Chapter 1

Rose’s POV

Mud sucked at my boots, cold and thick, like the valley wanted to swallow me whole. The air smelled of pine and wolf musk, sharp enough to sting my nose, but it was the stares that got me—hard and hateful, like I was a stain on the pack’s perfect world.

As the Beta’s daughter, I should have all the respect, regards and love, but how would I expect that when my birth caused pain and regret instead of the joy other pups bring?

I kept my red hair shoved under a frayed hood, but it didn’t matter. They always saw me. Rose, the cursed girl, the one who broke everything just by being born.

I was eighteen, and I’d been running from their whispers and hateful glares my whole life.

“Freak,” a woman hissed as I passed her cabin, her voice low, like she was spitting out poison. She yanked her kid close, his little eyes wide, like I’d curse him just by breathing.

Everyone hates me for what my birth caused, as if it was my fault. How was I blamed for something that I had no power over?

My hands curled into fists in my pockets, nails biting my palms. The whole pack knew the story of my birth. How it paralyzed Mom from her waist down after an agonizing struggle to birth me, which almost took her life.

They say my twin brother also came out stillborn because of me, and that I had also brought bad luck to my father ever since that day. The stories lingered on every lip as I grew up to realize my miserable life.

My red hair, my dark eyes? It was more like proof I was a curse the moon goddess made to punish us.

This pack, this valley with its dark forests and smoky cabins, was supposed to be a home for werewolves, a pack bound by blood and strength. But definitely not for me.

It was a cage, and I was in it, yet they wanted to kick me out into the wilds to get devoured by predators.

The pack loved and protected their wolves and made sure life was peaceful and safe for them all, except me though. They see me as a defect.

My older sisters, Lila and Mara, were their darlings. Perfect, blonde, blue-eyed wolves that glowed like sunlight. They are twenty and twenty-one, respectively, and now had their mates, who looked at them like they were goddesses.

Me? I had no wolf, no place, no mate, just scars and a name that tasted like ash on everyone’s lips.

I got to the training grounds, where the air buzzed with shouts and the thwack of bodies hitting dirt. I hung back, breath puffing white in the chill as I watched Lila slam some guy to the ground.

Her laugh was sharp and bright, cutting through the noise. Mara leaned against a post, giggling with her mate, Bale, his grin all wide and affectionate.

The crowd cheered Lila, their voices filled with amazement.

I stood there, cold seeping through my thin jacket, my chest tight like someone was squeezing it.

Just then Lila's eyes caught me. “Rose!” Her voice sliced through, mean as a whip. My heart kicked hard, and I froze. I hated that she already saw me and wished I didn’t stop by here. I should have headed straight to class.

She jogged over, blonde hair bouncing, eyes glinting like she was hunting. Mara followed immediately, smirking, then a group of teens trailing them, sniffing for trouble.

“What’re you doing, freak? Thinking you’ll sprout a wolf by staring long enough?” Lila jeered.

They laughed, and it burned, their voices like sparks on my skin. I yanked my hood lower, but Lila ripped it back, my red hair spilling out like blood. “Look at her,” she said, circling me, boots crunching. “No wolf, no mate, just a walking curse.”

“Leave me alone,” I said, voice low, but it wobbled, betraying me. My hands shook, wanting to shove her, to defend myself at least verbally, but I couldn’t do anything.

Mara stepped close, her perfume sweet, but it sickened me like rotting flowers. “You don’t belong, Rose,” she said, smile sharp as glass. “Why don’t you just die? Make it easier on everyone.”

She flicked a pebble, and it stung my cheek, hot and quick. The crowd snickered, enjoying every moment and greedy for more.

I swallowed hard, throat tight with my pulse hammering. I wanted to hit back as my cheek stung unbearably. I want to make them feel a bit of my pain too, but fighting meant worse. It always did.

As I turned to go, Lila grabbed my arm, nails biting like claws. “Hold up,” she hissed. “We’re not done.”

Then Mara dumped a bucket of ice-cold water over me. It hit like a punch, stealing my breath, soaking my clothes, and dripping down my face.

It smelled of rust and dirt, chilling my bones.

Laughter exploded, loud and jeering, as they hurled mockery at me.

Lila shoved me, and I hit the ground, mud cold and gritty under my knees. “Stay there, freak,” she said, voice smug. “That’s your place.”

I stayed down, head low, water dripping, their laughter fading as they walked off.

