded once. “All ranked wolves are required to attend.”

A pause.

Then—

“You’ll help with preparations.”

Of course, she would.

“Understood.”

He lingered for a second longer, as if expecting something else.

A reaction.

Gratitude.

Anything.

Elara gave him nothing.

Eventually, he turned and left, the door clicking shut behind him.

Silence settled back into the room.

But it felt different now.

Heavier.

Elara looked down at the open page.

The words blurred slightly.

All ranked wolves.

Not her.

Not ever.

The ceremony would happen the same way it always did—ritual, tradition, selection.

Important.

Sacred.

And she would stand at the edges.

Unseen.

Unwanted.

Unchosen.

Her chest tightened faintly.

Not sharp.

Not sudden.

Just there.

Constant.

Elara closed the book.

Carefully.

Deliberately.

She set it back in its place and stood.

The room felt smaller now.

Colder.

Less like an escape.

More like a reminder.

She moved toward the door, pausing only briefly with her hand on the handle.

Ceremonies weren’t for wolves like her.

They never had been.

Her place would be behind the scenes, preparing, cleaning, disappearing before anything important began.

That’s how it worked.

That’s how it had always worked.

Elara opened the door.

Stepped into the dim hallway.

And stopped.

Just for a second.

Tomorrow night.

The thought lingered.

Unwelcome.

Persistent.

Her fingers tightened slightly at her sides.

Then loosened.

She exhaled quietly.

It didn’t matter.

Nothing ever changed.

Still, as she turned toward her room, the thought followed her.

Soft.

Unsteady.

Refusing to disappear.

And for the first time— Elara didn’t push it away completely.