The cold sank deep, but the ache in my chest was worse. Their hate, their words, carving the hollow of sadness in my heart.

I’d taken this since I was little, since I knew what “cursed” meant. Each time, it stole a piece of me, and I just couldn’t get used to how painful it felt.

I dragged myself up, mud sticking under my nails, the grit rough against my skin. The school bell rang; class was about to start, so I had to go quickly, as skipping would mean hell at home since the teachers would always report my absence.

The classroom smelled like chalk dust and sweat as I stepped in after cleaning up the dirt on my cloth and body as much as I could.

I slid into a back seat, my wet clothes sticking to the chair, my wet hair dripping some on the desk.

Mrs Kate, the teacher, stood up front, grey hair pulled tight as she taught about the moon goddess, mates, and the wolf’s strength.

I faced down, fingers tracing scars on my wrist from Mom’s whip, hidden under my sleeve.

Her lectures weren’t for someone like me. The moon goddess didn’t care about a girl like me and every time, I wonder if I was meant to be a mere human and mistakenly entered my werewolf mother’s womb.

“Rose!” Kate’s voice cracked, making me jump. Every head turned, smirking, waiting for what I don’t know. “Answer the question.” she seethed and I was stunned.

My face burned, heart pounding. “Didn’t hear it,” I mumbled, my voice barely audible, drowned by their titters.

“Of course,” she sneered, lips thin. “Too busy sulking over the inner wolf you’ll never get? Now answer me this…What are mates role in the pack?”

It was more like a mockery than a question.

Laughter hit like a wave, hot and sharp, and even though I knew the answer, my throat locked up. “A mate… makes the pack stronger,” I forced out, voice shaking. “They protect each other… keep the bloodline going.”

“You can’t understand the real concept in experience, can you?,” Kate said, eyes cold. “If you weren’t such a disgrace, maybe you would have gotten a mate for yourself.”

The class roared, and I sank lower, hands trembling under the desk. I wished she was wrong, but yes…I was wolfless, mateless, weak and useless.

The day dragged, all taunts and cold shoulders. By the time I reached our pack house, the sun was low, sky red like blood.

Our place was big, a mark of Mom and Dad’s Betas status. I stopped at the door, stomach twisting, the air heavy with what waited inside.

The door creaked, and the dreadful smell of my father hit me: lavender oil and whiskey, thick and sour.

Mom was by the hearth in her wheelchair, blonde hair dull, blue eyes hard as stone. She didn’t look up. “Late, Rose,” she said, voice cutting. “Always dragging your mess in here.”

I stared at the floor, boots scuffing the wood. Dad was at the table, bottle in hand, his big frame slouched but dangerous. “What’s the excuse?” he growled, whiskey on his breath. “Were you strolling around, spreading the shame more?”

“No. I was in school reading.” I said, keeping my voice flat, though my heart was racing. Do they expect me to rush back home happily like a child who misses his parents? I would love to spend the whole day in the school library if allowed.

The air felt like it could choke me as I stood in front of their cold gazes.

“School,” Mom spat, wheeling closer, chair creaking like a warning. “Why bother putting you in school? You’re a burden. Took my legs, my son, my life. For what? A wolfless freak who only does nothing but disgrace us!”

Her words were a lash, splitting old scars. I wanted to yell that I didn’t ask to be born. But silence was safer.

With a slow pace, I edged toward the kitchen, hands shaking as I grabbed a jug of water.

My reflection in the glass was a ghost, pale, hollow, and my eyes too dark and empty.

“Useless,” Dad muttered from the sitting room, standing, his chair scraping.

His steps were heavy, closing in on me. “You think you can skulk around, eating our food?” He shook his head. “You’re really a mistake, Rose. The moon goddess cursed us with you and I don’t know what sin I committed.”

I turned, meeting his bloodshot eyes for a second. They burned, promising pain, the kind that left marks. “I’m trying to be a strong daughter. A pride to you…and everyone,” I said, voice cracking. “I don’t wanna be this.”

“Trying?” He laughed, a rough, ugly sound. “You’re nothing. Every day of your life! Listen, I came to tell you something…” he leaned in and said. “Tomorrow, you start earning your keep. One of my friends has uses for you and he paid a good amount.”

His words hit like a fist, clear and sickening. I’d heard of men who paid for girls no one cared about to use as sex toys for a night or two.

I hope that wasn’t what he meant.